AT ITS MOST recent meeting, the Ann Arbor City Council once again showed a deplorable lack of respect for transparency, process and the public, as did City Administrator Steve Powers. At the September 2 meeting, an item to approve $75,000…

by P.D. Lesko AT A RECENT mayoral candidate forum, unabashed supporters of “crony capitalism”—what President Obama’s former economic expert Dr. Lawrence Summers called the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s programs—defended Ann…

Please note: Kai Petainen is a member of The Ann Arbor Independent’s Editorial Board by P.D. Lesko ANN ARBOR SPARK is once again under fire for discrepancies in its job creation claims. Forbes.com writer Kai Petainen uncovered a…

By P.D. Lesko LOOKING FOR WHAT is called a reliable voter? Look for a white woman aged 70 and above (a Baby Boomer), according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Looking for the least reliable voter on whom a candidate should think twice about…

DUE TO THE shutdown of the federal government, Bureau of Labor Statistics data collection, analysis, and dissemination activities were suspended from October 1 through October 16. The September 2013 Regional and State Employment and…

by Rob C. Smith IN DECEMBER 2012 Governor Rick Snyder was quoted in the Detroit Free Press as saying that “Michigan is well-positioned for a comeback.” A few days later, for the third year, Forbes Magazine ranked Michigan 47th in Forbes’…

Please note: Kai Petainen sits on The Ann Arbor Independent’s Editorial Board. SINCE 2009 ANN Arbor’s elected officials have given Ann Arbor SPARK over $5.1 million dollars in public money. In addition, a Washtenaw County tax has…