For seven years, Ypsilanti resident Sultan was an interpreter for American troops deployed in Afghanistan. Wearing an American uniform and carrying a rifle, Sultan was away from his home in north Afghanistan for extended periods of time, traveling the country with American combat soldiers to translate and help train local forces and often being subjected to hostile ambushes on the road.
In a testimony before City Council Monday night that silenced the chamber, Khita Whyatt, lecturer of dance in the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance, recounted a recent incident when four men knocked her to the ground while shouting epithets last Thursday morning on Observatory Street.
In a 97-page court filing Monday, the city of Ann Arbor argued state regulators and Pall Corporation systematically failed to control a local contaminated plume of groundwater and motioned to intervene as a plaintiff in a 24-year-old legal settlement on the plume.
Ann Arbor voters approved a ballot proposal Tuesday to extend the term for city officials from two to four years and end odd-year municipal elections, with nearly 55 percent support.
Overall, 28,243 votes were cast in favor and 23,456 against.
As the Nov. 8 elections approach, The Michigan Daily has created a voter guide with information on Ann Arbor City Council candidates and ballot proposal measures.
Ward 1:
Sumi Kailasapathy (D)
Following the discovery of shallow groundwater contaminated with the toxic compound 1,4-dioxane in October, the city of Ann Arbor took steps to pursue new legal action against the responsible party Tuesday night.
City Council voted unanimously during a special session to pursue a new legal intervention in the state’s decades-old settlement against the original polluter during a special session.
After resigning as county commissioner amid concerns of a conflict of interest, then abruptly re-entering a election race for the seat, Conan Smith (D–District 9) is facing widespread disaffection from segments of his constituency.
However, even some of his critics admit it will be unlikely for him to lose re-election because of the amount of straight-ticket Democratic voting expected on Election Day.
Following a fatal car crash Tuesday near Huron High School that resulted in one death, some Ann Arbor residents have raised questions about whether City Council has deferred funding for pedestrian safety in favor of downtown projects — putting off slated crosswalk improvements for areas including the location of the crash.
In response to a new discovery last week of the toxic chemical 1,4-dioxane in shallow groundwater on Ann Arbor’s west side, city officials are exploring the possibility of new legal actions against the original polluter that could potentially bypass state environmental regulators.
City Council is laying the groundwork to resume its controversial wintertime deer cull, with an affirmative first-read vote on two ordinances that would facilitate a continuation of lethal culling operations by USDA shooters.
Approval during first reading does not enact an ordinance; rather, it means the policy will be advanced to be further discussed at a public hearing and voted on in a Nov. 14 special meeting for final approval.