Former AAATA CEO Michael Ford Asked By RTA Board to Pay Back $18K in Questionable Expenses
by Robert Snell, and Christine MacDonald
The Detroit News is reporting that Regional Transit Authority CEO Michael Ford repaid $18,813 Thursday, hours after a closed-door meeting with board members amid an investigation into his expenses…
Zingerman’s Brand Artisanal Potato Chips—It’s All About the Spices
The Ann Arbor News Editorial Team
Zingerman's recently "introduced" its new potato chips, available in three flavors: Detroit Street Barbecue, Tellicherry Black Pepper, and French Grey Sea Salt.
This is not the first time Zingerman's…
Ypsi TEDx Talk Speakers Announced
The Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team
Whatever you think of TED Talks, that brand of visionary speech as performance art, you can't deny the appeal of having a group of experts in the field unpack an issue that's important to them in…
Ecology Center/Recycle Ann Arbor & The Landfilling of Our Recycling
by Patricia Lesko
I recently received a long email with the Subject line: City of Ann Arbor Action - MONDAY NIGHT!! from someone named Doug Selby. In his email, Mr. Selby urges me to attend the next City Council meeting to pressure Council…
AAPD to Hold Trio of Neighborhood Watch Community Meetings
Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team
At its Feb. 21, 2017 meeting, Council members voted to allocate $200,000 to hire Chicago-based consulting firm Hillard Heintze LLC to conduct an independent review of the city's police department. The…
ADP Cutting Jobs, Closing Ann Arbor Office
Automatic Data Processing LLC is cutting 16 additional positions, after announcing in September that it would let go about 79 employees as it closed its Ann Arbor office.
The facility at 175 Jackson Plaza will close around March 30,…
City Vendor Records Reveal Handful of Board/Commission Members Paid $1.33M
by Patricia Lesko
NextDoor is a city-wide listserv where neighbors can post everything from requests for babysitters to football tickets for sale. Neighbors have also taken to posting information about local city government. In Feb.…
Why Are Black People in Ypsilanti Disproportionately Arrested on Bench Warrants?
Part 1: Data Trends
Black men and women in Ypsilanti accounted for 63% (1,179 of 1,869) of all Washtenaw County arrests in 2014 on “failure to appear” bench warrants, even though they make up less than 2% of the county’s total…
Southern Poverty Law Center Adds Ann Arbor Synagogue Protest Group to Hate Group List
The Southern Poverty Law Center released a report on Feb. 23 on hate groups in the U.S.
SPLC data reveal there are now more than 1,000 hate groups around the country, the first time the SPLC has seen the number of "hate groups" top 1,000…
OP-ED: Millennials With No Home of Their Own
by Suzanne Fields
EVERY GENERATION confronts its own obstacles. My parents eloped because they couldn’t afford to get married, and they hid the nuptials from their families for a year. They finally bought a big bed and moved it into the…
