The Ann Arbor Independent - A locally owned newspaper in Ann Arbor

by Christian Usera “THIS IS A waltz!” exclaims an exuberant Matt Friedman (Robert Najarian) as water vapor drifts through the air and reflects the stage lights.  The theatrical “fourth wall” is shattered within the first three seconds of…

by Bryan Kelly SO IT’S COME to this: protesters from BAMN (By Any Means Necessary), the radical Trotskyite organization with a heart of gold, “bulldozing” through a barricade at a Board of Regents meeting at the University of Michigan to…

by Ken Wachsberger THERE IS NO higher sustainable honor for a remodeled home than to be certified as LEED Platinum status. Ann Arborites Patricia Harroun, of Cardea Construction Company, and Michael Klement AIA, of Architectural…

THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR’S proposed $99 million General Fund budget was released ahead of last week’s Ann Arbor City Council meeting. The budget projects that expenses will outstrip revenue, and in what has become a commonplace occurrence,…

by P.D. Lesko Download a copy of Ralph Welton's Separation Agreement here. While City Administrator Steve Powers announced Welton’s “resignation” in Jan. 2015, the Separation Agreement signed by Welton and city HR Director Robyn…

By Stavi Tennenbaum EVA ROSENFELD, JUNIOR, and co-editor in chief of Community High School’s nationally acclaimed CHS Communicator newspaper, is an avid reader, artist, Neutral Zone Board leader and widely published journalist. A Google…

THE MICHIGAN ECONOMIC Development Corporation (MEDC) has a program for Michigan cities called Redevelopment Ready Communities (RRC). It is a voluntary certification offered at no cost to the communities that elect to participate. According…

by Brent McDermott I’M EMBARRASSED TO  drive my car. The bumper has a green streak and prominent dent. The driver’s side door opens up just enough for me to squeeze my small frame into the driver’s seat. And when that door closes, it has…

by Christian Usera SCRABBLE. THAT’S THE one cryptic (16 point) word I had to go off of when I started this journey. Not knowing what to expect, I enter the Arbor Brewing Company, where I’m greeted by a man with a shaved head with an “OM”…

Both Republican and Democratic U.S. Congressional leaders want to see colleges and universities, such Washtenaw Community College, have more skin in the game when it comes to paying for defaulted student loans. Such a policy shift could put…