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Michigan Government
Poll: Majority Of Michigan Voters Say Gov. Rick Snyder Has Cut K-12 Education Funding
THE MAJORITY OF Michigan voters say Governor Rick Snyder has decreased funding for K-12 schools in the last three years, according to a new Inside Michigan Politics/Lambert, Edwards & Associates/Denno Research poll.
By an almost 3:1…
A2Politico: County Treasurer—“There Was Too Much Possibility For Fraud Or Abuse.”
by P.D. Lesko
THIS NEWSPAPER, UNLIKE many in the United States, has a regular column that deals with the issues of hunger, homelessness and poverty in our city, state and nation. “Urban Exile” is not fluffy feel-good journalism. The…
Months Before Retiring, County Head Start Director Paid For $1,846 Waikiki Sheraton Charge With County Credit Card
ON MARCH 11 The Ann Arbor Independent published its results of an analysis of almost 14,000 credit card charges made by Washtenaw County employees between 2011 and 2014. That analysis revealed multiple charges for luxury lodging, meals out…
Commissioners Ask County Administrator To Report On Employee Stays At Vegas Casinos
County Administrator Verna McDaniel says Ann Arbor Commissioners Rabhi and LaBarre asked her to prepare a report that addressed The Ann Arbor Independent’s March 11 story that documents county employee and elected officials’ stays at Las…
Ann Arbor’s State Representatives’ Independent PACS—Leadership Funds Or Havens For Special Interest Money?
MICHIGAN’S CAMPAIGN FINANCE laws, dating to the mid-1970s, require public disclosure of and set limits on many political contributions. Records for state offices are filed with the Bureau of Elections in the secretary of state’s office in…
Washtenaw County 14a District Court Employees Use County Credit Cards To Make Dozens of Purchases At Ypsilanti Tim Horton’s
WASHTENAW 14A COURT employees Colleen E. Turek and Lisa Mull have each used their county-issued credit cards to make dozens of purchases at the Ypsilanti Tim Horton’s. The most recent purchase was one for $57.42 made on February 7, 2014 by…
Bill Sponsor Says Year-Round Schools Will Prove Popular
by Ron French
A BILL TO encourage struggling Michigan schools to convert to a year-round schedule was approved by the House Appropriations Committee last week, and now moves to the full House for consideration. The proposal, sponsored by…
UPDATED: County Taxpayers Foot The Bill For County Employee Stays At Vegas Casinos, Michigan Resorts & Other Luxury Lodgings
Please note: This article was updated with a quote from Sheriff Jerry Clayton's Executive Assistant, Katherine Wyatt.
AN ANALYSIS OF credit card charges made by Washtenaw County employees between 2012 and 2014 shows multiple charges for…
OP-ED: Legislature Gives Big Oil More Tax Breaks
By David Schaeffer
AS YOU READ this op-ed, a package of bills aimed at giving big oil further tax breaks and expanding eminent domain rights has already passed through the Michigan House with barely even a glimmer of resistance. This…
HOUSE CALLS: Ann Arbor’s State Representative Discusses Lowering The Income Tax Rate Versus Entitlements
Representative Jeff Irwin, a Democrat, served for a decade as a Washtenaw County Commissioner. In January 2013, he began his second term in the Michigan House of Representatives. In his column, “House Calls,” The Ann Arbor Independent poses…