Browsing Category
Gov
Chair of County Commission Slams Citizens Who Question Fraudulent $1.2M Grant to Felons’ Non-Profit
This article was made possible by donations to the Ann Arbor Independent FOIA Fund. Click here to donate. Washtenaw County charged a fee to release the pubic records used in this article.
by P.D. Lesko
At…
“Men Like Us” Club Founder Asked County for $70K Grant to “Deter Youth Violence”; His Ypsi Twp. Club the Site of Assaults, Shootings, Attempted Murder
According to police records, since late-2021, the Men Like Us club building owned by Ardis Lewis, Jr. has been the site of shootings, assaults, attempted murder and an alleged sexual assault. In Mar. 2022, Lewis applied to the County for a…
Michigan Senate Passes Red Flag, Safe Storage Gun Bills
by Scott McClallen
(The Center Square) –The Michigan Senate passed gun legislation on party lines Thursday.
The bill package aims to expand background checks, enact safe storage requirements, and add red flag laws.
The bills…
Ypsilanti Superintendent Says County Contractor Sent Felons to Middle School Without Permission
by P.D. Lesko
Correction: YCS School Board member Dr. Celeste Hawkins was inadvertently identified as the YCS spokesman who contacted The Ann Arbor Independent on March 14 by phone and spoke on the record. The article has been updated,…
In 2012, Council Decimated the Forestry Dept., Officials Now Ask for “Patience” as Branches Remain Uncleared
The City of Ann Arbor has contracted Davey Tree Expert Company to augment city staff efforts to pick up branches from the recent ice and snow storms. Streets, sidewalks, trash collection, trees in the right-of-way, water and sewers are all…
Michigan Senate Passes Historic LGBTQ+ Civil Rights Protections
by Laina Stebbens, Michigan Advance
A key civil rights bill on Wednesday cleared the Michigan Senate, marking a key step toward solidifying protections for LGBTQ+ Michiganders that advocates have been waiting for decades to see adopted.…
Seven Days After Ice Storm 11K DTE Customers in County Still Without Power –Who’s to Blame?
by P.D. Lesko
As of Feb. 28, DTE's outage map showed that 5.24 percent of its customers in Washtenaw County--some 8,836 customers--are still without power as a result of a record-breaking Feb. 22 ice storm that knocked out power to over…
Outages in Washtenaw County Still impacting Almost 40 Percent of all DTE Customers
Note: Updated on Feb. 24 with a statement from City Administrator Milton Dohoney.
by P.D. Lesko
According to an email Ann Arbor Council member Lisa Disch (D-Ward 1) sent Feb. 23, two-third of Ann Arbor residents were without power…
Citizen Requested Info. About County Employee, Chief Asst. Prosecutor Threatened “Criminal Charges”
Note: This article has been updated to include the email sent by Victoria Burton-Harris.
by P.D. Lesko
Emails shared with The Ann Arbor Independent showed that on Jan. 31, 2022, an Ann Arbor man phoned and then sent an email to the…
Updated: County Clerk Refers Sheriff Candidate’s Campaign Committee to Michigan AG for Prosecution
Update: Derrick Jackson's campaign submitted the required statement Feb. 17, 2023. The Clerk's office posted the amended statement Feb. 22. There will be no fine assessed for the amended campaign finance report. The article is updated to…