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…
THE PARENT TRAP: Success = Online Friends, Soccer Games & Meds
by Amanda Whiting
WHEN HE WAS nine, he wrote poems that made me weep.
When he was ten, I found pornography in his room.
When he was twelve, the fistfights began. His grades dropped precipitously. He spent most of his time at school…
Former County Head Start Director’s Extensive Travel Months Before Retirement, Including A Trip To Hawaii, Received “Verbal” Approval
Washtenaw County’s former Head Start Director Patricia McGee was put on leave weeks before she retired in December 2011. A county official told a reporter in December 2011 that Ms. McGee was being investigated due to unspecified…
Did AADL Officials Keep Knowledge Of Serious Crimes From Public and Library Trustees?
ON MARCH 17 Ms. Josie Parker, Director of the Ann Arbor District Library, spoke before Ann Arbor City Council and confessed that “over the past 36 months” there have been “five heroin overdoses” at the main branch of the public library. The…
