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

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

IN 2000 THERE were eight miles of bike lanes in Ann Arbor. City officials recently began touting the number of “lane miles” of bike lanes: 71.8 (a lane mile is a mile on one side of a two-land road). The mayor often tells media that Ann…

by Melissa Walker WHILE I’M NOT a full-makeup girl most days of the week (or really ever), I’d be hard-pressed to abandon my daily lipstick and mascara habit—it really does brighten my face so that I can avoid the dreaded “You look…

by Jill Richardson I MET MY friend Rachel because we were both in the same situation: We each had neighbors who inexplicably hated our chickens. Rachel and I each had small flocks of hens, no roosters, and sprawling, fertile, organic…

K. INGRID AULT ran for Ann Arbor City Council and lost to incumbent Stephen Kunselman. Ms. Ault’s ideas and vision for the city did not appeal to the voters of her Ward. Ms. Ault was then appointed to the Parks Advisory Commission. The…