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Editorial

Congress should cut off Trump’s ‘weaponization’ fund

The Trump administration’s creation of a $1.776 billion fund of taxpayer money under the president’s control to pay favored individuals outside the judicial process is drawing bipartisan condemnation. “From all outward appearances, this doesn’t pass the smell test,” said Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah. “We’re considering legislative options,” added Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. “You can’t do that.” When Republican members of Congress grouse about the president’s excesses, it’s usually just talk. But not always: Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., used his power over ...

Trump has lost the plot on governance

Republicans don’t want to say this publicly, but privately they do: President Trump’s personal political obsessions are hurting his presidency, harming the chances for further policy gains the rest of this year, and putting control of the House and Senate in jeopardy. That’s the backdrop to the GOP revolt last week in Congress on war powers and funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Mr. Trump’s unrelated priorities are handing Democrats gift after gift and forcing Republicans to take difficult votes that could cost them in November. His desire for political revenge is ...

Miles Davis still impacts music 100 years after his birth

The space reserved for Miles Davis in the pantheon of 20th-century music is not simply because he mastered jazz, but because he refused to let it stand still. As musicians and fans mark the centenary of his birth, Davis’ work still feels limitless. “I always thought that music had no boundaries,” he wrote in his 1989 autobiography, “no limits to where it could grow and go, no restrictions on creativity.” Davis repeatedly dismantled the sound he had helped invent — embracing the electric age in 1968, much as Bob Dylan had in folk. Davis moved to New York as an ...

MDARD opens enrollment for forest program tax exemption

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development reminds private landowners that applications to enroll in the Qualified Forest Program are due Sept. 1 to receive the associated tax exemption for the 2027 tax year. “MDARD supports sustainable forest management as a means of preserving our environment, sustaining our $26 billion forest products economy and improving quality of life throughout Michigan,” MDARD Director Tim Boring said in a news release. “The QFP incentivizes sustainable forestry by offering tax exemptions to private landowners who commit to responsibly ...

E-bikes must be respected — and regulated

The intersections in Marquette's downtown on a weekday are largely empty, relatively speaking, as the hour approaches 6 p.m., after the 5 p.m. traffic glut has cleared. It's a good thing, too, because a handful of random passersby recently were ringside to a near miss involving an e-bike and automobile, a proverbial close encounter that could have had tragic consequences but luckily didn't. The e-bike in question was southbound coming down the hill at high speed, approaching the West Washington Street intersection while the auto was turning left in front of it. Ridden by someone who ...

Foam on water should be avoided

It’s an unfortunate reflection of our times and the insidious creep of “forever chemicals” into the environment. With people likely to do some outdoor recreation over the Memorial Day weekend, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services this week reminded residents and visitors to avoid foam on lakes, rivers, streams and other surface waters. Foam can form on any body of water, the MDHHS advised in a news release. It can be white, off-white or brown, and may have an earthy or fishy scent. It tends to pile up in bays, eddies, dams or other river barriers. But foam can ...