It’s an unfair and unimaginable predicament that Haiti, a country besieged by political instability, gang violence and a collapse of its government, is at the center of yet another natural crisis.
Summer is almost here, which means the season of going to various local farms to pick your own produce – “u-picks” – is also beginning.
Sugar in the U.S. costs nearly twice as much as elsewhere in the world, raising prices for candy, baked goods, ice cream and more. The reason is no mystery. A government farm-subsidy program in effect since the 1930s blocks cheaper imports and controls the price and quantity of sugar in our …
As so many are working hard to prepare for Grand Haven’s first Pride Festival, I have been struck by the outpouring of support and enthusiasm. We started with a fundraising goal of $20,000 and, as of this column, we have nearly $34,000 pledged from nearly 60 businesses, organizations, and su…
While deaths due to distracted driving are tragic, singling out a specific type of distracted driving seems redundant. Michigan is getting closer to becoming the 26th state to pass a hand-held cell phone ban for drivers, but there are pitfalls in the legislation as proposed.
It wasn’t a difficult choice to watch the first of the NBA playoff games between Miami and Denver instead of Donald Trump’s appearance on “Hannity,” but when Denver built a 12-point lead, I switched channels to see if Trump might say something new? Nope, same old denouncing of opponents and …
Supporting Senate Bill 279
As the debt ceiling showdown moves toward the critical stages, a bipartisan House group has offered a path forward on another controversial issue: immigration.
Making Franklin Street two ways except for the first blocks from U.S. 31 is a disaster!
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
As Grand Haven prepares for its first Pride Festival on June 10, I offer this small story and imagine a hot June afternoon where all any of us sees is love.
A solemn holiday
Finally, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) have reached a deal to avert an embarrassing – and potentially disastrous – U.S. default. It’s hard to view this as a celebratory moment given how close the nation came to being unable to pay its obligations to investor…
Two functional political parties shouldn’t be too much to ask of American democracy. At the moment, though, one of them is toying with outright disaster.
A bipartisan bill signed Saturday by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will lower the cost of higher education for spouses and children of Michigan National Guard members.
Freedom for sale to the highest bidder
As Ukraine gears up for its long-awaited counteroffensive, it’s possible to imagine what a victory might look like. That is, if the United States and Europe really seek a Ukrainian win.
A new report from U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy outlines how often compulsive social media use by children and teens leads to a variety of negative health outcomes, including declining mental health, lack of sleep, exposure to harassment and other problems.
Time to speak up
Miss that cheese dip
Walking downtown in Grand Haven in the summertime is beautiful. You are probably out and about; shopping, drinking lemonade from the Toasted Pickle, enjoying beer from Odd Sides, watching the Musical Fountain.
I grew up with a mom who’s a therapist, which meant that feelings moved through the air in our home like oxygen. It’s not that we talked about feelings all the time, or that I’d say something about my day and she’d ask, “How do you feel about that?”
Not many people are shot twice with an AR-15 during a mass shooting and live to talk about it, but Arnulfo Reyes has. And we should all listen to what he has to say.
Constitutional chaos in Ottawa County
Have you ever heard people complain? Some people complain about the weather. Some people complain about yard work or being busy. Let’s look at the bright side of these complaints.
Charter change would improve BLP
We can’t keep ignoring social media’s harmful effects on the mental health of young people.
Not long ago I had the experience of being alone for about a week. My wife Marilyn went to Indiana during that time to care for her aging uncle and her cousin who was having surgery.
To continue as a fully activated military base, Selfridge Air National Guard Base needs a future fighting mission. It’s not enough to just make an economic case for the base; it also has to fit into the military’s overall strategy.
Invitation to Blue Star Families
Recently, a couple of interesting things happened to me. The first: A few weeks ago on a Sunday, I drove to Grand Rapids to buy some new running shoes. After buying my shoes, I held the box in one hand and my keys in the other as I walked across the parking lot. It was a cold, windy day, and…
For more than three years, the Biden and Trump administrations have relied on an obscure public health law to manage illegal crossings at the southern border. That measure, whose legal justification was as flimsy as its health utility, did little or nothing to impede the pandemic – its state…
Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature have gotten a lot of attention lately for their often-successful efforts to inject high-emotion debates into Florida education, raising a ruckus over book-banning and attacks on racial and LGBTQ+ students and educators.
No problem with Pride Festival
‘Fahrenheit 451” is fiction, but America’s dangerous dalliance with censorship reminiscent of Ray Bradbury’s novel is becoming increasingly precarious.
Spring is finally in full swing here in West Michigan! For many of us, this is exciting news; however, it also means taking care of your lawn and garden has likely been added to your long list of spring cleaning tasks. We are aiming to help make your daunting to-do list one item shorter by a…
BLP hijacks free speech
From toddlerhood to high school graduation, my sister and I were consumed by the idea of fairness. Perhaps because there were only two of us, everything had to be divided exactly down the middle.
President Joe Biden and Republican leaders in Congress made next to no progress in their debt-ceiling talks last Tuesday, and talks planned for Friday were postponed. They’ll try again this week.
Commission undermines integrity of our county
I should be doing my training run right now, but I’ve decided to write my article first. Why? Well, partly because it is due tomorrow, but mostly because I’m procrastinating. Today is speedwork day and let’s just say, I’m not a fan.
In the aftermath of the historic jury verdict holding former President Donald Trump responsible for an act of sexual violence against writer E. Jean Carroll and years’ worth of defamatory attacks on her credibility, much of the focus has been on Trump: What this (and trials to come) will do …
Thank you, Tri-Cities
The Chamber Grand Haven, Spring Lake Ferrysburg is excited to be part of The Tribune’s monthly Community Column. Each month we will provide you with information about The Chamber, and what we do for and with our local businesses and our community.
Thank you, Grand Haven
Grand Haven seems a little quieter today. A little less exuberant. We lost one of our biggest cheerleaders last week and he will be missed. You can tell a lot about a person’s life, by his passing. Mike Smith’s departure from this life was much like the way he lived, with flair. I don’t know…
To tap the potential of renewable energy, the United States needs to dramatically expand the electric grid between places with abundant wind and sunshine and places where people live and work. And it needs to happen fast.
Maybe it’s just me, but I cannot remember a time in my life, now stretching over six decades, when traditional values have been challenged so strongly as they are today.
Times have changed
Grand Haven to many is home; to others, it is where they summer. Yes, summer is a verb in this town. Always has been. Always will be. For the fortunate, this is your playground. For those who live hand to mouth, this is a place where you’re not welcome.
Against dissolving the BLP
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