WobblyReport

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...

The first substantial snow accumulation in northern Michigan is an opportunity for myriad adventures and experiences unavailable to Michiganders at any other time of year. Scarcity means value, according to prevailing wisdom, so our experiences at this time of year must be highly valuable. Toward this (ad hoc, in the old tongue), we offer the following valuable opportunities attending the season’s first offerings of accumulated snow and ice. Rediscovering what we had hidden All those cold-weather garments were getting musty and weird in our basements and the backs of our closets. Even the ugly sweaters that are in plastic storage containers functioning as tables and/or shelves are desperate for air and light, despite their nearer proximity to more versatile textiles. Here is one more opportunity to reshuffle — or reorganize, for those of us believing in personal progress — belongings and reassess needs. Some of that summer-wear, too, might be more suited for donation than storage u...