Browsing Tag
Patricia Lesko
by P.D. Lesko
Fifth Ward Council member Mike Anglin sent out an email on January 15, 2012 in which he urged Ann Arbor residents to vocally oppose John Hieftje's proposal that Ann Arbor enter into a regional transportation agreement under…
Via Email Blast Local Politicos Urge Public To Rise Up & Stop Mayor’s Anti-Democratic Scheming
by P.D. Lesko
In 2004, the Ann Arbor News Editorial Board published an endorsement of Hieftje's mayoral opponent that included this zinger, preserved for posterity by Google:
“Hieftje’s largest failure is not one of vision, but leadership.…
The 2011 Whopper of the Year Award Goes To….
Throughout the month of December, readers voted to choose the A2Politico.com Whopper of the Year Award winner. Last year, A2Politico.com gave the 2010 Whopper of the Year to former City Administrator Roger Fraser. For 24 months, Fraser…
A Local Political Machine Gets Sabotaged From Within — Again
by P.D. Lesko
How many direct hits from within can the Hieftje-Hive-Mind-Collective Cube withstand?
In summer 2009, the Cube took its first hit from within: Ann Arbor residents woke up to a front page piece in the Ann Arbor News that was…
30? 40? 50? — Ann Arbor School Officials Have No Idea Exactly How Many Kids Are In District Classrooms
by P.D. Lesko
Class size: one time when size does matter. Research on the success of K-12 students has concluded definitively that class sizes impact the performance of all students. Kids learn better in small classes. According to…
Michigan Messenger Online News Site Shuttered—Why You Should Care (A Lot)
by P.D. Lesko
If you never read the Michigan Messenger, you missed some of the best investigative reporting around. Eartha Jane Melzer on the Benton Harbor and environmental beats outreported virtually every other news outlet in the state.…
Corporation Named As One Of Nation’s Worst “Corporate Tax Dodgers” Donates Regularly To Local Politicos
by P.D. Lesko
The headline at Salon.com says it all: "America's Corporate Tax Obscenity: A new report about companies' finances won't just enrage you it'll make you run to the nearest protest."
Salon writer Andrew Leonard writes:…
Will Ann Arbor Voters Press Delete and Dump Another Politico Because of An Email Scandal?
by P.D. Lesko
In June of 2009, the now defunct Ann Arbor News broke a story that revealed Ann Arbor City Council members were abusing email during open meetings to mock and make fun of constituents, to script debates and to rig votes, such…
Sierra Club Endorses Jane Lumm in Ann Arbor Ward 2 City Council Race
by P.D. Lesko
Despite her continued opposition to the city's Greenbelt millage, money that city officials have used to purchase thousands of acres of land (tip o' the keyboard to Rita Mitchell), including farmland, in the area…
Occupy Colleges Plans National Teach-in to Support Occupy Wall Street: No Michigan Colleges Participating
by P.D. Lesko
After successful October 13 Student Solidarity Protests around the country, including on the Ann Arbor campus of the University of Michigan, Occupy Colleges plans nationwide Teach-ins at colleges and universities.
You can…