Bill Sponsor Says Year-Round Schools Will Prove Popular
by Ron French
A BILL TO encourage struggling Michigan schools to convert to a year-round schedule was approved by the House Appropriations Committee last week, and now moves to the full House for consideration. The proposal, sponsored by…
ENVIRONMENT: Michigan League of Conservation Voters National Environmental Scorecard Grades The State’s U.S. Congressional Delegation
MICHIGAN LCV UNVEILED scores for the Michigan delegation as part of the League of Conservation Voters 2013 National Environmental Scorecard. The Scorecard reflects a jarring disconnect between a record-breaking year of climate change…
UPDATED: County Taxpayers Foot The Bill For County Employee Stays At Vegas Casinos, Michigan Resorts & Other Luxury Lodgings
Please note: This article was updated with a quote from Sheriff Jerry Clayton's Executive Assistant, Katherine Wyatt.
AN ANALYSIS OF credit card charges made by Washtenaw County employees between 2012 and 2014 shows multiple charges for…
EDITORIAL: Perks For City Employees
SEWAGE IS FLOWING into the streets and Huron River more frequently. Water mains are rupturing. Ward 4 basements, backyards and neighborhoods flood with alarming regularity. Just a small percentage of residents rate important services as…
OP-ED: Legislature Gives Big Oil More Tax Breaks
By David Schaeffer
AS YOU READ this op-ed, a package of bills aimed at giving big oil further tax breaks and expanding eminent domain rights has already passed through the Michigan House with barely even a glimmer of resistance. This…
URBAN HUNTER: Buy It New? Five Things You Should Never Buy New
by Cliff Weathers
WHILE YOU MAY already be purchasing new products that are deemed environmentally friendly, you can actually contribute to a by buying used items, especially those that take a lot of energy and resources to produce. Of…
The Foodist: Wood-Fired Pizza—Mani Osteria Versus Bigalora Cucina
by Eleanor Shelton
PIZZA IS LIKE a favorite pair of jeans—you can dress them up and look great, but they are still jeans. Wood-fired pizza, takes the Levis and adds a glamorous top and kickass shoes to create an outfit pretty enough to…
OP-ED: Comcast’s Takeover of Time Warner Is A Horrible Deal For Consumers
By Dan Gillmore
AS COMCAST PUSHES regulators to approve its just-announced deal to buy out Time Warner Cable, it’ll make one essential point: the acquisition won’t visibly change the competitive landscape for TV and internetcustomers.…
THE PARENT TRAP: Child-Centric Parents: What to Do About Them
By Jason Hill
I LOVE KIDS. Honestly. For years I dreamed of adopting one, but my partner has no interest in being a parent and, truth be told, the happier I became with my own life the less I wanted a child. We have a lot of friends with…
HOUSE CALLS: Ann Arbor’s State Representative Discusses Lowering The Income Tax Rate Versus Entitlements
Representative Jeff Irwin, a Democrat, served for a decade as a Washtenaw County Commissioner. In January 2013, he began his second term in the Michigan House of Representatives. In his column, “House Calls,” The Ann Arbor Independent poses…