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Between 2009 and 2013, Cell Phone Allowance Costs For City Employees Rose 46 Percent
It appears that not only is Ann Arbor paying employees the total cost of their cell phone plans, but in some instances pays employees almost 2.5 times more than the monthly cost of popular cell phone/texting plans.
CELL PHONE COSTS paid…
A2Politico: The Ann Arbor Observer—“As you know, we made a serious error in reporting…”
by P.D. Lesko
IMAGINE MY SURPRISE when I opened the February 2014 issue of The Ann Arbor Observer and discovered my photo. The title of the piece? “A $250,000 Election: This Year’s City Council Race Is Shaping Up As The Most Expensive…
Critics Allege Secondhand Drug Money Helped Finance Sabra Briere’s Reelection To City Council In November 2013
IN HER 2013 City Council race, almost half of Ward 1 Council member Sabra Briere’s 2013 campaign funds came from money donated by the owners of medical marijuana dispensaries. The owner of a local dispensary held a fundraiser for Briere…
Since 2011 City Administrator Steve Powers Has Cut Spending On Automobile Allowances
While spending increases on meals out, travel, luxury lodging and cell phones, monthly car allowance costs drop significantly from a high in 2010.
UNDER FORMER CITY administrator Roger Fraser in 2009 and 2010, according to information…
Testing Ann Arbor Public Schools On Its Release Of Public Records
In May 2012 former Superintendent Dr. Patricia Green told parents to use the Freedom of Information Act to access public records and information. The new Superintendent urges transparency and minimal reliance FOIA for routine requests. …
A2POLITICO: You Want What? “We Can’t Possibly Fix All The Roads.”
by P.D. Lesko
THE LAST TIME Julie Grand ran for City Council, she told a room full of voters at a Democratic candidate forum: “And I don’t know that we can get every road paved in the neighborhood. I don’t know that we can fix all of the…
Q & A: Italian Slow Food Pioneer Carlo Petrini
by Sarah van Gelder
IN 1986 CARLO Petrini and a group of friends threw a big pasta feed in Rome’s storied Piazza di Spagna (the Spanish Steps). The event was a protest against the opening of the first McDonald’s in Italy. Out of that…
$1.5M Diverted From Public Schools Used For Ann Arbor SPARK Salaries, Marketing & Legal Fees
Using a tax increment financing scheme, since 2006, over $5 million dollars have been diverted from the cash-strapped public schools and given to Ann Arbor SPARK officials.
WHILE ANN ARBOR Public Schools officials, parents and students…
Ward 2 Council Member Petersen Announces She’ll Run For Mayor: Move Mirrors Hieftje’s Path To The Gavel
ANN ARBOR CITY Council member Sally Hart Petersen announced in a press release sent to the media on January 14 that she plans to run for mayor. Petersen, elected to represent Ward 2 in 2012, unseated former state legislator Tony Derezinski…
A2Politico: The Debate Rages: Who Needs More Firefighters? Can You Feel The Heat?
by P.D. Lesko
THE ANN ARBOR OBSERVER, recently published a piece about staffing and standards within Ann Arbor’s fire department. Council members and former Council candidates have alleged that The Observer takes pains to support the…