Many people celebrated Earth Day on Tuesday by cleaning up outside. This weekend, you have a chance to continue your household cleanup during the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Unwanted medications – over-the-counter, prescription, pet medications – can be safely disposed of in a way that won’t hurt the environment. During […]
The following editorial appeared Monday in the Grand Haven Tribune: Those are two good questions to ask when assessing bills being introduced in our national and state capitals. For instance, Michigan Senate Bill 682 reeks of politics. The bill would cripple the charter school movement in Michigan by imposing property taxes on charter schools, prohibiting […]
Not many of us would be too happy if our job and livelihood depended on taking an exam that we couldn’t study for because we didn’t know what material would be tested. However, that seems to be the situation the Michigan Legislature is putting teachers and school administrators in with their failure to select a […]
The following editorial appeared Monday in the Philadelphia Inquirer: More than 3.7 million jobless Americans may be learning how it feels to fruitlessly search for work, find meals at a food pantry, and skip paying bills for the first time. Out of work for six months or more, they are the long-term unemployed, about […]
Last week, Congress blocked the Paycheck Fairness Act, a piece of legislation intended to cut the gender wage gap in the U.S. President Barack Obama released a statement, calling the Paycheck Fairness Act “commonsense legislation that would strengthen the 1963 Equal Pay Act and reinforce our country’s commitment to the principle of equal pay for […]
There’s no doubt that even in today’s technology driven world, libraries play an important role in our lives. That’s why we’re joining others in celebrating National Library Week April 13 through 19. Manistee County Library boasts five branches, including the main branch in Manistee, and serves 24,640 county residents with an annual circulation exceeding 160,000. […]
The following editorial was published in the April 10 edition of the Grand Haven Tribune: There wasn’t a big celebration, but March was the first month that there were no military deaths in Afghanistan since January 2007. Any celebration would have been bittersweet, since military operations have claimed the lives of 2,176 U.S. personnel in […]
The following editorial was published Monday in the Midland Daily News: While State Rep. Pete Lund believes a fix is needed, there is no reason to change the way electoral votes are distributed in Michigan during presidential elections. Lund, a Republican from Macomb County, is revising a 2011 bill that would change the current […]
It seems that spring is finally here. The temperature has consistently been above freezing, melting a considerable amount of snow. Birds are chirping. Flowers are starting to sprout. And many people are anxious for spring cleaning. For many this means yard cleanup, for others it means getting rid of old or unwanted things in the […]
The following editorial was published Friday in the Grand Haven Tribune: The Michigan House recently approved legislation (House Bill 4001) to improve the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request process, amending current law to establish a more uniformed structure for fees, clarifying procedures for public bodies and updating penalties. What does this mean for […]