U-M Grad Student Instructors on Strike
by Jon King
Members of the Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO) AFT Local 3550 went out on strike Wednesday, with economic issues the main point of contention.
The union, which is an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers…
EGLE Tightens Cleanup Rules for Ann Arbor 1,4 Dioxane Plume That’s Spreading
by Laina Stebbins
A state department and a long-polluting manufacturing company on Friday filed for new, strengthened cleanup standards at an Ann Arbor site that has been a source of underground contamination since the 1960s.
The…
EMU’s Legacy Theatre Presents “9 to 5: The Musical”
by Lori Stratton, Pulp
The era of landline phones, typewriters, and carbon copies returns for Eastern Michigan University’s Department of Communication, Media & Theatre Arts production of 9 to 5: The Musical at the Legacy…
“Men Like Us” Club Founder Asked County for $70K Grant to “Deter Youth Violence”; His Ypsi Twp. Club the Site of Assaults, Shootings, Attempted Murder
According to police records, since late-2021, the Men Like Us club building owned by Ardis Lewis, Jr. has been the site of shootings, assaults, attempted murder and an alleged sexual assault. In Mar. 2022, Lewis applied to the County for a…
Right to Work Repeal Puts Politics over Michigan’s People
by Mark Mix
Michigan’s Right to Work law defends the simple principle that union bosses should not have the power to get workers fired if they choose not to pay dues to a union they oppose. So what do Michiganders have to gain if state…
Poet and Writer Naomi Shihab Nye Set Her Latest Middle-Grade-Fiction Novel, “The Turtle of Michigan,” in Ann Arbor
by Jenn McKee
Naomi Shihab Nye is best known for her poetry—she was chancellor of the Academy of American Poets from 2010-15, and the Poetry Foundation’s Young People’s Poet Laureate from 2019-21.
So perhaps it’s no surprise…
Michigan Senate Passes Red Flag, Safe Storage Gun Bills
by Scott McClallen
(The Center Square) –The Michigan Senate passed gun legislation on party lines Thursday.
The bill package aims to expand background checks, enact safe storage requirements, and add red flag laws.
The bills…
Ypsilanti Superintendent Says County Contractor Sent Felons to Middle School Without Permission
by P.D. Lesko
Correction: YCS School Board member Dr. Celeste Hawkins was inadvertently identified as the YCS spokesman who contacted The Ann Arbor Independent on March 14 by phone and spoke on the record. The article has been updated,…
Whitmer Copies the Failed Corporate Giveaway Initiatives of Her Predecessors
by Jaime A. Hope
From green energy to college credits, Whitmer plays the classics from the Snyder and Granholm eras
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has a habit of repeating some actions of her immediate predecessors, despite their problems.
…
In 2012, Council Decimated the Forestry Dept., Officials Now Ask for “Patience” as Branches Remain Uncleared
The City of Ann Arbor has contracted Davey Tree Expert Company to augment city staff efforts to pick up branches from the recent ice and snow storms. Streets, sidewalks, trash collection, trees in the right-of-way, water and sewers are all…