News

Innocence vs. Experience

Jul 30, 2011 | |

The four challengers in the August 2 Democratic primary might seem to have a difficult–if not impossible–task.Stephen Rapundalo, Ward Two’s representative since 2005, is well known for his tough negotiating...

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Wild Pigs Eat Bambi

Jul 15, 2011 | |

If you’re armed and happen to see several hundred pounds of ugly, aggressive wild pig–shoot to kill.That’s the word from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and state hunters have taken them up on it,...

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Libya Watch

Jul 10, 2011 | |

U-M lecturer Fawzia Bariun says that’s the ultimatum Libyan dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi gave his subjects. As a young journalist in Libya, Bariun interviewed the former army officer in the early 1970s, and recalls how...

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Disappearing Districts

Jul 1, 2011 | |

“Ann Arbor is getting screwed–again!”That’s Barbara Bergman’s pithy summation of the redistricting plan the county board of commissioners approved in May, which shrinks the body from eleven members...

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It’s going to be a hard year.

Jul 1, 2011 | |

State budget cuts plus rising costs equal more pain for area school districts.When the legislature passed the state’s 2012–2013 budget at the end of May, governor Rick Snyder made good on his promise to deliver a budget on...

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The Battle over Benefits

Jun 29, 2011 | |

The long-running battle between the city and the Ann Arbor Police Officers Association flared up again in March. The union contends that officers should pay less for their health care than other city workers because high levels...

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Fair Food, the book

Jun 25, 2011 | |

“I’m going to be in the West Wing tonight–would it be all right if I took your book along?”Oran Hesterman’s Fair Food: Growing a Healthy, Sustainable Food System for All won’t be released till...

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Low-trash living

Jun 22, 2011 | |

Howard Scheps “can’t exactly say” when he last rolled his trash cart to the curb in front of his east-side home. “Maybe right after Christmas,” says Scheps, who works in the Ann Arbor City...

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Rise of the Social Workers

Jun 14, 2011 | |

A new model for U-M’s clinical psychology program marks a generational and gender transition.As late as the 1980s, “clinical psych” was a powerhouse. Ranked second in the country by U.S. News & World...

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Quitting Borders

Jun 5, 2011 | |

Not everyone at Borders’ corporate headquarters on Phoenix Drive is waiting until the end of June to see if publishers will throw a lifeline to the bankrupt company. A former employee at the once-bustling headquarters...

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Semi-Shared Suffering

May 29, 2011 | |

Governor Rick Snyder promotes his proposed budget as sharing the suffering required to fix the state’s structural deficit. Few local Democrats see it that way.”I don’t think anyone disagrees that there has to...

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The Hieftje Decades

May 28, 2011 | |

“People tell me I couldn’t have picked a worse decade to be mayor,” says John Hieftje with a rueful smile. Since he was first elected in 2000, state aid has slowed to a trickle, real estate values have...

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Where’s My Mail Carrier?

May 16, 2011 | |

It was the single largest change in Ann Arbor mail delivery history: on April 2, twenty city carrier routes were eliminated. According to Ted Sims, officer in charge of the Ann Arbor post office, ninety-eight of the remaining...

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“We need more cops!”

May 4, 2011 | |

When times are bad, conventional wisdom says, crime goes up. The idea is that desperate times can drive even law-abiding citizens to desperate crime.Not this time. During the worst economic downturn most people can remember, the...

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Special ed vote today

May 3, 2011 | |

“Hello, I’m the parent of a special ed student,” began a recent robocall, asking voters to say yes in today’s vote on a special education millage renewal. Special ed parents have the most obvious...

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Who is Dale Newman?

Apr 29, 2011 | |

“It’s not easy. You have to have a thick hide to live with the criticism,” says Dale Newman. “I’ve never Googled myself.” If he did Google himself, he’d find such headlines as “DTE...

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A taxing question

Apr 28, 2011 | |

“We can have an intelligent discussion of a city income tax here,” asserts city council member Tony Derezinski. “Because it’s a legitimate question: what should be taxed–income or property or...

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Underwater

Apr 23, 2011 | |

Just outside Chelsea, two whole neighborhoods are missing. One should be southwest of town off Pielemeier Dr., the other to the northwest off Sibley. With their comparatively small lots, the new subdivisions were designed to...

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Police vs. Taxes

Apr 11, 2011 | |

Hard times usually mean more crimes, as some law-abiding citizens are driven to desperate straits. Not this time–at least so far. Reflecting a national trend, most crimes in most places in Washtenaw County declined last...

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Borders Goes Bankrupt

Apr 11, 2011 | |

After filing for bankruptcy in February, the Borders Group will meet with creditors this month to outline its plans to reorganize itself and reinvigorate its business. In an email, CEO Mike Edwards told customers that the...

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