I was pretty surprised and hurt to learn first-hand how little research Mr. Melinn put into his column this week (“Hewitt out, six others get in 1st Ward race,” 5/11/11).

Admittedly it’s only an idea at this point, but I think we’d better jump on this before it becomes any more than that.

In his column, Mr. Ambrose uses a different allocation of administrative costs assigned to Groesbeck than those that I discussed. I am ready, willing and able to show anybody who is interested the document I received from the City that supports my assertion as to allocated expenses.

Let me get this straight, there is an area in our community in desperate need of a sidewalk. (High traffic, narrow lanes, no shoulder, leads to places kids go to like park and YMCA, etc.) There is grant money available. The city of Lansing offers to do all the work for Lansing Township if they agree to pay their share.

And, yes, it’s great that Lansing will still benefit from the reported 557 jobs kept in Lansing. But since the Accident Fund is a totally owned for-profit subsidiary of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, those jobs would not likely have gone out of state anyhow.

The Governor’s call for everyone to share in the burden of recovery for Michigan may sound fair, but a sense of injustice rises when people who have played no part in the general economic decline face economic losses for which they’re not at fault.

I wonder: If you ask the universe for Grace, Beauty, Laughter and Joy, does it come true?It does if you know Karen Hartwig. Karen Jeanne Hartwig was born March 4, 1963, and left this earth way too suddenly on March 18, 2011.

DHS ’needs reform’ I applied for food assistance through the State of Michigan in December. I was finally recently approved for $52 a month. When I never received my Bridge Card to be able to buy groceries, I contacted the Department of Human Services (DHS). They just keep gi...

While it’s commendable to take time implementing medical cannabis (marijuana) dispensaries for the benefit of sick citizens (“E.L. Dispensary Regulations on Hold,” Feb. 16, 2011 [online]), it’s unacceptable moratoriums are rooted in efforts to stop them.

In particular, the company’s Deb Muchmore was quoted in a regional newspaper (Mining Journal, Marquette, MI, July 16, 2009) as saying that Kennecott’s Eagle Project in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula can be expected to be built, operated and closed in “a similar outstanding fashion” as the Flambeau Mine.