We were dismayed to see the headline in Saturday’s edition of The News saying Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had again vetoed $652 million in coronavirus relief as she and the Republican-controlled Legislature continue their battle over pandemic policy.

Whitmer says the allocation lawmakers approved does too much to help big businesses and not enough to help regular folks. Lawmakers counter the money would help employers hard-hit by the pandemic stay afloat.

Whitmer had first vetoed the money because the bill included provisions wresting control of the pandemic response away from her state health department, but lawmakers pulled those elements out of the second try.

We won’t get into who’s right or who’s wrong, because, quite frankly, both sides are wrong until that money goes somewhere to help someone. It does nothing for anybody sitting in the state’s bank accounts.

We urge the governor and the Legislature to sit down and set a good example to the rest of us that we all are truly in this together, and we can only successfully climb out of it if we do it together.

Find a way to work together and get that money out the door.

— Alpena News