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

Sophia van Buren I resisted the urge to look up and scan the audience, but the temptation was just too great.  At least it didn’t take long to find her.  She was sitting alone and motionless in the stands about 30 rows above the high…

by P.D. Lesko On The Atlantic's web site, writer Micki Maynard quotes David Askins of The AnnArborChronicle.com explaining how the pedestrian crosswalk ordinance mess has gotten so out of hand. Askins, with a straight face one presumes,…

by P.D. Lesko According to a December 1, 2011 piece in The Chicago Tribune, "Less than a month after the rare recall of a state lawmaker, Republican leaders in the Michigan Senate proposed a constitutional amendment to limit the reasons…

By Chris Savage "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."— attributed to Mohandas Gandhi What would you call a group of municipal leaders that was receiving $1.5 million in…

by Nick Leshi Even though they are often fraught with stereotypes, gangster movies are still one of my all-time guilty pleasures.  Some of my favorite films are in that genre: The Godfather, Carlito's Way, Goodfellas, Donnie Brasco, TV's …

by P.D. Lesko In September 2011, MLive political analyst Susan J. Demas outed Democratic State Senator Rebekah Warren (left) as one of only four Michigan legislators who had accepted more than $1,800 in free food and drinks from lobbyists…

by Nick Leshi The new science fiction movie "In Time" opened and I had high hopes. It was written and directed by Andrew Niccol, the guy responsible for "Gattaca," one of my favorites, and it stars the multi-talented Justin Timberlake who…

by Erika McNamara Sometimes I wonder if needy people in Africa get more of our attention then people right here in our own state and town. Almost a month ago a judge put a halt to the state of Michigan’s new cap on cash assistance for…

by Betsy McMillin I am feeling a great deal of parental guilt lately. My eight-year-old daughter has a medical (non-life threatening) condition. She is being tested for a learning disability as well. She is a sweet, bright, funny, happy,…

by P.D. Lesko If you never read the Michigan Messenger, you missed some of the best investigative reporting around. Eartha Jane Melzer on the Benton Harbor and environmental beats outreported virtually every other news outlet in the state.…