Talk America Customers in West Michigan Without Phone Service

Approximately 500 Talk America customers in west Michigan have been without local and long distance service for the past few weeks. Work has been done recently to restore phone service to about half of those experiencing problems with the remainder to be fixed by Monday, January 9. The Regional BBB has received over 200 complaints in the past year regarding Talk America with "an inordinate number" of those from Michigan customers. An unknown number of Talk America customers have cancelled their service and Talk America is offering a free month of service to make up for the lack of phone service.

Customers waiting for phone to ring

Increased Demand on Michigan's Electricity Needs

Michigan's current electrical system will be overloaded in as little as three years and an additional power plant will be required by 2014. This is based on a report by the Capacity Needs Forum using information they collected for over a year. This means an investment is needed in new power plants as well as improvements to existing power plants. New plants and improvements will be costly and who might the costs be passed on to? The customers, of course.

Public Interest Research Group in Michigan (PIRGIM) disputes the findings of the report and suggests that through energy conservation policies Michigan can avoid building new power plants. See what PIRGIM says about Michigan's energy crisis.

Lansing State Journal: Report: State will need more electricity as early as 2009

Play the Balance the State Budget Game

Think you can do a better job than the elected officials of our state and get our budget balanced? here is your chance to find out. You can play the game here - Lansing State Journal - State Budget Game

I have yet to get the budget balanced. It is quite difficult to please enough people in order to have it approved. I would like to see a category in the Expense side entitled 'Unnecessary Expenses' that I could use to trim a lot of the fat from the budget. Anyway, it is a good way to waste some time on another dreary day.

Are You Wishing For The Snow to Return?

If you can't stand the warmer temperatures of late and the lack of snow and slippery roads – just wait a minute or two. We are in Michigan and the weather will change before you know it. Although, it is sad for the winter outdoor enthusiasts and for the merchants and businesses that depend on the snow and cold to stay in business. My son has a book called Snow Dance that he loves to have read to him at least once a day. It is about these kids dancing to make it snow and then school is canceled the next day. My wife (a school teacher) likes to read it to him when there is a snowstorm expected and she is hoping for a snow day.

Whether you believe you can make it snow by dancing or not, there are some people (mostly kids) who go to great lengths to make the snow start falling. Check out the article “Let It Snow! Rituals abound in Michigan's U.P., other cold climes” as it appears on the Detroit News website. I laughed out loud at the kid who flushes ice cubes down the toilet to encourage a snowstorm.

Also, for all of you snow enthusiasts or amateur meteorologists out there – you might want to head on over to the National Snow Analysis on the NOAA website. They have all kinds of stats and maps that will enable you to have all kinds of fun avoiding work.