Buffett’s IUD
Charlie Munger, longtime right-hand man of Berkshire Hathaway boss Warren Buffett, expanded the U-M’s Central Campus with his new Munger Graduate Residence. In the long run, though, more locals may feel the impact of a...
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Green Gifts
Environmental education has been part of the AAPS since 1961, when Bill Stapp organized nature field trips at Wines Elementary as a U-M dissertation project. Supported first by a gift from future AAPS environmental specialist...
Read MoreFBI Brushoff
Local attorney Irv Mermelstein has long argued that the city’s Footing Drain Disconnection Program violates property rights–so far, with no success. In January, judge Tim Connors dismissed his lawsuit on behalf of...
Read MorePower Play
When Gov. Snyder signed a bill banning straight-ticket voting in January, he set off howls from Democrats.”It was completely partisan,” says county clerk Larry Kestenbaum. “It was pushed by the Republicans in...
Read MoreCampaign Manager to the Stars
Brad O’Furey is Ann Arbor Democrats’ go-to campaign manager. In the past three years, he’s helped elect Christopher Taylor mayor, Sabra Briere to council, Carol Kuhnke to circuit court, and Adam Zemke to the...
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Peacemaking Court
With their matching light wood paneling and benches, the courtrooms on the second floor of the Washtenaw County Courthouse are almost identical. But Tim Connors’ court stands out. On the walls are Native American dream...
Read MoreObamacare in Ann Arbor
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...
Read MoreMr. Congeniality
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...
Read MoreStop Light Texts?
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...
Read MoreTo Tax or Not to Tax
“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...
Read MoreExpensive Election
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...
Read MoreIn the Dark
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...
Read MoreTrustee Turnover
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...
Read MoreChip & Chuck
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...
Read MoreDieselgate
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...
Read MoreThe Ward 2 War
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...
Read MoreSmall Victory
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...
Read MoreMunger Matchmaking
“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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