by P.D. Lesko THE MARCH 2014 catered “celebration” for WCC Trustee Diana McKnight-Morton cost county taxpayers $1,146. The event was charged to Dr. Rose Bellanca’s P-card. A receipt (below) detailing the cost of the event and what was…

Eric Borregard: “The school’s got no money and the people at the top are feeding their face just like the rest of the political system, just like the governor. No one’s looking out for the kids, for bettering these kids’…

FORMER ANN ARBOR City Council member Tony Derezinski (D-Ward 2) is launching a bid for a spot on the Washtenaw Community College Board of Trustees. Derezinki, who once batted around the idea of running for mayor, was defeated in the 2012…

by P.D. Lesko At the moment, Ann Arbor City Council members are trying to assert their Charter-mandated authority over the Board of the Downtown Development Authority like a parent trying to discipline a hopelessly out-of-control toddler…

by P.D. Lesko Today, Jack Eaton announced his candidacy first via email to a loosely-organized group of neighborhood activists, city and county politicians. He wrote, "I wanted all of you to hear it from me, because so many of you have…

by P.D. Lesko Usually, employees get fired for filching money or abusing an employer-issued credit card. Except in Ann Arbor. Auditors past and present, in fact, have sent the city's Audit Committee letters of warning about sloppy…

John Hieftje and his political pals have a reputation of ignoring public opinion. Perhaps the most egregious example was a 2008 Council meeting at which petitions with 6,000 signatures were presented to Council to urge them to put the…

In July 2012 Deb Polich (pronounced Polick) was named the new executive director of the Ann Arbor Arts Alliance. In August, says Polich, "We—the Arts Alliance Board and myself—had a meeting with Mayor Hieftje and Council members Taylor…

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…