Living Large

 The manner in which the City of Austin elected their aldermen when Uncle Ken was there is called "at large".  Some municipalities do it, but I have never heard of a state doing it.  I didn't find anything in the US Constitution that either requires it or prohibits it, so it must be up to each state to decide for themselves.  The Constitution does say that the number of representatives from each state must be in proportion to population, but that's about it.  Michigan lost one seat this year because its population hasn't increased as much as some other states since the last census.  This means that our previous 14 congressional districts have to be consolidated into 13.  Our state legislative districts will be redrawn as well, I suppose to keep the population of each district approximately equal.  I wish the MICRC all the luck in the world, but I wouldn't be surprised if they piss off more people than they please.  They are soliciting "input" from the public which, in government and corporate language, means they will listen politely and then proceed to do what they want.  

I remember living in Chicago and anticipating the easterly winds of spring because they brought in the smelt.  Do they still fish for smelt along the lakefront?  When I first moved here, our annual smelt runs would put Chicago to shame, but they have since become extinct in our area.  Most people blame the salmon but, last I heard, the U.P. was still having some decent runs.  I don't know why because they must have salmon there too.