Petoskey News-Review. December 27, 2019.
Some changes doming in 2020.
Times are changing in the newspaper business in Northern Michigan.
The year 2019 saw some massive moves for the Petoskey News-Review, Gaylord Herald Times and Charlevoix Courier after we were sold by Schurz Communications to GateHouse Media (which then bought Gannett and is now called Gannett). With this, the Petoskey News-Review, Gaylord Herald Times and Charlevoix Courier are one of many newspapers around the state of Michigan working for the same company. Our sister publications include: The Holland Sentinel, the Cheboygan Daily Tribune, The Sault News, the Monroe News, the Detroit Free Press, the Battle Creek Enquirer, the Lansing State Journal, USA Today and many more.
This has greatly increased our resources for news sources to inform our readers on what is happening around the state and country. Further, it has increased our audience as we share our stories from Northern Michigan with these larger publications located in metro areas of the state and country. We have also taken over the editing and leadership of the newsrooms of daily newspapersThe Sault News and the Cheboygan Daily Tribune.
However, there have been other, more difficult, changes that have come with this. For one, we have a much smaller staff. One year ago, we had around 16 people working in the newsroom of just the Petoskey News-Review. Today, for the combined newsrooms of the Petoskey News-Review, Charlevoix Courier, Gaylord Herald Times, Cheboygan Daily Tribune and The Sault News we have a total around 15. This has forced us to rethink some of our coverage areas and beats, because we just cannot do what we used to be able to do.
And there are more changes on the way.
I will not lie to you, some of these may be difficult, but some may also be beneficial. We have had and, will have to, make some difficult decisions. Each one we had to weigh how it impacts our primary objective of bringing local news to you, meaning any cut that was made or change in offering, it is being done so while trying to protect our local news gathering resources as much as possible.
You will be seeing some big changes in this area after the first of the year. This is because about a month ago we had to make a financial decision and find areas of the budget to cut. It came down to cutting positions from the newsroom or cutting some of the syndicated content that we offer our readers (Washington opinion page columnist, certain comics and others like this). It was wisely decided local reporting was far more important to our overall objective than syndicated columnists or certain comics, so that is where we focused our knife.
Therefore, starting in 2020, you will no longer see the syndicated columnists out of Washington on our Opinion page, such as Rachel Mardsen and Robert Reich. You will also be seeing a change in our comics, crosswords and horoscope.
Each of these changes are being made in order to continue to cover as much local news as we can and serve our readers in that capacity. We have to solidify our niche in the market, and that niche is not comics that you can see in many other newspapers or opinion columnists you can read in any other newspaper, that niche is the local news of Northern Michigan that you will not get from any other trusted source in as much detail as you can get from our Northern Michigan newspapers.
Every member of the staff of the Petoskey News-Review, Charlevoix Courier and Gaylord Herald Times is dedicated to bringing our community the best and the most accurate local information about the area as we possibly can. Each edition of these newspapers, either in print or online, is the result of hours of work, dedication, constantly pushing forward, constantly striving to be the best and plenty of blood, sweat and tears.
We may be a smaller staff than we were a year ago, but our dedication to our readers remains as strong as ever.
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The Mining Journal. December 23, 2019
Paying for Christmas with expected tax receipts is dicey
If you’re like a lot of people in today’s world, many if not all of the bills associated with Christmas will be paid for using the expected income tax return.
But because some tax returns may require additional review and take longer to process, the Michigan Department of Treasury thinks that’s a bad idea.
“Every state income tax return is unique,” State Treasurer Rachael Eubanks said in a recent press release. “That means every income tax refund is also unique. While most refunds are typically issued two weeks after being accepted by the state, it’s best to plan ahead and understand that receiving your refund could take longer than expected due to unforeseen circumstances.”
Here are a handful of factors that can affect the timing of a refund:
≤ Security reviews to help protect against identity theft.
≤ Incomplete or inaccurate state income tax returns.
≤ Mathematical errors.
≤ Special circumstances related to state income tax credit.
Eubanks noted that for the 2018 tax year, more than 4.8 million returns were processed by the state Treasury Department, with 91% of returns reviewed and processed without requesting additional information from taxpayers.
We’d recommend readers heed this common-sense advice and, where, possible make other arrangements to pay for Santa’s visit.
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Traverse City Record-Eagle. December 26, 2019.
Mountains of fun give way to piles of trash
Bah! Humbug! Christmas is over.
Now we need to deal with the aftermath: mountains of torn wrapping paper, an endless stream of worn-out AA batteries, leftover roast beast and discarded packages, boxes and bags.
To be kind to future generations, all this stuff shouldn’t go into a landfill. Burning it can add to air pollution. Leaving it in the back yard until spring rains turn it into mulch doesn’t add to the neighborhood ambiance. What’s a Who down in Whoville to do?
Christmas trees that yesterday looked so sparkly and bright now are dropping dry needles faster than cards in a game of 52-pickup.
How can we handle holiday leftovers in an environmentally responsible way?
Much of the refrigerated roast beast can become the stuff of sandwiches. The inedible parts, well, they probably need to go in the garbage can - unless you turn them into compost.
The City of Traverse City is ready to accept Christmas trees from city residents, starting today and running through Jan. 19. More information is available at www.traversecitymi.gov/xmastreedropoff.asp.
Rural residents may be able to use their discarded tree as a bird and squirrel buffet: Decorate it with peanut butter, bird seed and fruit to provide little creatures with a January nutritional boost. A brush pile (if allowed in your community) - even just a single evergreen tree in a protected spot - can function as a temporary winter shelter for wildlife.
Many bright and shiny Christmas decorations aren’t recyclable. Glitter, bows and ribbons cannot be recycled - experts say they gum up the recycling process. Shiny, laminated wrapping paper also contaminates the recycling stream. Best practice with those items is to throw them in the trash.
Non-laminated paper-based wrapping paper and pre-recycled wrapping paper are recyclable. Think about saving and reusing pieces of wrapping paper next year that weren’t destroyed in the Christmas-morning frenzy. Or add a homey touch to next year’s gifts by using newsprint - with yesterday’s local headlines as decoration, or with added colors and patterns from felt-tip markers.
When batteries in your kids’ new toys wear out, don’t throw them in the trash, where heavy metals and chemicals eventually could trickle into the groundwater. Batteries can be recycled all year long at locations throughout the region, from Acme to Blair Township to Fife Lake. Find a drop-off spot near you at http://recyclesmart.info/896/Battery-Recycling.
When items can’t be recycled, all we can do is cry boo-hoo and toss them in the garbage.
Recycling, when possible, is a gift to the planet and to future generations.
Christmas is over for this year, but the giving doesn’t need to end. It’s time to look forward to 2020.
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