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Ann Arbor Government
A New Copyright Lawsuit May Result in the Prosecution of Educators & Students Who Share Digital Materials
by Ernesto Van Dersar
John Wiley & Sons, one of the world’s largest textbook publishers, is continuing its efforts to crack down on BitTorrent piracy. The company has now named several people who allegedly shared Wiley titles online,…
The Many Faces of Margie Teall
by P.D. Lesko
Fourth Ward Council member Margie Teall has talked a good game for a long time. The incredibly incurious (Ann Arbor News/AnnArbor.com), overly obsequious (Ann Arbor Observer) or just plain naive (Michigan Daily) local media…
Tony D Is Suddenly For Ann Arbor—Crass Political Opportunism Makes A Return
by P.D. Lesko
In November 2011 Second Ward Council member Stephen Rapundalo sent a damaging email to AnnArbor.com in which he painted himself as a disingenuous opportunist, writing that he wanted to “look engaged” prior to the election. …
Ann Arbor Mayor: “Closing 1/2 of City Fire Stations Will Result In Much Better Fire Coverage.”
At Monday's City Council meeting John Hieftje evidently wanted to make sure he understood exactly how deep in his own personal pile of horse manure he was standing. So, Hieftje pointedly asked the new Fire Chief, Chuck Hubbard (below), a…
Second Ward Council Member Tony Derezinski Trapped Under The Same Political Baggage That Crushed Rapundalo
by P.D. Lesko
Former Second Ward Council member Stephen Rapundalo was not popular. He had earned a reputation among constituents and city staffers as being nasty. One police officer, when asked about Rapundalo prior to the November 2011…
How Much “Fire, Ready, Aim” Leadership Cost Taxpayers This Time
by P.D. Lesko
The University of Michigan picked up its marbles and is going home. Officials there are now looking to build the U.'s next parking garage anywhere but on a 10 acre parcel of riverside parkland on Fuller Road. While the U…
Six Candidates Now Poised to Run For Mayor & City Council
by P.D. Lesko
It's February, and in another 60 days or so those in the mood to run for mayor and City Council as Democrats or Republicans will have gone to the City Clerk's office and taken out petitions. Those running as Independents have…
Residents Say “No Go” to Mayor’s Plan To Pay For County-Wide & Regional Transit With City Millage
by P.D. Lesko
The public speaker, an older woman who rides the bus regularly, recounted a conversation with a friend who lives outside of Ann Arbor: "My friend said to me that she wished the AATA buses would run near her house so she could…
MoveOn.org Urges Ann Arbor Residents to Run for Local Office To “Fight Cuts to Crucial Services”
by P.D. Lesko
MoveOn.org sent out a mass email this afternoon to thousands of members of the group's Ann Arbor email list. The first sentence of the email reads: "If you were mayor of Ann Arbor, what would be the first thing you'd do? Make…
Council Members in Open Revolt: Challenge Mayor & Insist Transit Proposal Is Seriously Flawed
by P.D. Lesko
Third Ward Council member Stephen Kunselman has been a pain in John Hieftje's butter dish ever since Kunselman knocked off Leigh Greden in the 2009 stunner of a primary election. While Kunselman won by a 6 vote margin, Greden…