Nearly $6,000 for an Uber ride in Cancun, $25,578 for a private stay, and nearly $4,700 for a wellness experience?
If I had been an editor during the newspaper’s heyday, I don’t think I would have been able to afford such extravagant spending. I work for a private company.
But Washtenaw County Racial Equity Officer Aliz Asbury Payne did.
Reporter Lukas Smolčić-Larson spent hours poring over hundreds of pages of MasterCard statements and receipts, detailing Asbury Payne’s unchecked trips in the public tab.
She has crisscrossed the country and the oceans, attending events in Phoenix, Philadelphia and Germany, many related to her role in addressing racial and socio-economic disparities. was.
She spent a total of at least 80 days out of the county or while traveling between 2022 and March 2024. This equates to 16 weeks of her working hours.
“How can you actually work if you’re away from work that much?” asked Ypsilanti Commissioner Annie Somerville.
Meanwhile, Ann Arbor Public Schools, which has increased capacity after losing hundreds of students over the past few years, has outlined $20.4 million in cuts to address a $25 million budget shortfall, Martin Slagter reported. . This includes 141 layoffs, including 94 teachers. Close middle school pools. And eliminate the world’s languages at the elementary level.
Teachers and community members, to no one’s surprise, are frustrated.
These are just some of this week’s headlines in and around Ann Arbor.
University of Michigan reporter Samuel Dodge, for example, is a busy man. UM approved liquor at the Big House, released updated maps of its ambitious development plans and addressed fake corpses and bloody toys placed in front of the Regent’s House by pro-Palestinian protesters.
Ah, there was this little piece of news tucked into the MLive.com page.
MLive has won 34 awards, including 11 wins in the Society of Professional Journalists Excellence in Journalism competition
Just a heads up – and this isn’t really a brag, because it was my first time attending this Ann Arbor gig and I had nothing to do with it – The Ann Arbor News is a once-quirky Ann Arbor came in first place for a wide-ranging project on poor prices. The hippie town has been transformed into a land lined with expensive skyscrapers.
Please read these and other headings carefully.
Four pro-Palestinian protesters charged with assaulting police at University of Michigan
University of Michigan parking fees go up. Let’s see how much you’ll pay.
Georgia-Pacific closes Milan cardboard factory, lays off 119 employees
New floral mural transforming railroad bridge welcomes visitors to downtown Ann Arbor
Polluters say Superfund status for Ann Arbor area dioxane rooms unnecessary
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Daniel Salisbury is the editor of MLive/Ann Arbor News. She served as a public safety reporter for over 11 years in Jackson, and for several more years she served as a health reporter for MLive’s statewide team. She was promoted to editor earlier this year, and she has two sons and a daughter. Contact her at dsalisbury@mlive.com.
