If an elected official misses the point, is his statement still right? State Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, was right when he said that he didn’t “think it’s appropriate to offer any enticement to vote for or against elected officials of any kind.” Unfortunately, the subject he was talking about had nothing to do with enticing voters.
Good news this week: One overly contentious, drawn-out, soul-crushingly unnecessary negotiation finally has ended, but there’s still at least one to go.
The word “research” appears four times in MSU’s official mission statement. That’s twice as much as any other word, discounting common conjunctions, articles and prepositions. That’s significant.
What do you get when you blend inane ordinances with inert development projects? A conflict that restricts the actualization of further development near campus.
When one listens to the news at night, reads the newspaper, gets a tweet or follows blogs from every Tom, Dick and Harry who feels the need to expound on every issue from Libya to malnutrition, one becomes both confused and depressed.
MSU and the state of Michigan are playing Russian roulette with state funding, but unless one side relents, it’s MSU students who will have to bite the bullet.
It might seem impossible, but it just got tougher to be unemployed in Michigan. A bill passed through the state Senate last Wednesday that would reduce welfare from 60 months (five years) to 48 months (four years).
The medical marijuana laws in Michigan are about to get a lot less hazy. In June, a package of eight bills was introduced into the state House to address unclear issues within the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act. The act, as written, is vague and confusing to law enforcement officials as well as medical marijuana patients, so state legislators have been looking at a way to clarify the act through further legislation.
Michigan legislators, in trying to right a tragic wrong, are acting too quickly and too viscerally without taking heed of the damage rushed legislation can cause.
I picked up the most recent edition of The Black Sheep, a student newspaper that claims to be “actually about college.” In its recent “Best and worst of summer” newspaper edition, it highlights some of the best and worst things around town.
If there is anything I have learned as a student of public policy, it is that most large problems have complicated solutions. There are many independent variables that not only interact with a dependent variable but also play off themselves. We sometimes forget that when we hear the one-liners used in political campaigns.
Last session, the East Lansing City Council did a great job protecting children from the dangers of alcohol. Unfortunately, no one told them that the children are already well protected in that respect. By a 3-2 vote, the council decided to deny an application that would have allowed the East Lansing BP gas station, 504 Michigan Ave., to sell packaged beer, wine and spirits.
I am writing in response to opinion writer Lazarus Jackson’s column “America’s unhappy birthday” (SN 7/7). In my opinion, history is not a prologue, but a precedent for our country’s current state. Despite the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln ordered that the construction of the nation’s capital dome continue as a symbol of unity, sending the message that although the country was in a state of open war, the Union still would survive. Our country has seen greater challenges and worked through them, and our current state is no exception.
A recently passed law in Georgia designed to deter illegal immigrants is having the desired effect — much to the displeasure of Georgia farmers.
Should the city try to find a way out of or around any agreement with Strathmore Development Co. when it comes to City Center II? It’s starting to look more like the answer to that question is, “Yes.”
Lawmakers and the governor are attempting to send ineffective teachers to the principal’s office, but it’s the legislators who need the time-out. Four separate bills, all approved by the state Legislature June 30, would change the tenure process for teachers in an attempt to retain more quality teachers.
When I was walking back to campus from St. John’s Student Center last weekend, I noticed an interesting juxtaposition on the corner of M.A.C.
Thanks to Gov. Rick Snyder, we’ll soon see if “three strikes, and you’re out” is better for the job market than “one and done.”
On Monday, America turned 235. Normally, this would be a cause for celebration, but I had trouble setting off my fireworks and eating my normal double-digit amount of hot dogs this year. Why? Because this year doesn’t feel very celebratory.
If you build it and price it for them, they will come. And in numbers large enough for twelve stories worth of buildings.