by P.D. Lesko Democrat Desirae Simmons, the embattled Ward 3 Ypsilanti City Council member, won her May 7, 2024 recall election against challenger Democrat Rod Johnson. Simmons captured 52.06 percent of the vote. Turnout for the special…

MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving announced that several Michigan nonprofit organizations have secured a total of $11 million in grants. Scott, a novelist and philanthropist, is the former wife of Amazon founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos. …

by P.D. Lesko To buy or not to buy. That has been the question before Ypsilanti City Council since Nov. 2023. In the space of one month, Council members have voted four times on the purchase of a $3.7 million property at 599 S.…

Nov. 30, 2023 Correction: Jennifer Symanns represents Ward 2, not Ward 1. by P.D. Lesko Brian Jones-Chance, a former Ypsilanti City Council member, sits on the Ypsilanti Planning Commission. Jones-Chance stands to make over $100,000…

by P.D. Lesko Ypsilanti is a Third World country thanks to the stunning ineptitude and ethically suspect conduct of the City's elected and appointed officials. Public records show Ypsilanti's former City Manager Frances McMullen…

9/20/23: This story was edited to remove a mention of the Ypsilanti Public Library. by Monica Ross-Williams “I’m 83-years-old, have lived in Ypsilanti all my life and I’m afraid to visit downtown Ypsilanti,” an Ypsilanti community…

by P.D. Lesko In response to tips from Ypsilanti city employees, The Ann Arbor Independent submitted multiple Freedom of Information Act requests about the credit card usage of former Ypsilanti City Manager Frances McMullan. A Sept. 12…

by P.D. Lesko On June 29, the Washtenaw County Sheriff posted this to their Facebook page: SUSPECT OF QUADRUPLE SHOOTING APPREHENDED! Just before 5:00pm today, the U.S. Marshal's Detroit Fugitive Apprehension Team was able to…

by P.D. Lesko Correction: YCS School Board member Dr. Celeste Hawkins was inadvertently identified as the YCS spokesman who contacted The Ann Arbor Independent on March 14 by phone and spoke on the record. The article has been updated,…

Note: Updated on Feb. 24 with a statement from City Administrator Milton Dohoney. by P.D. Lesko According to an email Ann Arbor Council member Lisa Disch (D-Ward 1) sent Feb. 23, two-third of Ann Arbor residents were without power…