Here’s some interesting Grand Rapids and Michigan headlines from today and over the weekend:
- Dillon finds new way to disappoint – The Democratic speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives is touting nuclear energy jobs as “the most promising green jobs in the state.” Perhaps he didn’t get the memo that nuclear energy is incredibly expensive, has a dubious environmental legacy, and that there are other renewable energy sources (for example, wind) in the state.
- Mackinac Center: Crush organized labor, or we’re all going to die! – The right-wing Mackinac Center is singing its usual song again: unions are costing jobs in Michigan and that the state needs less unions to get it out of its current economic crisis.
- Michigan voters shifting views on gay couples – Four years after a ballot proposal that banned gay marriage in Michigan, support for gay marriage has doubled in the state according to a new poll. Now 46.5% of voters support gay marriage while larger margins support a wider range of rights for LGBT people.
- Same-sex marriage advocates call for 2012 equality push – LGBT advocates are looking at a push for marriage equality in 2012 and perhaps they will have better luck in light of the poll mentioned above.
- State cancels $740 million in transportation projects – Due to problems coming up with matching funds, the state of Michigan has had to cancel ¾ of a billion dollars of transportation projects. The federal money will now go into a pool to be claimed by other states.
- Why I want a DeVos loss – Writing for the Socialist Worker newspaper, author Dave Zirin looks at Richard DeVos–who owns the Orland Magic–and his politics. Seeing DeVos’s right-wing political activism, Zirin is hoping that the Orlando Magic lose the 2009 NBA championship.
- Michigan’s economy is not tanking, it’s transforming – The Center for Michigan has a surprisingly positive assessment of Michigan’s economy, saying that it is growing and diversifying–not simply falling apart.
- Bash Back retains lawyer in protest suit – The radical queer group Bash Back! has retained a lawyer in a lawsuit over a November 2008 protest (http://www.mediamouse.org/news/2009/05/bash-back-lansing-lawsuit.php) outside of Lansing. Their lawyer calls the lawsuit–initiated by a right-wing Christian legal group–a waste of taxpayer resources.
- Gannett-owned, ABC affiliate WZZM-TV 13 cuts weekend morning newscast, blames poor economy – WZZM 13 has eliminated its weekend morning news program. I’d say its news value was fairly limited, but it’s always disappointing to see less media choices.
- Grand Rapids abortion opponents ‘stunned’ by killing of Dr. George Tiller in Kansas – The Grand Rapids Press has reaction from some local anti-abortion activists to the murder of Kansas abortion provider. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, the people they talk to say they were sickened by the murder. Of course, it isn’t clear what that really means since they don’t condemn other anti-abortion activists who have been less willing to condemn the shooting.
- Grassroots effort focuses on national health care plan – The Grand Rapids Press published this short article about local organizing in support of President Barack Obama’s as of yet unknown health care plan. I think it’s another example of the disappointing nature of the Obama “movement”–local organizers are just expected to drum up support for his policies rather than building policy from the ground up.
If we missed anything, let us know in the comments.
MediaMouse 