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

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMITTEE records show that as of the December 21, 2013 campaign finance disclosure deadline U.S. 7th District incumbent Tim Walberg had raised $713,195 and former Michigan Representative Pam Byrnes, a Democrat, had raised…

WHILE SOME OPPOSE increasing Michigan’s minimum wage, a new poll shows strong support for raising the rate from $7.40 to $10.10 an hour. Denno Research conducted the poll of 600 likely voters in the state’s general election. “We had…

by Twilight Greenaway IN HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL book, The Good Food Revolution: Growing Healthy Food, People, and Communities, we see a different side of MacArthur Genius and urban farmer Will Allen. The book takes readers behind the…

CLOUD TECHNOLOGY and wider use of freelancers has more people working from home, remotely or even from coffee houses. Being away from the rigid hierarchy of office cubes suits many, but some miss collaborating with colleagues. Enter…

by Dean Paton UNTIL ABOUT 1980, America’s public schoolteachers were iconic everyday heroes painted with a kind of Norman Rockwell patina—generally respected because they helped most kids learn to read, write and successfully join…

SO-CALLED FRONT GROUPS are common. The Koch brothers have put together a network of 17 financially interconnected PACs and nonprofits. On the surface, the 17 entities appear independent from each other. It took an investigation by the…

ANN ARBOR’S LOBBYIST Kirk Profit also lobbies for Ypsilanti, Ypsilanti Township, Washtenaw County, the University of Michigan and Washtenaw Community College. According to the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, Profit’s lobbying…

ON MARCH 13, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced that 10 states would receive more than $95 million to continue efforts to turn around their persistently lowest-achieving schools through awards from the Department’s School…

WASHTENAW COUNTY Public Health and Saint Joseph Mercy Health System are recently announce plans for a Washtenaw County Dental Clinic, slated to open in January 2015. Washtenaw County Public Health promotes health and works to prevent…

COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES across the nation would welcome additional support and assistance in creating appropriate sanctions or interventions with students who are found responsible for sexual misconduct. That was one of the main…