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Editorial

Floyd verdict was appropriate, not unexpected

A prosecutor told the jurors to “believe your eyes” as a video of George Floyd’s death last May beneath the knee of Derek Chauvin was replayed in closing arguments on Monday in the former police officer’s murder trial. It appears the jury chose to follow that advice. Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted Tuesday of murder and manslaughter for pinning George Floyd to the pavement with his knee on the Black man’s neck in a case that touched off worldwide protests, violence and a furious re-examination of racism and policing in the U.S., according to an ...

Proposed legislation to restore judge position the right move

While 2020 was full of alarming numbers related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the year brought with it another dismal figure: felony filings in Marquette County more than doubled in less than 10 years, going from an annual average of 224 cases in 2011 to the 471 cases reported in 2020. This increase has stretched the resources of the county’s criminal justice system to its limits. It’s particularly evident in the county’s circuit court, which has only a single judge to handle hundreds — if not thousands — of criminal, civil and family-related matters each year. This has led to ...

Latest Michigan surge tests discipline, will of state residents

If the past 13 months have left you feeling like you’re living in the classic Bill Murray film, “Groundhog Day,” you’re not alone. But with the recent surge in our state, it’s definitely not time to let our guard down. The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday that Michigan should “close things down” to help address the country’s worst coronavirus outbreak, days after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer instead urged people to voluntarily restrict certain activities, according to an article by The Associated Press. Dr. Rochelle Walensky made the ...

Kids need cultural awareness

We understand the coronavirus pandemic has been all-consuming for more than a year, so we can’t hold it against Alpena Public Schools officials that a long-planned review of the district’s curricula on cultural awareness and racism remains incomplete. But our kids need those lessons, so we urge district officials to stay the course. Then-superintendent John VanWagoner ordered district administrators to begin the review back in June, after the school board received a petition from alumnus John Mack, News staff writer Crystal Nelson reported recently. The petition, submitted ...

Beware of scam posing as COVID vaccine surveys

State Attorney General Dana Nessel is warning Michiganders who have received or plan to get the COVID-19 vaccine to avoid vaccine survey scams that offer a reward in exchange for personal information. The Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigations, in collaboration with a number of other federal agencies, recently alerted the public about an increasing number of people receiving email and/or text messages after getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Those messages encourage participation in a fraudulent post-vaccine survey with the promise of cash or a prize upon ...

Stop the threats

There are a plethora of ways to vent frustration with the ongoing disruptions we’re all living through because of the COVID-19 pandemic. For that matter, there are plenty of avenues to engage in civil disagreement over the administration of public health measures meant to curb the disease’s spread. That’s why we have become increasingly concerned about the ongoing de-evolution of dialogue when folks decide it’s necessary to voice their disapproval of a policy or opinion. The latest incident illustrative of the ongoing degeneration was described by Grand Traverse County Health ...