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

by John Ball In May and June 2014, citizen complaints filed with the Ann Arbor Police Department included several from women alleging that an officer named Jason J. Kitts had offered to waive traffic tickets in exchange for sexual…

FROM FOIA TO concealed weapons, last week Gov. Rick Snyder showed some of the “moderation” that has been missing from his leadership over the past four years. While campaigning, Snyder never professed to be a moderate Republican. Neither…

by Bryan Kelly THE FOLLOWING IS a cover letter included in my application for prospective appointment to one of Ann Arbor’s boards or commissions: To the Mayor’s Office, I am writing to express my interest in serving municipal…

MICHIGAN RESIDENTS who buy from Amazon, Overstock and some other online retailers will be forced to pay the state’s 6 percent sales tax starting in October, a move to close what backers say is a loophole that has left traditional businesses…

by P.D. Lesko At the Jan. 5, 2015 Council meeting, speakers at two public hearings urged officials to lower the maximum height in a zoning change proposed by city staff to accommodate a property owner whose 1.6 acre parcel borders a…

by P.D. Lesko FROM SETBACKS TO obscure acronyms such as D-1 and D-2, it might be tough to understand how 11 adults could possibly have anything to snipe at each other about while discussing zoning regulations. However, on Jan. 5, the…

IN 2010, MICHIGAN passed a law that made it illegal to text and drive. The results of this policy change are in and they’re disappointing. In the May 2014 issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health, researchers published the results of a…

by Donna Iadipaolo A LONG-TIME ANN Arbor resident and former traditional, brick-and-mortar classroom science teacher, is transforming the way thousands of teachers, students, and the general public think and learn about physics through…

FIRE CHIEF LARRY Collins was welcomed to his new job at a ceremony held last Friday. He was sworn in and feted at a reception. It was an event attended by City Council members, as well as members of the Ann Arbor Fire Department and the Ann…

by P.D. Lesko CHRIS GOOD IS a former People’s Food Co-op staff member. He also served as the President of the Co-op’s Board of Directors. In 2013, he brought together 50 businesses and musicians for the “Buy Local” music video project.…