Perhaps it is a reflection of the rough-and-tumble process Republicans are enduring as they attempt to pick a nominee for president, but for whatever reason, Cleveland police are expecting trouble when the GOP holds its national convention in that city this summer.City officials plan to buy ...

Some people may wonder whether federal bureaucrats are required to stop at their office buildings' front doors every morning and drop off their common sense before beginning the day's work. That could be one explanation for the lack of said quality shown regularly in Washington.Consider this ...

It's only a matter of time but eventually history repeats itself and in Michigan politics it is happening again.The current establishment GOP leadership is in deep therapy trying to figure how to handle Donald Trump. To be sure the state GOP Party chair and others have been tight lipped about ...

Sometimes you really can have the sun, moon and the stars.That is, if you are enjoying one of Northeast Michigan's three premier recreational facilities - Thompson's Harbor and Negwegon State Parks, as well as Rockport State Recreation Area.The three recently were designated as dark sky ...

I might have to admit I was wrong. I know, as hard to believe as that might sound, I should probably just admit it now.In conversations late last year my wife Diane turned to me for assurance that there was no way Donald Trump ever could secure the Republican presidential nomination. I looked ...

How to voteQ. Some helpful guidelines for thoughtful voting were presented at the Jan. 28 college program on ISIS. What were those suggestions?A. Tim Kuehnlein, Alpena Community College Instructor of Political Science and History, encouraged citizens, when voting in the March 8 Michigan ...

I cringed when Sen. Marco Rubio said of Donald Trump at a campaign rally last week: "I'll admit ... he's taller than me, he's like 6-foot-2 inches, which is why I don't understand why his hands are the size of someone who's 5-foot 2-inches - and you know what they say about men with small ...

When a family's loved one is near the end of life, it can force everyone to endure financial and emotional strain - creating the perfect environment for new conflicts to arise and old ones to resurface.Ramona Hancock, a Hospice of Michigan social worker, said the stress of losing a loved one, ...

I lay awake in the middle of the night, worrying. The next day I had to go to the hospital. And I really, really didn't want to.It was a routine procedure, one done many times a day to all sorts of people in complete safety, and I had been told that it wasn't scary at all. But as I lay in ...

It used to be heroin was that dark and dangerous drug only the "real" addicts would even dare mess with.Those days are long gone. Today heroin not only is readily available on the street, it is used by men and women of all ages, economic backgrounds and previous drug experiences.In short, it ...

Prescription drug abuse is rising fast and recently the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has classified prescription drug abuse as an epidemic. One way to help prevent prescription drug abuse is to dispose of your unused medications. By disposing of the medications, we reduce the risk ...

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's former chief security officer knew two people he hired in 2011 had criminal backgrounds, an inspector general's report has revealed. Once others in FEMA found out, the two were fired.What about the official who hired them? FEMA will say only that he - ...

Have you ever stood in front of an elevator and pushed the button a number of times because the elevator didn't appear as fast as you would like it to? When it didn't come soon enough for you, did you just take the stairs instead?We sometimes find irrational actions in economics as well. We ...

If you have used the Internal Revenue Service's computerized program to obtain copies of your old tax returns, there is an excellent chance criminals have personal information about you. It has happened to more than 700,000 taxpayers, the IRS admitted this week.It was known about a year ago ...

Development of a community is like a three-pronged fork used to eat spaghetti. You stick the fork into a community and churn it up and pull out some sort of new development. But we don't often realize this fork even exists and who makes up each tine on the fork.A few weeks ago I presented to ...

Dozens of military intelligence analysts complained last year they were pressured to alter reports to make it look as if U.S. action against terrorist organizations was more successful than actually was the case. An investigation of that is proceeding.But last week, members of Congress were ...

If as many as 200 U.S. troops were killed in a terrorist attack, Americans would demand to know how it could have happened. We would insist on learning whether our soldiers had been supported properly and what was being done to strike back at those responsible for the massacre.Between 180 and ...

It was clearly one of this legislature's finest hours as a bi-partisan coalition joined hands with the GOP governor to craft the Grand Bargain to save the City of Detroit.Unfortunately at this read, there are no signs of a repeat performance as the governor and a handful of others try to save ...

As was noted in a story on the front page of today's paper, it was 18 years ago this month that Bob Bender was appointed as the first bovine tuberculosis eradication coordinator. From today's vantage point it was a daunting assignment; in the early days of battling the disease the task was ...

In light of this week's snowstorm, I have decided to perform a public service about how to drive in the snow. From all the cars in the ditch, it's clearly needed.My qualifications for writing such a piece are thus: Not only did I grow up in the U.P., where winters are winters and kids fall out ...