Michigan gas prices zip back up over the $2 mark

Well, it was fun while it lasted. Winter finally arrived here in Michigan (and the rest of the Midwest) which caused energy forecasters to predict increased use of heating oil and natural gas which caused the price of a barrel of oil to spike up. This eventually made it to your local filling station and raised the average price of gas in Michigan to $2.092 (up from $1.95 one week ago). It could always be worse. Just one month ago the Michigan average was $2.263 and one year ago we were paying $2.305 at the pump.

Gas price data courtesy of AAA's Fuel Gauge Report.

The 2007 Michigan Notable Books list

I love to read. I go through at least one book a week over numerous topics. The state of Michigan releases a list of books by Michigan authors (or that cover Michigan-related topics) every year through the Library of Michigan. There are 20 books in the 2007 list. It looks like there are books for all age groups to enjoy. I didn't know this, but they have been putting an annual list together since 1991.

The Michigan Notable Books list tries to be "reflective of Michigan's diverse ethnic, historical, literary, and cultural experience."

Here are some that I am adding to my reading list -

• Death's Door: The Truth Behind Michigan's Largest Mass Murder - Steve Lehto This book explores the enduring mystery and drama surrounding the 1913 Christmas Eve tragedy at Italian Hall in Calumet. After a still-unidentified man falsely cried, "Fire," more than 70 people, many of them children, were crushed to death in the stairwell amidst the panicked crush to flee the building. The author expertly analyzes the objectivity of the local newspaper coverage, the coroner's inquest, and the mystery surrounding the doors (did they open inward or outward?), and reaches several thought-provoking, startling, and controversial conclusions.
• So Cold a Sky: Upper Michigan Weather Stories - Karl Bohnak From the first European explorers to pioneer settlers to modern-day Michiganians, the Upper Peninsula's inhabitants have faced weather's most devastating challenges: extreme snowstorms, heat waves, floods, fires and more. Combing historical accounts from as early as the 1600s with personal tales from U.P. residents, this narrative peppered with weather maps, nature photos and snapshots offers an in-depth look at the region's most severe weather.
• Taking Care of Cleo: A Novel - Bill Broder Set in Prohibition-era Charlevoix, and complete with booze, bootleggers, and the Purple Gang, this engaging novel with a strong historical sense of place details the lives of the Bearwalds, the only Jewish family in this small Lake Michigan resort community. Rebecca dreams of attending the University of Michigan to escape "taking care of Cleo," her autistic older sister. After Cleo stumbles across a beached yacht full of contraband liquor, she renovates the boat and recruits Rebecca to help sell the booze, leading to a case of mistaken identity and run-ins with Detroit gangsters.
• An Unquiet Grave - P.J. Parrish In this suspenseful thriller, Florida PI Louis Kincaid, a native of Detroit, is called back to Michigan by his foster father, who needs help with a personal situation. As events unfold at a notorious sanitarium, modeled after Eloise, Kincaid learns of a dark conspiracy and troubling revelations, not just about his foster father's situation, but also about himself.

See the full list.

Want to see last year's (2006) list? View it here.

Group wants to raise Michigan's gas tax by $.09

Here we go again. Our roads need fixing and our budget needs balancing. Hmm, what to do? Oh yeah, lets have a tax increase!

But, it's for the good of the people.

Really.

The Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association wants to keep us driving and help out Michigan's economy (how generous of them). Therefore, they have proposed that we pay another $.09 in taxes at the pump.

Oh, and they also would like to see an increase in vehicle registration fees. It is reported that the MITA could raise them by as much as 50%. The Free Press reports - "the average vehicle registration in Michigan is $110; MITA’s proposal would raise that to $160."

From what info I could find, it appears we already pay $.352 (I think that includes federal taxes, but I can't say for sure) in taxes on each gallon of gasoline plus the state sales tax of 6%.

Lets have some accountability here with the state's spending before we get more money taken out of our wallets. Why is it that the government raises taxes before really making any extensive cuts?

Sure, they'll raise our taxes on fuel "temporarily" and when it comes time to decide on renewing the tax or not it will be renewed because the funds raised by the tax will have been "temporarily" diverted to fund some other piece of our bloated state government. See for yourself in a 140 page PDF (warning - this could take a while to view with a dialup connection) of the Fiscal Year 2007 state budget.

From a business standpoint it is actually a triple whammy.

First, our customers will have less money in their pockets. Second, when we order products to make our gift baskets we will pay more in freight charges. Third, our shipping costs will go up with more fuel surcharges (yes, UPS already hits us with fuel surcharges - what can brown do to you, eh?).

The last two items above would most likely lead us to raise prices (oops, we're up to a fourth whammy) on our gift baskets and/or shipping prices as well. This becomes another strike to the customer who already has less funds available due to the gas tax increase.

I don't like this idea on multiple levels.

Here is a crazy idea - lets cut spending and quit funding our state's governmental excesses on the backs of businesses and taxpayers.

Read the full article at the The Detroit Free Press website.

Video of the Outhouse Classic in Trenary

Last year, I wrote about the Outhouse Classic that takes place up in Trenary, Michigan. I was fortunate enough to come across a video of the 2005 event on YouTube. Some of the outhouses people made for the race are quite well done and could stand on their own as Upper Peninsula works of art. People wear crazy getups and have a tone of fun by the looks of things.

If the video player does not appear, you can watch the video here.

Coast Guard abandoning Michigan lighthouses

The Detroit News ran an interesting article over the weekend about the state of Michigan's lighthouses. Once a necessary navigation tool for the ships that plied the Great Lakes - now decaying in their obsolescence and abandoned by the Coast Guard. The bottom line (as with most things these days) is the cost of maintaining these structures that are no longer needed due to technological improvements such as GPS.

The tab to restore the lights or keep them looking as they once did has been paid by private organizations and groups of volunteers. Unfortunately, these folks can't raise funds quick enough. Michigan has lost about 350 lighthouses just since 1995 according to the Detroit News article.

Read the article at The Detroit News.

Pfizer sales pfizzle and Michigan loses more jobs

Pfizer sales suffered in 2006 and the result is that Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo residents lose places of employment while the state loses another 2,410 jobs. Pfizer is looking to cut 10,000 jobs worldwide by the end of 2008. This makes the Michigan cuts alone nearly 25% of their planned total job cuts. This might hurt on a state level, but the real pain is in the communities of Kalamazoo/Portage and Ann Arbor.

There is a great quote from Tom Watkins, former state school superintendent, in the Free Press article -

Michigan adds jobs in tear drops, like Google, and loses them in roaring tsunamis.

Too true.

It's like we are a ship taking on water and we are bailing it out with a teaspoon.

What is our esteemed Governor's plan?

We’re going to have a whole ‘Stick Around Ann Arbor’ campaign for these employees, because we want them to stay here,” Granholm said.

I don't fault Granholm for Pfizer cutting these jobs. The blame lies with Pfizer - if you want to blame someone. They're cutting costs to raise their bottom line and keep the shareholders happy.

Granholm's position as governor of Michigan is to work with the state legislature and formulate a plan for job growth. Pfizer didn't cut these jobs because Michigan's tax rates were unfair or they didn't like the mole on Granholm's face. They are looking after their bottom line as do all major corporations.

Our state needs some serious fixing - any solutions?

Read the Detroit Free Press article

Read the Ann Arbor News' take on the Pfizer closing