A2Politico: Politics Have Gotten Nasty? No. They’ve Been Nasty.
DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY Board members Joan Lowenstein and Keith Orr took to the blog-o-sphere to endorse their candidates for Ann Arbor City Council. The irony of DDA Board members endorsing in local elections is as rich as Devon…
AAATA Community Relations Staff & Managerial Pay Up Significantly Since 2010
IN SEPTEMBER 2011 former Ann Arbor News government reporter Tom Gantert filed a Freedom of Information Act request for information concerning the compensation of then AATA managers. The FOIA revealed that while AATA was running a deficit of…
EDITORIAL: Term Limits for Ann Arbor Board and Commission Members
OVER THE PAST dozen years there has arisen what one City Council member recently referred to as a “professional class” of people who are appointed time and again to serve on Ann Arbor’s boards and commissions. These people are sometimes…
School Districts In Washtenaw County and Southeastern Michigan Roll Back Pay-To-Play Fees
ON MAY 14, 2012 the University of Michigan Mott Children’s Hospital released the results of a National Poll on Children’s Health which asked parents of middle- and high-school-age children nationwide about participation and cost of school…
Ann Arbor Area State Legislators Get Resolutions Passed (But Few Bills)
Editor’s Note: Representative Jeff Irwin contributes to the newspaper’s “House Calls” column.
52nd District State Representative Gretchen Driskell is planning to run for re-election in 2014. Over the past year, Representative Driskell…
The Future Of Books: A Dystopian Look Into The Crystal Ball
by Dan Spellman
With the success of the Kindle Fire, I thought it would be fun to write a little bit sci-fi and imagine what the publishing market will look like in the next ten or so years. I’m a strong proponent of the ebook and, as…
Interview: Malik Yakini Is Changing the Face of the Food Landscape in Detroit
by Hannah Wallace
When he was seven-years-old, Malik Yakini, inspired by his grandfather, planted his own backyard garden in Detroit, seeding it with carrots and other vegetables. Should it come as any surprise that today, Yakini has…
I’m Raising an Addict…My Kid Is Strung Out on Video Games
By Tori Roshell
It’s early Saturday morning in the back room of a community center. Clusters of sleepy-eyed children sip chocolate milk from cheap paper coffee cups before taking their seats. The meeting begins. A 1st grader with bed…
Urban Exile: Food Gatherers’ CEO Eileen Spring Fights Hunger & Local Trend of Professional Entitlement
June 8th marked the 24th time Food Gatherers has put on its annual fundraiser Grillin'. According to Food Gatherers staffers at the event, this year's numbers topped last year's numbers, including number of attendees and amount raised.…
Crosswalk Ordinance Groups Take To Change.org To Try To Exert Influence
Editor’s Note: Kathy Griswold is the Chair of The Ann Arbor Independent’s Editorial Board.
THE WASHTENAW BIKING and Walking Coalition, a small local alternative transportation advocacy group, recently launched an online petition drive to…