Ann Arbor News

OVER THE PAST dozen years there has arisen what one City Council member recently referred to as a “professional class” of people who are appointed time and again to serve on Ann Arbor’s boards and commissions. These people are sometimes…

June 8th marked the 24th time Food Gatherers has put on its annual fundraiser Grillin'. According to Food Gatherers staffers at the event, this year's numbers topped last year's numbers, including number of attendees and amount raised.…

THE BOARD MEMBERS of the AAATA (formerly the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority) include individuals who live outside Ann Arbor. Most Board members have little experience in transportation policy. This is because rather than appoint members…

Editor’s Note: Katherine Griswold is the Chair of The Ann Arbor Independent’s Editorial Board. WARD 1 COUNCIL member Sumi Kailasapathy conducted an email exchange this Fall with city staff, including the city’s transportation project…

MARK SCHAUER SERVED as a U.S. Representative for Michigan’s 7th congressional district between 2009 and 2011. Schauer was a member of the Michigan Senate, where he served as the Minority Leader, and the Michigan House of Representatives. In…

KIRK WESTPHAL'S FUNDRAISING letter, has raised a ruckus among Ward 2 residents who found claims made about incumbent Ward 2 Independent Jane Lumm misleading. The letter is on Westphal's campaign stationary and signed by Downtown Development…

WELCOME TO The Ann Arbor Independent. For the first time in over 110 years Ann Arbor once again has a locally-owned weekly newspaper. The last time our city had a locally owned weekly newspaper was 1902, when the Ann Arbor Argus-Democrat…

MAYOR HIEFTJE HAS repeatedly told the public that the cost of police and fire service is a strain on the city’s budget. In a 2012 interview he said this about the city’s safety services budget, “...All the water has been wrung out of the…

WARD 1 CITY Council member Sumi Kailasapathy is a CPA. It was Kailasapathy who pushed the Council’s Audit Committee to investigate further after it was revealed City Attorney Stephen Postema had allegedly “double-dipped,” in accepting a car…

A DECADE AGO, the University of Michigan waged a successful U.S. Supreme Court fight to save affirmative action. Now Michigan is learning to live without it. Three years after the court allowed race-based admissions, Michigan voters…