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

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.…

By Lou Glorie I’M NOT CHARLIE. It seems that almost every day some outrage is reported that sends one into a tail-spin of despair for the human soul.  The brutal attack on the Charlie Hebdo office was one of those events that seems to…

The City of Ann Arbor strives to maintain roads in the winter in order to provide a driving surface that is safe to use at reasonable speeds. The city does not follow a bare pavement policy. DEFINITIONS: Trunk line: defined by state…

OVER THE PREVIOUS six months, there were 2,328 crimes reported by the AAPD. In 2013, there were a total of 6,440 crimes reported by the AAPD to the Michigan State Police. In 2012, there were 6,836 crimes reported by the AAPD to the Michigan…

If we are going to spend billions every year on health care and food assistance programs, then we need to start investing more of that money into sustainable projects that are nearly free or can pay for themselves over time. Community farms…

WHEN HIS ARREST for drunkeness was made public by the media, Washtenaw County 14-A Circuit Court Judge Kirk W. Tabbey was already well on his way to having the crime adjudicated.  The judge had been charged under Michigan’s “super drunk”…

According to information released on Jan. 8 by Washtenaw Intermediate School District officials, a higher than normal absence rate of Washtenaw ISD Transportation staff caused Ann Arbor Public Schools and Ypsilanti Community Schools to …