Adventures Of A Grown-Up: I’ve Fallen And I’d Really Rather Not Get Up
by J.H. Mae
MY TWO-YEAR-OLD nephew absolutely loves my husband. Every time we’re at his house, the boy takes him by the finger and leads him onto the living room floor, and they play with Legos and blocks and Matchbox cars until my…
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: “Potholes Aren’t The Fault Of The City”
Our city council members need to have regular updates about the “happenings” in the Michigan Legislature. But I want to thank you for pointing out the absurdity of paying a lobbyist $50,000 to “carry the news” between Lansing and Ann Arbor.…
OP-ED: It’s Time To Consider a No-Strings-Attached, Basic Income for All Americans
by Lynn Parramore
WHAT IF YOU could receive a guaranteed basic yearly income with no strings attached? Didn’t matter how much money you made now, or in the future. Nobody would ask about your job status or how many kids you have. The…
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Michigan’s 14th President and 13th White Male
Cordial greetings. I appreciated the trial subscription to The Ann Arbor Independent. Ann Arbor is in need of an independent newspaper, providing careful and in-depth reporting about local affairs, and I had looked forward to becoming a…
With Library Lot Sale Vote, Mayoral Candidates Show Support (Or Lack thereof) For Parkland Protections
FORMER WARD 4 City Council member Marcia Higgins, along with Mayoral candidates Christopher Taylor and Sabra Briere all voted to allow the city’s parkland to be “repurposed” for “transit.” It was Higgins who inserted language into a zoning…
A Weekend In Detroit—Where To Eat: The Russell Street Deli
by Katie Sutton
DETROIT’S HISTORIC EASTERN Market is known for its huge pavilions chuck full of local produce, greenery, and snacks, but the real treat of this extraordinary farmer’s market is in the businesses that surround it. The…
The Ann Arbor Independent Wins Investigative Reporting Award From The Detroit Society of Professional Journalists
IT WAS ANNOUNCED on March 26 that the Detroit Society of Professional Journalists (DSPJ) has awarded a prize for investigative journalism to The Ann Arbor Independent newspaper. The Indy, launched in October 2013, is the first locally-owned…
OP-ED: U.S. Military Budget Disguises The Truth—Where’s Our Peace Dividend?
by Steve Rosenfeld
SECRETARY OF Defense Chuck Hagel unveiled his 2015 Pentagon budget in a detailed speech where he proposed spending $496 billion—about $45 billion less than the White House, retiring a tank-shooting aircraft and spy…
Adventures Of A Grown-Up: On The Perils Of Expert Advice
by J.H. Mae
THE OTHER DAY I saw an author on TV promoting a book he wrote about how we’ve all been lied to about the health benefits of drinking milk.
I guess I’m supposed to bow down to this man – he’s clearly more educated than me –…
Costco Democrats Vs. Home Depot Republicans—Consumers Watching Where Businesses Target Political Contributions
The Koch brothers, billionaires, have created a tangled web of 17 nonprofits, PACs and businesses through which they funneled over $400 million dollars in 2012 aimed at influencing national and state politics. Most companies doing business…