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Editorial

Michigan seniors need property tax relief

I’ve lived in Michigan for 65 of my 75 years, and have been in my Oakland County home for 34 years. It’s nothing fancy, and there seems to be an unending series of needed repairs. But it’s mine – paid for just months before I retired. Our son grew up in this house. My husband died in it. I take pride in my flowers and gardens, and love to host friends and relatives for gatherings and overnights. Like a lot of older folks, I want to stay here as long as I can. But it’s getting harder. Prices continue their relentless march upward: groceries, prescription drugs, utilities, ...

Never forget 9-11

Thursday was the 24th anniversary of one of the most harrowing days in United States history: the terrorist attacks that took nearly 3,000 lives here on American soil. The events of that day are etched in the memory of anyone old enough to recall the hijacked planes crashing into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. with another airliner driven to the Pennsylvania ground by passengers who sought to foil the terrorists. The effects, of course, continue, with responders who went to the sites suffering ongoing health consequences, families of the ...

Dickinson board must resolve Open Meetings Act issues

Under Michigan’s Open Meetings Act, “a person must be permitted to address a meeting of a public body under rules established and recorded by the public body.” Dickinson County Board allows two citizens’ times during its regular meetings — one near the beginning and one near the end — limited to five minutes per person. During Monday’s meeting, as Jason Gibbs of Iron Mountain prepared to address the board, he was directed by Chair Dan Harrington to remove his cap while speaking. Gibbs declined. Harrington responded that Gibbs would have to remove his hat or “be ...