CULTURE VULTURE: Summer Grilling Tips From Charles Dickens
by Paula Marcoux
DISASTER CAN STRIKE even the best-prepared home cooks. In David Copperfield, Mr. Micawber Wilkins saved young Copperfield from no small amount of embarrassment using quick thinking, graciousness—and a grill.
Pity poor…
THE FOODIST: Backyard Goats—Is it Time Ann Arbor Allowed Them?
by Jill Richardson
BELIEVE IT OR not, chickens are not the only farm animals turning up—legally—in cities. Goats are now legal (with some limitations) in Seattle, San Diego, San Francisco, Pasadena, St. Louis, Oakland, Portland,…
GOP Bill Could Invalidate Petition Drive to Raise State’s Minimum Wage
SENATE MAJORITY leader Randy Richardville introduced a bill last week, about three weeks before the deadline for backers of the higher wage hike to file signatures to put their initiated law before the GOP-led Legislature. Assuming…
Mayoral Candidate Snipes at Opponent on Twitter—Social Media #NotMayoral
DURING THE RECENT Ann Arbor mayoral race there have already been questions about the part “temperament” plays in a candidate’s fitness to hold office. At a mayoral candidate forum held in April, one of the first questions asked of the four…
Highest Percentages of No Votes on AAATA Millage Came From Ypsilanti Township and Ann Arbor
THE AAATA MILLAGE vote was costly. Ted Annis, former treasurer of the AAATA Board of Directors placed the amount spent on the special election, staff time, surveys, consultants, marketing and materials by AAATA at around $1.5 million.…
Why Is Michigan Trying to Derail Detroit-Area’s Urban Farming Movement?
by Cliff Weathers
MICHIGANDERS WHO raise chickens, goats and honey bees on their residential property have had their right to keep livestock stripped away by the state’s Agriculture and Rural Development Commission, which says they are…
A2POLITICO: Proposed City Budget Should Focus on the Results of the 2013 Citizen Survey
by P.D. Lesko
IT’S USUALLY DEATH and taxes that define the inevitable. However, in the city’s 2013 National Citizen Survey, comments about roads and taxes dominated the open-ended question responses. Respondents were asked to record…
Natural Area Preservation Volunteer Events for the Month of June
ANN ARBOR NATURAL Area Preservation (NAP) works to protect and restore Ann Arbor’s natural areas and to foster an environmental ethic among its citizens. This involves conducting plant and animal inventories, ecological monitoring, and…
EDITORIAL: Defending Alleged Fraud With a “No Comment” is An Insult to Faculty, the Public & Legislators
THE HEADLINE IN The Michigan Daily says it all: “University won’t take action at this time on faculty letter to Regents.” By not taking action, U-M officials are, of course, choosing to continue with a multi-million dollar bonus and…
Haisley Elementary Teacher’s Fifth Graders Send Letters: Nobel Laureate, Supreme Court Justice and U.S. Attorney General, Among Others, Write Back
by Donna Iadipaolo
ALMOST EVERY SCHOOL year in Ann Arbor, Haisley Elementary School Teacher Cedric York instructs students in his fifth-grade class to write to prominent leaders from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds. Mr. York…
