Opinion
A Long Way to Go to Renewable
Spectator
By Stephen Tuttle | May 4, 2024
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, we now get almost 20 percent of our electricity generation from renewable sources, about twice what we were generating just two decades ago. But we are still getting at least 60 percent of our electrical power from fossil fuel sources. We’re doing better but still have a long way to go. It’s not as if the majority of Americans don’t support the movement to renewables. ... Read More >>
Saving Your Life While Losing Your Mind
Guest Opinion
By Isiah Smith, Jr. | May 4, 2024
Everywhere we look worldwide, problems seem to be intensifying and multiplying. The war in Ukraine grinds on without an end in sight, and the situation in Gaza worsens daily. On American college campuses, it’s 1968 again, peppered as they are by student protesters and outside agitators. Politics in the U.S. are becoming meaner and grimmer, polarized along stiff ideological lines, with distrust and hatred rising between ordinary Americans of differing views and ... Read More >>
Resistance from Within
Spectator
By Stephen Tuttle | April 27, 2024
It must be difficult to lead when those you hope will follow demand you agree with them 100 percent of the time. That’s the predicament Speaker of the House Mike Johnson finds himself in after having had the temerity to usher through the House a bill providing, among other things, aid to Ukraine and Israel. Surprisingly, there are now Republicans who favor Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to the detriment of the Ukrainians ... Read More >>
How Can YOU Invest in Housing?
Guest Opinion
By Yarrow Brown | April 27, 2024
We have an opportunity in northwest Michigan to invest in our community and work collaboratively to address the housing crisis. If you are a community member, business owner, or employer, you can help. Everyone can work to be effective and support housing solutions in their community! How can you help bring housing for employees? One way is to consider a partnership with other business owners or companies. This can be very impactful, ... Read More >>
The Real Fraud
Spectator
By Stephen Tuttle | April 20, 2024
We know Donald Trump is going to continue spouting his delusions about the results of the 2020 presidential election because those lies appear to be foundational to his 2024 campaign. It’s more distressing that his followers continue to believe that which has been proven as untrue over and over again. Now Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law, has started her tenure as co-chair of the Republican National Committee with a recorded message ... Read More >>
May You Be Happy
Opinion Columnist
By Mary Keyes Rogers | April 20, 2024
Very few people need to maintain their mental health. Maintenance is not the struggle. I mean let’s be honest, who says, “Boy, every day is such a joy, how do I stay on this train?” The reality is that most of us need to improve our mental health. For those of you lucky enough to be in maintenance mode, as well as the rest of us, I offer you the benefit of ... Read More >>
Crossing Bridges
Spectator
By Stephen Tuttle | April 13, 2024
Is that bridge you’re about to cross safe? Are you sure? This comes to mind as salvage crews try to clear the remains of the collapsed Francis Scott Key bridge that spans the entrance to Baltimore harbor. Of course, the bridge you’re on probably does not have a 984-foot-long, 95,000-ton (when empty) behemoth of a ship about to impact the structure, so you’re likely safe…though boat strikes aren’t our only bridge worry. ... Read More >>
In Praise of Goodness
Guest Opinion
By Greg Holmes | April 13, 2024
As I write this column, former president Jimmy Carter has been receiving hospice care for over a year at his home in South Georgia. Whether you believe Carter was a “good” president or not most likely depends on your own political affiliation. It’s much easier to lump people in a party together and judge them one way or the other than to carefully consider each individual on their respective merits. Like most, ... Read More >>
The Medicaid Mental Health Gap
Guest Opinion
By Emma Smith | April 6, 2024
If you have Medicaid, like a third of all Michigan residents, you may have noticed that finding a therapist who is willing and able to take your insurance has become increasingly difficult in the past year or so. At the start of 2023, mental health therapists began noticing a sharp decrease in the reimbursement rate from Meridian of Michigan, the largest Medicaid provider in our state. This decrease was instituted without notice ... Read More >>
Congress Shall Make No Law
Spectator
By Stephen Tuttle | April 6, 2024
The misinformation is ramping up as the next election approaches, and that means religious bigotry can’t be far behind, complete with nonsense about this being a “Christian nation.” A former president, in what has to be one of the tackier moments in modern American political history, has sold his name—yes, a licensing fee was paid—to sell a Bible for $59.99. (You’d need to have actually read the book to fully appreciate how ... Read More >>
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