MEDIA GETS "ASSAULT RIFLE" WRONG AGAIN: Teen with assault rifle shot by Battle Creek police
Technically speaking, even the civilian semi-automatic versions of the AK-47 and M16 aren't "assault rifles." The whole "assault weapon" term was cooked up in response to this inconvenient fact. The weapon this Battle Creek 15-year-old carried was identified as a "9mm assault rifle." There is no such thing as a 9mm assault rifle, even in the military. My guess is that it was a Hi-Point carbine.
See GunPundit for more info.
WARNING: No body contact advisory issued for areas along Grand River
Health Departments officials are asking people to avoid body contact with the Grand River from the Wealthy Street Bridge, through Ottawa County, all the way to Lake Michigan after sewage overflow spilled into the river.
Approximately 70 million gallons of sewage made it into the river in several locations, including the Market Avenue retention basin.
They will be testing the water on Monday, July 7th.
GOT THE LEAD OUT: 5,000 pounds of lead bricks stolen from the University of Michigan
They are painted blue, weigh about 25 pounds each and are collectively worth about $2,000. The bricks are used as barriers to contain radiation for scientific experiments, Neumann said.
Police believe the thieves may have stole the bricks to sell as scrap metal.
Hopefully, the bricks weren't currently being used to contain radiation.
ALWAYS SAD TO SEE: Family-owned business calls it quits after 67 years
Alvan Motor Freight, a family owned business, is ceasing operations after nearly 70 years and filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
President and CEO James Van Zoeren says a number things including the economic difficulties in the Midwest, the strike at American Axle, overcapacity in the trucking industry and fuel prices lead to the company's demise.
Alvan was a good, reliable company.
Image from the amazing Hank's Truck Pictures.
IT WOULD BE A START: 1,000 new jobs for West Michigan?
A solar panel manufacturer offering 1,000 new jobs may want to locate a plant in Kentwood or Coopersville, and state lawmakers on Friday scrambled to make an $18.75 million pool of money available to entice that project and others to Michigan.
Two projects openly being discussed in Capitol hallways in conjunction with the economic incentive bill were an unidentified solar company scouting sites in Kentwood and Coopersville, and a Volkswagen AG plant the state hopes to lure to south central Michigan, lawmakers and lobbyists said.
The thing I like about the solar panel plant is that it's a high-demand product that is going to be growing in importance in the coming decades. New automotive-related jobs are certainly nice, as it allows Michigan to grow on what it already has. But diversifying is always good, particularly when it's something like alternative energy.
I JUST SIGNED UP FOR MLB.COM'S PREMIUM INTERNET TV SERVICE. It took me about two minutes to decide to cancel.
Even though I checked the ZIP codes of home and work and both showed 'okay,' it tells me I'm blacked out for all home Tigers games. What someone is calling the "official MLB blackout map' indicates that all of Michigan is blacked out for Tigers home games. I'm not sure that it's an accurate map or that MLB.TV uses the same map, but if that's the case MLB.TV's ZIP Code checker needs to be fixed.
I also tried entering an Arizona zip code into my account to see if that would make a difference. Predictably, it doesn't.
I called customer service and waited on hold for a while, then was told I'd be called back "probably within half an hour." We'll see. I've already sent an email directing them to cancel my service.
I tried to check out another game just to see what the quality was, but I'm getting error pages for all games now. Whether or not this has to do with my pending cancellation (or my zip code trickery) I don't know.
According to the map I linked to, the entire state of Iowa is blacked out for home games for the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago White Sox, the Kansas City Royals, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Minnesota Twins, and the St. Louis Cardinals. Blacked out for six teams despite not having a single one in the entire state.
Honestly, this isn't 1981 any more. Major League Baseball is going to have to rework the way blackouts work if they want to enter the world of 21st century media.
I'm sure they'll get right on that.
WOOD-TV: Could lower speeds spur gas efficiency?
With gas prices climbing, one Michigan lawmaker says its time to roll back the speed limit.
A Democrat from the east side of the state has introduced a resolution in the state house urging the federal government to enact a 55 mile per hour speed limit nationwide.
The government did just that in the 70's during the oil crisis setting a 55 mile per hour speed limit to conserve gas.
That went up to 65 miles per hour in the 80's, and was lifted altogether in the 90's allowing states to set their own limits.
So far there has been no vote on the resolution.
And they have a poll on the subject. Here's a screenshot:
The problem with this poll, and the 55 MPH speed limit resolution in particular, is that the slight mileage improvement that would result from a lowered speed limit will do nothing to change the price of gas. Not in a noticeable way. Sure, you may save a few bucks personally, and all of that savings will add up. But it's not going to do much to increase the supply of oil/gasoline.
The number I usually seem to hear about the mileage benefits of a 55 MPH speed limit is "up to 15%." So let's say, for the sake of argument, that it really is 15% instead of the 5-10% that "up to 15%" probably really means.
If you've got a vehicle that gets 30 MPG and you drive 12,000 miles a year, you will burn about 400 gallons of gas getting wherever it is that you go. Up your mileage by 15% and you'll be getting 34.5 MPG, saving yourself about 52 gallons of gas. At $4.00 a gallon, that's 208 dollars, or about $4 per week.
You aren't going to be buying many extra groceries each week for $4, and gas prices aren't going to shift much (if at all) because of a tiny decrease in demand.
Meanwhile, gas tax revenues will fall, as will the profit of gas stations and oil companies. This decreased revenue will actually give governments and gasoline suppliers an incentive to RAISE prices to make up for lost income.
Recall that when a county-wide initiative to conserve water in the Atlanta, GA area succeeded in lowering water usage by 30%, the country hiked water rates to make up for the lost revenue. If water usage goes back up, do you think the country will lower rates accordingly?
Here's a hidden cost to drivers: Driving 12,000 miles at 55 MPH takes about 218 hours. But if you drive 70 MPH, it only takes 171 hours. In other words, to save $4 each week, you'll need to spend 54 extra minutes driving each week. $4 for 54 minutes comes out to somewhere in the neighborhood of $4.40 per hour. Would you work for $4.40 per hour? Would you give up 54 minutes of family time or free time or sleep each week for $4?
The actual savings (and time cost) experienced by most drivers will be far less, as most people drive a large percentage of their miles on roads other than highways. So maybe you'll save $1.75 per week. Is that worth lowering the national speed limit?
Personally, I spent the past three tanks of gas driving 65 MPH on the highway instead of my normal 70. I'm shifting back up to 70 for the next three tanks and will see if I notice any difference in my mileage.
I encourage people to do some math before deciding to go forward with this. If someone feels strongly about driving 55, I have a suggestion for them: Drive 55. No one's stopping you.
Can I drive 55? Sure. Do I want to? I don't know for sure, but I doubt it.
Do I want to have to? Not a chance.
LANDMARK DECISION: Keep & Bear Arms: An Individual Right
Predictably, some are trying to claim a new right has been defined. It hasn't.
SHERIFF SHUTS OUT NEWSPAPER after it quotes a blogger:
The Shiawassee County sheriff will stop releasing information to a newspaper after it published an article about a political blogger critical of the sheriff, the paper reported.
The Argus-Press of Owosso, located in the county, said in an article Thursday that it was told it would have to file Freedom of Information Act requests to receive information from the sheriff's department.
I don't think I've ever heard of anything like this before. Via Michael Silence.
WOW: Michigan woman approaching 111th birthday
Nellie Jones was born in 1897.
Jones, who is to celebrate her 111th birthday on Wednesday, is one of Michigan's oldest residents and is believed to be among the 50 oldest people in the world, The Grand Rapids Press reported Monday.
"What? I'm how old?" Jones, who lives at Heritage Nursing and Rehabilitation Community, asked after being offered birthday greetings. "I'm really getting old."
People are amazing creatures.
USUALLY ONLY SEEN IN MOVIES: Wanted: Hitman to kill my lover's wife
According to the AP:
A woman advertised on the popular Internet site Craigslist for an assassin to kill the wife of a man with whom she'd had an affair, authorities said Saturday.
The ad by Ann Marie Linscott, 49, was posted in November as a generic request for somebody to perform a "freelance" job, court document said. Her true intention was only communicated to those who e-mailed her seeking additional information about the job, the Craigslist CEO said.
Linscott offered $5,000 for the hit, had the name and work address of the woman she wanted dead and she described successful candidates as "silent assassins," according to agents and court documents.
According to WZZM:
After her arrest at her Rockford home, Linscott gave chilling responses to the FBI's questions outlined in the Federal Criminal Complaint.
When asked what she meant by "eradicating" the victim she said
"Duh. Well to have her killed."When asked how she would feel if the victim was in fact murdered, she said she feared law enforcement would "track the murder back to her."
PICTURES: 2008 Detroit Auto Show.
BUT A MILLION DOLLARS? Lawsuit alleges coach offered beer to student
A Kalamazoo Central High School student is seeking almost $1 million in damages in a lawsuit that alleges her former volleyball coach offered her a beer and that the athletic director told her to keep quiet about it...
The suit claims that in February 2006, [volleyball coach Kilee] Goetz offered Brittany Grayson, then 15, a beer while at a restaurant. The suit does not say whether Brittany Grayson ever received or drank the beer.
I guess I'm not sure what warrants a $999,999 lawsuit here. What I don't like about this sort of thing is that I end up siding with volleyball coaches who allegedly offered student-athletes alcohol. That, if true, is bad. But suing the school, the board, the principal, the athletic director, and the coach for a million dollars is over the line.
NOT SURPRISING: Toyota passes Ford in U.S. sales in 2007. Ford had been #2 behind General Motors for the previous 75 years.
KALAMAZOO: Four people were shot, one seriously, at a house party shortly after 1 a.m. New Year's Day. No other details appear available at this time.
Then there's this: KALAMAZOO COUNTY Homicides spiked in '07. 13 are the most since 2000. Last year saw only 5. 11 of the killings were in the city.
POTENTIALLY BAD: Tritium found in groundwater near Palisades
A radioactive substance has been found in the groundwater near the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Covert Township.
A spokesperson for the plant told 24 Hour News 8 that tritium - a radioactive form of hydrogen - was found between the facility and Lake Michigan during monitoring.
There is no evidence that other water fields or the water table are affected.
Tritium can be naturally-occurring, but it seems more than a bit suspicious near the nuclear power plant. Hopefully, whatever the origin, it's not serious.
I'm a strong proponent of nuclear electricity generation, but I obviously only support SAFE power plants.
NICE: Toddler, infant found home alone. In Three Rivers:
Police took the seven and 18-month-old children into protective custody and discovered marijuana, crack cocaine and cash in the home.
GR TO CHICAGO TRAIN: Amtrak train from GR collides with freight train
An Amtrak train plowed into the back of a freight train Friday on the south side of the city, seriously injuring five Amtrak employees in an engine car that hurtled to a stop atop a crushed boxcar. Most of the 187 passengers walked away.
BIG RAPIDS: 12-year-old pulls gun at school during dispute
A 12-year-old student at Crossroads Charter Academy allegedly pointed an unloaded gun on another student in a dispute over an iPod.
NOT GOOD: Detroit named nation’s most dangerous city
In another blow to the Motor City’s tarnished image, Detroit pushed past St. Louis to become the nation’s most dangerous city, according to a private research group’s controversial analysis, released Sunday, of annual FBI crime statistics.
Flint was third.
In today's Detroit Free Press: It's up to us to make city safer, group says
LOOKS LIKE IT'S TIME TO MAKE AN EXAMPLE: Kalamazoo Valley Community College closed due to Internet threats
The sheer idiocy of this is mind-boggling. Either it's a dumb hoax by a dumb moron (who should be made an example of) or it's a real threat by a real problem child (who should be made an example of). Pretty stupid, either way.
No leniency. No benefit of the doubt. No one will take your side. What on earth was this moron thinking?
They have someone in custody.
If it's him? Get book. Toss. Repeat.
BATTLE CREEK WAS MENTIONED in this report about native-born Americans leaving the cities. Surprisingly, the new story makes out lower populations in the cities to be a bad thing, and suggests that more immigration is needed to prop them up. That's pretty stupid, in my humble opinion, and I wrote a bit about it at Murdoc Online.
THIS WAS ON YESTERDAY'S FRONT PAGE in the Grand Rapids Press:
The caption reads:
Different atmosphere: Members of the 4th Stryker Brigade at Fort Lewis, Wash., prepare to go to Iraq by training in the rainy, forested terrain of the Pacific Northwest.
A lot has been made of the fact that some units deploying to Iraq as part of the "surge" are not going to the National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin, California. While some seem to be trying to present this as "the troops aren't trained", the fact is that the troops are getting their training. Just not at the NTC.
Army News Service has this: The Gearing Up: JRTC Trains 4th Bde., 2nd Inf. Div., for Accelerated Deployment:
The keystone of the effort was the Joint Readiness Training Center, the Army's premier combat training facility for light infantry and special forces units.
"We provide training specifically geared toward BCTs (brigade combat teams) that are deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan," said Lt. Col. Shawn Klawunder, chief of the JRTC Plans/Exercise Maneuver Control Group. "For the past two-plus years, all we've been providing is mission rehearsals for what they're going to encounter in theater.
The overwhelming majority of the action troops are going to see in Iraq, particularly troops "surged" into Baghdad, will be in an urban environment. The forest terrain vs. desert terrain isn't really an issue.
Also, it's not like these are inexperienced units on their first deployment. Many of the troops, particularly the junior officers and the NCOs, have been to Iraq or Afghanistan at least once previously.
Take a look at the soldier on the ground in the picture. He's probably simulating a casualty. (Or maybe looking for the insurgent air force?) On his right shoulder, under the US flag, is a patch. That's a Shoulder Sleeve Insignia - Former War Time Service (SSI-FWTS), commonly referred to as a "combat patch". That means that that soldier has seen combat, and as that appears to be a 172nd Brigade patch, it means he saw it with the Alaskan Stryker Brigade that spent a year and half in Iraq.
Honestly, I'm not sure that he's going to suffer much because he's training in forested terrain urban settings rather than desert terrain urban settings.
Incidentally, the 172nd Brigade no longer exists, having been reflagged the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry. Those combat patches, though, can be worn by eligible soldiers forever.
Continue reading "The latest "rush to war"" »
I JUST CAUGHT THE END OF WOOD-TV's special news coverage of the Gerald Ford funeral. The closing shot? A black and white photo of the President with "Gerald R. Ford 1913-2007".
Errr, I think they meant 1913-2006.
TEEN KILLED IN ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING. A 15-year-old boy broke into his father's gun safe and accidentally shot a cousin in the head.
How accidental can it really be if they had to break into a gun safe?
"THE PETROLEUM AGE IS COMING TO AN END" says Bruce Dale, the associate director of MSU's Office of Bio-based Technologies. He claims that the study which proves ethanol fuel takes more energy to make than it produces, is bunk:
Ethanol requires 29 percent more fossil energy to produce than the fuel it produces, according to the study by David Pimental, a Cornell University professor of agriculture and ecology, and Tad Patzek, a University of California-Berkeley professor of civil and environmental engineering.
Dale contends the study is off-base because it measured energy used and produced with British Thermal Units (BTUs).
A BTU is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree. It takes 143 BTUs to melt a pound of ice.
"It's an irrelevant measurement," he said. "We cannot add up different forms of energy on a straight BTU basis any more than we can add up different (monetary) currencies on a straight equivalency basis.
"It's a dumb idea, and it's surprising that it's lasted this long."
Whether or not the study is well-founded, the future for ethanol fuel appears to be in "biomass". According to the US Dept. of Energy:
Advanced Bioethanol Technology allows fuel ethanol to be made from cellulosic (plant fiber) biomass, such as agricultural forestry residues, industrial waste, material in municipal solid waste, trees, and grasses.
Once the technology and infrastructure matures, biomass ethanol should cost about half as much to make as that based on corn. So even if the "net negative energy" study is accurate, the new sources of mass will make ethanol viable.
Another option would be to perform more of the ethanol production with electricity-based equipment and power the electric equipment with energy from nuclear power plants. In that case, even if ethanol is a "net negative energy" product, the "lost" energy would come from near-infinite atomics and the portable energy of ethanol would be able to replace the portable energy of petroleum.
The real problem is the "portable" part of portable energy. Electric cars work just fine. Except that electric power isn't portable enough because batteries are so big and heavy and don't last very long. Batteries cannot power large aircraft at all. So more portable energy is needed, and fuel in the form of gasoline or ethanol can meet those needs. Spending "extra" nuclear power to create sufficient energy to power things needing portable fuel would be worth it if there was no other way.
For what it's worth, besides nuclear power for electricity, Murdoc is a fan of oil shale/sands. Colorado and Canada are sitting on a ton of the stuff.
BY ALL REPORTS yesterday was a good shopping day. My wife and daughter spent most of the day in the stores, though they weren't among the early-risers. They were very pleased with the results.
As I predicted, online shopping was through the roof. Amazingly, the web sites for both Wal-Mart and Disney were shut down by the crush of traffic.
Glenn Reynolds the Instapundit is running a poll to see where folks plan to do most of their holiday shopping. Since you have to be online to get to his site, and blog readers are often a bit ahead of the curve technologically-speaking, I expect that the results of his survey might be skewed a bit in favor of online shopping. Still, head on over and put your two cents in.
HOPE THAT EVERYONE HAD A GREAT THANKSGIVING. My family and I spent the day with my wife's family and we ate ourselves fat. I guess we'll have to exercise a bit extra tomorrow.
I don't know if fighting the crowds at the stores and malls counts, though. I'm wondering if we'll be hearing alarmist stories about business being down a bit. One thing to keep in mind is that online shopping is likely to be up a great deal. Traditional measures are going to have to be updated in this new age of information superhighways and folks who work from home using computers and the internet.
UPDATE: And is it just me, or should headlines like these be outlawed?
I mean, that's just pathetic. Especially for Michiganders who are suffering through another disappointing NFL season and just watched Joey Harrington win a third consecutive game for the first time in his career.
"Skinned"? Give me a break on the cliches, okay?
Money quote:
"I stood on the sidelines at the end of the third quarter there, and I looked across, and I saw guys were hanging their heads, and I saw people start walking out of the stadium," Harrington said. "At that moment, I thought to myself, `I'm glad I don't have to go through this anymore.' "
I always thought Harrington should have been a good QB and couldn't really figure out why he wasn't. Suspicions that it wasn't his fault seem to be gaining a lot of credibility.
For what it's worth, I also think John Kitna should be a good QB. But he sure doesn't look it these days.
LAST MAY, EMILY BOWNESS OF HOLLAND ROLLED HER S.U.V. A DOZEN TIMES. Now she's starring in a television commercial for seat belt safety. She credits her seat belt for saving her life. MichiBlogger noted the story and the incredible video that played on TV and the internet at the time.
Here's the video of the accident, taken by an Oakland County sheriff's deputy who happened to be driving right behind the accident as it happened:
Murdoc ALWAYS wears his seat belt, and he requires anyone riding with him to do the same. No doubt you know someone with a story about how NOT wearing a seat belt saved someones life who would have been killed or seriously injured had they been strapped in, but the odds favor those who buckle up.
A VIDEO OF A DEER with a pumpkin stuck on its muzzle made the national news lately. The video was shot here in Cascade Township, and dire prediction about the fate of the beast were to be found everywhere. (You can see the video here.)
Somehow I missed the announcement, but the deer is apparently free. Here's a video report on the development.
I'm not really sure why a trapped deer was worthy of all that national coverage, and I'm even less sure about why the announcement that the deer is free wasn't.
In either case, this is great news. Now all the deer has to do is make it through the next few weeks of hunting season.
I HAD BEEN SEEING THIS HEADLINE ALL DAY, but I didn't look at it until now: Man arrested with $78,000, nuclear info. Turns out it happened at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
His laptop computer contained information about nuclear materials and cyanide. He was apparently arrested after dogs caught the scent of narcotics on cash he was carrying. His name is Sisayehiticha Dinssa and he's from Dallas. He arrived in Detroit from Nigeria by way of Amsterdam and was headed for Phoenix.
Though this doesn't sound good, don't get over-excited about the possibility of a nuclear terrorist. These almost always turn out to be something lesser. Or nothing at all. Sounds more drug-related than terrorist-related, though the two are sometimes intertwined.
THE FILM THE GROUND TRUTH runs tonight at the Wealthy Theater in Grand Rapids. A discussion with local Iraqi war veterans will follow the screening.
The film looks to be pretty slanted, politically-speaking.
I just found out about this this afternoon, but he's thinking about attending if he can. Entry is just $5. Film starts at 6PM. It runs again tomorrow at 7PM, but there's no post-film discussion.
--cross-posted from Murdoc Online
UPDATE: The "Iraqi war veterans" turned out to be a representative from the Iraqi Veterans Against the War, a political activist group. I'll have more on the film and the post-screening discussion tomorrow.
HUGE RECALL BY PERRIGO: Millions of acetaminophen pills recalled. Seems that manufacturing equipment was wearing out prematurely and bits of metal were getting into some of the pills. 11 million bottles of generic pills made by the Allegan-based company are affected by the recall.
IT LOOKS LIKE the pilot of a small plane that crashed outside of the Chippewa Correctional Facility in Kincheloe intentionally avoided a housing area. All four people onboard were killed in the accident, but no one on the ground was injured.
BIRD FLU HAS BEEN FOUND IN MICHIGAN but it's probably no human threat, feds say.
Voluntary testing for the H5N1 virus is available at county fairs. (via Wizbang)
THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS front page highlights the arrest of three men that prosocuters say were plotting to destroy the Mackinac Bridge. The evidence released so far is not terribly convincing, but we'll see.
I have more at Murdoc Online.
"THE CHILDREN THERE NEEDED SHOES": A shoe drive honoring Eric Burri, who was killed in Iraq last June.
GR PRESS EDITORIAL ON THE TERRORIST RISK AT THE BORDER:
Discovery of an apparent terrorist bomb plot in Canada ought to reverberate in the United States, particularly in Michigan.
It's the other border that's (rightly) getting all the coverage, but we cannot ignore the northern border, either. Why this bust of terrorists in Canada isn't bigger news, I don't know.
WOW: Friend reported mix-up weeks ago. It's not terribly clear in the article how the friend knew.
It's amazing how much attention the story of Laura VanRyn and Whitney Cerak is getting nationally.
Sadly, the finger-pointing seems about ready to shift into high gear.
A GRAND RAPIDS MAN DIED after apparently swallowing cocaine while being arrested yesterday. His family isn't happy with the way the police handled the arrest or his care. I think they probably ought to be more unhappy with his possessing and swallowing cocaine. But that's just me.
Johnson Controls employees in Holland again are feeling the pain of the domestic auto industry decline after an announcement that as many as 500 jobs are leaving town.
The Meadowbrook plant near Tulip City Airport will be closed by this time next year.
Two years ago, JCI was the Holland area's largest employer, with about 5,000 employees. [Company spokeswoman Debra] Lacey said JCI currently employs 3,800 people in Holland and Battle Creek, but said the company would not break down employment numbers specifically in the Holland market.
If the numbers painted a pretty picture, they'd probably make them public.
I DON'T GET the whole Ikea phenomenon, but those that do will be happy to learn that a 311,000 square-foot Ikea store is set to open next Wednesday in Canton Township in suburban Detroit.
THIS PLAQUE says that it memorializes "all American veterans", but because it is at the base of the flag pole outside the funeral home where the memorial service for my wife's grandmother was recently held, I'm choosing to use it for my Memorial Day 2006 post:
It is those that fell in the service to our nation that we remember on this day, and I once again have trouble putting into words what I think and feel about those who have fought and died for me and my family.
A year ago on Memorial Day I was in Charleston visiting USS Yorktown at Patriot's Point, and I'll admit that I was quite moved by a simple sign in one of hundreds of compartments on that great ship.
Whether you're grilling in the backyard, out enjoying the fine weather, visiting with family and friends, or taking a baseball game (like Murdoc), do not forget the sacrifice made by so many that has helped make the United States of America what it is.
--cross-posted from Murdoc Online
I discuss the local anti-recruiting protest in more depth at Murdoc Online, with an update.
KADI DEHAAN has been in a wheelchair for a year and half, but plan to walk across the stage to receive her high school diploma in Byron Center tomorrow evening.
Kadi is a long way from running the 100-yard dash or even taking the stairs instead of the elevator. For the graduation walk, she will have some heavy-duty help from her pink leg braces, a wheeled walker and best friend, Jill VerMurlen.
Here's a great photo gallery. She'll be attending Davenport University in the fall, but before that she will be traveling to Russia for an experimental stem cell treatment. Let's hope that it's successful and that those who follow don't have to travel half-way around the world for some hope in the form of stem cells.
I LIKE TRAINS, but Amtrak is a national disaster. Which is why I'm not surprised that Michigan might be cutting a million dollars from the subsidy.
GOOD NEWS: Phosphorus levels fall in Lake Macatawa
THREE DEVELOPERS are on the list for the 16 acres of riverfront property in GR:
UPDATE: A map of the location is here.
MARINE RESERVISTS FROM GRAND RAPIDS will be activated for duty in Iraq:
"We don't look at polls. They want to make their families proud, but they also want to make their community proud, and they want to take the fight to the enemy."
Polls do not seem to reflect the reality on the ground in Iraq. The unit is Company A, 1st Battalion of the 24th Marines.
DIGGING for Jimmy Hoffa on a farm?
