Stephen Tuttle | Author

Very lame ducks

Dec. 10, 2016

Michigan legislators, ever vigilant to the scourge of voter identity fraud, have introduced yet another bill making it more difficult for some Michiganders to vote. This is what passes for work during their lame-duck session.

Lame-duck sessions, that period between the November el... Read More >>

To TIF or not to TIF

Dec. 1, 2016

Traverse City’s Downtown Development Authority wants to renew an expired tax increment financing plan covering the Old Town district.

The previous TIF in that district lasted 30 years and expired in 2015. The DDA would like a new TIF for another 25 years.

The DDA is ... Read More >>

No peace on earth

Nov. 27, 2016

Ah, yes, the season of peace on earth. Uh-huh.

We might think after 15,000 years of what we euphemistically call civilization we’d have found a better system of dispute resolution than killing each other. We would be wrong.

Wars currently rage in various forms in at ... Read More >>