WobblyReport

Finding an outlet willing to publish my latest piece was a challenge and I'm grateful to Gina at DistillSocial for agreeing to run it. Numerous outlets (ProPublica, for example) expressed concerns that I was misrepresenting myself somehow even though I assured them that I fully intended to do the best work I could in the role for which I was applying. Here's an excerpt: In an online application submitted in late January, I’d truthfully submitted my five most recent employers, three of which are media companies, and other basic background information. Less than a week later I received messages inviting me to call in for prescreening. I called the number provided January 28 in the early afternoon. The GEO Group representative, who speaks with a slight accent from some other continent, asked what qualified me for the position and I leveraged clerical support work for a hospital system, which involved handling and examining many sensitive documents. I mentioned a few other relevant...

I will be gone — but not forever   A brief stint as an editor at an under-resourced community newspaper backwater has come to an end and a new journey as a mercenary, dissident journalist and underground musician has begun.  No regrets.

Federal incentives fuel closer ICE partnerships with police agencies Local law enforcement agreements with ICE not yet impacting operations in Michigan Originally published at  MichiganAdvance.com   /2026/01/08/federal-incentives-fuel-closer-ice-partnerships-with-michigan-police-agencies/ The fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on Wednesday—after the agent fired through the window of her car—has renewed national scrutiny of ICE’s expanding role and the growing involvement of local law enforcement in federal immigration operations. As federal immigration enforcement expands nationwide, a growing number of local law enforcement agencies, including in Michigan, are entering formal agreements with ICE, potentially reshaping the relationship between federal and local policing. The Minneapolis shooting, reported as ICE officers were attempting to stop a vehicle, has intensified concerns among civil rights advocates about accounta...

This story might as well begin with onboarding at my most recent full-time position a little less than two years ago. Having relocated in order to accept it, I declined to enroll in the employer-offered healthcare insurance plans. I was to be our household's sole income earner until my spouse found work, and considering other more immediate costs (rent, utilities, food, etc.), none of the plans on offer would be affordable, I presumed. Then last fall, after a promotion and a raise, and after my spouse had found steady work, I sought treatment in a local emergency ward after a particularly sustained episode of uncontrollable vomiting. These episodes had been occuring sporadically for the past few years. I'd sought treatment once prior but had recovered quickly enough to be discharged with nausea medication and no specific diagnosis. Last fall, the doctor who reviewed computed tomography scans of my torso concluded that a hernia surgery almost two decades prior caused scar tiss...

We maintained a local focus at the newspapers I co-edited, reporting on what happened in and immediately around our designated coverage areas. Happenings farther off may have received mention if they had a more or less immediate impact on the aforementioned areas. To decide whether to report on activity in the state capitol or even Washington, D.C., we monitored and analyzed other media. Here are my views on some recent, trending Michigan news topics. Data centers Around the state, local residents have been responding to data center construction proposals in or near their communities. Recently in nearby Kalkaska County, residents loudly opposed plans by Rocklocker LLC to develop a data center on 1,400 acres of public land. The company ceased their pursuit of the development after numerous public fora at which residents were overwhelmingly opposed. Developers are meeting similar opposition to plans in Saline Township, Howell and Lansing. Michigan is already home to over 40 data cent...