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

by Jill Richardson KRIS HOMME, A retired engineer, did not know what was happening to her. At age 33, she was diagnosed with macular degeneration — a disease that usually does not appear until old age. Not one to give up, she somehow…

by Cliff Weathers WHEN WE THINK of counterfeit products, we may envision cheap watches, sunglasses, or handbag knock-offs sold by edgy street vendors or shadowy guys in trench coats. These are harmless enough as far as ripoffs go, with…

by David Roberts RICHARD LOUV IS an anecdote machine. As we milled about awaiting lunch-hour seating, he kept up a constant stream of witty, telling stories — about “no running” signs on playgrounds, clueless environmental leaders,…

SINCE NOVEMBER 2013, City Council members have shown they are prepared to more closely scrutinize proposed appointees to city boards and commissioners. Council’s newly-found backbone—comprised primarily of council members Mike Anglin in…

IN JANUARY 2011 Ann Arbor District Library Trustee Prue Rosenthal sent this email in response to news from the Library’s Executive Director that there had been two heroin overdose victims discovered at the Downtown Library: “Scary to think…

A MENTALLY DEMANDING  job may stress you out today but can provide important benefits after you retire, according to a new study. “Based on data spanning 18 years, our study suggests that certain kinds of challenging jobs have the…

by Jude Isabella TO LIVE A dementia-free life, exercise, have at least one friend, live an interesting life, don’t fret, and bring your library books back on time. Well, it’s not so much about bringing the books back on time as…

LEON BRYSON, a Ward 5 resident,  has taken out nominating petitions, and is gathering signatures to have his name put on the ballot for the August 5 primary election. Bryson, a Democrat, earned his undergraduate degree in engineering from…

ACCORDING TO A new survey, 60 percent of Americans read or watch three to 10 news stories a day. The research also revealed that 56 percent of the 1,000 new consumers surveyed still pay for a print news subscription and 68 percent of those…

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE has remained largely unchanged in the past three months despite the hard winter, as well as a severe drought. Consumer finances were just as strong in March as in December 2013, and more importantly, consumers viewed…