A2P Notes: Just after AnnArbor.com was launched, essayist Jack Lessenberry wrote in the Metro Times: Now I like to think of myself as a fairly sophisticated newspaper critic. I’ve worked for a lot of them, have had bylines in The Washington Post and New York Times, am a newspaper ombudsman, have been on the graduate faculty at [...]
The recall petition language had to be approved in Washtenaw County, because Michigan Governor Rick Snyder lives in Superior Township, just outside of Ann Arbor. Sloppy newspaper reporters frequently refer to the Governor as “Ann Arbor’s” Rick Snyder, despite the fact that Snyder pays Superior Township and not Ann Arbor taxes on his 10,000 square [...]
by Erika McNamara Once again panhandling has grabbed the attention of the Ann Arbor public and media. Recently, the Ann Arbor City Council decided to amend the city Panhandling Ordinance. This decision was based on the recommendation of the Ann Arbor Street Task Force. The amendments prohibit panhandling within 12 feet of an alley, and [...]
Since 2008, Ann Arbor has been at the top of MITA’s list of cities with the worst roads in the state of Michigan. With its Road Repair Millage that brings in $9-$11 million dollars per year in funds that, in theory, are supposed to be used for road repair, Ann Arbor in 2010, was judged [...]
The cash cows who live in Ann Arbor have a record of voting to nickel and dime themselves to death, literally. The city’s property tax bill, thanks to “supplemental” millages, has come to resemble a check in a French restaurant where everything is ala carte. The nickels and dimes have, over the past decade, added [...]
On April 18, 2011 A2Politico posted a piece titled, “The Politics of Buyer’s Remorse: Group Files Petition to Recall Governor Rick Snyder.” The post was shared over 500 times on Facebook and Twitter. In that piece, I wrote: When Republican Governor Rick Snyder took office, he had stellar approval ratings. He coasted along during his post-primary [...]
Chris Savage (pictured left in a photo taken by his wife Anne) and his wife live in Dexter, Michigan. Chris is the voice behind the progressive-leaning Eclectablog. Well, actually, progressive-leaning is putting it mildly. Chris Savage is a guy who thinks Democrats who voted for Rick Snyder are fucking stupid. He posted this comment on A2Politico [...]
The fact is that Michigan’s Governor Rick Snyder is not very popular at the moment. That could change. Certainly President Obama’s approval ratings, once stellar, have fallen, then recovered. The fact of the matter is that governance and public administration are diabolically difficult jobs. Time is often what burnishes or tarnishes political reputations. After four [...]
Representative Jeff Irwin, a Democrat, served for a decade as a Washtenaw County Commissioner. In January 2011, he began his first term in the Michigan House of Representatives. In his regular column, House Calls, A2Politico will pose a single question to Representative Irwin and he will answer it. The questions will focus on his work in [...]
Let me just say for the record that I like 52nd District Michigan State House Republican Mark Ouimet. He’s a personable, warm and friendly man. Washtenaw County Democrats, led by Stu Dowty, then Chair, tried to derail Ouimet’s march to the State House by digging up dirt on Ouimet’s educational background (AnnArbor.com printed allegations that [...]
