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Ann Arbor Government
Sheriff’s Dept. Outreach Worker Shot and Killed: Man Stole Police Cruiser, Fled Across State Lines, Assaulted Officers
by P.D. Lesko
On April 4, 2025 30-year-old Deshawn Leeth was shot and killed in Beaver County Pennsylvania after what officials described a "wild" car chase that started in Ohio. Leeth was one of Sheriff Alichia Dyer's outreach workers,…
Sheriff Dyer Says It Is Her “Right” To Appoint Former Romantic Partner to HR Position
by P.D. Lesko
County Sheriff Alyshia Dyer illegally used discretionary appointments rather than a public, open hiring process to fill positions in her dept. Dyer appointed a Dir. of Innovation, a Dir. of Operations and a Dir. of HR and…
Despite Gov. Whitmer’s Promises to “Fix the Damn Roads,” Michigan’s Roads Remain Among Worst in the Nation
by John LaPlane
Michigan's rural interstate highways are safer than those in all but two states, but its rural and urban interstates are in worse condition than those of most states. That is according to the Reason…
Washtenaw County Sheriff Appoints Former Romantic Partner to Head HR and Training
4/8/25: Updated with a comment from Sheriff Alyshia Dyer.
by P.D. Lesko
Sheriff Alyshia Dyer appointed Jeremiah Richardson as her Dept.'s HR and training manager. Richardson and Dyer were romantic partners, as well as patrol…
City’s Action to Revoke Center of the City Charter Amendment is a Betrayal
Alan Haber serves on the Ann Arbor Community Commons Initiating Committee, AnnArborCommunityCommons.org
by Alan Haber
While they brought it forward with smiles and promises of a new jewel in the Center of the City, this new Library…
Sheriff’s Data Show Since $1.2M Grant to Supreme Felons, Inc for “Violence Interruption,” Crime is Up in the Group’s “Neighborhood Watch”…
by P.D. Lesko
Billy Cole, President and CEO of non-profit Supreme Felons, Inc. doesn't want to talk about the rising crimes rates in the areas where his neighborhood watch teams patrol. He doesn't want to talk about the fact that in…
Mayor and Council to Ask Voters to Repeal 2018 City Center Charter Amendment, and Approve Sale of Public Parcel Once Valued at $10M for $1
by P.D. Lesko
Mayor Chris Taylor and his City Council allies voted unanimously on Tuesday March 4 to put what the pols claim are two connected ballot questions (Proposals A and B) on the Aug. 2025 ballot. Voters will be asked to not…
Judge Voluntarily Disqualifies Herself in Response to Newspaper’s Motion to Disqualify
Motion to Disqualify JudgeDownload
by P.D. Lesko
On Feb. 18, 2024, the newspaper received an email from Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge Tracy E. Van den Bergh's clerk stating that, in response to a Motion to Disqualify…
Court of Appeals Reverses Local Judge Who Sentenced Defendant to 22-37.5 Years After “Disrespectful” Behavior During Hearings
Note: This is one in a series of articles about the Washtenaw County Trial Court and cases where a litigant or litigants appealed a County Trial Court judge’s ruling. The majority of local Trial Court rulings are upheld by…
Bill Co-Sponsored in 2023 By Washtenaw County House Reps. to Ban Conversion Therapy Survives Federal Challenge
by Anna Liz Nichols, Michigan Advance
In 2023, Washtenaw County House Reps. Felicia Brabec, Jimmie Wilson, Jr., Carrie Rheingans, Jennifer Conlin and Jason Morgan (along with other Michigan Reps.) co-sponsored House Bill 4616 of 2023…