Opinion

by Nick Surgey GOOGLE, THE TECH giant supposedly guided by its “don’t be evil” motto, has been funding a growing list of groups advancing the agenda of the Koch brothers. Organizations that received “substantial” funding from Google…

by Jay Walljasper POWERFUL VOICES AROUNDWashington have singled out programs to improve biking and walking as flagrant examples of wasteful government spending. Since last summer, proposals have flown around the Capitol to strip away…

FROM A TRAIN STATION to sidewalks, the city’s 2015-2020 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) is jam-packed with projects that city staff suggest will “provide for large, physical improvements that are permanent in nature that are needed for the…

THE NUMBERS, ABOVE, represent the number of children enrolled in the Ann Arbor Public Schools who qualify for free or reduced price breakfasts and lunches. One in four children enrolled in the Ann Arbor Public Schools qualifies. This number…

by Robert Jensen AFTER YEARS OF being constantly annoyed and often angry about the historical denial built into Thanksgiving Day, I published an essay in November 2005 suggesting we replace the feasting with fasting and create a National…

ANN ARBOR OFFICIALS who serve in Lansing recently voted on reform bills that require those who apply for welfare and unemployment benefits to be tested for illegal drug use. Those who test positive for illegal drug use would be denied their…

WARD 4 COUNCIL member Margie Teall and Ward 3 Council member Christopher Taylor recently co-sponsored a resolution objecting to an immense electronic sign the University of Michigan has placed on its own property adjacent to Stadium…

by Rob C. Smith IN DECEMBER 2012 Governor Rick Snyder was quoted in the Detroit Free Press as saying that “Michigan is well-positioned for a comeback.” A few days later, for the third year, Forbes Magazine ranked Michigan 47th in Forbes’…

ANN ARBOR SPARK officials have refused to provide audited financial statements to the public and elected officials. When Governor Rick Snyder and MEDC CEO Michael Finney headed the organization, the Annual Report claimed that over 12,000…

OVER THE PAST dozen years there has arisen what one City Council member recently referred to as a “professional class” of people who are appointed time and again to serve on Ann Arbor’s boards and commissions. These people are sometimes…