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Safety
At Preliminary Hearing For Scio Twp. Supervisor Jillian Kerry —Judge Simpson Loses Cool. Again.
by P.D. Lesko
Thanks to a series of events characterized as political dirty tricks on the part of former Scio Twp. Supervisor Will Hathaway, or current Scio Twp. Supervisor Jillian Kerry, Superior Twp. Supervisor Kerry stands charged…
AG Search Warrants Target Ann Arbor Pro-Palestinian Student Protesters
by Jon King
Multiple search warrants have been served in at least three metro Detroit communities, which activists claim are targeting pro-Palestinian supporters from the University of Michigan.
“These are Department of Attorney…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Why We’re Suing the University of Michigan on Behalf of Banned Pro-Palestinian Protesters
by Ramis J. Wadood
The constitutional right to speak and protest freely is fundamental to a well-functioning democracy, particularly at public universities where diversity of thought, civic engagement, and vigorous debate about ideas…