The Detroit News. Sept. 11, 2015
Feds, fund the Soo study.
Maintaining the avenues of commerce is a core responsibility of the federal government. Currently, it’s failing big-time at that basic duty.
Nationwide, and most notably in Michigan, critical infrastructure projects are being delayed or scaled down because Washington, which spends tens of billions on functions not assigned to it by the Constitution, can’t set the right funding priorities.
The National Highway Trust Fund needs at least $8 billion to get up and operating the way it should be in support of transportation systems. That’s for the short-term. An appropriate longer-term fix would demand $80 billion each year.
President Barack Obama has presented a proposal for $300 billion over 10 years, but even that more modest plan hasn’t gained traction in Congress. The current discussion is focused on about half that amount, which most likely would require an 8-cent increase in the federal fuel tax.
The problem at the federal level is no different than it is in Michigan; everyone wants the roads and bridges fixed, but nobody is willing to support a big tax hike with an election coming.
Again, the stalemate on the trust fund and other transportation issues falls heavily on Michigan, and not just because its roads are so much worse than most other places.
The state is also home to a critical infrastructure need involving the shipping industry.
The Soo Locks, located in Sault Ste. Marie and enabler of inter-lake shipping on the Great Lakes, are in need of an upgrade.
Congress agrees - or at least it did 29 years ago when it authorized construction of a new Soo lock capable of handling the largest freighters.
The Soo Locks have just one lock - the 47-year-old Poe Lock - that can serve the giant ships. That limits the amount of goods that can be shipped on the lakes, and raises the concern about what would happen to shipping should the Poe Lock be damaged and shut down, as happened to the other lock at the Soo for a period this summer.
Shipping interests are pressing the Army Corps of Engineers to authorize a $1.3 million study of expanding the Soo Locks, which will include factoring the cost/benefit ratio and long-term demand for the services of a new, larger lock.
The study must be approved by October if construction is to begin in 2018, as hoped.
It would be money well spent and certainly should have a higher priority than some of the boondoggles Congress currently funds.
Seventy-five million metric tons of freight move through the locks each year. The material keeps steel plants running in Ohio and Pennsylvania and feeds granaries in Michigan and across the Midwest. Replacing that logistics capacity would require a massive fleet of rail cars and trucks, which are far less environmentally friendly and would tax the railways and roads.
Even the Corps acknowledges that a temporary shutdown would have a greater impact on the nation’s economy than it would at any other navigational lock in the country.
This is not a partisan issue. Shipping is vital to blue states and red states alike. Dawdling on expanding the Soo Locks hurts the competitiveness of the Midwest. The study should be funded.
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The Detroit Free Press. Sept. 10, 2015
House should show state Reps. Courser, Gamrat the door.
We don’t have a roads deal, or a plan to reform Detroit Public Schools, or significant progress on any of the other pressing issues facing Michigan. But a House of Representatives committee charged with reviewing the evidence against state Reps. Todd Courser, R-Lapeer, and Cindy Gamrat, R-Plainwell, has reached the right conclusion: Both should be expelled.
The recommendation went to the full House for a vote, where Republicans anxious to bring down the curtain remained shy Thursday evening of the 73 votes needed for expulsion. Democrats mostly abstained, hoping to force a more thorough examination of House Speaker Kevin Cotter’s role in the scandal.
Before the floor debate, we urged the House to move quickly. But Democrats raised serious issues about the expulsion process. Since the report was released, Dems have been on the attack, questioning what Cotter knew about Gamrat’s and Courser’s misconduct, when he knew it, and whether the GOP leadership consented to the dismissal of two House employees who may enjoy some legal protection as whistle-blowers.
These questions deserve to be answered, and Democrats are doubtless correct in surmising that no answers will be forthcoming once Gamrat’s and Courser’s futures have been resolved. But the reality is that both legislators have squandered any chance to represent their constituents effectively - and ultimately their House colleagues will have to move past their procedural standoff and acknowledge as much.
We’d be tempted to describe the pair’s plummet as meteoric, except that neither lawmaker has achieved particularly impressive heights since taking office last January. Elected on the so-called liberty platform, Courser and Gamrat charged into Lansing as tea party disruptors bent, as best we can tell, on crippling state government and establishing a Great Lakes theocracy. (They’ve succeeded in the former; since news of the scandal broke, Lansing has done little else but goggle over the latest seedy revelations, many provided courtesy of Courser’s social media accounts.)
They were remarkably ineffective at enacting their agenda, in large part because their vision of Michigan bears no relation to the kind of state in which most Michiganders want to live. Ostracized by their own parties, Courser and Gamrat dwell in legislative obscurity; their constituents say they’ve not delivered the kind of constituent services their districts are accustomed to.
What they’ll be remembered for is another mundane tale of adultery, lathered into scandal because of an idiotic cover-up attempt engineered by Courser, with Gamrat’s acquiescence.
When it became apparent that the affair could not remain hidden - Courser claims to have been blackmailed - his notion was to defuse the scandal by sending an anonymous e-mail to Michigan Republicans, accusing himself of having been caught with a male prostitute. His intent was to “inoculate the herd” in a “controlled burn,” apparently in the belief that an extramarital affair would be tame in comparison to homosexuality.
Courser asked a staffer to send the e-mail - the staffer taped the conversation - but seems to have sent it himself when the staffer demurred. That staffer, and others who resisted the couple’s blandishments, were later fired.
The House Business Office conducted an investigation into the scandal, cover-up and possible misuse of state resources. Courser and Gamrat have admitted to misconduct in office and misuse of taxpayer resources.
But Courser and Gamrat lost the right to hold office when they put their own interests ahead of the state’s.
Some have differentiated between his and her behavior - mostly defiant and unapologetic, versus weepy and penitent - or suggested that while Courser should be expelled, Gamrat should be censured. They are missing the point.
Their public postures are markedly different, it’s true. But their offense was the same. Both Courser and Gamrat lost their way, and there’s no coming back.
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The Lansing State Journal. Sept. 13, 2015.
Representative Scandal a Waste of Time, Resources.
The House special select committee held hearings, witnesses gave testimony, staffers gathered evidence and the public waited.
For five weeks.
It took five weeks, and a marathon 14-hour House session that started Thursday and ended in the wee hours on Friday, to bring to conclusion the controversial sex and cover-up scandal involving Reps. Todd Courser and Cindy Gamrat. Courser resigned after two failed votes to expel him. Gamrat was expelled on a 91-12 vote.
In earlier committee hearings, both legislators admitted to misconduct while attempting to cover up their affair. So what took so long to decide their fates on the House floor?
House Democrats say the issue involves more than Courser and Gamrat. They wanted more information from the special committee. They wanted more time to review the 800-plus page report. They wanted to hear from former legislative aides to Courser and Gamrat.
Republicans didn’t want to hear any of those objections. They called for a vote. And many Democrats refused to vote, blocking the needed two-thirds majority and putting high-drama politics at the forefront again. The hours passed. The non-voting continued. People tuned out, calling it the business as usual for the Legislature.
Meanwhile, Michigan’s roads remain pitted and full of potholes. People want legislators who will pass a “fix the roads” solution.
The economic recovery has helped some Michiganders, but there are many more who need jobs. People want legislators who promote job growth.
The state has budget issues to address. People want legislators who will address them.
Politics, for politics’ sake, does not help Michigan. In fact, drawing national attention for things like sex scandals and potential cover-ups is embarrassing for our state. Michigan is a state with momentum, and these unnecessary bumps in the road slow us down. Swift - albeit fair and thorough - resolution of our problems is the best course. And one the Michigan Legislature would be wise not to lose sight of.
The Courser-Gamrat story is not over. As part of a compromise with Democrats, Republicans agreed to amend the expulsion resolutions to call for investigations by the Michigan State Police and Attorney General’s Office. These investigations should be done efficiently.
The Governor’s Office has set a Nov. 3 primary election and March 8 general election to fill the seats vacated by Courser’s resignation and Gamrat’s expulsion. Moving forward swiftly is the right option.
It’s time for the Legislature to get back to focusing on the real needs of the people and let the criminal justice system focus on Courser and Gamrat..
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The Grand Haven Tribune. Sept. 11, 2015.
Beach rescue shows what is right in our community.
In case you missed it, Boeskool - a local body surfer - was riding Lake Michigan’s big waves off the shore of Grand Haven State Park on Aug. 20 when a bystander on the pier approached him, pointing out a girl swimming in the lake was in distress.
Boeskool leapt into action, ran off the pier, down the beach and into the water, and fought the strong current and waves to rescue one of the two teens.
Immediately following the rescue and upon news that the city had organized an award ceremony for Boeskool, the local community stepped up in a big way to return the favor of Boeskool’s heroism.
A campaign launched on the GoFundMe website raised more than $1,000 in about 14 hours to fly Boeskool’s father from Hawaii to Grand Haven so he could attend Wednesday’s award ceremony.
Boeskool, who said he was initially hesitant about a fundraiser to bring his father to town, was overjoyed.
When it was met, I was so happy,” Boeskool said. “I was teary-eyed all morning.”
And we’re happy, too.
Everything about this tale, from Boeskool and the other bystanders’ selfless actions, to the community stepping up to support Boeskool’s father traveling to Michigan, shows the community’s true colors.
It also goes to show that no good deed goes unnoticed.
So often, we hear about all of the negative events going on in the U.S. and around the world, and this event shows that people do still care for each other and will sacrifice themselves to help a neighbor - or someone they don’t know.
We’re glad that this story had a happy ending when so many similar tales have had tragic endings.
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