Lansing State Journal. June 28, 2018
CADL millage renewal a no-brainer, shows us why ’Libraries Rock’
“Libraries Rock!” is the new slogan of Capital Area District Libraries’ summer reading program, and it’s true.
10.3 million items checked out; 1.7 million computer sessions logged; 4.8 million visits to one of 13 branches; a gathering place for community members; opportunities for kids, teens and adults to access information and year-round education.
Libraries do rock.
And having a vibrant, successful and accessible library is essential to a healthy community, according to research from The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. It raises literacy, elevates educational opportunities and provides a sense of place that can bring a community together.
On August 7, CADL is asking for a renewal of 1.56 mills - or approximately $156 per year for a house with taxable value of $100,000 - which provides the vast majority of their operating budget.
This renewal is a no-brainer.
It provides CADL more than 90% of its operating budget, without any increase to residents, to continue operations across the district, essentially Ingham County minus East Lansing.
Print books, movies, online materials and the famed ’Library of Things’ - where you can check out telescopes, sewing machines, Wi-Fi hotspots and more - are only part of the program at CADL.
Events occurring every week at most branches, and initiatives like the ’Read Off Fines’ program held this June, help to show the staff’s dedication to the communities they serve.
CADL also provides incentives for kids, teens and adults to seek out information, as well as access to the Internet which is vital to job seekers and others navigating complicated online processes without a computer at home.
These help raise literacy and elevate education in a community.
CADL branches can be found in Dansville, Haslett, Holt, Leslie, Mason, Okemos, Stockbridge, Webberville and Williamston - as well as three branches in Lansing: South Lansing, Foster and the main branch in the heart of downtown.
The millage renewal is an investment in the health of our communities, through literacy and education. It simply allows CADL to continue their already great work in various communities they cover. And it is truly a no-brainer.
Vote yes on the CADL millage renewal on August 7.
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Times Herald (Port Huron). June 28, 2018
Complete streets will go farther
Hundreds of bicycle riders are spending Thursday night sleeping at Almont Middle School. After breakfast Friday morning, they will pedal 33 miles to St. Clair High School, where they will celebrate riding the Pedal Across Lower Michigan. The ride began Sunday in Holland and took riders at least 300 miles through towns and cities across the Lower Peninsula.
Nearly all of the route they followed was on paved country roads, with a few city streets and some multi-use recreational trails mixed in.
So, there is some irony in St. Clair County spending another grant studying how to get statewide bike trails connected to the Blue Water Area. For riders who would pedal from Lake Michigan to St. Clair County, the trail is already in place. It’s called pavement.
Off-road multi-use recreational trails are a different matter. They are recreation. The Bridge-to-Bay Trail, if it existed, would be a linear park, not transportation. The Wadhams-to-Avoca Trail is a park. People go there to play; nobody uses it to get from one place to another.
Worse, the Bridge-to-Bay Trail exists in name only. Filling the many gaps in the dotted line that is supposed to connect New Baltimore to Lakeport State Park would cost more than $7 million for paving alone - millions that nobody has. Acquiring rights-of-way, engineering and lawyering the missing 29 miles of the 54-mile pathway would cost even more.
Wishing for grants, when everyone else is wishing for the same grants, is not exactly a plan for creating bicycling infrastructure, no matter how enthusiastic county officials are to see bicycle tourists on the streets of St. Clair.
And a seven-year plan of wishing for grants could be a seven-year search for buried treasure. Conservatives - and many motorists - hate the Transportation Alternative Program grants that local government wish will pay for their trails. In a first draft of his 2019 budget, President Donald Trump cut TAP, although he reinstated it in his final submission to Congress. Planning to use TAP money isn’t a plan.
Instead, Michigan has a complete streets policy that many local governments have adopted. Complete streets strategies mean building streets and roads that serve everyone. The wide shoulders and rumble strips on Lakeshore Road north of Fort Gratiot serve everyone - motorists, property owners, bike riders, pedestrians.
The road diet in downtown St. Clair is a complete streets solution. It creates bicycle infrastructure, protects pedestrians, calms vehicle traffic and creates parking - inexpensively, too. The St. Clair County Road Commission will create four miles of bike path on North River Road in Fort Gratiot for free this summer, while an off-road pathway along Gratiot Road from Range to Pickford roads costs close to $200,000.
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The Mining Journal (Marquette). June 29, 2018
Conservation corps workers doing great work in flood relief
Thanks to support from the Keweenaw Community Foundation and other local and regional funding sources, the Superior Watershed Partnership was able to deploy additional crews from the Great Lakes Conservation Corps to assist the flood-ravaged communities of the Keweenaw Peninsula.
Currently, a total of 16 GLCC crew members among four crews are assisting the communities of Houghton, Hancock and Ripley. The SWP deployed the first GLCC crews within 24 hours of the storm event, which took place June 16-17, to help with disaster relief.
“This was a historic storm, estimated by some to be a 1,000-year event. The problem is, these sorts of events are becoming more common with a changing climate,” said John Lenters, senior scientist with Lentic Environmental Services and SWP consulting climatologist, in a news release. “First Duluth, then Ashland, now Houghton makes three historic flooding events in the Lake Superior region in just seven years. These are exactly the types of events that are expected to become more common, but we don’t need to wait for the future. They’re happening now.”
This storm has dealt the U.P. a crushing blow that Yoopers certainly aren’t used to, but it has also shown the resolve that the people of our region have when faced with a disaster. We come together to help our neighbors in time of need, and we do so very quickly.
“The young men and women of the Great Lakes Conservation Corps mobilized quickly to assist our community in recovery. Their enthusiasm and work ethic has been much needed,” Jim Vivian, executive director of the Keweenaw Community Foundation, said in a news release.
We applaud the efforts of the GLCC and so many other groups that have rushed to the aid of the people of Houghton County. A great deal of residents lost their homes, and some lost things that can never be replaced. The least we can do is roll our sleeves up and offer to help in the recovery process.
“A rapid response is critical when providing disaster relief,” said Emily Leach, SWP program coordinator, in a news release. “We’re proud that our crews were able to assist the communities of the Keweenaw on such short notice.”
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Petoskey News-Review. June 29, 2018
Pipeline spill plans should be public
We appreciate the spirit behind the bills introduced by Reps. Tristan Cole and Lee Chatfield banning anchoring in the straits area to keep the pipelines running through there from dents, but are concerned with the secrecy they are including in their bills.
Chatfield, R-Levering, Sue Allor, R-Wolverine, and Cole, R-Mancelona, introduced the four bills recently, which, in part, would codify an emergency rule from Governor Rick Snyder put in place last month officially barring anchors in the Straits.
At that time, Chatfield released a statement saying that rule should be permanent. The decision was unpopular among environmental groups, who argued that the ruling did not address the real problem, which was the tandem underwater pipeline itself.
Under the new rules, a first offense for illegally deploying, dragging or setting an anchor in the straits could result in imprisonment of up to two years, a $10,000 fine or both.
On a second offense, the potential penalty bumps up to five years in prison and $15,000.
But the problem with these plans comes in relation to the requirements that the owners of the pipelines file spill prevention and contingency plans with the Department of Environmental Quality every five years. Those plans would require that the companies document their plans for various-sized spills, describe their maintenance inspection process and provide records of past inspections, as well as describe all of their spill prevention technology.
They would also require that they document their compliance with the Oil Pollution Act and Financial Responsibility Requirements and proper training procedures for employees at various levels. Both of those reports would require a $12,500 review fee, however, that review would mostly just be to insure that all of the requirements are included. The bill specifies that approval from the DEQ does not necessarily equate to a statement on the efficacy of the plans.
If the DEQ denies the plan, the company would have 30 days to re-file. If not filed, the penalty would be $1,000 for every day that each of the plans are past due.
Sounds good, so far, right? But, here is the rub, the plans are exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.
That means the public has no right to see these plans and no outside organizations or citizens can confirm these pipeline companies are complying with the law or what they are planning, leaving us to take the word of government bureaucrats in the state. These are the same sort of bureaucrats that brought you the Flint water crisis.
We think these documents should be open to the public. It is of high public and economic safety that these plans are in the sunlight of public inspection.
To hide something as important as this from the public is wrong.
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