This is a Memorial Day tale of two brothers, the youngest was an Army veteran whose life ended way too soon, and the oldest who chose a career path in local law enforcement, retiring from that to pursue a career in state politics.  I've have had the opportunity to sit across the table (a dining room table at Arby's for one, the sheriff's office table for the other) from both brothers for a couple of hours chatting about one issue or another, without anyone else around.  In the process, I was…See More

On April 8th, the City of Ludington (COL) and Harbor View Marina (HVM, a state-owned, city-leased entity) announced that they were excited that the $2,000,000 'A' dock project was underway and that it would be ready by May, presumably before the summer's unofficial start on Memorial Day weekend when both…See More

When one previews the agenda packet for the May 18, 2026 meeting of the Ludington City Council, they see a modest list of action items, all outside the realm of the routine, all with the capability of being controversial.  The typical "rubber stamp" mentality of the city council hive mind…See More

Next Thursday, Mason County's Election Commission will hold a review hearing to determine whether the language used in two proposed recall petitions of Hamlin officials are factual and clear enough to proceed further in the process.  Hamlin citizen Greg Collins has revised the language of an earlier recall effort where the commission determined that the language was insufficiently clear for both targets and covered actions that happened before the term of Treasurer Susan Ptaszenski whose…See More

After attending the May 11th, 2026 meeting of the Scottville City Commission, I couldn't help but think of the 18th century French philosopher Montesquieu.  His look at political philosophy in "The Spirit of the Laws" included an analysis of republics, which is the representative democracy that we see practiced in America at all levels of government.  He argues that republics can be difficult to maintain without a strong sense of civic virtue and duty by both citizens and leaders alike.…See More

In less than a handful of years in their positions, Ludington City Manager Kaitlyn Aldrich and Police Chief Christopher Jones have earned themselves reputations that should not inspire confidence in the citizens looking for city leaders with integrity and honesty.  We have chronicled many of those lapses, we see it with a growing number of lawsuits against their official actions concerning…See More

The May 4th meeting of the Ludington City Council expanded the two-year-old Firewater-gate scandal to new proportions and made the council's complicity in the cover-up clearer than ever.  If it wasn't already made clear by their continued silence in regard to the second part of the scandal.  Let's clarify what the Firewater-gate scandal is and why it is a two-part scandal and two separate cover-ups all in one.…See More