Frustrations with backyard astronomy with this time of year where it’s darker out sooner in the evening. It’s so sad that in our “neck of the woods” that light pollution has increased so much over the decades that I can’t even see the constellation of Cancer any more. And only about half of what I could see back in the 1970’s is visible at night now.
My daughter, River Amelia, has grown into the hobby of astronomy, with 2 telescopes now. We literally have to drive 30-40 minutes expressway from home to an area into northern Macomb or St. Clair counties, where it’s possible to see the Milky Way.
Then the new issue: satellite pollution. The constant flow of satellites across the skies. One after another. I miss the days of astrophotography without the constant flow of satellites.
Due to this growing light and satellite pollution, it really bothers me that my daughter can’t experience the beauty of astronomy the way that I did. I have to make that extra effort as her father to drive with her someplace to enjoy the wonders of astronomy, and our father-daughter time.
Joseph A. Backus
St. Clair Shores
The death of truth in sentencing
In 1998, the Michigan Legislature, with only one dissenting vote, passed a law creating Truth in Sentencing. Its purpose was to bring certainty and transparency to the criminal justice system, by requiring a defendant, sentenced to prison, to serve at least his minimum sentence. Prior to this law, assorted “credits” were granted to inmates during their prison term, rendering a “minimum sentence” meaningless. Victims were confused as to how long their assailants were going to remain behind bars, when a five-year minimum sentence could mean four years, or three years. A guess and a working calculator were needed after a judge pronounced sentence. As a prosecutor of 30 years, before Truth in Sentencing, this guessing game was a miserable exercise and extremely distressing to victims.
After its passage, Truth in Sentencing brought honesty to the criminal justice system. It brought clarity and relief to victims. It has remained that way for 26 years. But now, the Michigan Legislature is poised to destroy Truth in Sentencing by reintroducing credits back into the system under the guise of prisoner productivity. That is, prisoners would receive time off their minimum sentence for engaging in various programs available in prison. This is despite the fact that Michigan’s prison population has fallen 40% since 2007; that only one in 10 felons are initially sentenced to prison; that almost 80% of inmates currently in prison are there for violent felonies, and, here’s the kicker, the vast majority of inmates currently engage in prison programming.
So why are these pending bills (SB 861-864) in search of a problem that does not exist? Honestly, I have no idea. I have read and listened to the arguments of the proponents, but it always seems to circle back to just letting violent criminals out sooner. Letting a faceless bureaucrat in the Michigan Department of Corrections determine an inmate’s minimum sentence, rather than a locally elected judge, who heard all the facts of the crime.
Admittedly, I have my bias of 30 years talking to crime victims, some of whom have suffered unimaginably. The possible death of Truth in Sentencing is greatly saddening.
Larry J. Burdick
Mount Pleasant
Pardon Biden for pardoning his son
President Joe Biden is well within his presidential privilege to grant his son a pardon. All this breast-beating about how wrong this is, it’s over the top. The pardon doesn’t change the price of eggs. The President changed his mind, it’s his prerogative to do so. Did he do it because he feels let down by the Democrats, because he understands the words, “President vows vengeance?” We may never know. President Gerald Ford pardoned President Richard Nixon. President Bill Clinton pardoned his brother. Trump pardoned former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Family and allies often make the list. Our Michigan representatives to Congress find this so offensive; I look forward to their bills reining in presidential privilege and ridding the Constitution of any scent of monarchy.
Kathryn Nelson
Berkley, Michigan
Biden should not have pardoned his son
My take on the Hunter Biden situation:
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His prosecution was politically motivated … in a case that wouldn’t even have gone to court for anyone else, the Justice Department went to extremes to show that they weren’t giving him a break just because he was the President’s son.
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With Trump winning, and openly vindictive toward Biden, Biden needed to act before Trump was in a position to make things worse for Hunter.
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4) Biden should only have commuted any forthcoming sentence, but not pardoned his son. (See No. 1).
Mark Lavetter
Southfield
Pass e-bike legislation in lame duck
Michigan’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget includes $2.95 million for e-bike purchase incentives. However, that funding is contingent upon the passage of Rep. Julie Roger’s House Bill 4491, which would establish an incentives program. Unfortunately, that bill awaits a final vote in the House and still must get through the Senate. We strongly encourage our state legislators to pass HB 4491 during this lame duck.
HB 4491 would provide up to $300 e-bike purchase incentive for Michigan residents and $600 for income-qualified residents (e.g. those receiving state assistance.) At least half of the incentives would be set aside for the latter.
Why should Michigan be interested in getting more residents riding?
It’s the economy. E-bikes are a cost-effective mode for getting people to jobs and school, especially for those who can’t afford a car. Michigan, but especially Detroit, has some of the country’s highest auto insurance rates, which many cannot afford. Driving is not an option for everyone. About 8% of Michigan households and 23% of Detroit households do not have access to a motor vehicle. E-bikes, along with good public transit, can help people get to where they need to go.
We know e-bikes are a viable option. Our organization’s Bikes 4 Employees program was able to give away a limited number of e-bikes to Detroiters without reliable vehicles. We found they primarily replaced costly Uber and Lyft trips, helped recipients get to work and school more reliably, and overwhelmingly improved their health. Their employers saw the benefits and were very supportive as well. HB 4491 is an opportunity to scale these successes.
Also, these incentives will benefit local bike shops and Michigan-based e-bike manufacturing startups like Bloom and Civilized Cycle. Michigan has the opportunity to solidify its growing dominance in U.S. e-bike manufacturing.
It’s the environment. E-bikes are a proven, low-cost carbon reduction strategy. Studies have found that the increased use of e-bikes is a necessity for reaching carbon reduction goals. E-bikes generate one-fifth the per-passenger-mile lifetime carbon emissions of EVs. Increased e-bike usage is fundamental for reaching carbon neutrality.
It’s the equity. Many Michigan residents are unable to benefit from existing electric vehicle incentives given the high cost of motor vehicle ownership and operation. E-bike incentives are an affordable alternative. Unlike electric cars, e-bikes do not require a costly home charger investment, do not require auto insurance, and cost 1/20th that of an entry-level EV. Getting more residents on e-bikes gets more people involved in climate action.
HB 4491 is more than just an incentive program. It is an investment in Michigan’s future. By making e-bikes more accessible, we can create jobs, reduce emissions, improve public health and make our cities more livable. As Michigan continues to pivot toward sustainability and innovation — especially as a means for attracting and retaining young talent — passing this bill will be a vital step toward building a more resilient, economically prosperous, and environmentally responsible state.
Michigan would be following other states that have successfully launched similar programs. For example, Minnesota has already committed $4 million in e-bike purchase incentives. The program was so popular that it crashed the government website when it launched.
It’s time for Michigan to embrace the future of transportation by passing HB 4491 and making our state one of the leaders in clean, green mobility.
Todd Scott is the Executive Director of the Detroit Greenways Coalition
Detroit
Ditch the two-party system in Michigan
Mayor Mike Duggan’s announcement that he will run for Governor as an independent should have been thrilling news. As a lifelong Metro Detroiter, I have admired Mayor Duggan for years and have long hoped he would bring his transformative leadership from Detroit to the state level. However, instead of excitement, I am now filled with apprehension. It feels as though he has squandered a vital opportunity, leaving us at risk of electing a less-qualified, party-loyal zealot.
Why do we have to think this way? As Michiganders, we dislike the two major political parties just as much as the rest of the country does, yet we continue to allow ourselves to be beholden to Democratic and Republican party bosses, despite our hatred for them growing with each passing election.
Is this an exaggeration? I don’t believe so. In Michigan, even the act of voting in a primary comes with strings attached. To participate, you must declare affiliation with one party or the other, a designation that becomes public information and can be exploited for campaign purposes. Worse, for statewide offices, the only candidate we, the voters, select in a primary is the governor. Every other statewide office is decided behind closed doors by party bosses via party delegates at party conventions. From top to bottom, Michigan’s political system is effectively governed at the whim of the Michigan Democratic and Republican parties.
More: Mike Duggan’s independent run for Michigan governor is a risky gamble | Opinion
If we truly want to move beyond our politics being decided by political parties behind closed convention hall doors, we need to strip the power from the parties of doing the nominating and gate-keeping, and free ourselves from having to associate with these parties to choose the best candidates for the job of running our state. For this I believe the best option is California’s nonpartisan primary model, where every candidate, outside of presidential and certain local races, regardless of party, is listed on one primary ballot, and the top two vote-getters move on to the General Election. With this model, you do not have to pick a “Republican” or “Democrat” ballot for the primary, you can vote for a candidate from any party, and the General Election is not limited to one Republican and one Democrat, but whoever gets the two highest vote totals.
While in California, this model has often produced results such as two-democrats in the General Election, we in Michigan are very different in that we are vote splitters. We elected Republican Donald Trump for president and Democrat Elissa Slotkin for senator on the same ballot, we sent two liberals to the state supreme court, and then elected one Republican and one Democrat each to the Michigan State University and University of Michigan governing boards. For decades, we have elected Republican state officials alongside Democrat federal officials. We, as Michiganders, have never wanted to be put into this two-party box, and yet the parties have the power and the authority to force us to pick a box, and we have not once put forth a ballot measure to change that.
Mayor Duggan’s announcement to run as an independent was jarring to us because we are chained in Michigan to our party labels through a corrupt party system that forces us to negotiate with them for our own leaders. Mayor Duggan’s desire to represent all Michiganders as an independent, to refuse to be put into an ideological box that fits one party of the other, is not and should not be the problem. The problem is, and I believe we can all agree on this, that we live in a state where an independent cannot win, with a system that does not allow it, in a culture where every leader we elect does not do so by appealing to the will of the people, but rather, by kissing the ring of our political parties.
Jordan Zammit
Brownstown
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: My daughter can’t enjoy starry nights the same way I did | Letters