A Picture's Worth 1,000 Redacted Words

Ann Arbor City Council Member Jack Eaton, D-4th Ward, holds up a copy of an email that's been heavily redacted by the city's staff at the council's meeting on June 6, 2016. The intro, which is not redacted, indicates the email contains feedback from the Federal Railroad Administration on the city's analysis of possible sites for a new Amtrak station. However, what feedback the FRA provided is unknown because the city won't release the contents of this email, nor will it release the city's draft alternatives analysis report. Read the story.

Riding The Rails

As many wait for officials to deliver on the promise of a true commuter rail service between Ann Arbor and Detroit, a handful of people already are making it work. Living proof that it's possible right now to commute by train between the two Southeast Michigan cities — albeit with a few limitations — is Detroit resident Chinyere Neale. Neale has been boarding passenger trains at the Amtrak station in Detroit each morning for nearly a decade to get to her job at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. "There are several others who get on in Royal Oak, Detroit and Dearborn to work in Ann Arbor and the university," said Neale, who lives only a few minutes from the Detroit station. "We have endured the delays, suffered the cancellations, and mostly enjoyed great service." Read the story.