Up North Progressive
Politics and commentary for Northern Michigan
On Tuesday, May 28, Governor Snyder signed a new law that gradually raises the minimum wage to $9.25 per hour by 2018. Republicans concerned that a successful petition circulated by Raise Michigan would succeed as a ballot proposal in November, so quickly rammed their bill through the state legislature at lame duck 2012 speed to stop the will of the people on more than one front. The ballot initiative would gradually raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour by 2017, tie future minimum wage increases to inflation, and finally bring up tipped employee wages to 100% of minimum wage.
State Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville admitted he introduced the bill to kill the people’s petition initiative. Michigan’s current legislature doesn’t care much for what the citizens of the state want or even need, like a living wage. Michigan workers will have to endure the lowest, slowest gradual wage hike in the country. By 2019, $9.25 will only have the same buying power as $8.50 has today. Michigan minimum wage earners will still be living below poverty.
By law, the Secretary of State must review the signatures collected and declare the petition valid for the November 4 ballot. Richardville’s attempt to thwart the Michigan Constitution and the will of the people may be unconstitutional. It is likely voters will still see the proposal this November and be able to vote, which is a problem for Michigan Republicans and why they quickly passed their minimum wage law. The opportunity to vote on raising Michigan’s minimum wage will bring out more people to the polls, and that is bad news for Republicans. The people who will vote in favor of the new law will also likely vote for Democratic candidates; two million more votes went to Democratic candidates in this state than did for Republicans in 2012. High voter turnout is the last thing Michigan Republicans want.
Democrats in the state legislature did win a small victory in modifying Richardville’s bill with the addition of tying future minimum wage raises to inflation. Unfortunately, tipped employees will still only make 38% of minimum wage, with a top increase of $3.52 per hour. The Michigan Restaurant Association was happy with the news that restaurant owners in Michigan won’t have to pay servers a living wage and will continue to rely on their customers to subsidize their employees’ pay.
Raise Michigan’s ballot proposal would lift nearly 100,000 Michigan workers out of poverty and provide a real boost to the state’s economy. Republicans claiming that higher wages hurt small business forget that most new job creation comes from small businesses, not the large corporations that received all the tax cuts in the state. Small business owners deserve and could really use some tax credits, but are always overlooked because they can’t afford to write the large campaign contribution checks.
Raise Michigan submitted the petition signatures on the same day Snyder signed Richardville’s bill into law. The chances Michigan voters will still have the opportunity vote for a real minimum wage hike on November 4th are good, provided our elected officials follow the law rather than stick to their own political agenda.
One of the joys of living “Up North” is there’s plenty of wildlife to enjoy. For anyone who lives near our great Northern Michigan forests, this means plenty of animals and birds may come to visit. They will also help themselves to anything edible, whether you want them to have it or not.
And then, there’s the poor beastie that just has bad luck. A Blue Racer twisted in the garden’s deer fence.
It took a pair of heavy duty shears, patience, and being mindful of where this beautiful Blue Racer’s head was at all times to get it free of the deer fence. A call to the DNR for help didn’t do much good; no one available unless you are willing to pay $75 for the service call.
Eventually, with lots of slow, careful snips with the shears the snake gradually became free of the deer fence. Without the fence the deer eats the garden, with the fence at least one snake a year gets wrapped up.
For this snake, there was a happy ending.
May your parades and cookouts be dry. Rain headed this way, but that won’t dampen Northern Michigan’s spirits.
Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lon Johnson will be in the Northern Lower Peninsula visiting Democrats in different locations. Here is his schedule for tonight until the end of the week:
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
6 pm – 7:30 pm – Grand Traverse County Democratic Party, Minerva’s Restaurant, Park Place Hotel, Traverse City
Thursday, May 22, 2014
9 am – 10:30 am – Kalkaska County Democratic Party, Trout Town Cafe, Kalkaska
12 pm – 1:30 pm – Otsego County Democratic Party, F.O.P. Building, Gaylord
3:30 pm – Interview with the Petoskey News-Review
6 pm – 7:30 pm – Charlevoix and Emmet County Democratic Parties, 121 W. Lake Street, Petoskey
Friday, May 23, 2014
12 pm – 1:30 pm – Alcona County Democratic Party, The Holistic Center, Harrisville
3 pm – Interview with the Alpena News
4 pm – Interview with WBKB
6 pm – 7:30 pm – Alpena and Presque Isle Democratic Parties, Linda Ayres’ home in Alpena.
Contact MDP staff for details. For more info you can visit the Michigan Democratic Party Website or contact G.T. Long at midemparty@michigandems.com
Optometrist Turned Educator: The Continuing Story Of Dr. Steve Ingersoll
Monday , 19, May 2014 Dr. Ingersoll, Section 16 4 CommentsGREETINGS DELTA CHARTER SCHOOL VISITORS! Please click this link for an update on the Steve Ingersoll story.
Michigan has lots of charter schools. The state leads the United States in charter school creation. These schools are advertised to parents as an alternative to public education often offering specialties such as fine arts and science, or focusing on students with special needs. Charter schools draw people from different occupations and walks of life into the education business. Dr. Steven Ingersoll, an optometrist currently living in Traverse City, Michigan, and facing felony fraud charges, is one of those people. He combined his expertise of vision therapy and education and came up with a model for charter schools that develops children’s vision so they can better focus on learning. According to Dr. Ingersoll, his methods have dramatic results with students who suffer from ADHD
The main component of Ingersoll’s charter schools is Integrated Visual Learning. IVL according to Ingersoll is a “visual therapy with a cognitive finish.” Vision therapy is a method of retraining the eyes to work together in order to strengthen vision, which enables a person to stay focused and process information more efficiently. This is why every student at one of Dr. Ingersoll’s schools receives an eye exam. This is not uncommon; schools have vision screening for students. Dr. Ingersoll however gives students full eye examinations. In fact, every school operated by Dr. Ingersoll has a full optometry lab.
The first school where Dr. Ingersoll used his new IVL model was at Livingston Developmental Academy in Howell, Michigan. This school was co-founded with Chuck Stockwell. The school implemented Steve Ingersoll’s three-phase approach and had incredible results. According to Ingersoll, 90% of students who were diagnosed with ADHD no longer exhibited the characteristics of ADHD; the students were able to stay focused and had greater success with their schoolwork. Combined with William Glasser education theory and character building education, Dr. Ingersoll went on to establish another charter school in Traverse City with his co founder in IVL, Mark Noss, O.D. In 2011 he opened Bay City Academy and used the same education model there. In all of these schools the same amazing claims were made that students through IVL were able to stay focused and found learning easier. Ingersoll in fact stresses the importance of students being trained to work with what he calls a visual learning style, and that other learning styles force children to use incorrect coping skills that make learning more difficult.
It wasn’t easy finding information about IVL. There is no Wikipedia article about this method of retraining students to learn. The Facebook Page hasn’t been updated in a year. Only through finding information from a Canadian Optometry Clinic in Vancouver that uses IVL was it possible to find a link to Dr. Ingersoll’s Excel Institute. Educators and vision therapists who want to learn Dr. Ingersoll’s method take classes at one of three locations in Michigan – Traverse City, Farmington Hills, and Battle Creek.
Steve Ingersoll’s claims that the majority of students diagnosed with ADHD are misdiagnosed and suffer from poor vision development doesn’t take into consideration that there are different types of ADHD and the condition can come from different causes. Children diagnosed with ADHD have gone through a series of tests performed by pediatric psychiatrists and neurologists. For these children who attend Ingersoll’s schools and were “cured” of ADHD through the Doctor’s IVL method, it would be worthwhile to find out how those children progressed through school once they no longer were part of his program.
Intergrated Visual Learning is only the beginning of Dr. Steve Ingersoll’s total visual learning education model. He has developed other parts of this program, including curriculum and software.
Retired Major General Jerry Cannon is the Democratic Party candidate running for U.S Congress in Michigan’s first district. He will be facing incumbent Dan Benisheck, who has held the office since 2011.
Jerry Cannon is a retired Marine. He served in Vietnam from 1967 to 1970. In 1977 he joined the Army National Guard and became sheriff of Kalkaska County, a position he held until 2004. Cannon’s military career includes serving as commander in Guantanomo Bay, Cuba. Through his decades of service to his country and the citizens of Kalkaska County, Jerry Cannon knows the importance of public service and that it requires listening to people and focusing on their concerns and needs.
Jerry Cannon’s campaign is focused like a laser on three things: The economy, District #1 and helping the middle class. The economic recovery in Northern Michigan isn’t doing as well as in other parts of the state. District #1 residents grapple with a 11.5% unemployment rate as businesses and factories have closed and jobs disappear. Jerry Cannon wants to promote diversifying the economy that will provide year round jobs for Northern Michigan. Cannon also believes raising the minimum wage is a must, and supporting small business by making it easier to obtain financing will give the economy the boost it needs.
In education Cannon wants colleges to work more closely with businesses to develop new technical training for the changing job market. He also wants programs in place that makes education more affordable for people who need education and training to find a job.
The middle class has taken a hard economic hit in the United States, and that’s especially true in Northern Michigan. For District #1, Cannon will work to ensure to lessen the tax burden on the middle class and the elderly. They shouldn’t be picking up the slack for wasteful spending and corporate tax cuts. Jerry Cannon supports equal pay for women and tax credits to businesses that hire veterans. Cannon also believes that the Affordable Care Act isn’t a perfect law, but it’s better than what Americans had before it existed. He would like to see parts of it fixed to make it better.
Jerry Cannon is just the person Northern Michigan needs to represent them in Washington. He has decades of dedicated service and understands what that means when representing the people. Do what’s best for District #1 and elect Jerry Cannon to United States Congress. To learn more about Jerry Cannon, you can visit his campaign web site.
Raising The Minimum Wage: Killing Democracy In Michigan
Friday , 16, May 2014 Uncategorized Leave a commentRaise Michigan, the organization responsible for successfully collecting 258,000 signatures to put raising the minimum wage in Michigan to $10.10 an hour by 2017 did their best to use democracy to bring change to the state according to the will of the people. Unfortunately, that means the Republicans had to take matters into their own hands because the last thing they want is the people getting what they want. So, to circumvent the will of the citizens of the state, they preemptively voted on a bill this week that would raise the minimum wage – except it’s less money.
State Senator Darwin Booher (R – Evart) voted in favor of raising the minimum wage in Michigan to $9.20 an hour on Thursday; not because he believes the working poor deserve to earn more, but rather to further discussion on why paying poor people so they’re less poor is a bad thing to do. According to Booher, something had to be done to stop the successful petition drive, or else the minimum wage would go up almost a dollar more. “Small businesses would have no choice but to get rid of employees.” Booher said, using a typical Republican claim that has never been substantiated. “Loss of jobs is the risk.”
In 2006 Booher voted against raising the minimum wage in Michigan, but it eventually passed and went up to the current level of $7.40 per hour. His reason for voting against it then is the same reason he voted for raising the minimum wage now. To make sure poor people don’t make rich people have to do bad things, like pay people a living wage. The Raise Michigan ballot measure would have given the people of Michigan too much power and too much money. Darwin Booher believes what all Republicans believe, that demoralizing the poor makes the poor better, and they should be grateful.
They say there is no bad publicity. If you want to make a name for yourself, doing something negative will produce the same result as doing something positive. The tea party has been using this tactic for years to get their names in the papers. Let’s meet a local man who decided to give it a shot, and it seems to be working. Andy Marek of Interlochen is a single dad with a 17-year career at Home Depot. A lifetime resident of Grand Traverse County, he is now running for county commissioner.
You may have heard of Andy Marek if the you read the Traverse City Record Eagle, because there was an article about Marek bringing a loaded firearm to a Traverse City Area Public Schools board meeting in January. Marek’s reason for bringing a gun onto public school property comes from his fear of being shot at a public school, as he stated for the newspaper, “Most shootings happen in schools, I need to be able to protect myself.” He went on to say he would feel really bad if he didn’t have his tool with him, because schools are dangerous.
Andy Marek is a firm believer in the NRA gospel that he is a “good guy with a gun,” and that means he can take his gun with him anywhere he wants. Unfortunately for the public school district in Traverse City, it appears the law is on Marek’s side. After all, he pointed out that schools are dangerous places where lots of people get shot. Walking into one means Marek had to put his life in danger.
Making public schools safer is something Andy Marek thinks about and he admits having a gun may not be enough. What else does Marek believe needs to be done to our schools so he can feel safe walking into one with his tool? He shared that with the public in an online discussion.
- A way to easily secure the doors from the inside of each classroom.
- Bars over all windows on the first floor, Including windows on doors.
- No openings in fences around school except the main entrance to minimize access to the building.
- Door buzzer at main entrance.
- Panic button that goes direct to central dispatch in each class room.
- Resource officer in each school. Or at least the appearance of one there.
- Insure that the Public Address system works in each school. One failed during a recent lock down drill.
- Two levels of fencing around school with a sally port to restrict access until person verified to have reason to be there.
- A conference room or sterile area for meetings with non employees to keep the criminals away from our children.
The only thing missing from this list is sniper towers and a moat filled with piranhas. According to Andy Marek, the way to make schools safer is to turn them into prison facilities. He must also believe school districts have magical money trees that always produce bumper crops of funds to pay for extreme security upgrades. An important question a sane person my have after reading Marek’s list is who needs all that protection, children or the good guys with guns who walk into school buildings?
Schools have comprehensive policies in place for dealing with firearms entering buildings. Unless the person with the firearm is an officer of the law, walking into a school with a gun triggers two things, the school building goes into lockdown and the police are contacted. Regardless of any permits the gun owner has, the safety of children and staff in the school are the first and only priority of the school. Anybody who is not a police officer and walks into a school with a gun becomes the bad guy with a gun.
Potato Planting And Maypole Dance At Birch Point Farm
Wednesday , 14, May 2014 Uncategorized Leave a comment
Birch Point Farm will be holding a potato planting and Maypole dance on their farm this coming Sunday, May 18, 2014.
The event starts at 1 pm and lasts until 4:30. Wear work clothes and footwear that you don’t mind getting muddy. Bring gloves, a hat and some water to drink. The potato planting will end around 3 pm. The Maypole Dance will be held from 3:30 to 4:30.
Birch Point Farm is a Community Supported Agriculture farm. CSAs provide locally grown produce, eggs, and even meat to customers through the purchase of “shares.” People buy a share and during certain times of the growing season fresh food will be available. It’s a great way to have fresh, locally produced food to eat and support local agriculture.
Michigan’s Budget Woes: You Get What You Pay For (Or Don’t)
Wednesday , 14, May 2014 Nerd Problems Leave a commentToday the Michigan House Fiscal Agency released their forecast report on expected revenues for the next two years. The findings are dismal. The agency projects that the state of Michigan won’t collect as much in taxes as originally thought, and over the next two years the state could suffer from a shortfall of nearly $900 million.
The loss of taxes will impact the state’s general fund, which pays for road repairs, human services, local government and state agencies. Michigan’s public schools could be facing a shortfall of $246 million in additional cuts.
Lansing will have to figure out what to do about the unexpected loss of revenues. Governor Snyder had anticipated enough money to propose more tax cuts. Michigan’s roads are in severe need of repair, and now the money may not be there to fix them.
The fact that our state government is surprised by this news is most troubling of all. After giving the rich and corporations in Michigan massive tax cuts, while raising taxes on the elderly and poor, they should have known the results of this policy would be less revenue in the state’s general fund. There is a reason why poor people are poor – they have less money, which means less money to tax. Pensioners live on a fixed income, they make the same amount every year, so there’s not much chance for any kind of progressive rate of revenue to happen there either.
With Michigan’s crumbling roads, anemically funded schools and communities would it be too much to hope that our state government would do what needs to be done and raise taxes on those who can afford to pay more?
Or perhaps our ‘One Obtuse Nerd’ governor will see this as an opportunity to declare more emergency management zones. Stay tuned, as the Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency will be releasing their projected budget report soon.