Ann Arbor Independent Reader Survey Results
THE ANN ARBOR Independent conducted a reader survey between July 1 and July 15. We received a total of 260 completed surveys in both electronic and written formats. What follow are the final results of the survey. Not every respondent…
EDITORIAL: Michigan League of Conservation Voters’ Reportcard
THE MLCV CLAIMS to be a nonpartisan group. However, the group’s staff and Board of Directors are populated by former Democratic elected officials and individuals who have endorsed, and donated to Democratic candidates in Ann Arbor. We have…
Lower Town River Hop Includes Neighborhood Picnic, History, and Music at Beckley Park
by P.D. Lesko
THE HISTORIC LOWER Town district is home to several of Ann Arbor’s oldest standing residences and buildings. The last standing home built by a city founder, Anson Brown, is located at 1029 Pontiac Trail and built around…
EDITORIAL: Ann Arbor State Reps Must Focus on Bipartisanship
ANN ARBOR STATE representatives Sen. Rebekah Warren, Rep. Jeff Irwin and Rep. Adam Zemke left Lansing for their break with crucial work undone, including a solution to funding road repairs in Michigan. Republicans are primarily to blame for…
EDITORIAL: Don’t Rely on Endorsements
THIS NEWSPAPER DOESN’T endorse candidates or issues. In January 2012, the Chicago Sun-Times stopped endorsing in political races. The editor of that paper explained the decision: “We have come to doubt the value of candidate endorsements by…
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Domestic Violence
Domestic Violence
When we think of domestic violence it is easy to think, “This doesn’t happen in my neighborhood. Domestic violence is a problem that affects only other people.” However, the reality is very different. Domestic…
Dexter Council Floats 10 year Bond to Raise $950K to “Rehabilitate” Roads
IN MAY 2014, Dexter officials determined, using a road survey, that streets in that village were rated an average of 5.2 out of a possible ten. The Village Council then issued a ten-year road construction bond for $800,000, to be paid for…
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…
Michigan Landfill Use Declines, But Not Ann Arbor’s
by Qing Zhang
Despite a slight increase in Michigan’s population, 2013 witnessed a decline of 0.5 percent in solid waste generated in the state, continuing a 10-year trend, according to a report by the Department of Environmental…
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Bar Association Poll
Washtenaw County Bar Association Candidate Survey
Nearly 80 percent of the respondents indicated that they did not know me. Yet 52 percent of the respondents felt my technical qualifications (defined as legal ability, legal knowledge,…
