House Calls: Michigan State Representative Jeff Irwin Talks About Tenure Reform
Representative Jeff Irwin, a Democrat, served for a decade as a Washtenaw County Commissioner. In January 2011, he began his first term in the Michigan House of Representatives. In his regular column, House Calls, A2Politico will pose a…
Rev. Jesse Jackson Slams Michigan Gov. Snyder For “Trampling Democracy”…in Chicago (Not Detroit) Newspaper Op-Ed
You have to wonder: Did the Reverend Jesse Jackson submit his op-ed piece to either The Detroit News or the Freep before he shot it off to the editors of the Chicago Sun-Times? Did the editors of those two Michigan papers take one look at…
WEEKLY WHOPPER: Mayor Claims City “Not in Hiring Mode Since ’06.” Records Reveal Almost 1,000 FT & PT Hires Since ’06
In 2004, John Hieftje appointed a Blue Ribbon Panel to study potential changes to the city's employee pension system. Among the recommendations, was the restructuring of the Board of Trustees to remove city managers and employees. In…
The Parent Trap: Hello, May I Know Who’s Calling, Texting & Sending Pics, Please?
by Betsy McMillin
I was mulling over what topic to write about next. Then my phone rang; I ignored it. It rang again. And again. And again.
I had my topic.
According to an April 16, 2011 piece by April Conger for ABC News:
Data from…
How the Mighty Have Fallen: Snyder’s Approval Ratings Have Fallen the Furthest of All GOP Govs
A2Politico has been tracking the approval ratings of Michigan's Republican Governor Rick Snyder. In November 2010, Rick Snyder breezed past Democratic candidate Virg Bernero, and won the race for governor with 58 percent of the vote. After…
Foodist: Urban Gardens and Heavy Metal (And No, I Don’t Mean Black Sabbath)
Ann Arbor's Project Grow is an extremely popular and often over-subscribed program under the auspices of which gardeners without the space (or who may want more space) can pay a fee to have their own little slice of black to grow gardens…
Savaged: Ann Arbor Resident, Catholic Nun, & 26 Others Slap Gov. Snyder With Suit Alleging Emergency Manager Law Unconstitutional
by Chris Savage
As I have written about before, the Emergency Manager (EM) law in Michigan, now known as Public Act 4 of 2011 (or, more formally the "Local Government and School District Fiscal Accountability Act"), gave sweeping new…
Urban Exile: The Growing Trend of Arresting People For Feeding the Homeless
by Erika McNamara
In November, Hawaii will be the host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. This summit has been a long time in coming since the last time the event was in the United States was in 1993. This is good for…
City Managers Push Service Cuts While Spending Over $1.1 Million On Cell Phones & Texting
A2P Notes: This is filed under "Scoops & Scores" because you read it first here.
In response to multiple FOIAs, information released by city officials shows that perks including monthly car allowances, city-provided cars, mileage…
Happy Father’s Day!
by Betsy McMillin
Happy Father's Day! I know I have some Dads out there who read my posts regularly. Thank you for reading. The fact that you are consistently reading a post on parenting speaks volumes. I know, I know, I shouldn't say…