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Urban Exile
County Homeowners May Be Entitled to 25-100 Percent Property Tax Abatements
by P.D. Lesko
In October 2024, Michigan had a foreclosure rate of one in every 3,918 housing units. The counties with the highest foreclosure activity were Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Genesee, and Kent. In 2024, Washtenaw County's Treasurer…
It’s Foster Care Awareness Month: My Colleagues in the Legislature Should Adopt My Plan to Help Foster Care Children
by Rep. Kathy Schmaltz
This week I supported a resolution adopted by the Michigan House to declare May as Foster Care Awareness Month in the state while reminding other legislators that reforms must be made to help set foster care…
After Safehouse Scandal and Ouster of Former Executive Director, All 18 Board Members Involved Have Quietly Left
by P.D. Lesko
Since the July 31, 2021 publication of the first in a series of investigative articles about the mismanagement of SafeHouse Center, the County's domestic violence shelter, all 18 members of the Board of Directors on whose…
Ann Arbor’s Guaranteed Income Program Starts Giving Out $528 Monthly Payments
by Ken Coleman
A two-year project aimed at providing monthly payments to 100 current and future Ann Arbor entrepreneurs with low and very low incomes kicked off this month. Over 1,000 people applied in Oct. 2023.
Powered by Poverty…
Violent Crime and Growing Homelessness Are Destroying Ypsilanti and Its Small Businesses
9/20/23: This story was edited to remove a mention of the Ypsilanti Public Library.
by Monica Ross-Williams
“I’m 83-years-old, have lived in Ypsilanti all my life and I’m afraid to visit downtown Ypsilanti,” an Ypsilanti community…
Watch: Shannon McFall and County Sheriff Candidate Ken Magee Talk Spike in Murders and Gun Violence
The Ann Arbor Independent's "Urban Exile" columnist Shannon McFall lives in Pittsfield Township and vlogs about race, local, county and national politics. He shares commentaries with The Ann Arbor Independent. Tune in to watch a video…
Sen. Jeff Irwin’s Proposed Elimination of “Assets Based Test” for State Food Assistance is Not Good Enough
Note: According to a Feb. 27 article in MLive.com, "Senate Bill 35 introduced in January would delete the asset testing requirement used by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to determine eligibility for the…
Watch: Why’s the County Prosecutor on a Black Men’s Health Panel Hosted by a Child Sexual Predator?
Note: These videos contain profanity, marijuana use and may not be suitable for children.
The Ann Arbor Independent's "Urban Exile" columnist Shannon McFall lives in Pittsfield Township and vlogs about race, local, county and national…
Watch: Infant Mortality Rate for Black Babies in Washtenaw County 4x Higher Than for White Babies
https://youtu.be/7NpYswbCoAU
"This math ain't mathin'."--Shannon McFall
Note: These videos contain profanity, marijuana use and may not be suitable for children.
Ann Arbor Independent "Urban Exile" columnist Shannon McFall…
Do You Qualify? Over 1M in Michigan Have Health Coverage Through State-Funded Healthy Michigan Program
Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced that the Healthy Michigan Plan is now providing health care coverage to 1,000,456 million Michiganders, marking the first time more than one million people have opted for affordable and accessible…