News

Runaround

Jan 18, 2016 | |

Crashes increased fivefold in the State-Ellsworth intersection after it was converted from a traffic light to a traffic circle in 2013, from an average of twenty-nine a year to an average of 145. Chris Bragg narrowly missed...

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Obamacare in Ann Arbor

Dec 28, 2015 | , |

When Josephine Taylor was hospitalized for a seizure in 2014 at St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor, she noticed something new–for the first time, her primary care doctor’s office got involved in her care, even though a...

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Mr. Congeniality

Dec 27, 2015 | , |

by James LeonardIn early September, mayor Christopher Taylor has a scruffy beard grown on vacation. A month later, he’s clean-shaven and dressed in his usual khakis and a blue blazer.The mayor has asked me back because...

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Stop Light Texts?

Dec 26, 2015 | |

Q: I know texting while driving is illegal. But what about texting while stopped at a traffic light or in stopped traffic? Is that legal?A: A 2010 Michigan law prohibits texting while driving, and “a person is still...

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To Tax or Not to Tax

Dec 21, 2015 | , |

“The Dexter Wellness Center is a tremendous facility,” says Dexter’s mayor, Shawn Keough.That’s the one thing everyone agrees on in the dispute between Dexter’s Downtown Development Authority and...

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Expensive Election

Dec 15, 2015 | |

Together, Lumm and challenger Sally Hart Petersen spent at least $58,000 battling over Lumm’s Second Ward seat (see “The Second Ward War,” November). “It’s crazy,” says Lumm. who served two...

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In the Dark

Dec 15, 2015 | |

Big-box stores across Michigan have won massive tax breaks in recent years using what’s known as a “dark store” argument. For tax purposes, local assessors have been valuing stores like Best Buy and...

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Trustee Turnover

Dec 13, 2015 | |

Judging by their expressions, Pam Horiszny shocked most of her fellow Washtenaw Community College trustees when she announced her resignation at their September board meeting. Declaring that “internal union relations have...

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Chip & Chuck

Dec 13, 2015 | |

Ann Arbor’s Fifth Ward is now represented solely by councilmembers named Charles. Conveniently, both are known by other names–but that’s not the end of the coincidences.”Our birthdays are just a few days...

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Dieselgate

Nov 29, 2015 | , |

John German didn’t expect to discover that Volkswagen had cheated deliberately and repeatedly on emission tests for its diesel-powered cars. “We expected to find good vehicles–we absolutely did,” he...

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The Ward 2 War

Nov 27, 2015 | , |

In deep-blue Ann Arbor, the biggest city council contest comes in August’s Democratic primary. This year, eight candidates chased four seats. The winners enter the November 3 election without ballot opposition, though in...

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New Owner

Nov 20, 2015 | |

In 2009, when the Lansing-based school opened an Ann Arbor branch, almost 88,000 students applied to American law schools. Cooley president Don LeDuc smelled opportunity: he told the Observer he planned to enroll “the U-M...

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Small Victory

Nov 18, 2015 | |

In September, Amy Sawulski of Redford Township pled guilty to two counts of human trafficking in Washtenaw County Trial Court. Sawulski was running a prostitution ring out of the Red Roof Inn on State in May 2013, when she was...

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Munger Matchmaking

Nov 18, 2015 | |

“It will be mobbed,” Charlie Munger predicted last spring as the $155 million Munger Graduate Residences neared completion. “The problem will be telling people they can’t get in.” Not for the first...

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Scaling Up 2015

Nov 7, 2015 | |

Tom Fitzsimmons just finished eighteen condos at the former site of St. Nicolas Greek Orthodox Church. A block away, his company, Huron Contracting, is demolishing two rental houses that he’ll replace with four condos...

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A New Train Station At Last?

Oct 30, 2015 | , |

Does Ann Arbor need a new train station to replace the thirty-two-year-old Amtrak station on Depot St.? Informed opinion runs the gamut.”There isn’t an immediate need,” says Fourth Ward councilmember Jack...

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Remaking Miller Manor

Oct 29, 2015 | , |

Before he moved into Miller Manor four and a half years ago, Matt V. had at least seven bouts of homelessness. Suffering from schizoaffective and substance abuse disorders, he moved in and out of the Delonis Center homeless...

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A Raise and a Request

Oct 13, 2015 | |

Angry at a breakdown in communication, Washtenaw Community College’s faculty union voted “no confidence” in WCC president Rose Bellanca last year. The union also filed a complaint with the commission that...

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Vacant Village

Oct 2, 2015 | |

Developer Peter Allen assembled the property in 2000. He sold it to East Lansing-based Strathmore Development Company, which after years of negotiations with the city, county, and state won approval to build a grandiose retail,...

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Taylor’s Win

Sep 2, 2015 | |

In fourteen years as mayor, John Hieftje never publicly opposed the reelection of a fellow councilmember. His successor, Christopher Taylor, took that risk in his first term. In August’s Democratic primary, Taylor backed...

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