Dear Mr. President:

I really want to congratulate you on winning the election and being from a different ethnic background. I know you are the person here in the world that is going to be making a difference.

I'm not going to lie — if I had the chance to run for president one day I would because I'm already involved in helping my community since I was 3. Actually I am the founder of this dance and exercise program here in Holland called All For One.

HOLLAND -- The city may end the current fiscal year $300,000 in the red if additional budget cuts aren't found.

City Manager Soren Wolff told City Council members tonight that despite cost-cutting moves such as keeping several long-vacant positions open through the end of June, the city virtually has spent through its $400,000 contingency in the $21.3 million general fund budget.

That includes more than $185,000 in budget adjustments, mostly to accommodate pay increases that were approved by the council tonight.

More than half of the increased pay went to firefighters, who got a 4.2 percent cost-of-living increase that was mandated under their contract.

Press Photo/Hollyn JohnsonWriting on the war: Susan Hoag, 23, is an Army sergeant who served in Iraq as a chaplain assistant.

Dear Mr. President:

I cannot even imagine the pressure that you are under in trying to accommodate the American people. Our country seems to agree on few things; the most prominent is that we all deserve to have our own opinions and most often feel we are correct.

As a chaplain assistant in the Michigan Army National Guard I was deployed to Iraq in 2006. After a full year oversees, I realized how fortunate we are in America.

GRAND RAPIDS -- In the end it took a backroom deal Kent County officials hope will put an end to backroom dealing.

The county board Tuesday unanimously approved a pact reached just after midnight that signals a new era of bipartisanship.

The board elected Rockford Republican Roger Morgan as its chairman, who in turn appointed two Democrats as vice chairs of two standing committees.

Press Photo/Lori Niedenfuer CoolNewly elected Kent County Vice Chairman Sandra Frost Parrish shakes hands with Roger Morgan after he was voted chairman for his fourth term. Congratulating them is Bonnie Robinson, Sparta Township clerk, center.

Republican Roger Morgan will continue as chairman of the Kent County Board, though new rules will produce an unprecedented power-sharing agreement with Democrats.

Press Photo/Lance WynnWriting on education: Tina Watson, 41, is a Grand Rapids Public Schools elementary teacher.

Dear Mr. President:

As a committed teacher in a public school district that is facing many challenges with failed solutions for real change, my heart swelled with immense pride the night you were declared the 44th president of the United States.

As you set initiatives, I implore you to be inclusive of the current educators and principals that represent diverse school districts across our states.

AP PhotoChris Bullock, of Landover, Md., works on inaugural seals in preparation for President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration.

GRAND RAPIDS -- It's not quite the same as being with a million-plus people on the mall in Washington, but Grand Rapids ninth-graders will get the chance to watch President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration together.

About 1,130 freshman will watch the swearing-in on Jan. 20, along with the parade and Obama's address, in three Celebration Cinema theaters.

Ralston Bowles, a local graphic artist, believes students will be inspired by the event, and reached out to the businesses and the Grand Rapids Public Schools.

"This is going to be such a special day, and I realize that we can't all be in Washington, D.C.," Bowles said after Superintendent Bernard Taylor announced the event at Monday's Board of Education meeting.

LOWELL -- An ordinance change is being drafted that would allow bow hunting on some properties within the city.

Mayor Pro-Tem Jim Pfaller said tonight white-tailed deer have become a problem in certain areas. City rules prohibit the discharge of BB guns, air rifles, bow and arrows and slingshots or other toy guns.

Councilman Jeff Altoft also is in favor of the change, but Mayor Jim Hodges and councilwoman Sharon Ellison are against it.

"I live in the city because I don't want people shooting out my back door," Ellison said.

State law prohibits hunting within 450 feet of houses and buildings. If the city changes the ordinance, many properties within the city still would not be able to be used for hunting under state law.

LOWELL -- Mayor C. Jeanne Shores has resigned from the City Council to focus on her treatment for lung cancer, Lowell officials announced tonight.

Press File PhotoFormer Lowell Mayor C. Jeanne Shores

Shores, 72, had surgery last July to remove tumors from her brain, and has undergone chemotherapy and radiation.

Mayor Pro-Tem Jim Hodges will serve the remainder of Shores' term as mayor until December.

The city is looking for a resident to fill Shores' vacated council seat. Letters of interest can be submitted to Clerk Betty Morlock until 5 p.m. Jan. 16, in care of City Hall, 301 E. Main St.

GRAND RAPIDS - A meeting of Kent County Republicans tonight was over before it started, said key players being lobbied to support a compromise on leadership roles on the Kent County Commission this year.

Update: Kent GOP meeting blows up with opposition to plan to choose county board leaders

GRAND RAPIDS - Kent County Republicans were slated to meet tonight in hopes of brokering a deal setting leadership posts for the Kent County Commission this year.

Press Photo/Rex Larsen Writing on trade policy: Jim Zawacki, 66, is chairman and chief executive of Grand Rapids Spring & Stamping.

Dear Mr. President:

There are several goals I hope you can accomplish early in your term. First: Trade issues. The loss of our manufacturing base was accomplished by "free trade." Let's change that to "fair trade" with all our trading partners. The United States has had record unfavorable trade balances for years, which have caused major deficits and loss of millions of jobs. We say our policy is "free trade" and then we protect agriculture and give away our industrial base.

Press Photo/Dave RaczkowskiWriting on health care: Beth Pasikowski, 24, seen holding her son, Ronan. works at a free clinic.in Grand Rapids. At right is the family cat, Jackson.

Dear Mr. President:

I am a single mother and have two main concerns: the rising cost of health care and higher education.

As a graduate of Grand Valley State University and an Americorps VISTA volunteer at Catherine's Care Center, I have become all too aware of the rising number of the working poor in my community who cannot afford health insurance or obtain a higher education.

I, too, have had to weigh the importance of which bill to pay first. Without an improvement in our current health care system, not only is my generation going to continue to suffer but my son's as well.

AP File PhotoPresident-elect Barack Obama arrived in Washington over the weekend, joining his family at a hotel while awaiting his Jan. 20 inauguration.

Two wars. Debt in the trillions. The auto industry on life support. Diminished respect abroad. A crisis of confidence at home. And an equally mountainous set of expectations that President-elect Barack Obama can wave his "Yes we can" wand and make things right again.

Is it too much to ask? Six West Michigan residents say they hope Obama can at least make a start, whether it's restoring U.S. standing in the world, enacting fair trade policy or inspiring a nation of different races and competing views to work together.

KENT COUNTY -- With a proposal for unprecedented power sharing on the Kent County Commission caught in a partisan divide, leadership posts remain unsettled going into the year's first meeting.

Dean Agee

The board convenes Tuesday to elect its first and second in command, but insiders say internal bickering means there is no pre-determined leadership as there has been in the past.

Dean Agee, R-Grand Rapids Township, in November announced a bid for chairman, promising to appoint one of eight Democrats as vice chairman of the 19-member board.

OTTAWA COUNTY -- The leadership of the county board will remain unchanged for the third straight year.

AP File PhotoPresident-elect Barack Obama, greeting soldiers at Christmas in Kailua, Hawaii, is the target of a parody being passed around online by sources including a candidate for chairman of the Republican National Committee.

What began as a parody on the Rush Limbaugh radio show is mushrooming into a GOP identity spat over race and politics.

Area Republicans are condemning distribution of "Barack the Magic Negro" by a candidate for chairman of the Republican National Committee, convinced it makes it that much tougher to broaden the party.

"That is just appalling. It's just way out of line," said state Sen. Bill Hardiman, R-Kentwood, West Michigan's sole black Republican legislator.

"This is not the kind of thing that someone running for the national committee should be putting out at any time."

Roy Schmidt

GRAND RAPIDS -- A handful of past and present leaders were on hand Tuesday for a swearing-in ceremony for state Rep.-elect Roy Schmidt.

The former 16-year Grand Rapids city commissioner was sworn in at commission chambers for the 76th District seat he won last month. Schmidt, a Democrat, will replace Mike Sak, who was term-limited.

After the brief ceremony, Schmidt received a standing ovation from the crowd that included his family, former Mayor John Logie, former state Rep. Tom Mathieu, Grand Rapids Chief District Judge Benjamin Logan, and State Lottery Commissioner M. Scott Bowen, a former city commissioner.

E-mail the author of this story: localnews@grpress.com

U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra

LUDINGTON -- A longtime congressional critic of preferential treatment for a federal agency that employs prison inmates wants the Bush administration to suspend the policy during the current economic downturn.

U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, says any second economic stimulus package should require Federal Prison Industries compete with the private sector for government contracts.

Hoekstra and Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., first took aim at FPI in 1996 because they were concerned about its effect on western Michigan's office furniture industry. Several of those companies are asking the state's congressional delegation to support Hoekstra, a former executive with Zeeland-based furniture maker Herman Miller Inc.

FPI produces more than 80 products and services for sale to the federal government, including clothing and textiles, electronics and electronics recycling.

AP PhotoMichigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm talks to the media during her annual year-end news conference on Monday at the state Capitol in Lansing.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm says 2009 promises to be another rough year of recession in a state sure to see more job loss, budget deficits and auto industry restructuring.

In her annual year-end press conference, Granholm said Michigan would benefit short-term through massive federal economic stimulus spending and, longer-term, a national shift away from fossil fuel consumption. The low point of 2008, she said, was the battering the Detroit Three automakers took these past weeks to stave off bankruptcy in their ultimately successful efforts to secure emergency federal loans.

"Things are tough, but they could be tougher -- 2009 will a tough year, too," she said. "But we are a tough state and a tough people." A prolonged national recession means more economic pain for Michigan in the months ahead.

HOLLAND - The race to succeed U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra grows more intriguing, with a state senator and former NFL player taking a look.

State Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland, is forming a committee to examine a 2nd District bid, six days after state Rep. Bill Huizenga announced his campaign. Kuipers' interest in the race was expected, as both he and Huizenga are regarded as strong contenders for the sprawling GOP-leaning district.

But some might be surprised at reports that ex-Buffalo Bills tight end Jay Riemersma might call an audible as well. "The opportunity to serve the 2nd District certainly intrigues me.

"I certainly understand and know West Michigan," said Riemersma, a former Zeeland High School and University of Michigan star and Midwest director for the Family Research Council.

ALLEGAN -- An unpleasant campaign followed by a contested vote count will end with questions about who really won a judge's race where 55 percent of the ballots were not able to be recounted due to their mishandling by Allegan County election officials.

"It's a horrible travesty of justice," said Frederick Eagle Royce III, an attorney practicing in Douglas who supported the campaign of Judge William Baillargeon, who lost in November to Hopkins lawyer Kevin Cronin.

Cronin won with 21,680 votes, or 50.02 percent, to Baillargeon's 21,425 votes, or 49.43 percent. In the recount, Baillargeon gained 13 votes; Cronin added 12.

Rick Warren

GRAND RAPIDS -- It may have created a stir nationally but, among local religious leaders, President-elect Barack Obama's choice of the Rev. Rick Warren, a conservative evangelical, to give the invocation at next month's inauguration just is not that big a deal.

Some liberal and gay rights groups criticized the selection, because Warren, pastor of the Saddleback megachurch in California, is an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage and abortion.

Kurt Kimball

Refreshments will be provided, with a cash bar available. Free passes for city parking ramps will be available at the reception.

Kimball, 58, will retire at the end of the year after nearly 22 years on the job -- the longest tenure for a city manager in the city's history.

Allegan County elected officials will get a 2 percent pay raise effective Jan. 1.

By a 6-5 vote, the Allegan County Board of Commissioners approved pay rates for elected four-year officials, their deputies and county commissioners.

ADA TOWNSHIP -- Despite much disagreement, the Township Planning Commission Thursday night narrowly agreed to recommend a package of proposed rules governing private aviation, including helicopters.

ALLEGAN -- The Board of State Canvassers approved election results Thursday that confirmed a close win for judicial seat challenger Kevin Cronin in a race that went to a recount.

Michigan's gasoline tax will not change, at least not yet, after the lame-duck Legislature refused to take up the issue today.

"It was a missed opportunity," said Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association spokesman Mike Nystrom. "Our system is crumbling."

U.S. Rep. Pete HoekstraRep. Bill Huizenga

While state Rep. Bill Huizenga was the first to announce his bid for the 2nd congressional seat, he can expect lots of company and perhaps a seven-figure spending race.

The 2010 GOP primary seems likely to draw a competitive field that could include rivals from the state House or Senate and a Holland City Council member.

A day after U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra said he won't seek another term, Huizenga, R-Zeeland, got the jump on his rivals Tuesday by declaring the start of his campaign.

But Lansing political analyst Bill Ballenger said open seats in districts where one party has a distinct advantage often equate to crowded primaries and lots of spending.

"I would think there would be quite a few candidates. I would think it's going to be expensive. Collectively, you could see millions spent."

Bill Huizenga

ZEELAND -- State Rep. Bill Huizenga jumped first, but he likely won't be alone in seeking a U.S. House seat being vacated in 2010 by longtime Republican Congressman Peter Hoekstra.

At a press conference today, Huizenga was to tout his legislative experience and his ties to Hoekstra in announcing he would seek to replace his former boss.

"A lot of people have asked me to run and I feel I need to fill a void that Pete's announcement has created," said Huizenga, R-Zeeland. "I've been through every part of the district and I know it from every aspect, from fruit growers to industrial manufacturing."

Huizenga, 39, served as Hoekstra's director of public policy from 1996 to 2002.

Kentwood Democrat Bret Dorman called off a recount of votes Monday in the 13th District of the Kent County Commission race, which he lost to Republican incumbent Richard "Dick" VanderMolen.

Which means the official results of last month's general election will stand, with VanderMolen, 68, beating Dorman by 78 votes.

"It was just becoming pretty clear to me that it just wasn't going to happen," said Dorman, 25. "I wanted to retire graciously rather than continue just for the sake of collecting one or two more votes."

Rep. Peter Hoekstra

HOLLAND -- Longtime Republican Congressman Peter Hoekstra will not seek re-election in 2010, setting himself up for a possible run for governor.

Hoekstra, 55, of Holland, was to announce today at his annual "Meet Pete Breakfast" in Evergreen Commons senior center that he will not pursue a 10th two-year term.

However, he said he has not decided whether to seek the governor's office.

"A run for governor is one of the things I'll consider," Hoekstra said. "The decisions are very, very separate decisions.

"Now, we'll take some time, continue talking to people, see what other decisions we may make, what our options are."

Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell and city Sustainability Director Corky Overmyer were responsible for spewing 9.2 metric tons -- depending on how you measure it -- of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when they jetted from Grand Rapids to Auckland, New Zealand, last week, according to carbonfootprint.com. The junket -- paid for by Kuaka, a New Zealand eco-education group -- was designed to showcase the country's national sustainability plan. In their defense, Hizzoner reports, each of the seven West Michigan delegates donated $150 to a reforestation project in New Zealand, more than the recommended penance for making such a long flight Down Under.

Try the carbonfootprint.com calculator

Muskegon officials remain confused, frustrated and downright defensive about statistics released three days ago by the U.S. Census Bureau that show Muskegon has the worst unemployment in the nation.

U.S. Rep. Peter Hoesktra, R-Holland, was the latest to weigh in on the survey that listed Muskegon's unemployment rate at 22.1 percent among cities larger than 20,000. He calls the information "inaccurate, incomplete" and "a waste of time and money."

Read the story at mlive.com/chronicle

GRAND RAPIDS -- The Kent County Commission voted Thursday to increase the county Road Commission from three to five members.

The board voted 14-5 for the change with hopes of creating opportunities for diversity and representation from across the county.

Critics said the change is an unnecessary expansion of government that will cost taxpayers more.

Update: Restoration of funding in doubt for MSU research center in Holland

Wayne Kuipers

HOLLAND TOWNSHIP -- State Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland says the state Legislature is close to restoring $3 million in state funding to help transform a former Pfizer facility in Holland Township into a Michigan State University bioeconomic research and development center.

The funding was included in an amendment, co-sponsored by Kuipers, to a measure approved Wednesday by the state Senate.

The amendment to Senate Bill 1104 restores $3 million in economic development funding awarded to Lakeshore Advantage for continuation of the project.

GRAND RAPIDS -- Backers of Thursday's 3 percent pay hike for county non-union workers defended the measure by saying the increases are less than those received by union employees under recently-negotiated contracts.

But critics question whether county employees need the increase, pointing out that private-sector workers have received much smaller wage increases, if at all, in recent years.

The Kent County Commission on Thursday set a budget allowing average 3 percent raises for about 300 non-union county workers, with some getting more and some less beginning next month.

GRAND RAPIDS -- So how can the state afford to reduce the budget for cash welfare payments as part of $134 million in spending cuts when the economy has tanked and is only expected to get worse?

That because the number of folks who receive cash assistance in Kent County and across the state has been on a downward spiral since welfare reforms put in place in the 1990s required most folks to work.