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Ann Arbor Government
Op-Ed: The Bicycling Community Is Becoming a Political Force to Be Reckoned With — And That’s Great News
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…
AAATA Fiscal Year Begins With Service Hour Costs Trending Up & Ridership Trending Down
WEMU AS WELL AS The Ann Arbor News recently reported on data contained in a Peer Comparison Report released by Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority officials which focuses on a comparison of per passenger costs with “peer public transit…
EDITORIAL: The City’s Five Year Capital Improvement Plan
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…
Council Members Sending Private Electronic Communications During Open Meetings
WARD 5 COUNCIL member Chuck Warpehoski, in violation of Council rules and, perhaps, Michigan’s Open Meetings Act law, has used email and Twitter on multiple occasions during the months of November and December during open meetings. At the…
“Retired” Ann Arbor City Employees Earning $100K+ While Collecting Taxpayer Funded Health Care/Pension Benefits
AS OF DECEMBER 1, 2012, Ann Arbor city engineer Homayoon Pirooz “retired” with a pension funded by the taxpayers of Ann Arbor. However, in a scenario that has become common, Mr. Pirooz did not retire. He took a new job—a full-time position…
The Number Of Rapes and Forcible Fondling Complaints At The University of Michigan Rose Sharply In 2012
THE NUMBER OF forcible rapes committed on the University of Michigan’s campus and/or reported to the University’s police dropped from a high of 75 in 2005 to a low of 8 in 2010.
Between 2011 and 2012, however, the number of forcible…
Council Member With The Worst Record of Attendance Is Elected Mayor Pro Tempore
AT THE NOVEMBER 18th City Council meeting, five Council members and Mayor John Hieftje voted to elect Ward 4 Council member Margie Teall Mayor Pro Tempore. Teall, who has served on City Council since 2002, has the worst meeting attendance…
Ward 4 Council Member Claim “Residents Don’t Shop Downtown” Draws Sharp Criticism
AT THE NOVEMBER 7th City Council meeting, Ward 4 City Council member Margie Teall made an observation: She said that Ann Arbor locals shop at big box stores and that downtown is supported by “tourists.” It should be noted that Teall did not…
High Overhead & Debt Load Push DDA Parking Space Revenues Well Below National Average
MAYOR JOHN HIEFTJE’S propensity to populate the city’s boards and commissions with what City Council members allege are his political cronies has long irked political insiders.
This, among other reasons, is why there is a quiet movement…
Crosswalk Ordinance Groups Take To Change.org To Try To Exert Influence
Editor’s Note: Kathy Griswold is the Chair of The Ann Arbor Independent’s Editorial Board.
THE WASHTENAW BIKING and Walking Coalition, a small local alternative transportation advocacy group, recently launched an online petition drive to…