“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” ~ Nelson Mandela Jennifer Whitten, Grand Traverse Probate Court judge, ended her presentation to my Sunrise Rotary Club with this quote. It made me think about Northern Michigan’s soul. It made…

This story was originally published in the Traverse City Record-Eagle. Eastern Elementary has a special place in my heart. My boys are Star alumni, and I get nostalgic every time I ride past the school. I think of the good ol’ days of biking from our home on Washington Street…

This story was originally published in the Traverse City Record-Eagle. It’s both surprising and unsurprising that I have several good friends that practice ophthalmology. Surprising because I can never spell opthamologist — nope — opthamalogist — nope — ophthalmologist correctly. And unsurprising because most ophthalmologists here in Northern Michigan’s capital…

“No place has been off limits: Gunmen have terrorized small elementary schools and big universities alike, leaving parents and students and educators with an unresolvable sense of helplessness. Did I think it would happen to my school? Of course not.” ~ Requiem For The Spartans After Uvalde, four Traverse City…

“…there is a gap between making demands and making them happen. It is the gap between the rhetoric of revolution and the actual changes in values, systems, habits, and skills that add up to a revolution.” Making demands and making things happen are miles apart. Making demands is easy —…

This story was originally published in the Traverse City Record-Eagle. My favorite columnist turned 80 this past Monday. It’s not that I don’t love my other fellow columnists here at Northern Michigan’s finest newspaper; it’s just that Mike Terrell is a legend. Mike has been writing about the outdoors for…

“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.” With today’s technology, has there been a better time for pro-social, problem-solving citizens? A better time for ordinary people to contribute and help improve lives in their community? - no permission required - no title required - no board training…

Inspired by Eric Liu’s Citizen University and Civic Collaboratory, Civic Saturdays Traverse City launched last week to help strengthen the civic foundation of Northern Michigan’s capital. Civic Saturdays Traverse City: Boost citizenship knowledge Teach effective civic skills Shift civic culture attitudes Build powerful citizenship in support of a neighbor-first Traverse…

It’s time to make civics sexy again by understanding the true nature of power here in Northern Michigan. I like Eric Liu’s definition of power: “the capacity to make others do what you would have them do.” Sounds menacing, right? It isn’t. Power is no more good or evil than…