The Ann Arbor Independent - A locally owned newspaper in Ann Arbor

by P.D. Lesko Ward 5 City Council candidate Chuck Warpehoski lists his job as the Executive Director of the tiny Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice on his City Council campaign web site as "community service." It's obvious that he's…

by P.D. Lesko In Ann Arbor it's often tough to decide who's more addled, the politicos or the voters. In August of 2010 Ann Arbor County Commish Barbara Levin Bergman actually spoke in favor of hiring of sexual predators into county jobs.…

“John Hieftje has the strongest environmental record of any Mayor in the Midwest. He’s championed the city’s Greenbelt, the clean energy initiative, commuter rail, bicycling and our terrific parks system. These programs set Ann Arbor apart.…

SECOND WARD CITY Council member Tony Derezinski has get-togethers for Ward 2 constituents in the know at bars, and in March had a Ward 2 meeting at his home where, again, those in the know showed up and got to rub elbows with AATA Board…

by P.D. Lesko There's a good ole tug o' words going on between two local news media outlets at the moment. It's not quite as juicy as the recent Washington, DC thriller that has WaPo big wig Ben Bradlee's former assistant Jeff Himmelman…

by P.D. Lesko Ann Arbor's fire department is under-staffed, fire-related deaths have tripled, citizens routinely wait for an hour for police to show up to non-emergency calls, fees for water, sewer and solid waste have risen sharply.…

by P.D. Lesko Margie Teall is not one of the Ann Arbor City Council members who used to be a Republican, changed parties, then ran as Democrats. She's one of the Democrats on Ann Arbor City Council who votes like a Republican, squeezes pay…

In 2000, there were 8 miles of bike lanes in Ann Arbor. Today, there are 37 miles of in-road lanes. John Hieftje's administration has added just a little over 3 miles of lanes per year, on average, over the almost 12 years he has been in…

by P.D. Lesko Let's start with a quiz: 1.  Has Ann Arbor City Council voted to approve the construction of a train station in Fuller Park? 2.  As the city Charter requires, have the citizens of Ann Arbor voted to give over the 10-acre…

by P.D. Lesko It's no surprise Republican Rob Steele couldn't unseat Representative John Dingell in 2010. However, Steele's run, which campaign emails intimated would be financed with the doctor's own "fortune," rattled Team Dingell.…