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Editorial

Postal Service needs help

Talk for months about how inefficiency and lax security in the U.S. Postal Service may affect the upcoming presidential election has had an unfortunate side-effect: It has distracted attention from the agency’s very real, deeply rooted dilemma. Any private company suffering as badly as the Postal Service has for long as its problems have been allowed to continue would have filed for bankruptcy protection years ago. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has been caught in the partisan battle over mail-in election ballots. DeJoy, nominated by President Donald Trump, has been accused of ...

Stars and Stripes works hard to serve military

Some in the military brass may have applauded news a few weeks ago that Stars and Stripes, the newspaper circulated worldwide to members of the U.S. armed forces, was being closed. Stars and Stripes, which actually began publication during the Civil War, did not hit its stride until the 20th century. Part of its popularity was because many in the ranks saw it as their newspaper, which occasionally took shots at “the brass.” Last month, word began spreading that Stars and Stripes would be shut down. Though the publication operates semi-independently of the Pentagon, it relies on ...

The Census is important

Perhaps no Census during the past century has faced challenges like those in charge of the 2020 population count must find ways to overcome. Clearly, however, the indeed must develop solutions to the problem of counting Americans who may have been too preoccupied with staying well to respond to the Census by mail or online — and for the same reason may be reluctant to answer the door when a Census information gatherer knocks. More than just information for the statisticians to pore over is involved in the Census. It is used to determine how many members of the House of ...

Displeasure with gov’t is normal

Frustration with government is understandable. Sometimes, it blinds us to the good, dedicated public servants in the ranks who, like us, go to work every day and try hard to do their very best. Probably more often than we know, they go above and beyond the call of duty. Perhaps you missed the story about the Columbus, Ohio, bride whose wedding was nearly ruined. It seems her mother traveled from Newark, New Jersey, to attend the wedding. With her went her daughter’s wedding gown. Before boarding a flight at the airport in Newark, the woman went through a Transportation Security ...

‘Dark stores’ affects all communities

By now, many people have at least heard of the “dark store” theory. The practice — which entails “big box” stores using the Michigan Tax Tribunal to lower their property taxes by 50% or more in some cases — has been going on for more than a decade. For example, Marquette Township alone has noted nearly $3 million in tax revenue reduction related to the dark store issue, according to a recent Journal article by Lisa Bowers. This has a ripple effect on other entities, as Marquette Township disperses some of its tax revenue to other governmental entities, such as Marquette ...

Drive safely as schools start back up

It seems every year we write reminding readers of the importance of being aware and driving carefully as school starts up again. Though there is nothing normal about this year’s return to school, one thing remains the same: It is, as ever, important to remember there are kids headed back to schools again. Changes make it even more important to be aware constantly, rather than just in the school zones with which you are familiar. “Just because there isn’t a school bus in one part of your neighborhood doesn’t mean there isn’t going to be another in the next school ...