Local Trial Court Judge Subject of Complaints to State Judicial Tenure Commission and AG Nessel
Updated 11/7/23: The explanation of how a Guardian ad Litem is assigned and paid has been expanded.
by P.D. Lesko
The Ann Arbor Independent received documents that show the Honorable Tracy E. Van den Bergh of the Washtenaw County…
Letter to the Editor: Why Jim Harbaugh Should be Fired
by Lee Enochs
As a life-long fan of the University of Michigan football program, it greatly pains me to write this: it's time for Jim Harbaugh to be fired for being embroiled in a sign-stealing scandal involving his coaching staff.
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One Ann Arbor Landlord’s “Blatant” Attempt to Thwart the Early Leasing Ordinance
by P.D. Lesko
Katie Waddle is a Ph.D. student in mathematics at the University of Michigan. She holds a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Chicago, an M.Ed in Secondary Math Education from Stanford, and an M.A. in Mathematics…
Movie Review: “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget”
By Leslie Felper
The British production company Aardman, best known for award-winning shorts such as the evergreen Creature Comforts and short-to-feature franchises like Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, specializes in…
U-M Continues to Stiff Ann Arbor While Colleges Across the Country Make Voluntary Payments in Lieu of Taxes
11/1/23: Updated with comments from former City Council member Jeff Hayner.
by P.D. Lesko
Nonprofits in at least 28 states contribute what are often known as payments in lieu of taxes, or PILOTs, to the localities in which they are…
Postcard Paid for With Mental Health Millage Money Claims “Dramatic” Increases in Services
by P.D. Lesko
"This mental health system finally broke me...abandoned by whomever was supposed to be helping me every step of the way. Drs Madjar and Bright seemed to care but every other person or 'team' let me drop through the cracks;…
Letter to the Editor: Michigan Legislature Must Deal With “Period Poverty”
by Lysne Tait
Anyone who has had a period knows that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach when you don’t have the products you need when you need them. Being a teen is already hard enough, but lack of menstrual products…
Ann Arbor City Council Virtue-Signalling: Why the Kathy Kozachenko Statue Doesn’t Make Sense
by Thomas F. Wieder
The Ann Arbor City Council’s recent passage of Its Resolution to Initiate a Statue to Honor Kathy Kozachenko is one of the odder and most ill-conceived Council actions that I have observed in more than a half-century…
Violent Crime and Growing Homelessness Are Destroying Ypsilanti and Its Small Businesses
9/20/23: This story was edited to remove a mention of the Ypsilanti Public Library.
by Monica Ross-Williams
“I’m 83-years-old, have lived in Ypsilanti all my life and I’m afraid to visit downtown Ypsilanti,” an Ypsilanti community…
Police Investigating Former Ypsi City Manager for Alleged Crimes Related to Use of City Credit Card
by P.D. Lesko
In response to tips from Ypsilanti city employees, The Ann Arbor Independent submitted multiple Freedom of Information Act requests about the credit card usage of former Ypsilanti City Manager Frances McMullan. A Sept. 12…
