Michigan voters will decide in November whether to stage the state's 5th constitutional convention since 1837. Up until now there have been four such gatherings resulting in 148 changes to state laws via that so-called Con-Con. In 1961, the last time there was such an effort, a civil group ...
Since I’ve been far too busy lately to write another column for this space, here’s a highly abridged version of the speech I gave at the 2026 Alpena High School graduation held at the stadium. “What a joy to be here. What a privilege to be able to speak to some of my favorite people sitting in front of me today. “You asked me to speak and gave me permission to give you some advice. I’m just going to remind you of three things, but, as it’s already well after 2:00, I won’t be able to make sure you get to the dentist on time.” (I know one shouldn’t explain his jokes, ...
Thousands of conversations, countless hours of volunteer time over nearly seven weeks, more than 2,000 petition pages, and dozens of misplaced pens are just some of the statistics for the effort to recall Alpena Public School board members Sarah Costain, Monica Dziesinski, and Eric Lawson. However, the time, effort, and materials for the recall are just a footnote in our initiative. Nearly 4,000 is the number that matters to the dozens of volunteer circulators and the thousands of voters who have signed the petitions. No, it’s not about the 3,771 signatures we need to trigger the ...
A few years ago, I wrote a column about time, our time, the time before the railroads imposed their time. It wasn’t until 1918, at the insistence of the railroads, that time zones were created. Our gatherings on depot platforms were at their time, and in time their time became our ...
The approach of July 4 is making my heart hurt. Love of this country is deep-dyed in my soul, but pondering how or even whether to celebrate the semiquincentennial provokes a riot of mixed feelings. The right -- and not just the MAGA right -- responds to any queasiness about this particular ...
If there were a single task that could do all the following, would you do it? (1) cultivate deeper emotional connections, (2) improve cognitive and mental health, (3) increase mindfulness, (4) reduce screen fatigue, (5) lower anxiety, (6) stimulate memory retention, and (7) create tangible ...
