http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/opinion/enSun, 20 Apr 2008 19:53:32 -0500Movable Type Enterprise 1.52 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/no1551323http://www.feedburner.comhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/flintopinion/~3/266719199/the_legend_of_zoras_restaurant_1.htmlCommunity: FlintRon Krueger56694106872106874Ron Krueger | Flint Journal columnistTue, 08 Apr 2008 15:03:06 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/flintjournal/opinion//1019.863959 ]]>Bruce Edwards | Flint Journal filesZora Glusica talks to regular customers Bernie Castiglione (left), Terry MacDonald and Keith Smith (right), all of Flint Township, in her restaurant in Flint in May of 2006. The restaurant closed last month after being opened for 25 years. Flint Journal Columnist Ron Krueger says the legend of Zora's will live on.Flint Journal extras Read more columns and articles by Journal columnist Ron Krueger: • Florida keys offer fresh seafood, adventure • Krueger: They don't answer now to 'mister' at Browns • Want more? Visit The Flint Journal's 'On The Table" blog for the latest restaurant and food news. FLINT, Michigan -- My fondest memory of Zora's restaurant came on a warm June night in 1989. I left in the middle of watching the Pistons dismantle the Lakers on TV to go to Zora's on Fenton Road in Flint. Owner Zora Glusica had agreed to host a photo session with a half-dozen of the nominees, including herself, for "hometown favorites" -- Flint Journal readers' best-loved independent eateries....http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/opinion/2008/04/the_legend_of_zoras_restaurant_1.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/flintopinion/~3/274376394/bullying_has_farreaching_conse.htmlCommunity: ClioCommunity: Davison city and townshipCommunity: FlintEileen Button108485040050467455819191097501097541097581097604918109752109756Eileen Button | The Davison Flagstaff and The Clio MessengerSun, 20 Apr 2008 19:53:32 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/flintjournal/opinion//1019.877729 ]]>Lakeland, Florida is beautiful. The small city where many Michigan retirees spend their winters is within reach of some of the best attractions Florida has to offer. Flint Journal extras Also by Eileen Button: • Joy of reading is a sublime gift for our children • 'Here comes the sun!' (sing it with me now ...) • Spending is not a social responsibility as federal tax rebate checks coming soon • More by Eileen ButtonBut Lakeland has gotten some negative attention lately that has raised the ire of parents everywhere. It's the hometown of a group of teenage cheerleaders who beat 16-year-old Victoria Lindsay unconscious, leaving her with cuts, bruises and permanent damage to her eye, ear and face. Her emotional trauma cannot be measured. The girls accused Lindsay of trash talking on the Internet. To punish her, they filmed the beating and posted it on YouTube. As Lindsay's head was being bashed into a wall, the girl holding the camera called the footage "good."...http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/opinion/2008/04/bullying_has_farreaching_conse.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/flintopinion/~3/274376395/playing_with_our_kids_can_give.htmlCommunity: ClioCommunity: Davison city and townshipCommunity: FlintEileen Button4558170637913109744109741109737109735109739109743Eileen Button | The Flint JournalSun, 20 Apr 2008 14:43:08 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/flintjournal/opinion//1019.877690 ]]>When I was a child, I remember making a few promises to myself that I swore I would keep as a grown-up. Lakeland, Florida is beautiful. The small city where many Michigan retirees spend their winters is within reach of some of the best attractions Florida has to offer. Flint Journal extras Also by Eileen Button: • Joy of reading is a sublime gift for our children • 'Here comes the sun!' (sing it with me now ...) • Spending is not a social responsibility as federal tax rebate checks coming soon • More by Eileen ButtonI would never, for instance, read the newspaper instead of playing a game of hide and go seek. (How boring!) I would never walk up an escalator. (And take away from the enjoyment of the ride? No way.)...http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/opinion/2008/04/playing_with_our_kids_can_give.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/flintopinion/~3/271835737/flint_journal_editorial_butron.htmlEditorials6639209674907100The Flint JournalWed, 16 Apr 2008 06:21:01 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/flintjournal/opinion//1019.885994 ]]> Flint Journal extras • April 8, 2008: Technicalities derail Burton bond vote • March 27, 2008: Mayor Charles Smiley vows no tax or water increases connected to bond If residents of Burton are unhappy about the city's plans to sell $11.5 million in bonds, they must be doubly unhappy now that their effort to force a referendum has been turned aside. A group calling itself Citizens for Government Accountability collected 2,850 signatures on petitions asking that the bond sale be put to a public vote. However, a bond attorney with the law firm of Miller Canfield has told the city that the petitions are not valid because they don't meet all the requirements. For one thing, opponents of the bond sale didn't turn in sworn affidavits along with the petitions -- something they claim they were told wasn't necessary....http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/opinion/2008/04/flint_journal_editorial_butron.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/flintopinion/~3/271835740/talk_back_todays_topics_detroi.htmlTalk Back111365Flint Journal Talk BackWed, 16 Apr 2008 09:17:05 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/flintjournal/opinion//1019.883231 ]]>Flint Journal Talk Backs from April 15, 2008: WOEFUL CATS: The best thing for the Tigers would be to learn to play as a cohesive unit. Too many individuals can only hurt the team in all aspects. Maybe the entire Toledo Mud Hens should trade with the Tigers to see who is better. Is it possible the Tigers can break that miserable record of 2003? -- Flint Township...http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/opinion/2008/04/talk_back_todays_topics_detroi.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/flintopinion/~3/270865984/flint_journal_letters_to_the_e.htmlCommunity: ClioCommunity: Davison city and townshipCommunity: Fenton city and townshipCommunity: FlintCommunity: Vienna TownshipLetters110714743121294854824110271582286878350398Flint Journal Letters to the EditorTue, 15 Apr 2008 10:25:44 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/flintjournal/opinion//1019.883196 ]]>Letters to the editor in The Flint Journal on April 15, 2008: MTA art explanation from general manager makes it worse Robert J. Foy, General Manager of the Mass Transportation Authority recently wrote an opinion column in The Flint Journal, defending the MTA spending $524,052 for art for the MTA bus station, the administration offices and the 14 facilities ["Mass Transportation Authority art project plays key role in revitalizing Flint," If You Ask Me, March 10]....http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/opinion/2008/04/flint_journal_letters_to_the_e.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/flintopinion/~3/270865985/not_filed_your_tax_returns_yet.htmlCommunity: FlintCommunity: Flushing, Flushing TownshipDavid Smith518638946793055622457358110061David Smith | The Flint JournalTue, 15 Apr 2008 10:54:33 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/flintjournal/opinion//1019.880727 ]]>If you are reading this while working on your taxes, I have a couple of suggestions for you. First, your priorities need work. Finish this column, and then have a double fudge brownie. There will always be time to pay taxes.Flint Journal extras More columns by David Smith • April 1, 2008: Times are tough, hence the need for fools among us • See more belowBesides, if you are filling out your 1040 today, you clearly don't have issues with procrastination. Every year on April 15 the media clamors around the mailbox at midnight to talk to the hapless souls who are scrambling to get their tax return in before the deadline....http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/opinion/2008/04/not_filed_your_tax_returns_yet.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/flintopinion/~3/270377108/flint_journal_letters_to_the_editor_the_topics_booster_seats_presidential_candidates_and_american_health_care.htmlCommunity: BurtonCommunity: FlintCommunity: Genesee TownshipLetters110273106371102713506390069Flint Journal Letters to the EditorMon, 14 Apr 2008 14:35:27 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/flintjournal/opinion//1019.880830 ]]>Here are The Flint Journal letters to the editor for Monday, April 14, 2008: Booster seats protect our children Before September of 1999 it was legal to put a 13-month-old baby in the back seat of a car with nothing but a lap belt to protect it from injury or worse in the event of a crash....http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/opinion/2008/04/flint_journal_letters_to_the_editor_the_topics_booster_seats_presidential_candidates_and_american_health_care.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/flintopinion/~3/270377109/parents_seeking_assistance_nee.htmlCommunity: FlintKori Carson Dean19887913549325832211026210929447991Kori Carson Dean | The Flint JournalMon, 14 Apr 2008 13:58:55 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/flintjournal/opinion//1019.880738 ]]>Dear Kori: I was saddened to read your response to a mother who wrote you about being unhappy with her child's progress in a local public school. I had hoped that your first response would be to have her visit her child's school and ask for better services....http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/opinion/2008/04/parents_seeking_assistance_nee.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/flintopinion/~3/270377110/more_should_be_like_university_1.htmlCommunity: FlintEditorials5429411003311003111003557490Flint Journal EditorialMon, 14 Apr 2008 09:03:30 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/flintjournal/opinion//1019.879574 ]]>FLINT, Michigan -- Flint could use a few more champions like Paul O'Donnell.Flint Journal extras More Flint Journal editorials • April 14, 2008: Flint Journal editorial: Public must accept need for Flint schools closings • See more belowThe Flint JournalPaul O'Donnell, foreign language professor at University of Michigan-Flint, has big ideas for the city of Flint.Where others see doom and gloom in the sagging housing market, he sees opportunity. O'Donnell, a foreign-language professor at the University of Michigan-Flint, has taken up the cause of promoting incentives that he thinks will make more people want to move into Flint. His effort started out as a research project on the growing population of Spanish speakers in the area. His research suggests that two to seven people who speak Spanish are moving into Genesee County each week....http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/opinion/2008/04/more_should_be_like_university_1.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/flintopinion/~3/271835742/national_siblings_day_is_every.htmlCommunity: Flushing, Flushing TownshipJackie Braun56884111461111459Jackie Braun | The Flushing ObserverWed, 16 Apr 2008 10:05:53 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/flintjournal/opinion//1019.886643 ]]>National Siblings Day was April 10, 2008. I'm not sure how long this "holiday" has been around. I only know that growing up with seven older brothers and sisters, I was unaware of it....http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/opinion/2008/04/national_siblings_day_is_every.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/flintopinion/~3/269714974/detroit_education_could_have_u.htmlCommunity: FlintJohn Tomlinson109292894672091567921John Tomlinson | The Flint JournalSun, 13 Apr 2008 04:10:17 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/flintjournal/opinion//1019.874727 ]]>April 4 was the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination. He is famously remembered for a dream we all want to come true. But 2008 also marks the five-year anniversary of another dream -- one not so well-remembered....http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/opinion/2008/04/detroit_education_could_have_u.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/flintopinion/~3/269309891/joy_of_reading_is_a_sublime_gi.htmlEileen Button1059361059341059441059431059303194010593211858105938105940105942Eileen Button | The Davison Flagstaff | The Clio MessengerSun, 13 Apr 2008 00:11:30 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/flintjournal/opinion//1019.858838 ]]>There are certain childhood milestones that we are not likely to forget. We remember first steps, teeth and words. Jordan, my 7-year-old, just accomplished another. He read his first chapter book, Junie B., First Grader: Cheater Pants by Barbara Park....http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/opinion/2008/04/joy_of_reading_is_a_sublime_gi.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/flintopinion/~3/269309892/flint_journal_editorial_public.htmlEditorialsThe Flint JournalSat, 12 Apr 2008 22:21:01 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/flintjournal/opinion//1019.875426 ]]>While unscrupulous private property owners get the bulk of blame and criticism for the many examples of blight in Flint, public entities should not be let off the hook. Katie Rausch | The Flint JournalWhaley Pool used to be a summertime hot spot, but the city closed its pools several years ago. A Journal review of dilapidated property in Flint shows that some responsibility falls squarely on governmental bodies -- including the city, the Flint School District and Hurley Medical Center and its foundation. Because such public entities are cash-strapped to the limit, it's easy to sympathize with them or to make excuses. But they have the same responsibility any property owner does to act responsibly and proactively in the maintenance and eventual razing of some of the nuisance buildings they own....http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/opinion/2008/04/flint_journal_editorial_public.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/flintopinion/~3/269208324/_members_of_the_great.htmlCommunity: FlintKelly Flynn897998980189804108104Kelly Flynn | The Flint JournalSat, 12 Apr 2008 18:27:58 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/flintjournal/opinion//1019.868842 ]]> Members of the Great Schools Initiative recently asked Flint Schools superintendent Linda Thompson what they could do to help the district. Their offer was sincere and well intentioned....http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/opinion/2008/04/_members_of_the_great.htmlhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/flintopinion/~3/269208325/presidential_candidate_john_mc.htmlRickey Hampton7913689891093116792150708Rickey Hampton | The Flint JournalSat, 12 Apr 2008 14:34:34 -0500tag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/flintjournal/opinion//1019.874853 ]]>Sen. John McCain may very well have made the most disingenuous comment I've ever heard by a politician.Flint Journal columnist Rickey Hampton | Read more of his columns.And that is saying a lot, since some politicians are willing to say or do anything for a vote. But I have to put McCain, the likely Republican presidential nominee, in that class after listening to his speech at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tenn. McCain was speaking to a crowd gathered at the site where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed, in remembrance of the 40th anniversary of civil rights leader's death. The hotel, now a civil rights museum, is considered by many who have visited there as hallowed ground. McCain told the crowd that he made a mistake in opposing the King national holiday in 1983. "We can be slow as well to give greatness its due," McCain told the crowd....http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/opinion/2008/04/presidential_candidate_john_mc.htmlnonadult