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County Government
Conlin/Liem and Owdzeij/Van den Bergh to Square off in 22nd Circuit Court Races
by Sean Sullivan
THE WASHTENAW TRIAL Court primary elections provided few surprises to those in the local legal community. On August 5, voters selected lawyers Patrick Conlin and Veronique Liem to compete in November for the Circuit Court…
Q & A: Washtenaw County Probate Court Candidate Tracy Van den Bergh
TRACY VAN DEN Bergh comes into Sweetwater’s in Kerrytown a bit before 10 a.m. on a Saturday. She’s holding an empty iced coffee and looks casually caffeinated. She’s 44- years-old, and wears her age well. Considering she’s competing in a…
Q & A: Washtenaw County Trial Court Candidate Pat Conlin
by P.D. Lesko
PAT CONLIN HAS pink eye. It couldn’t have come at a more inopportune moment. A candidate running for office naturally wants to shake hands. He can’t. Pink eye is devilishly contagious and he wants to make sure he doesn’t…
Local Bar Association Survey Rates Eight Judicial Candidates. Candidates Say, “The poll is very political…”
THERE ARE TWO vacant seats on the Washtenaw County Trial Court that voters will decide during the August 5 primary election. The two non-partisan candidates who collect the most votes in the primary will face each other in the November 5…
Ann Arbor District Library Rule Number 7—What “Dozing” Meant for Homeless Library Patrons During the Polar Vortex
by P.D. Lesko
A Washtenaw County employee told City Council in January 2014 that Ann Arbor’s homeless men, women, children and families could use a variety of public buildings during the day to escape temps. that plummeted to -20F. One…
County Seeks Volunteers to Fill Board & Commission Openings
THE WASHTENAW COUNTY Board of Commissioners is looking for citizens to volunteer for a slate of positions with the various Boards, Committees and Commissions. The Board of Commissioners will make these appointments at their upcoming session…
Commissioners Unaware of Investigation of Head Start Director As County Administrator Pushed to End Funding For Head Start & Transfer Administration to WISD
Information about the outside investigation was shared with commissioners “after the fact” and after commissioners had voted to eliminate county funding for Head Start. One commissioner asks whether the County’s funding for and…
A2POLITICO: Paying Attention to the “Public’s Perception”—Grudgingly
by P.D. Lesko
THE COUNTY EMPLOYEES had taken the majority of the chairs out of the waiting room and into a conference room, where a gaggle of them were gathered around a table having a meeting. The waiting room was full of people…
Former County Head Start Director’s Extensive Travel Months Before Retirement, Including A Trip To Hawaii, Received “Verbal” Approval
Washtenaw County’s former Head Start Director Patricia McGee was put on leave weeks before she retired in December 2011. A county official told a reporter in December 2011 that Ms. McGee was being investigated due to unspecified…
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…