Go back to school ‘green’

With only two races remaining until the start of the fifth edition of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, NASCAR’s 10-race playoff is shaping up to be a battle of the good, the bad and the ugly.

The good is Carl Edwards, who has taken the sport’s all-American boy role to heart.

The bad is the sport’s newest villain, Kyle Busch, the guy who wears the black cowboy hat and wrap-around shades.

Federal wildlife officials have killed about 50 whitetail deer at a private Kent County breeding facility where Michigan’s first case of chronic wasting disease in a deer was found.

Ben Stiller has finally returned to form. After what I’m pretty sure was four years of crummy, lackluster attempts, “Tropic Thunder” is Stiller’s saving grace, reminding audiences he’s alive, well and still has a sense of humor.

I am quite sure that most movie fans are familiar with at least one version of the  book-turned-film “Freaky Friday.” In case you haven’t had a chance to see it, “Freaky Friday” tells the story of a a mother-daughter pair who have their share of differences, to say the least.

In a 2003 remake of the film, Lindsay Lohan plays a rebellious teenager who often complains about the perils of her dramatic life. She is in constant conflict with her mother (played by Jamie Lee Curtis), who works hard to balance her duties as a mother and hardworking therapist. One evening, the mother-daughter pair is suddenly cursed by a spell which causes them to switch bodies and therefore experience life in each other’s shoes.

The John McCain “maverick” and “reform” image is proving to be nothing more than that: an image. It’s sad to see, but he is now running nearly the exact same campaign of smears and fears that George W. Bush and Karl Rove ran in 2004.

We’re even seeing the same characters playing some of the same roles. Jerome Corsi, the discredited fringe author from 2004, is back with another smear book against a Democrat, published by a company headed by Dick Cheney’s long-time spokesperson, Mary Matalin. Karl Rove is giving “advice” to the McCain campaign, which is now being run by people trained by him. And John McCain’s response to this smear campaign against Barack Obama: “Gotta keep your sense of humor.”

 The League of Women Voters of the United States has called for a 10-year moratorium on the building of new coal plants. Coal plants are a major source of carbon dioxide, which acts as a greenhouse gas and contributes to climate changes, according to a  majority of scientists worldwide, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Coal plants also emit pollutants like  mercury that harm human health, causing brain damage, especially in developing children.

Particulate pollutants in coal-plant emissions are associated with  lung cancer, heart disease and asthma, according to studies from  Brigham Young and New York universities. The American Public Health  Association says that air pollution is associated with deaths from  lung cancer and heart disease.

Mears Inc. will pay $10,000 to Richard and Alice Camarota for damages to their home at 424 Graafschap Road they say happened during the construction of the Lake Crossing water main project.

The decision is part of the company’s settlement with the city of Holland.

Holland’s Community and Neighborhood Service Director Phil Meyer won’t be hanging around the office for the next few months.

The department head is taking a leave of absence through November.

“I need a break,” he said.

Edna A. Haverdink, age 89, of Holland, died Wednesday, August 27, 2008, at Oak Crest Manor.

Chester J. Hulst, age 81, of Zeeland passed away Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at the Hospice House of Holland.

Thomas and Nelda DeBoer of Holland announce the engagement of their daughter, Lynelle Grace DeBoer, to Steward Norman Voght II, son of Patricia Voght and the late Steward Voght of Mechanicsburg, PA.

Jerry and Cheryl Nienhuis of Holland announce the engagement of their daughter, Elizabeth Anne Nienhuis, to John Jeremiah Pearson, son of John and Kimberly Pearson of Indian River.
 

Julianne Joy Kaufman and Todd David Feenstra exchanged wedding vows on July 26, 2008, at Spirit Ranch in Lubbock, Texas

Pamela Jo Walters and Michael Joe Wierenga exchanged wedding vows on June 6, 2008, at the home of Jim and Kim McDonough.