It will take a Wolverine to get Spartans on the right path | Letters

I’ve watched Michigan State University struggle with scandal after scandal. The way to change the culture is by starting at the top.

Former Congressman Fred Upton should be on the shortlist for the job.

This university needs someone fresh with a history of integrity, honesty and a strong work ethic. No one person can change overnight the direction that the university is currently following. Upton, however, I believe will shift direction and give the student body, faculty, administrators and taxpaying public the confidence that this nonsense stops with his swearing in.

Anthony Fritz

Grosse Pointe Farms

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Re-elect Joe Biden

U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy is wrong when he says that the Biden family is corrupt and that is why he is authorizing an impeachment inquiry. He could not be more wrong in that statement. Biden does not have a corrupt bone in his body. Never had and never will, and Mr. McCarthy knows it. He is doing this so he can hold on to his speakership. He is also doing it because Donald Trump is demanding it, along with the MAGA wing of his party. Joe Biden is the best person to be in office, especially after Donald Trump's efforts to turn this country into an autocracy. Joe Biden is respected around the world, and strongly deserves another four year term.

Jim Jeziorowski

Wayne

Mitch Albom got it right

In Sunday’s Letters to the Editor ("Mitch's latest column was fodder for MAGA crowd," Detroit Free Press, Sept. 3) Frances Potasnik criticized Mitch Albom for giving fodder to the MAGA Republicans because he criticized President Joe Biden. If they had read any of Mitch’s previous articles, they would know that Mitch Albom is not a fan of the MAGA crowd nor Donald Trump.

I’ve questioned Albom in the past for his political views, but now realize that he looks at individual actions and not a political party. What has this country become when a person is vilified for criticizing a person that they may actually support, because it gives the opposing party ammunition? I give Mitch all the credit in the world for being a free thinker, and not a mindless follower of an ideology who cannot even see another point of view.

Ron Miakinin

Rochester Hills

What do you think about Joe Biden? Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.

Mitch Albom got it wrong

Mitch Albom is at it again. A couple of weeks ago, a reader urged him to stop giving fodder to the far right by trashing Biden without ever mentioning his accomplishments. ("Mitch's latest column was fodder for MAGA crowd," Detroit Free Press, Sept. 3) Kudos to the Free Press for publishing that letter. Now, Albom has ineffectively hid more criticism of the president in a piece about how Americans should stop criticizing older people.

In his article last week, Criticizing the old isn’t cute, it’s an insulting trend that is gaining steam, he actually had the gall to deride Biden’s age himself! ("Mitch Albom: Criticizing the old isn't cute, it's an insulting — and growing — trend," Detroit Free Press, Sept. 10.) At first he used the Fox News tactic of citing what other people think, by mentioning that some people “mock him for being a doddering fool who half the time doesn’t know where he is.”

However, the hypocrisy then reached epic heights. In this article he denounced the practice of ridiculing the elderly, but then proceeded to write about Biden’s "embarrassing flubs, exaggerations, and apparent confusion." He essentially pulled out all of the old-person stereotypes that he was scolding the rest of society for using.

It was an incredibly shameful display.

Bryan Chase

Huntington Woods

These laws will protect survivors of domestic abuse

I’m urging everyone to call their Michigan representatives and tell them to support House Bills 4945 and 4946 that will prohibit convicted domestic abusers from owning or possessing a gun. This will save lives. It’s a concrete step to take in protecting very vulnerable women. It just makes sense.

We need a state level-law that will allow local law enforcement to enforce the federal law keeping these people from possessing firearms. Thank you for helping to make Michigan a safer space.

Dwight Cendrowski

Ann Arbor

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Stormwater infrastructure must play a role in our climate future

I am writing in support of Warren C. Evans’ recent column, “We must accept and adjust to new normal, invest in stormwater infrastructure.” As the former 16-year mayor of Inkster and associate director of urban programs at Freshwater Future, positions which have thrust me into the heart of this matter, I’d like to emphasize the importance of building on existing green stormwater infrastructure efforts, and the need for long term investment in stormwater infrastructure with a focus on equity.

Inkster, like many other communities, has grappled with the devastating consequences of recurrent flooding, which is no longer an isolated event but an alarming new norm. In my tenure as mayor, we were able to construct two retention basins in Inkster, a project undertaken when such initiatives were rare. The $41 million investment in a 4-million-gallon retention basins, partly funded by taxpayers, underscores the community's commitment to seeking alternatives to Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs).

Since then many other initiatives have pushed for more green water infrastructure to reduce climate impacts, including Freshwater Future, a bi-national non-profit that protects freshwater resources from source to tap across the Great Lakes. Nearly six years ago, I cautioned the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) that we needed to redesign our infrastructure to account for the extreme storms brought on by climate change. Now, with each heavy rain, Detroiters like those in the Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood where my son lives see their basements become CSO retention basins. Our residents are paying the price.

It is evident that climate adaptation and mitigation must be integral parts of our city planning and budgeting processes. It's crucial for leaders like Mayor Mike Duggan and Gary Brown to reconsider infrastructure from a climate perspective. While there has been lip service about change from DWSD over the past 13-plus years, action remains elusive. Investing in green stormwater infrastructure and other climate resilience measures will be expensive. Especially considering Wayne County’s racialized history of red-lining, urban renewal, and suburbanization, which have served to disenfranchise our residents, funding to address flooding and climate impacts must not create an inequitable burden for local taxpayers.

Michigan residents need and deserve conscientious, forward-thinking public policy to address climate impacts ― and we aren’t starting with a blank slate. Organizations like Freshwater Future, We the Peopleof Detroit, and so many others have been engaging decision makers for years to advocate for equitable solutions to water quality and affordability issues. As we are challenged to redesign our infrastructure, wemust ensure that the costs are not unfairly borne in our communities. Let us embrace these challenges as opportunities to push the envelope and secure the funding necessary to implement equitable environmental solutions.

Hilliard Hampton

Novi

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mel Tucker, MSU, Joe Biden impeachment, Mitch Albom, climate | Letters