State of the Union, a moment of optimism

While I'm sure some Americans flip through the channels to navigate away from the annual State of the Union speech, for any self-respecting journalist, it's must-see TV (or radio depending on your schedule.)

But for those of us who did watch, I'm wondering if anyone else felt America might be getting a tad more bipartisan -- if only for a moment.

Sure, we have the tea party and we all have our arguments, but with the recent attempted assassination of congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, politicians are, at the very least, watching their Ps and Qs.

In fact, lawmakers made the occasion into what is being referred to as a "bipartisan date night," where one politician must pair up with another of the opposite party. Wonder where this leaves Independents?

While this first date certainly won't lead to marriage or anything serious like agreeing on terms for health care, it certainly is a start.

And hey, if nothing else, I didn't hear anyone shout, "You lie!"

Retail forcast getting better

The economy might not be the best right now but people in Michigan did spend money over the Christmas Holiday. People need to realize how important it is to spend money locally and keep those dollars in their community.
This does a couple different things. First it helps to keep companies locally from going out of business and it also keeps jobs in the area. In keeping those jobs here it keeps tax dollars and money in your community rather than sending it out of town.
By no means does this mean to not shop outside the community but keep in mind what stimulating your community can do.
The Village of Dexter had five important and well attended public hearings at the planning commission on Monday. A lot of good information was given and the public asked some good questions.
The commission voted to put the new items to the Village Council. You can read about this at www.heritage.com or in the print version of the Dexter Thursday.
Happy blogging and leave a comment if you have one.