Former Ann Arbor Public Services Administrator Starts Detroit Fire Then Throws Gasoline On It
Sue McCormick's (below) bouffant hair-do, a 60s throw-back, supposedly hides horns. At least this is what a fired forestry worker claimed when talking about his work for the City of Ann Arbor, and McCormick—who was his boss. McCormick, who…
Ann Arbor Mayor and Council Member Live in Highest Crime Neighborhoods
by P.D. Lesko
It pays, literally, to live in at least one of the high rent neighborhoods in Ann Arbor. Specifically, outgoing Ward 2 Council member Tony Derezinski's neighborhood. Between January and September 2012, within a 1 mile radium…
Urban Exile: A Dispatch From the 47 Percent
by Livia Gershon
This summer, I was chatting with my parents, and I happened to mention that my husband and I pay pretty much no federal income taxes. My dad was shocked. What about withholdings from your paychecks, he asked. I said we get…
Urban Exile: A View From the Bottom
by B. Mann
It’s morning. I think of what day it is. God, please let it not be the 15th. I don’t have the money for the payroll taxes. Oh wait... did I pay the truck? Shit! I didn’t pay the truck. I hope that check comes today. It’s…
Michigan County Clerk’s Campaign Finance Flubs Explained—Kinda
by P.D. Lesko
Washtenaw County Clerk Lawrence Kestenbaum is a Democrat. He sat on the Ingham County Board of Commissioners from 1983–1988, and was a Washtenaw County Commissioner from 2000–02. In 2004, he was elected as the Washtenaw…
Michigan County Clerk Fails to File His Own Campaign Finance Disclosure Form
Politicos who miss campaign finance deadlines often make headlines. How politicos handle their own campaign finances is seen as a relevant gauge to determine how honest and responsible they'll be if put in charge of taxpayer money and…
American Journalism Review Asks, “How Has AnnArbor.com Worked?” Answer: It Has Had A “Terrible Effect On The City”
Charles R. Eisendrath directs the Knight-Wallace Fellows program in journalism at the University of Michigan. He's a former Washington and foreign correspondent for Time magazine. Suffice it to say that Eisendrath has not shied away from…
New Orleans Residents Out to Kill NOLA.com—Boycott Launched Of Site Modeled on AnnArbor.com
by P.D. Lesko
Over the past 24 months, AnnArbor.com has seen the departure of most of its experienced reporters to more prestigious and higher paying surroundings—such as the Detroit Free Press. There are media analysts, however, that…
“Dark Side” Beckons & Local Pol Answers The Call
Ward 1 City Council member Sabra Briere recently voted to kill a resolution intended to protect parkland from de facto sale through leasing—a strategy being used by John Hieftje and his Council pals to try to "repurpose" a several acre…
Was Council Aware of the Successful Class Action Lawsuit Against Seattle’s Percent For Art Program Before Approving Ann Arbor’s Art Ordinance?
By P.D. Lesko
In 2007, Ann Arbor City Council passed the Public Art Ordinance that sets aside one percent of funds from all public construction budgets for art projects — to a maximum of $250,000 per project. On the City of Ann Arbor web…