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“Disagreeing without being disagreeable.” Leelanau citizens find Common Ground across political divides

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The comedian and clown Patch Adams was onto something when he said, “Humor is an antidote to all ills.” Leelanau County residents Skip Pruss and Jim White may disagree on politics, but Pruss drew a chuckle from White when he joked, “I’m known as the shit man in Lansing,” during their conversation about septic policy earlier this month. They shared a table and bantered during a Common Ground meeting on May 13 at the Friendship Center in Suttons Bay. The monthly gatherings, which were held from January until May and will resume this fall—prior to November’s national midterm elections—are an attempt to break through the caustic national political divide and give citizens of different backgrounds an opportunity to break bread together, discuss local political issues, and find common ground.

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President Biden’s Cabinet All Hands on Deck to Accelerate Energy Transition and Adapt to Climate Change

We asked Northport resident and environmental policy guru Skip Pruss how President Joe Biden and his cabinet of environmental all stars will combat the climate crisis and what the federal government’s effort could mean for Michigan and the Great Lakes. Pruss is co-founder of 5 Lakes Energy, former board chair at the Traverse City-based nonprofit FLOW (For Love of Water) and former director of the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth under former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, who is Biden’s nominee for Energy Secretary.

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Michigan’s renewable energy mandate “most important clean-energy vote this year”

Proposal 3, Michigan’s Renewable Energy Mandate, in particular, would require that 25 percent of the state’s electricity come from renewable resources such as wind, solar, biomass and hydropower by 2025. The effort has been called “the most important clean-energy vote this year” (nationwide) by Grist magazine’s environmental luminary David Roberts.

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Michigan Land Use Institute: Franz Halts His Renewables Pushback

Northern Michigan legislator Ray Franz, who often talked about repealing a Michigan law requiring that 10 percent of the state’s energy come from renewable sources tells the Michigan Land Use Institute he will no longer pursue the matter.

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Ray Franz favors cutting “Pure Michigan” funding

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State representative-elect Ray Franz favors cutting “Pure Michigan” funding by as much as 80 percent, the soon-to-be legislator from the 101st District told the Leelanau Enterprise last week. Franz said he would reduce funding from $25 to $30 million down to $5 to $6 million, while comparing Michigan’s tourism economy to keeping the books at the Onekema grocery store he owns.

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