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Editorial

High gas prices need to be addressed

We haven’t had to do an editorial on gasoline for a while. But based on recent prices in our area, it looks like it is time once again to question why gas is more expensive in the Marquette area, a situation several of our subscribers have also noted, and felt important enough to call us asking that very same question. We checked with gas buddy on Thursday and found gas at Meijer in Marquette was $2.87 per gallon. Meijer in Escanaba, meanwhile, was $2.54. This means we’re paying 33 cents per gallon more in Marquette than Escanaba. Holiday gas was listed at $2.87 per gallon in ...

Pot proposal passage poses perplexities

Now that voters have passed Proposal 1 that legalizes recreational marijuana in Michigan, now what? The proposal allows anyone over age 21 to possess and grow personal-use quantities of cannabis and related concentrates and allow licensing activities related to commercial marijuana production and retail marijuana sales. However, it’s not like you can go to a grocery store next week and buy a few bags of pot. Both sides were vocal on the issue before voters approved the proposal. Those favoring it believed resources were wasted on dealing with marijuana-related crimes, with people ...

Homelessness summit looks at UP increase

A regional summit held in Marquette last week underscored what a lot of people already knew: Chronic homelessness is not only on the rise nationally but in all 15 Upper Peninsula counties as well. And here’s something else. According to Kayla West, special project coordinator for Central Upper Peninsula Planning and Development agency, the chronic homeless are currently often kept in what she termed “two of our most expensive places,” which are hospital emergency rooms and local jails. “So what can we do?” she asked, for a Mining Journal story on the matter. “We have ...

Drowsy driving just as deadly as drunk, drugged

Drowsy driving doesn’t typically get the publicity that drunk, drugged or distracted driving garners but it should, according to a top insurance executive. “Nationwide, more than 1,500 people are killed and 71,000 people are hurt every year in crashes involving a driver drifting off to sleep at the wheel or driving drowsy,” said Dyck Van Koevering, general counsel for the Insurance Alliance of Michigan. All told, drowsy driving causes more than 100,000 car crashes every year. “Drowsy driving is becoming a serious problem in Michigan and across the country,” he said in a ...

Don’t play delay games with pot voters

As expected, Michigan voters overwhelming approved legalizing marijuana for recreational use on Tuesday. We still think it was a bad idea, but that does not matter anymore because the voters have spoken. Statewide, Proposal 1 was approved 55 percent to 45 percent. The ratio was similar in St. Clair County. In Port Huron, 62 percent of voters said yes. In Sanilac County, though, 56 percent of voters said no to legalizing marijuana. State officials say the possession and use of marijuana by adults could be legal by early December. Expect months, if not years, of bureaucratic and ...

Politicians don’t know more than you do

Here are three truths in today’s political world: 1. Politicians don't know what they're talking about. Shock, gasp, right? It's the oldest saying in Washington, D.C. but it's also true — potentially more true today than it ever was. The Guardian published a great editorial on the science behind misinformation last week. While much hullabaloo is made of social media's role, misinforming politicians is not a new phenomenon — and Big Tobacco wrote its most effective playbook. What works isn't blatant fabrication, rather stoking confusion and playing up irrelevant truths. The ...