The Greening of Detroit
A hundred years ago, Michigan was a cut-over wasteland. Unsustainable logging practices had left most of the state covered in stumps, detritus and land with zero economic or ecological value.But some...
View ArticleRep. Peters (D) Health Care Town Hall Feed [Event Complete]
The health care town halls keep rolling on.Tonight, Democratic Representative Gary Peters is holding a town hall in suburban Detroit.The event seems to have attracted a pretty mixed crowd, at least...
View ArticleAdventures with Swine Flu
Sniffle. Sniffle. Cough. Cough. That was the sound of my middle-school classroom earlier this week as swine flu took dead aim on my county - Lenawee - in southeastern Michigan.And it occurred to me...
View ArticleCan Michigan Afford to Go Green? State Cuts MSU Extension/College of Natural...
The Lansing State Journal has disturbing information from Michigan's knock-down, drag-out budget battle in today's editions. Apparently, Governor Jennifer Granholm has refused to cut an October check...
View ArticleOntario Freezes Offshore Wind Energy Permitting
The Toronto Star reports that the Province of Ontario has placed a temporary freeze on applications for new Great Lakes wind farms.Toronto Star: Ontario Freezes Wind ProjectsBackground: Ontario...
View ArticleArsenal of Democracy Retrofits for Climate Battle: Wind Turbines on Zug Island?
As a child of the most southern reaches of Metro Detroit, I have an image burned permanently into my memory. The image results from the one trip that my family made into the actual City of Detroit...
View ArticleMI: Obama Ready to Dump Cherry for Dillon or Archer?
Tim Skubick, the well-known Michigan capitol reporter, has a provocative column this weekend in which he suggests that President Obama might be planning to force Lt. Gov. John Cherry from the race for...
View ArticleBrown Dogs Held Balance of Power in House
There are now 3 quadrillion diaries on this site bemoaning the role of Blue Dog Democrats in the House health care debate. But what I find interesting is the little-discussed role of a second tier of...
View ArticleStupak Town Hall Meeting: 5:30PM, 11/11, Escanaba
I monitor local news feeds from roughly 350+ MI news sources and I found a little nugget that I thought might be of interest to the readers of this board.Bart Stupak is hosting a town hall meeting on...
View ArticleMy Town's Only Bookstore is Closing
The economic destruction of Michigan continues.As I write this, I am looking out my front window and observing my neighbors across the street load up a Ryder truck. They have decided not to pay their...
View ArticleCommunity and Compromise
I have to admit that Barack Obama was not my guy last year. I didn't think that he was experienced enough to be president. As a teacher, I was skeptical of his plans for school reform.I was a Hillary...
View ArticleSchauer (MI-07) Holds Town Meetings
Bart Stupak has become a lightning rod for media attention because of his vote on abortion in the health care debate. And Stupak represents one way for Democrat to lead a marginally-Republican...
View ArticleBishops/Catholics Now Must Push for Health Care
Catholics are prototypical swing voters. Traditional Catholic positions do not fit easily into Democratic or Republican Party platforms. The Catholic Church - whatever that means - has generally been...
View ArticleMichael Moore to Traverse City: Republicans and Democrats Must Work Together
Michael Moore elicits a fantastic range of reactions at the national level. But I have just one reaction when I see the man on television: He's one of us.Michael Moore, of course, is a Michigander....
View ArticleOH Public Employees: Heads Up
Editor and Publisher Magazine reports that the Ohio News Organization, a consortium of widely-read Ohio newspapers, will run an investigative report focused on public employee pensions next Sunday,...
View ArticleMI: More Cuts Coming to My School
When I was first hired to teach at my current district in Michigan eleven years ago, we had 72 teachers on staff. We now have fewer than fifty. I teach in a rural area and the loss of manufacturing...
View ArticleLions vs. Pack: Tradition
This past August, the Detroit Lions held an open practice session at Ford Field and 15,000 people showed up. This happened despite the team's historic 0-16 record last year. And it happened despite...
View ArticleClimate Bill/Talks: Difficult Politics
This past weekend, my wife and I were visited by a friendly member of a national/state organization called Clean Water Action. The man who visited was looking to drum up support for the climate bill...
View ArticleVirg Bernero to Run for MI Governor?
WILX TV in Lansing is reporting that Mayor Virg Bernero is considering a run for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in Michigan. Currently, Bernero serves as mayor of Lansing. He won reelection...
View ArticleClimate Bill/Talks Force Utilities to Change
It is easy to criticise the current round of climate negotiations in Copenhagen and the climate bill discussions in Washington. Making sausage ain't easy.But I think that it is important to understand...
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