Ann Arbor News

Please note: Kathy Griswold is the Chair of The Ann Arbor Independent’s Editorial Board. SUPPORTERS OF LOCAL transit argue that Mayor John Hieftje has pushed everything but local transit—trains to Howell, park and rides and bus service…

A COMMITTEE CALLING itself Partners For Transit (PFT) filed papers to register with Washtenaw County’s Elections Division in 2010; the date the committee was formed is listed on the Statement of Organization as November 18, 2009. The…

A LOCAL ANONYMOUS donor has offered to match, dollar for dollar, financial gifts made to Food Gatherers up to $50,000 through Monday, March 31. With the match in place, donations to Food Gatherers of one dollar will provide enough food for…

While spending increases on meals out, travel, luxury lodging and cell phones, monthly car allowance costs drop significantly from a high in 2010. UNDER FORMER CITY administrator Roger Fraser in 2009 and 2010, according to information…

A REPORTER FOR The Weather Channel stood in a Minnesota snowstorm, talking about local efforts to move homeless children into heated shelters. “How cold is it supposed to get?” the anchor, back in the studio, asked. The reporter replied:…

ANN ARBOR’S CITY Administrator Steve Powers, in explaining why a snow emergency had not been called in order to facilitate faster more efficient clearing of the 11 inches of snow that fell between January 4-5 claimed “a snow emergency has…

THE MAJORITY OF the new and returning members of the Michigan House of Representatives can boast perfect attendance records with respect to the 534 roll call votes taken between January and December 2013. Michigan legislators earn $71,865…

OFFICIALS IN THE Michigan Department of State determined that “WAR SUX” is a vanity plate request that is “offensive to good taste and decency.” David DeVarti, an Ann Arbor resident, former City Council member and former member of the…

Please note: This piece was corrected to reflect the fact that Ward 2 Council member Sally Hart Petersen was not seated on Ann Arbor City Council until November 2012. THE ANN ARBOR INDEPENDENT recently reported that 76 percent of city…

Friends say: He’s measured.  Collegial. A leader. Detractors say: He’s a DINO. Anti-everything. Bad for Ann Arbor.    Jack Eaton speaks slowly, so slowly that sometimes you wonder how he doesn’t nod off in the middle of a sentence.…