City Administrator Defends Refusal of SPARK Board, On Which He Sits, To Release Audit Statements To The Public
Please Note: Kai Petainen is a member of The Ann Arbor Independent’s Editorial Board.
ANN ARBOR CITY Administrator Steve Powers (below) sits on the Executive Committee of Ann Arbor SPARK. SPARK is funded with public money from both state…
AAPS Demands $2,421 To Release Public Records That Show How Much High Schools Collected In Sporting Event Admissions/Fees During 2011-12
FORMER ANN ARBOR Public School Superintendent Patricia Green, on the subject of public records, told District parents that if they wanted to view public records, they should use the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
On October 28, 2014,…
Michigan’s Unemployment Rate Creeps Up, Now Fourth Highest in Nation
DUE TO THE shutdown of the federal government, Bureau of Labor Statistics data collection, analysis, and dissemination activities were suspended from October 1 through October 16. The September 2013 Regional and State Employment and…
EDITORIAL: When Democrats Vote Like The Republicans They Unseated
ANN ARBOR OFFICIALS who serve in Lansing recently voted on reform bills that require those who apply for welfare and unemployment benefits to be tested for illegal drug use. Those who test positive for illegal drug use would be denied their…
Tips for a Sustainable Thanksgiving
THE SUSTAINABLE food movement continues to transform fields of corn, soy and CAFOs to more verdant, bountiful lands filled with organic produce, heirloom greens and pasture-raised livestock. Countless more school and community gardens have…
A2Politico: AADL Bond Proposal #2?
Please Note: Katherine Griswold is the Chair of The Ann Arbor Independent’s Editorial Board.
by P.D. Lesko
THE ANN ARBOR District Library Board members have clearly not given up on the idea of razing the main library on Fifth Avenue…
EDITORIAL: Ann Arbor, AAPS and The University of Michigan—All For One and One For All
WARD 4 COUNCIL member Margie Teall and Ward 3 Council member Christopher Taylor recently co-sponsored a resolution objecting to an immense electronic sign the University of Michigan has placed on its own property adjacent to Stadium…
OP-ED: The Political Agenda of the Michigan GOP Has Created Economic Apartheid, Not Jobs
by Rob C. Smith
IN DECEMBER 2012 Governor Rick Snyder was quoted in the Detroit Free Press as saying that “Michigan is well-positioned for a comeback.” A few days later, for the third year, Forbes Magazine ranked Michigan 47th in Forbes’…
Deliverance: Why Liberals Need to Read Pravda and Politico.com
by Warren Liverance
MY NOT-SO-benevolent editor and I had a chat about how and where we get our news and information. We agreed that the way we access the written word has changed radically over the past decade. So, I decided to devote a…
Audit Statements Raise Questions: Is Ann Arbor SPARK A Private Venture Capital Firm or A Public Nonprofit Organization?
Please note: Kai Petainen sits on The Ann Arbor Independent’s Editorial Board.
SINCE 2009 ANN Arbor’s elected officials have given Ann Arbor SPARK over $5.1 million dollars in public money. In addition, a Washtenaw County tax has…