There’s legislation up for consideration that would allow local governments to impose a new 6 percent tax and more regulations on temporary vacation rentals like those you might book through AirBNB or VRBO.

Temporary vacation rentals aren’t really a problem here in our area, but the issue is that popular summertime destinations such as beach towns along Lake Michigan are finding that they get hit with an influx of visitors which puts an extra burden on local services.

I understand that argument, and I generally support local control, but I also oppose more taxes, especially because many homeowners are relying on the extra income from renting out an extra bedroom to pay their mortgage.

What are your thoughts? Send me a message to let me know.

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Last month I told you about a Whitmer appointee who spent $4,500 of taxpayer money to buy a high-end Jura coffeemaker with an optional cup warmer and milk cooler.

This story is bigger than just an expensive coffeemaker. The political appointee bought the coffeemaker using grant money that was supposed to be used to start a business accelerator. There were other questionable expenses, including $11,000 for a first-class plane ticket, more than $40,000 for furniture, and here’s the big one: $408,000 for just three months of salary that the Whitmer appointee gave herself and one other employee. If spilt equally between the two of them (doubtful), that’s $68,000 per month per person.

At the time, I said that I thought the state should claw back the funding. Since then, Attorney General Dana Nessel opened an investigation based on a referral from the FBI. Whitmer also bounced the appointee from the MEDC board, and the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to stop funding the grant.

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Campus protests have been springing up all over the country in support of Gaza, including at MSU and U of M. These don’t seem to be organic protests; someone is paying for the tents and professionally printed signs.

We should all have compassion for innocent people caught up in the war, but never forget that the reason there is a war in Gaza is because Hamas terrorists woke up on the morning of Oct. 7 and decided to slaughter and rape innocent civilians.

On some of these campuses, protesters have torn down the American flag and chanted vile things about Jewish people. They’ve been preventing Jewish students from entering buildings. Students have been caught on camera calling for intifada. They’ve been handing out brochures that call for death to America. (Presumably only after we forgive their student loans.) 

In the Michigan House of Representatives on Thursday, Republicans introduced a resolution condemning Jewish hate. Instead of bringing the resolution to the floor for a vote, Democrat lawmakers sent the resolution to the committee on government operations, which is where bills go to die.

They are afraid to condemn hate speech against Jewish people. I’m not.

These protestors have a right to protest. But hate speech against Jewish people based on their religion is wrong, and I think it’s cowardly that the Democrats won’t say the same.