Features Rick Coates Typically, resolutions are for individuals, but maybe now is the time for Northern Michigan to have a New Year’s Resolution. I have a suggestion. The time is right for Northern Michigan to work collectively to become the “culinary,” “cultural” and “craft-farming” capital of the country.

Letters Reagan, Bush & guns... Why the hysteria over President Obama recommending the ban of assault weapons since Reagan and G.W. Bush did the SAME thing?

Guns & young men... Over the past decade, some reoccurring community concerns and thoughts that have come to mind. To me, it seems like we need to have some community reevaluation, rethinking, and changes. What say you?

Guns & the media... I agreed with your Random Thoughts column, re: violence in USA and gun control. Our perceptions are so ingrained about how safe we are here and how dangerous it is in foreign countries.

Slamming MLK Day... It’s too bad that Traverse City’s homosexual community continues their attempt to ride on the coat tails of black history. The majority of the black community do not support homosexuality or gay marriage, and are sick and tired of the sham that the gays and their allies continue to perpetrate on our citizens.

Snyder’s lack of jobs... Will Governor Snyder run again?  Total Michigan employment declined by 11,000 in December; however, the number of unemployed was little changed, edging upward by 1,000. The net impact was a 10,000 worker reduction in the state’s labor force over the month.

A better supreme court... We ask Governor Snyder to give serious consideration to the recommendation of the state’s bipartisan commission on Michigan Supreme Court elections.

Rigging the vote... Gerrymandering is the redrawing of congressional district lines to give one party advantage over the other in elections. Even though Democratic congressional candidates won the popular vote by over a million votes in the 2012 election, it was the Republicans who won the US House and both houses of our Michigan legislature due in large part to gerrymandering.

Letters

True meaning of MLK Day... Something about Paul J. Nepote’s letter lamenting the “hijacking” of Martin Luther King Day by the gay community seems a little disingenuous. It’s hard to tell if he’s attacking the gay community, the use of public funds for the celebration, or the holiday itself, but I did not find it to be in the spirit Dr. King’s life...

Racist rant... It’s too bad that Paul Nepote considers himself a viable voice for the African- American community, when it’s clear by his racist rant (Letters, 1-28-13) that nothing could be further from the truth. It’s too bad that anyone with a brain will see through his weak claim that “the majority of the black community do not support homosexuality...”

Sick of it... Is it just me or is everyone sick of hearing about Paul Nepote’s anti-Homosexual diatribes? And now he claims that the LGB&T movement has hijacked MLK day. Really? Ludicrous at best. Yes Mr. Nepote, you are entitled to your opinion, and I to mine...

Watch out for meddlers... While Barack Obama won the state of Michigan in November, Republicans successfully invested millions of dollars in local elections to impact policy decisions. Proposal 2, designed to guarantee collective bargaining rights, was defeated by a well-financed campaign...

Christian values violated... I found a copy of your publication on the break room table at work today. I was instantly upset and ashamed that you are proudly telling the story of the two homosexual men in Traverse City...

Letters

Republican mischief... I have taken pride in the past of being a fiercely independent voter, casting my ballot for example, for Carter (once), Reagan (twice), both Bushes and Obama (twice).

I am not a fan of the social agenda of the Democratic Party, as I view some of their policies as morally repugnant and counterproductive to a healthy society. That being said, I find myself in a sad position of giving up my status as an independent and becoming a member of the Democratic Party. Here are the reasons why...

Seniors mugged by GOP... Just had my 2012 taxes completed; I suspect most people would agree that it is a relief to have it out of the way. What is not a relief however, is losing the over-65 age exemption, and due to the evaluation of my home, losing my property tax credit. The two biggest breaks seniors previously have enjoyed...

Hypocritical Democrats... I have to agree with Bob Ross’s letter in the Feb. 11-17 issue of your paper about the Catholic churches shielding priests guilty of sex crimes against children. His statement that the church should show the same care for postnatals as they do to pre-natals could apply to the Democratic Party in general as well...

Frog for dinner, anyone?... If you put a frog in a pan of cool water, then put the pan over a fire and heat it to boiling, the frog will set in the pan until it is cooked and never try to escape the hot water. If we continue to burn fossil fuel...

Letters Students defend work Last Friday, we, writers of The Leek, the satirical page of Traverse City Central’s the Black & Gold, published an infographic describing in four steps how to “grind,” a controversial dance that has been commonplace in TCAPS schools but was recently banned.

We cannot stress enough that this graphic is satirical and in no way encourages the practice of grinding...

Rough roads & TC Michigan residents appear to agree that Michigan roads are in poor shape and in need of immediate improvement. What no-one can agree on is where we find the dollars to complete the task. To begin with, we should stop building new roads until we can maintain the roads we currently have...

Source of the sequester In his 2/25 column, Steve Tuttle offers a reasonably fair-minded look at this sequester’s history. However, he asserts that Congress came up with “a law under which budget cuts and tax increases will take place automatically absent a budget deal.”

Letters

$20,000 hospital stay There was a 23-hour stay at the hospital. Afterward, we received a bill for over $20,000. There’s not much to say except we make just enough to not qualify for Medicaid, but can’t afford the best insurance...

Marriage & procreation One of the main concerns expressed during the recent Supreme Court deliberations concerning gay marriage was the view that the main purpose of traditional marriage was procreation, and therefore the marriage of same-sex couples was pointless and even invalid.

I immediately thought of my own marriage of 23 years between a postmenopausal female and a vasectomy recipient...

Irritating comment As a foodie in a foodie area I was enjoying the “Best of” issue and making plans to visit some new and exciting restaurants when I came across “You know you’re from Northern Michigan when...”. I was looking forward to the usual chuckles about snow, Subaru’s and the usual whatnot when I came to the whenism “Everyone is white.”

Opposing biodiversity “Natural diversity in ecosystems provides essential economic benefits and services to human society—such as food, clothing, shelter, fuel and medicines—as well as ecological, recreational, cultural and aesthetic values, and thus plays an important role in sustainable development.”

-- Chevron’s Biodiversity Statement, April 2012, http://www.chevron.com.

Sadly, our representatives in Lansing reject such science-based wisdom...

Correction: Please note, it was Sleeping Bear Surf & Kayak named the Best Athletic Gear Shop in Leelanau County in our recent “Best of Northern Michigan” issue. An editing error mangled the shop’s name. Also, it was A. Papano’s Pizza chain that won “Best Restaurant Staff and Pizza” in Benzie County.

Features Rick Coates Scott Smith was two years old when he became “hooked” on fishing.  Smith, who has a dental practice in Adrian (south of Jackson/Ann Arbor) and place on the Au Sable River outside of Grayling, now shares his love of fishing with others. He will be one of several volunteer instructors at the 43rd Annual Michigan Council Trout Unlimited Fly Fishing School. The threeday school will be held June 7-9, on the Boardman River at Ranch Rudolph, southeast of Traverse City.

Letters

Voters & wolves In March, 253,000 Michigan citizens signed a petition for a 2014 ballot initiative to stop a state sponsored wolf hunt. This referendum opposes the designation of wolves as game animals...

Lansing’s attack on voters First it was doves, then it was wolves...now they’ve targeted democracy and your right to vote!  The politicians and bureaucrats in Lansing have been working overtime to take double standards and hypocrisy to a whole new level -- and they’re on the fast track to avoid your “emotional” input to stop them..

Cure Michigan Welcome to Pure Michigan, where, thanks to Republican influence, potholes may sink your car, but “not to worry” we’ll charge you more for your license. Welcome to Pure Michigan, where schools lose more money every year to educate your children and where your school or community may be taken over by an “emergency manager” who can invalidate your votes...

Fishy cover Someone must not know too much about fishing at you newspaper, otherwise you wouldn’t have the title “Spring Sports” besides a man holding what clearly is a king salmon...

Get checked April is National STD Awareness Month. If you’re a sexually active young person, you should know that sexually transmitted infections (STI) are on the rise in the United States, especially among young people: there are 20 million new infections in the U.S. each year, half in the under-25 age group...

The facts on right-to-work A recent opinion stated that one result of the so-called “Right to Work” (RTW) legislation would be that new workers who are hired cannot be compelled to join a union....

Features Patrick Sullivan The U-M study has prompted a call from insurance and medical groups to reestablish the state’s helmet law, but proponents of the repeal argue it’s too early to draw any conclusions about the data and note that last year’s remarkably long period of warm weather led to more motorcycles on the roads.

Letters

Seniors & taxes  Regarding the 4/29 letter “Runaway Train.” What an entitlement attitude regarding senior taxes. I’d like to ask the question: When did the citizens of Michigan decide that the working folks could and would support retired individuals...

Disaster in Kalkaska Recently, the Canadian-based Encana corporation filed applications to drill 13 more gas/oil wells in Kalkaska County. The combined cumulative water estimated to hydraulically fracture these wells is in excess of 327,000,000 gallons. This water would be removed from the Manistee Watershed permanently, because the chemicals added to the water render it too toxic for any future use -- even for more hydraulic fracturing...

Solar & wind benefits People talk often about what wind turbines and solar panels are about. This is what they are not about -- gas explosions, oil spills, coal mining accidents, using millions of gallons of water laced with chemicals, some of which are carcinogenic...

Fracking giveaway There is a fracking gas/oil rush in Michigan because the state's DEQ and Office of Oil, Gas and Minerals give multinational energy corporations our fresh water for FREE and our state lands for pennies...

Need fracking moratorium Michigan citizens have recently been told that we possess a wealth of natural gas, and that the oil and gas industry will respect our environment in it’s production. The advertising campaign promoting “clean” natural gas in Michigan began appearing the same time residents of other states were reporting environmental problems with horizontal hydraulic fracturing, a.k.a. “fracking”...

Correction Last week's article on the new Uptown restaurant in TC included the wrong phone number. The correct number is 943-1344.Got Extra?