The Detroit News. August 21, 2019
Benson should speed up branch wait times
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson campaigned on a promise that the wait in line at Secretary of State branch offices would be no longer than 30 minutes, and she had a slate of good ideas to make it happen.
Now, in her eighth month in office, wait times are consistently worse than they were under her predecessor, Ruth Johnson.
What gives?
In July, Detroit residents looking to renew plates or get a driver’s license at the branch office on West Grand Boulevard endured an average wait time of 130.8 minutes, according to data from the Secretary of State office compiled by Bridge Magazine. That’s over two hours - up an extra 31.1 minutes from last year.
Citizens in Ann Arbor were looking at an average 136-minute wait - up 23.4 minutes from 2018, and Novi residents could expect an average wait of 182.8 minutes - a 62.7-minute increase from last year.
That kind of a wait could discourage citizens from complying with the law. It may lead to more motorists driving illegally. And those with expired licenses risk 93 days of jail time and/or a $500 fine.
In April, after visiting all 131 of the state’s Secretary of State branches, Benson told The Detroit News that problems in the department could push her 30-minute goal out to 2022.
Benson said a significant factor in increasing wait times is the previous administration’s downsizing to 131 offices from 174.
“Bottom line, we’re looking at the result of decades of short-term fixes or problematic solutions that have not stood the test of time,” she says.
One of the biggest issues Benson says she faces is structural problems arising from outdated business practices.
“If you want to renew a license plate, you have to go to an office and do it,” she says.
Yet she knew that to be the case when she made her 30-minute guarantee.
In addition, Benson says there is currently no triage of the lines stacking up in branch offices.
“A third of the people in line have quick transactions that would take five minutes online,” she says. “I want to create an express line, just like an express checkout at a grocery store.”
Noting how past administrations treated employees like part-time workers so they could avoid paying benefits, Benson says the lack of investment in staff created low morale and a high turnover, adding to costs.
Benson wants to reorganize positions to make them full time with benefits.
She says all these structural changes are going to take a while.
“I’d like to be able to make them yesterday, just like everyone else,” she says. “But big government moves slowly.”
Benson is right about that, but she’s also trying to deflect responsibility for lack of progress in tackling something as straightforward as wait times.
Since that promise was such a major pillar of her campaign, she should move more quickly to put reforms in place.
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The Mining Journal (Marquette). August 20, 2019
Arts and culture very important to area’s vitality
If a community, any community, can find its beating heart in its economic energy, employment opportunities and business acumen, it could be argued, we believe, that a community’s non-religious soul is centered in its arts and culture community.
There is something singularly wonderful in witnessing local artists produce everything from music to poetry to paintings and plays, just to name a few.
Although the Upper Peninsula is geographically isolated from metropolitan areas downstate and in Wisconsin, the region has not lacked for a vibrant arts and culture community. Seldom does a weekend go by that this neck of the woods isn’t hosting a performance or display of some kind, be it concerts or art sales.
That’s why we’re using this space to underscore the importance of Zero Degrees Artist Gallery marking its ninth anniversary. The artist cooperative is located on North Third Street in Marquette and is stocked with the juried wares of more than three dozen area artists.
“It’s a great opportunity for any artist trying to come up and get their start,” Zero Degrees Vice Chairman Chris Wetton, said for Mining Journal front page coverage Monday.
“We’ve got some professional artists, our full timers, so it’s a great place to educate yourself and get better at your art.”
Thirty-eight artists currently display their work, such as handmade jewelry, paintings, ceramics and sculptures in the gallery, he said.
We’d recommend area residents and visitors alike check them out and sample, if you will, the high quality and diversity of what’s offered there.
Lots of information is available on its website at http://www.zerodegreesgallery.org/
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Traverse City Record-Eagle. August 22, 2019
We welcome our last summer guests
By late August, many northern Michiganders become a little cynical about festivals, events and visitors.
That feeling of winter marching closer as nights become chilly and sunsets inch earlier injects haste to our lazy summer weekends as we all scramble to the last few beach days. It also makes us a little cranky about slow-driving tourists and crowds at our favorite natural spots.
It’s an understandable adverse reaction to the throngs of people who flock to our home each summer to take advantage of the precious weeks sandwiched between the tips of the snowy season’s grip. They are the few weeks when so many of us author social media posts taunting friends with snapshots of walks on beaches and captions that read “we live where you vacation.”
Those scribbles hide an unconscious fear of the day when our lakes once again become crisp from the cold air.
That’s why the Grand Traverse region’s embrace of this weekend’s Ironman race rings an impressive note. We have heard few gripes as race officials worked to shoehorn the triathlon into our streets and bays. The lack of angst is strong evidence of race organizers’ efforts to communicate with us. It’s also a testament to our community’s warmth and graciousness.
There is no doubt traffic will move slower throughout the weekend, and many of us will need to find alternate routes to our final summer weekend destinations. But we encourage everyone to stop for at least a few moments and cheer on some racers.
After all, next weekend will be just as beautiful and this weekend we’ve got important visitors.
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