by John Ball THE ANN ARBOR Independent earned three “Excellence in Media” awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, Detroit Chapter, for 2014 photography and reporting on such varied topics as investigative reporting, the 2014…

During a ceremony at which awards were given out to metro-Detroit media for reporting, headline writing, design, photography and blogging, among others, The Indy took home its first reporting award.  AFTER BEING NOMINATED by judges in…

We begin with a fairytale: Once Upon A Time there were five Ann Arbor City Council members named Sandi Smith, Carsten Hohnke, Leigh Greden, Stephen Rapundalo and Tony Derezinski. They all unquestioningly supported Ann Arbor's Percent for…

by P.D. Lesko On November 6, 2012 the firmament trembled in Ann Arbor—the political landscape opened up and swallowed local politicos and their monied donors whole, casting the owner of Main Street Ventures, members of the Downtown…

by P.D. Lesko Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje doesn't have a good track record of getting other politicos to jump on board his transit schemes. The WALLY commuter train was supposed to run between Washtenaw and Livingston counties and be…

by P.D. Lesko Over the past 24 months, AnnArbor.com has seen the departure of most of its experienced reporters to more prestigious and higher paying surroundings—such as the Detroit Free Press. There are media analysts, however, that…

By P.D. Lesko In 2007, Ann Arbor City Council passed the Public Art Ordinance that sets aside one percent of funds from all public construction budgets for art projects — to a maximum of $250,000 per project. On the City of Ann Arbor web…

by P.D. Lesko When I taught college, one writing assignment I most enjoyed was having my students compose letters to their elected officials. One woman chose to write a letter to the President. A couple of weeks later, she found her…

by P.D. Lesko The meeting room at the Traverwood Library is modern, with plenty of light and clean lines. The room was full, with about 70 people in attendance to hear the candidates answer questions for 90 minutes. It was there that Ward…

by P.D. Lesko Ward 5 City Council candidate Chuck Warpehoski is being endorsed by many members of the local Dem Klan, including John Hieftje, whose 2010 Facebook page described him as "Ann Arbor's popular mayor." The Warpehoski race is a…