Opinion: Why the Ann Arbor city council should override the mayoral veto of a referendum on non-partisan elections

Earlier this month, the Ann Arbor city council achieved the 7-vote majority on the 11-member body that's required to place a charter question in front of voters: Should the city replace its partisan city elections with a non-partisan system? The council had voted without success on the question four times in the last four years … Continue reading Opinion: Why the Ann Arbor city council should override the mayoral veto of a referendum on non-partisan elections →

Opinion: Tools you can use when MLive won’t tell you why city councilmembers voted the way they did

In a recent piece, I presented a statistical analysis of some Ann Arbor's city council voting patterns. It was apparently received by some readers as an unwelcome challenge to what I think is a lazy world view. On that view, the Ann Arbor City Council is composed of two unanalyzable factions. Maybe the analysis done … Continue reading Opinion: Tools you can use when MLive won’t tell you why city councilmembers voted the way they did →

Analysis: Breaking down the two-faction framing of Ann Arbor’s city council politics

Not many Ann Arbor residents pay attention to the workings of local government. For many of those who do, a kind of popular wisdom frames their thinking: Ann Arbor's 11-member city council is made up of two opposing factions. A look at some voting data shows that the popular two-faction framing is too simplistic. Background … Continue reading Analysis: Breaking down the two-faction framing of Ann Arbor’s city council politics →

Opinion: Michigan Daily’s reporting on councilmember’s remarks at a meeting doesn’t do the job the paper defined for itself

The Michigan Daily published a piece by Ben Rosenfeld early last week related to the arrest three months ago and subsequent conviction of sitting Ann Arbor councilmember Zachary Ackerman. He was charged initially for violating Michigan's so-called "super drunk driving" law, and was convicted of a reduced charge of operating while impaired. Here's a link to … Continue reading Opinion: Michigan Daily’s reporting on councilmember’s remarks at a meeting doesn’t do the job the paper defined for itself →

Opinion: Ann Arbor ordinance misrepresents city charter

Members of city councils in Michigan are elected to office. So voters can toss an incumbent who stands for re-election, if they're dissatisfied with the representation they're getting from the councilmember. Or for any reason they like. Last year, Ann Arbor's city council enacted a new local ordinance that describes the procedure to be used … Continue reading Opinion: Ann Arbor ordinance misrepresents city charter →

Opinion: Prepping for Hash Bash 2019, Ann Arbor’s suspension of sidewalk permits isn’t supported by city code

The city of Ann Arbor is making plans for the Hash Bash, to be held on April 6. Advance preparations include clearing sidewalks of vendors, by suspending (for one day) some already-issued sidewalk occupancy permits. The one-day suspension appears to be unsupported by the specific local laws that the city administrator has cited to justify … Continue reading Opinion: Prepping for Hash Bash 2019, Ann Arbor’s suspension of sidewalk permits isn’t supported by city code →

Amtrak ridership through Ann Arbor sets record in 2018

Two plots with captions tell the story.

Opinion: Better fare media, please

Appearing on change.org recently was a petition that calls on Ann Arbor's public transit board to make it easier for kids to board public buses, and claim the reduced fare to which they're entitled. Specifically, the petition calls on the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority's board of directors "to revise its current policy on student fares … Continue reading Opinion: Better fare media, please →

Photos: Bloomington North vs. Evansville Central Basketball

Here's some photos from Bloomington North's 83–50 victory over Evansville Central in boys basketball on Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018.

2019 edition of Bloomington’s city council will be the second-most experienced ever

The nine current members of the Bloomington, Indiana, city council will start 2019 with 95 years of collective experience, which makes it the second-most experienced council ever. It's seven years fewer than that of the council's 2017 edition, which was the most experienced one in Bloomington's history. That's all based on information provided by the … Continue reading 2019 edition of Bloomington’s city council will be the second-most experienced ever →