Ann Arbor Main Street Restaurants Rack Up Health Inspection Violations
THE AVERAGE U.S. adult eats 4.8 meals per week in restaurants, a survey indicates. Mandala Research, found the most popular restaurant meal is lunch, with 2.6 meals eaten on average each week — both carry-out and dining — followed by 1.4…
Could Assistant Chief Ellen Taylor Bring Needed Stability To The AAFD As Ann Arbor’s First Female Fire Chief?
IN JANUARY 2014, Ann Arbor Fire Department Chief Chuck Hubbard will retire. His departure opens the door for the promotion of Assistant Fire Chief Ellen Taylor to the top spot in the AAFD. Should she be moved into that job, Taylor will…
EDITORIAL: The University of Michigan Must Pay For Its Employee Transit Not Ann Arbor Residents
THE CITY’S 2015-2020 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) focuses on projects that city staff suggest will “provide for large, physical improvements that are permanent in nature that are needed for the functioning of the community, including…
Mayor & Council Member Petersen “Filtering” Info About Important Land Deal?
Please note: Council member Sally Hart Petersen was informed by Mayor Hieftje of U of M's proposal to purchase the Edwards Brothers property on State Street on November 18th. She attended a November 27th meeting with the owners of the…
MEAP Data Reveal That 5th Graders At One-Third Of Ann Arbor Schools Perform At Levels Consistent With Schools In Nation’s Poorest Inner-City Districts
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT SHOULDN’T be predicated on which of Ann Arbor’s 21 public elementary schools a child attends. The AAPS elementary curriculum is standardized throughout the District, and teachers are uniformly compensated, qualified,…
EDITORIAL: When Content-For-Clicks Trumps Journalistic Ethics
THE “NEW” ANN ARBOR News is still churning out the same old “content-for-clicks” journalism that it was criticized for serving up to the community by the Columbia Journalism Review, as well as the American Journalism Review in separate…
Study Reveals Number Of K-8 Students Walking And Biking To School Rose Between 2007 and 2012
THE NATIONAL CENTER for Safe Routes to School released the results of a study that concluded more K-8 students are walking and biking to school. The 43 page study, titled “Trends in Walking and Bicycling to School from 2007 to 2012” was…
Op-Ed: Why is Google Funding Grover Norquist, Heritage Action and ALEC?
by Nick Surgey
GOOGLE, THE TECH giant supposedly guided by its “don’t be evil” motto, has been funding a growing list of groups advancing the agenda of the Koch brothers.
Organizations that received “substantial” funding from Google…
Op-Ed: The Bicycling Community Is Becoming a Political Force to Be Reckoned With — And That’s Great News
by Jay Walljasper
POWERFUL VOICES AROUNDWashington have singled out programs to improve biking and walking as flagrant examples of wasteful government spending.
Since last summer, proposals have flown around the Capitol to strip away…
In “Tense” Meeting Ann Arbor SPARK Executive Board Votes To Make 2012 and 2013 Audit Statements Available to The Public For First Time
Please note: Kai Petainen is a member of The Ann Arbor Independent’s Editorial Board.
ON DECEMBER 4th Ann Arbor SPARK CEO and President Paul Krutko sent a letter to local elected officials, as well as the Ann Arbor City Administrator Steve…