Review: Granholm & Mulhern’s Important New Book “A Governor’s Story” – Can The Country Learn from Michigan’s Experience?
A Governor's Story - The Fight for Jobs and America's Economic Future is an important contribution to the conversation and debate that is occurring right now over our economic path forward as a country. The question is, will the rest of the…
The Parent Trap: Not All Gender Stereotypes Are Evil
by Wilson Diehl
When I imagined having kids, I always and not-at-all-secretly wanted to have a girl. I emotionally prepared myself for sons well before I started having babies—before I’d started having sex, come to think of it (late…
Urban Hunter: Facebook/Twitter Shoppers More Likely To Browse Than Buy
Shoppers who land on retail sites through Facebook or Twitter are less likely to make purchases. Their conversion rates average 1.2 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively. Per average order, however, they spend more than those who come…
The Politics of the B-24: City Council Candidate Jane Lumm Drops Endorsement "Bomb" On Incumbent
by P.D. Lesko
Second Ward Ann Arbor City Council member Stephen Rapundalo has 25 friends on Facebook. Two of his 25 Facebook friends (Joe Upton and Carey Jernigan), according to information contained in a press release issued on…
Savaged: GOP Leaders Teach That Educators Are Costly Parasites. Are Americans Really Uneducated Enough To Believe It?
by Chris Savage
To say that Republicans are on a mission to destroy unions in this country is not an understatement. Across the country, and particularly in the Midwest, newly-elected Republican legislators and governors have spent the…
FOIA Reveals Mayor and Council Targeted Popular Parks For Development
A2PNotes: This is filed under "Scoops & Scores" because you read it here first
by P.D. Lesko
Collectively, Ann Arbor residents own about 2,000 acres of parkland. A conservative estimate of the value of the land, according to city…
Forbes Mag. List of Cities With the Happiest Young Professionals Includes Detroit But Not Ann Arbor
by P.D. Lesko
The Boomers on Ann Arbor City Council are fixated on turning the city into a mecca for Young Professionals. After all, 35,000 wanna-be YPs study at the University of Michigan, and if all of them would just stay put, in less…
The Parent Trap: I am the Mother You Shun in Wal-Mart
By Kristina Lakes
I am the mother you shun in Wal-Mart. Your disapproving eyes flit from my unbrushed hair to focus upon my four-year-old son, who is dressed in a long-sleeved, fatigue shirt and tight, black-wool leggings, even though it’s…
Interview: Michigan Municipal League Director Dan Gilmartin—Rising Above Politics to Save Michigan
There are few people in Michigan more qualified than Dan Gilmartin to talk about what it will take to return Michigan and its varying municipalities to prosperity. On his blog, Gilmartin covers everything from what makes municipalities…
Culture Vulture: Borders Argues Bankruptcy "No Fault" of Top Execs And Requests Six-Figure Bonuses
Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Borders executives are getting in one last punch below the belt of the company's 10,000 workers who lost their jobs. As laid off workers battle for their remaining compensation, and on the…