http://tricitylocal.com/pages/blogspot/ Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:56:38 +0100 CityAmerica.com Content Management System http://tricitylocal.com/pages/blogspot/op/extended/article/1 Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:14:09 +0100 http://tricitylocal.com/pages/blogspot/op/extended/article/2 READ THE MTT PRESS RELEASE: PRESS RELEASE: Pothole Contest Winners Announced LANSING - A coalition working to secure more funding to fix Michigan's roads and bridges today announced four "service station scholarship" winners of a month-long contest to identify the worst rim-bending potholes in the state. The judges chose award-winning potholes in Walker, Waterford, Saginaw and Jackson. To view the photos, visit www.drivemi.org/potholes. "This was an extremely difficult decision because of the sheer number of potholes submitted that would do serious damage to your car," said Mike Nystrom, vice president of government and public relations for the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association (MITA) and co-chair of the Michigan Transportation Team. "With Michigan having the worst pothole season in history, there were so many craters to choose from." The contest, sponsored by the Michigan Transportation Team (MTT), awarded $318 "service center scholarships" to help offset vehicle repairs due to the poor condition of Michigan's roads and bridges. The winners were chosen from almost 70 entries from all over the state. Pothole winners were: • O'Brien Road, Walker • S. Jackson St., Jackson • Irwin Dr., Waterford • Veterans Memorial Parkway, Saginaw Due to the stiff competition of frame-busting pothole pictures, the MTT also gave honorable mention recognition to a number of potholes across the state: • Dean Lake Rd., Grand Rapids Township • Stadium and W. Michigan Dr., Kalamazoo • Lafayette and Division St., Grand Rapids • Ford Rd., Canton • John R., Detroit "The contest was a fun way to highlight a serious problem, but there is nothing fun about dodging enormous potholes and driving on dangerous roads," said Nystrom. The contest was part of an ongoing effort to educate policymakers that the dire condition of Michigan's roads are a serious threat to public safety and a roadblock to business development in the state. MTT is pushing for legislators to take these crumbling roads seriously by addressing the lack of transportation funding and the risk that this "season" poses to drivers in Michigan. Michigan has an annual funding shortfall of $700 million for its state transportation system and a shortfall of more than $2 billion for local roads. This funding pothole is due to massive cuts to the state's road and bridge program because of declining gas tax revenues. This year alone the state's road and bridge program dropped by $300 million or 18 percent. MTT is a broad-based, bi-partisan partnership of business, labor, local government, associations and citizens linked with the common goal of improving Michigan's transportation infrastructure. The DriveMI campaign is committed to promoting the development and maintenance of a safe, convenient and efficient transportation network that serves the public, private and economic development needs of Michigan. Please visit www.drivemi.org for more information on transportation funding.]]> Wed, 16 Jul 2008 10:01:22 +0100 http://tricitylocal.com/pages/blogspot/op/extended/article/3 Mon, 11 Aug 2008 07:53:05 +0100 http://tricitylocal.com/pages/blogspot/op/extended/article/4 Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:58:36 +0100 http://tricitylocal.com/pages/blogspot/op/extended/article/5 Fri, 12 Sep 2008 11:06:27 +0100 http://tricitylocal.com/pages/blogspot/op/extended/article/6 WHAT DO YOU THINK? PLEASE RESPOND WITH AN OPINION ON THIS MATTER! ]]> Sun, 28 Sep 2008 16:43:37 +0100 http://tricitylocal.com/pages/blogspot/op/extended/article/7 Bailout abandons Northern Michigan values In mid-September, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson insisted the government would not bail out American International Group (AIG), which was heavily invested in the subprime mortgage market. Thirty six hours later, the Secretary changed his mind and the Federal Reserve provided an $85 billion line of credit to save AIG in the largest government bailout of a private corporation in U.S. history. It is alleged that Secretary Paulson changed his mind because his former employer, Goldman Sachs, was AIG's largest trading partner and its collapse threatened to leave Goldman Sachs with a $20 billion loss. Just days earlier, the failure of global financial services firm Lehman Brothers became the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history, sending global markets into turmoil. The Secretary refused to assist Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and other distressed financial firms. By the end of that same week, the Treasury Secretary came to Congress with a two-and-a-half page, $700 billion bailout proposal for Wall Street, insisting that the White House proposal must be implemented immediately to avoid a severe financial crisis. It was against this backdrop, that Secretary Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke insisted Congress grant the administration unprecedented authority and power, essentially asking elected officials to handover the keys to the U.S. Treasury allowing political appointees, like Secretary Paulson, to determine which Wall Street financial institutions would receive hand outs. As greed ran amuck, there was now panic on Wall Street. It came as quite a shock that Paulson, Bernanke and President Bush - the same men who have for the past year continued to insist our economy is sound and that it would survive the subprime mortgage crisis - were now asking Congress for government intervention unprecedented since the Great Depression. Like many of my colleagues, I did not trust their gloom and doom forecast and wanted time to review the proposal before adding $700 billion to our national debt. For 10 days, Democrats and Republicans worked with the Bush Administration to craft H.R. 3997, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. I compliment members of both parties involved in these negotiations for their hard work and willingness to compromise to produce a much improved proposal. I have heard from thousands of my constituents across northern Michigan and have reviewed their messages, emails and letters. My staff and I have reached out to banks, credit unions, small businesses, economists and many constituents across northern Michigan. Most people sensed the urgency of addressing the financial crisis but had many more questions than answers. While the debates raged over what Congress should do, a consensus on four main principles emerged: there must be transparency on the purchase of troubled assets by the secretary; no windfalls or golden parachutes should be provided for executives; Congress must provide strong oversight; and the taxpayers must be protected. H.R. 3997 falls short in all of these areas. The bottom line is Wall Street executives enjoyed lavish lifestyles and exorbitant salaries while making risky real estate and mortgage investments. Many of these financial transactions were unregulated and no one exercised oversight of these markets or these individuals. Now the American taxpayer is being asked to bail out Wall Street for such things as NINJA mortgages. NINJA mortgages are those granted to individuals with no income, no job and no assets. You don't have to look very hard to find the excesses Wall Street executives continue to enjoy. On September 25, Washington Mutual became the largest bank to fail in U.S. history. Its CEO has been on the job less than three weeks and stands to walk away with $18 million, including a $7 million "signing bonus" just for taking the job. Last year, the CEO of Merrill Lynch walked away with $161 million. The CEO of AIG was offered a $22 million severance package on the heels of the government bailout, but declined to accept it after considerable public pressure. Treasury Secretary Paulson, himself a former chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, received a $38 million compensation package in his final year with the company and had a personal net worth of more than $500 million when he became Treasury Secretary! Although $700 billion is the number being attached to this bailout, even the Treasury Secretary acknowledges the number is arbitrary and was chosen to show the financial markets the U.S. government was serious. No one can tell us the total cost of the bailout, what the taxpayers are being asked to purchase or even if the infusion of $700 billion will solve this financial crisis. My review of H.R. 3997 shows that the limitations on Wall Street executive pay and golden parachutes only apply if a financial entity receives $300 million in government help; this $700 billion bailout raises the national debt to $11.3 trillion; taxpayers will have no way to recoup the interest on the $700 billion bailout; taxpayers will have to pay for the administration of this bailout; and finally, no one can tell us where or how the United States will come up with $700 billion. I am concerned $700 billion is just the beginning and additional billions of dollars will almost certainly be necessary. The bailout is likely to go on for more than five years and over that time I fully expect corruption and criminal activity will be found on Wall Street and, sadly, no one will probably be held accountable to the American taxpayer. I cannot ask American families - who work hard, play by the rules and struggle to meet their own financial obligations - to bail out Wall Street executives for their reckless, lavish lifestyles. For that reason, I voted "no" on H.R. 3997, the Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. This bailout does not represent our northern Michigan values and it rewards excessive financial shenanigans without any accountability for these irresponsible actions. The $700 billion bailout failed in the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 205-228 on September 29. I expect to be called back to Washington in the coming days to consider an alternative package. I will examine that alternative proposal closely to see that it addresses the concerns I have raised. Congress will do what is necessary to stabilize our economy and restore confidence in the financial markets, but will ensure that protecting the taxpayers is priority number one. Sincerely, BART STUPAK Member of Congress]]> Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:21:20 +0100 http://tricitylocal.com/pages/blogspot/op/extended/article/8 Sat, 08 Nov 2008 05:59:52 +0100 http://tricitylocal.com/pages/blogspot/op/extended/article/9 Now accepting Santa Letters Parents: Your children can send us a letter they have written to Santa from Nov. 8 - Nov. 30 and we will include it in our Christmas supplement. Please send us your Letters to Santa. These letters will be included in our Christmas supplement on site throughout the month of December. Please use one of our digital templates which you can download from our home page to compose your letter in Microsoft Word. Then, save and send your letter to info@tricitylocal.com. GUIDELINES: Please include the first name of your child only. Child's age City of Residence]]> Sat, 08 Nov 2008 07:23:54 +0100