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Bucking National Trends, A2Indy Readership in 2023 Jumped Almost 12 Percent to 90,657
During 2023, The Ann Arbor Independent's readership rose from 80,949 to 90,657, an 11.9 percent increase. The newspaper's readership in 2021 stood at 68,124. According to research by the non-partisan Pew Research Center published in Nov.!-->…
Former Ann Arbor City Employee Who Sued Over City’s COVID Vaccine Mandate Has Case Thrown Out
"Plaintiffs, former City of Ann Arbor (“City”) employees, filed this lawsuit claiming that their employment was terminated in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ('Title VII) and Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights!-->…
Leader of Non-Profit Cited as a Public Nuisance Says Ypsi Twp. Trustees Are “Missing the Good”
by P.D. Lesko
Men Like Us was created as a non-profit in 2021. Since leasing space in a building at 3011 E. Michigan Ave. in Ypsilanti Twp., Ardis Lewis Jr.'s "men's club" has been the subject of over 30 police reports. The police!-->!-->!-->…
Since 2016 County Administrator Pay Has Doubled and Commissioners’ Pay Has Risen 115 Percent
by P.D. Lesko
As the saying goes: One hand washes the other. In the case of County Administrator Greg Dill and the Washtenaw County Commissioners, they have worked together to more than double their own pay since Dill was hired in 2016.!-->!-->!-->…
Residents Refused Mental Health Services While CMH Spends Millage Money on Consultants, PR and Paid “News” Coverage
Despite the 2017 passage of the Public Safety and Community Mental Health Preservation Millage, Washtenaw County Community Mental Health turns away Washtenaw County residents who need mental health treatment. Meanwhile, CMH Exec. Dir.!-->…
Ann Arbor Independent Wins Investigative Reporting Award for “Supreme Felons, Inc.”
On May 15, 2023 the Society of Professional Journalists announced that The Ann Arbor Independent had won an excellence in reporting award for its investigative series about a $1.2 million grant handed over to a Washtenaw County non-profit!-->…
“Men Like Us” Club Founder Asked County for $70K Grant to “Deter Youth Violence”; His Ypsi Twp. Club the Site of Assaults, Shootings, Attempted Murder
According to police records, since late-2021, the Men Like Us club building owned by Ardis Lewis, Jr. has been the site of shootings, assaults, attempted murder and an alleged sexual assault. In Mar. 2022, Lewis applied to the County for a!-->…
U-M Prof’s Novel “Such A Fun Age” is the 2023 Washtenaw Read Book
by Martha Suitt, Pulp
The 2023 Washtenaw Read is Such a Fun Age by University of Michigan professor Kiley Reid, whose plot-driven novel details what happens and how people feel amidst misunderstandings and omissions!-->!-->!-->…
Assailant Who Allegedly Tried to Stab Local Restauranteur Scheduled For Competency Hearing
by P.D. Lesko
On Nov. 3, 2022 Javon Trevail Williams appeared before 15th District Court judge the Honorable Miriam A. Perry. At that hearing, it was decided that Williams, who is currently being held on a $150,000 cash bond, will be!-->!-->!-->…
Public Records Suggest County Commissioners Defrauded the Federal Government By Awarding $1.2M Grant to Supreme Felons, Inc.
by P.D. Lesko
Public records, including from the State of Michigan's Business Licensing Bureau (LARA), the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the Michigan Dept. of Education, comments from superintendents of the Ypsilanti Public Schools and!-->!-->!-->…