Opinion

DETROIT — This city is the broken tooth in Michigan’s smile. Nevertheless, the preternaturally optimistic governor, from whom never is heard a discouraging word, cheerfully describes his recent foray with a crew cleaning up a park in a particularly, well, challenging neighborhood:

Those who know Nevada Smith realize he misses no meals while on the road.

WASHINGTON — Over two decades of covering politicians’ scandals, I’ve often been asked a version of this question: What makes them do such stupid things?

Thank you Amy Riches, for standing against incorporation. I moved here because it was a county in 2010, and I enjoy living in a county versus a city.

DETROIT — Gazing from the 14th floor toward the city center and the fragile sprouts of urban development along the river, Detroit’s Caesar says laconically: “One hundred and thirty-one to go.” Kevyn Orr, Detroit’s emergency manager appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder, means that housing in this vibrant enclave is 97 percent leased. The enclave is, however, only eight square miles of this city’s 139 square miles.

When I was a small boy, one of my favorite fruits was the tangerine. In those days, there was only one tangerine. I think it was called the Dancy. The fruit was very loose inside the skin, which made it easy to peel, and the sections came apart easily so it wasn’t messy like an orange. And it tasted better, less bitter, than an orange.

I just received a new fundraising letter from the re-election campaign of Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval (R&R-Partners) that is absolutely mind-blowing in its disingenuousness.

The Wall Street Journal published an essay by author Radley Balko last week that caught my attention and I thought I’d share some of it here.

PRESCOTT, Ariz. — The morning’s breakfast trade at the Waffle Iron Restaurant had slowed, and the waitress politely answered the stranger’s question as she refilled his coffee cup.

WASHINGTON — Liz Cheney’s Senate candidacy gives me hope.