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 [...]
A2P Notes: In Fall 2010, A123 Systems opened what the company touted as the “world’s largest lithium ion automotive battery manufacturing plant in North America” in Livonia, Michigan. According to a September 13, 2010 piece in the New York Times, the company was able to open the plant thanks to the fact that the move [...]
by Rob Smith In the March 13th issue of the New York Times there is an article about the severe economic problems that face Italy. That country, like Michigan, has been in one of the deepest recessions on record. Unemployment in Italy last measured at 9.2 percent in March 2012—just about the same as Michigan’s [...]
A2P Notes: This is the debut of Amy Kerr Hardin on A2Politico. However, it is not her first foray into politics or writing. She is an experienced political consultant, and in her neck of the woods (near Traverse City, Michigan) she has worked on multiple candidate campaigns. Get her answering machine and you will hear [...]
At Monday’s City Council meeting John Hieftje evidently wanted to make sure he understood exactly how deep in his own personal pile of horse manure he was standing. So, Hieftje pointedly asked the new Fire Chief, Chuck Hubbard (below), a 20-year member of the AAFD, “if the city would actually experience better service if it [...]
by Rob Smith Federal funding for rail. Federal funding for roads. Federal funding for green energy. Between 2009 and 2011, the state of Michigan has been the recipient of over $17 billion dollars in federal stimulus money also known as “recovery” money. In Wayne County, local K-12 school and governments received over $2.4 billion dollars [...]
By P.D. Lesko Last year at this time my two sons, ages 10 and 13, were advanced in reading, mathematics and science, according to their work on the MEAP tests. This year, one son is advanced in social studies and that both are Level 2 proficient in reading and mathematics. Their overall proficiency scores dropped [...]
As A2Politico revealed in a February 23, 2012 post: The amount of stimulus funding send from Washington, D.C. to Washtenaw County between 2009 and 2011 is a staggering $767,218,458 million dollars, the 4th largest amount given out within the state. That’s $2,222 dollars for every resident of the county. It’s also significantly higher, per capita, [...]
by Robert C. Smith The amount of stimulus funding send from Washington, D.C. to Washtenaw County between 2009 and 2011 is a staggering $767,218,458 million dollars, the 4th largest amount given out within the state. That’s $2,222 dollars for every resident of the county. It’s also significantly higher, per capita, than the national average of [...]
by P.D. Lesko The University of Michigan picked up its marbles and is going home. Officials there are now looking to build the U.’s next parking garage anywhere but on a 10 acre parcel of riverside parkland on Fuller Road. While the U walks away having shelled out relatively little money, Ann Arbor taxpayers are [...]
