LSJ Blogs: Derek Melot is Just Asking

Health-care claims full of errors

I have a question for those of you who argue that since “government can’t even (fill in the blank), we don't dare trust it with health care.” Actually, I have two questions.

1. Do you favor or oppose elimination of Medicare, which is, after all, a government-run health-care system?

2. Can you name a single private industry or single business operation that has never, ever, made a mistake in handling your business or provided service that, at any point, fell below acceptable standards?

Jones is on the move

Confidence is an important asset in politics, but I wonder if Rep. Rick Jones is taking things a bit too far.

In his earthy letter to fellow House Republicans about the State Police HQ, the Grand Ledge Republican wrote, “Everywhere I go in my Senate district people are talking about it.”

Michigan losing ties to big-time golf

Now that Buick has said it will not sponsor the PGA event in Flint after this weekend, Michigan is poised not to have a PGA, LPGA or Nationwide Tour event in the state next year.

How did this come to pass in a state renowned for its golf? Michigan has, what, more than 900 golf courses and just under 10 million people. I have seen claims that makes Michigan No. 1 for courses on a per capita basis. Michigan has quality to go with quantity, too. Arcadia Bluffs and Tullymore are just two nationally recognized venues that come to mind.

Yet, the top tier of professional golf in the U.S. won’t be seen in the state in 2010.

Flint’s Buick Open has been a PGA fixture for 50 years. Lansing used to host the Oldsmobile Classic for the LPGA, too. And 2010 will have nothing?

Amazing.

IBEW speaks with 'green' accent

Mayor Virg Bernero and Lansing City Council members Carol Wood and Brian Jeffries have found themselves at odds on more than one occasion. Wood has taken her opposition to the  electoral level, challenging Bernero this year for the mayor’s slot.

Yet all three do share one interesting political trait — the financial favor of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ PAC. So far this year, the IBEW COPE MI PAC has given Bernero $9,750 to win re-election; given Wood $8,500 to keep Bernero from winning re-election; and given Jeffries $500 to retain his council seat, from which he presumably will find himself at odds with Bernero’s plans at least some of the time.

Truscott gains Chamber's (sole) favor

The Lansing Chamber of Commerce likes 4th Ward council candidate Tom Truscott — and only Truscott among city candidates so far this year. As Lansing resident Steve Harry reported on his blog, Truscott received a $2,000 campaign contribution from the chamber’s political action committee.

According to state records, the Chamber PAC has taken in $5,750 in 2009 so far, yet the $2,000 to Truscott is the only reported donation this year. Most interesting.

For the same period in the 2007 city election cycle, the Chamber PAC raised $9,250 and made $5,500 in donations — $500 to Harold Leeman’s re-election campaign in the 1st Ward and the maximum $5,000 donation to Gina Nelson in her bid to win an at-large council seat. Both Leeman and Nelson  eventually lost.

Is this about targeting resources or maintaining a lower profile or something else entirely?

New Troppo is a go; Tavern shift unfortunate

What a pleasant surprise to read in today’s LSJ that Chris Elliott is proceeding with his plan to relocate Troppo to the north side of Michigan Avenue downtown.

Elliott first announced his plan for a new, larger home for Troppo last September — just as the national credit markets were imploding. I was sure his project would be a victim of the credit collapse. Not so. The LSJ reports that Elliott has come up with enough private investment to pair with a $440,000 city development loan to proceed.

The new Troppo will be bigger and better, I’m sure.

As for the second phase of this plan, I’m much less enthusiastic. Moving Tavern on the Square from its current quirky space to Troppo’s current home is a net loss, I think. The current Troppo space is bland and a bit sterile to my eye. Tavern will lose some of its vibe in that space ... not to mention the fact that Tavern now has outdoor space well protected from the late afternoon sun, while Troppo's outdoor space gets blasted by the rays.

Train agreement inked

Huzzah! “Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that establishes a partnership among eight states to work cooperatively to fund the Midwest Corridor, a regional high-speed rail plan that will connect cities throughout the region with frequent, reliable high-speed and conventional intercity rail service.”

Michigan’s piece of this puzzle would be a Detroit-Chicago line. The initiative, which includes a Michigan Detroit-Pontiac-Chicago line, is modeled after the larger vision of President Barack Obama and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to create a nationwide rail network.

A high-speed rail is an excellent alternative to America’s messed-up transportation grid — if done properly. High-speed rail is not about moving people from Lansing to Detroit, but to move people between major cities that are within 400 miles of each other. We’re talking Chicago-Detroit, LA-San Francisco, Dallas-Houston, St. Louis-Chicago and the like.

To get between these cities now, people drive (on roads built with tax money) or fly (out of heavily subsidized airports and on bailed-out and customer-service-challenged airlines).

Creating high-speed links won’t be cheap — we’ve neglected rail lines for far too long — but it’s worth the investment.

Sonic chain inches closer

The Sonic Drive-In chain is inching ever closer to Lansing. Some day soon, I hope, mid-Michigan residents will get to enjoy Sonic’s highly carbonated Coke products, its cheese-covered Tater Tots and extra-long cheese coneys
 Sonic’s newest Michigan location is in Birch Run, reports the Saginaw News. But, get this, “Miller-Apple, which also operates 21 Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar franchise locations in Michigan, has an agreement to open 12 SONIC Drive-In restaurants in Michigan. It is looking at property in Fenton and the Lansing area and is considering Ann Arbor and possibly Grand Blanc, Sanford said” (emphasis mine).

Sonic, which started just miles from my hometown in Oklahoma, and Chick-Fil-A are two food dispensers sorely lacking in mid-Michigan. At least one of them, fortunately, appears to be on the way. I was disappointed to note, though, that the menu on Sonic’s corporate site makes no mention of the chicken-fried steak sandwich.

Woo-hoo, council trio 'improves' neigbhorhood

I see the downtown neighborhood already is enjoying the “improvements” that stem from the City Council’s refusal to sell the North Capitol parking ramp to Lansing Community College. What was once a nice, grassy field is now mounds of earth. Soon, it should be a temporary gravel parking lot.

This lot gives LCC time to decide where it wants to build a permanent new parking ramp to house vehicles that would have gone to the Capitol ramp, had council members Carol Wood, Eric Hewitt and A’Lynne Robinson not blocked the deal.

During the debate over a city to LCC sale, Hewitt told me that he thinks the area needs two parking ramps. (I disgaree.) So his opposition is a little less inexplicable than that of Wood and Robinson. At any rate, downtown soon will have a new surface lot.

Maybe LCC President Brent Knight can invite Wood, Hewitt and Robinson to a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Sweaty palms, loaded guns

The New York Times loves to take a couple of anecdotes and turn them into a story about a new national trend. Jack Shafer at slate.com routinely fisks this stories -- and it’s well worth your time to check out his work.

But, since I think air-conditioning is man’s greatest invention, I had to comment on today’s story about people giving up air-conditioning in this recession.