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

by P.D. Lesko Michigan Republicans sent House Bill 4770 and House Bill 4771 to Governor Rick Snyder and on Thursday December 22, 2011 he signed the bills into law. The bills prohibit public employers from including domestic partner…

It's time for readers to help choose the A2Politico.com Whopper of the Year Award winner. A2Politico.com gave the 2010 Whopper of the Year to former City Administrator Roger Fraser. For 24 months, Fraser fibbed to Ann Arbor residents…

by P.D. Lesko I read it, and I laughed. Out loud. I read it again, and laughed even more. I kept reading. Sometimes, I get bored and quit in the middle. Other times, reading this stuff is like taking flax seed oil. It's good for me, so I…

by P.D. Lesko Michigan Republicans want to see House Bill 4770 and House Bill 4771 signed ito law by Governor Rick Snyder. The bills would prohibit public employers from including domestic partner benefits in their public employee…

by P.D. Lesko How many direct hits from within can the Hieftje-Hive-Mind-Collective Cube withstand? In summer 2009, the Cube took its first hit from within: Ann Arbor residents woke up to a front page piece in the Ann Arbor News that was…

by Betsy McMillin This article is my Holiday gift to you. No advice, no deep thoughts, just the gift of a thought: "Thank God I don't have to travel with six kids." Many of you will be traveling soon, by car, plane, train. And yes, we all…

By Chris Savage By some estimates, there are close to two hundred million blogs in the world, about half of which are in the United States. This number is growing each year. At the same time, the size and number of what are considered…

by P.D. Lesko Class size: one time when size does matter. Research on the success of K-12 students has concluded definitively that class sizes impact the performance of all students. Kids learn better in small classes. According to…

by Betsy McMillin Definition of tween dating: "Awkwardly walking down the hall at school together."—an anonymous (but very cool) tween So.... when can I, technically, "date?" This from my almost thirteen-year-old son. Okay, I'll say…

by William Belle I'm repeating myself. (Repeating yourself is a sign of senility. If I've said that once, I've said it a thousand times.) The best films I've seen do not necessarily involve a car chase scene. The special effects are…