by Hannah Wallace When he was seven-years-old, Malik Yakini, inspired by his grandfather, planted his own backyard garden in Detroit, seeding it with carrots and other vegetables. Should it come as any surprise that today, Yakini has made urban farming his vocation? The Executive director of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network (DBCFSN), which he [...]
by Betsy McMillin I truly don’t know how to do justice to long-time Ann Arbor Public Schools teacher Rick Dekeon. Anyone who knows him knows exactly what I am talking about. He is by far one of the most amazing teachers you will ever come across, and I have hundreds of people who are nodding their [...]
by P.D. Lesko Brenda Lawrence (left) grew up on the northeast side of Detroit and was raised by her grandparents; her mother died when she was three-years-old. She graduated from Detroit’s Pershing High School, and earned her bachelor’s degree in public administration from Central Michigan University. In 1997, she was elected to the Southfield City Council and in 1999 she [...]
Brandon Jessup is young, black and lives in Detroit. Newspapers and magazines all around the country that trumpet bad news generated by statistical analyses and studies about the city will tell you that Brandon Jessup should be unemployed, dead or have decamped to the ‘burbs for a better, safer, cleaner and more profitable life. Instead, [...]
In the Urban Dictionary, 149 is slang used to refer to someone who is very, very bright. Second Ward City Council candidate Tim Hull (pictured left) is definitely a 149. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in computer science and history, as well as a graduate degree from the U of M [...]
Council member Mike Anglin (pictured left) has represented Ann Arbor’s Fifth Ward for the past four years. He shocked many when, in 2007, as a newbie to local politics, he knocked off three-term incumbent Fifth Ward Council member Wendy Woods with 59.6 percent of the vote. In 2009, thanks to FOIAs of Council emails by [...]
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 weather’s turning warm (and then cold again and then warm again, but let’s just forget the blustery part for now), the kids are clamoring to begin their video-game and amusement park-filled vacations, Leinenkugel Summer Shandy is in stores again—yes, this can only mean one thing. Summer—a blessed time in Michigan, and an especially exciting [...]
When Ann Arbor resident Ted Annis signs his email messages, he often appends the title “Entrepreneur.” Ted Annis earned a Bachelor of Science from Xavier University in 1964 and an M.B.A. in 1965. Annis is the now retired co-founder of NanoBio, a biological pharmaceutical development company he founded along with James R. Baker, Jr. In November [...]
