RevCyn

Anyone who has ever helped me move in or out of a house knows that I have a lot of books.  What my husband and I do for fun, when other people go to clubs or the movies, is go to the bookstore and read for a few hours.  We used to do this about once or twice a week, before our child was born.  Even after, it has been a staple of her life.  It is a sadness to us that we keep moving further and further from good bookstores, as we've moved in our last three locations.  Our definition of a good bookstore is one that has chairs to read in, a good selection of books, a children's section with a train table or play structure, coffee and snacks, and is open until 10 or 11 p.m., and open on my off-times (Monday, Sunday evening).   If we can get 10-20% off as a matter of course, we're pretty satisfied with the deal, too. As most will know, Borders is closing many book stores across the country.  There are four closing here in Michigan.  Store cl...

A familiar sign in Michigan is the signs, overt or more subtle, of a foreclosed house.  No neighborhood is immune.  Yahoo! Real Estate found me 267 foreclosures in Jackson, Michigan today.  And it found 365 in Ann Arbor, a city we think of as more immune to the economic problems of Michigan, because of the presence of the University of Michigan.  Even there, and even in upscale neighborhoods, the signs of foreclosure are evident.  DSNews.com says, "RealtyTrac reported that Michigan posted the fifth highest number of foreclosures among states in January, with 17,574 properties receiving a foreclosure filing."  Foreclosure might be a more workable option in many cases, except that most people facing foreclosure in Michigan are in the situation where they owe more on their mortgage than the home is worth.  Therefore, if you go into foreclosure you not only lose your home, you can still be pursued by the bank for the balance of the money.  I recent...

Michigan is having a hard time right now. No news there. My city, Jackson, Michigan, topped Forbes' list of the 10 Worst Small Cities for Jobs . Five other small Michigan cities made that top ten list as well. And of course we're well represented on the mid-sized and large-sized cities lists, as well, with Detroit coming in number one on the latter. Find any other gloomy list of worst places to be in this economy, Michigan cities are sure to be on it. Michigan churches are having a hard time, too, of course. When times get hard, discretionary income goes down. And churches are, well, discretionary, particularly in the guilt-free UU version where tithing isn't a religious obligation in the same way that it is in some other faiths. One measure of rough things are in Michigan might be to look at the level of ministerial transition. Sometimes these transitions are a result of ministerial tenures happening naturally, but sometimes they're because of a need to decrease the ...

Here in Jackson, it hasn't looked good lately. Some February developments: Melling Tool is laying off 28 employees . From a recent CitPat article : • Gerdau Mac Steel has laid off 300 of 380 workers indefinitely. • Michigan Automotive Compressor Inc. has offered buyouts to nearly all of its 740 workers. • TAC Inc. has offered buyouts to 70 of 590 employees and gone to a four-day week. • CertainTeed has temporarily laid off 80 of 250 workers. • Jackson-based Sparton Corp. has cut its workforce of 1,000 by 60. Michigan Automotive Compressor is also offering buyouts . Multiple local restaurants have reduced busing staff . Bullinger's Pub is closing. That's what February in Jackson has looked like, so far. The good news, if you can call it that, is that some area churches are showing increased attendance . We had a packed house on Sunday for our guest speaker on Darfur. This is a good time as a church organization to think about what our saving message is, what our role in the...

Here in Michigan, we're about as hard-hit as it gets with this recession, and in our county here in Jackson, we're worse off than state average in terms of unemployment, despite our proximity to the employment star of the state, Ann Arbor. Unemployment in Jackson, Michigan, reached 11% in December . Meanwhile, our local community is buzzing over the news of a pay raise for Jackson Community College President Dan Phelan. It was probably a necessary move for the college, because, like with churches, the search process can be expensive and the pay is usually increased to move up to going rates for the new hire. It comes as a hard pill for the community to swallow, however, in the same week as the unemployment rate was announced and while faculty (and adjuncts like myself) have no contract. It makes the college board look out-of-touch with the living reality of its students, faculty, staff, and the community that surrounds and supports it. Personally, I think the board's ...