Make sure you are getting all of my live reports. Download the Substack APP right now.
Ann Arbor fields 40 complaints on gas leaf blowers
The city of Ann Arbor has fielded about 40 complaints to its hotline reporting gas-powered leaf blowers since 2024, according to records obtained by Michigan Capitol Confidential.
The city banned gas-powered leaf blowers in the summer of 2024 from from Jun. 1 to Sept. 30. It allowed them from Oct. 1 to May 30 through 2027.
The city received 12 complaints in 2024, 16 in 2025, and 12 in 2026.
Starting Jan. 1, 2028, the use of gas-powered leaf blowers will be prohibited at all times in the Tree City.
The stated purpose of the ordinance is “to protect the peace, health, safety, and welfare of persons in the City of Ann Arbor and to promote the city’s sustainability goals by reducing noise, pollution, and other negative effects from leaf blowers.” Click here to read more.
Newly released Fauci texts reveal private concerns during early COVID vaccine rollout
WASHINGTON (TNND) — Newly released text messages from Dr. Anthony Fauci’s government-issued phone are offering a glimpse into private discussions among top health officials about COVID-19 vaccination and pregnancy during the early weeks of the vaccine rollout.
Republican Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Rand Paul of Kentucky released a cluster of messages dating to late January 2021, just weeks after the first COVID vaccines became available to the public.
The messages show Fauci communicating with then-Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and then-CDC Director Rochelle Walensky about vaccination during pregnancy, when data involving pregnant women remained limited.
Fauci initially indicated he was not concerned about pregnant women receiving the vaccine but later raised a theoretical concern about vaccination during the first trimester. Click here to read more.
Universities’ double failure on antisemitism and free speech
Universities don’t have to choose between protecting Jewish students and championing freedom of speech. In fact, federal law requires them to do both. Yet when my alma mater, Brown University, resolved a federal civil rights investigation during the Biden administration in July 2024, the line between protected speech and unprotected conduct was unnecessarily blurred.
The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights had been investigating Brown’s handling of alleged antisemitism on campus after the October 7 attacks on Israel in 2023. Brown maintained it had complied with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Had OCR found Brown in violation, it could have pulled federal funding from the university. The voluntary resolution agreement let Brown end the investigation while claiming to uphold its commitments to academic freedom. Click here to read more.
High taxes vs. low taxes: Which states are winning the population war?
At a time when Illinoisans call high taxes a top concern, competing states are providing relief.
The Tax Foundation ranked Illinois 38th-worst in the country when looking at taxes including those on sales, property and business.
Despite its high tax burden, Illinois maintains a constitutionally protected flat income tax, which provides taxpayers stability and predictability. Illinois’ flat tax kept the state’s ranking from sinking lower in its ranking, the Tax Foundation said.
However, of the 15 states with a flat income tax, Illinois was not among the seven that reduced their rates from 2025 to 2026.
That leaves Illinois with one of the highest flat income tax rates in the nation at 4.95%. Six of the seven flat-tax states that did not cut rates already have lower rates than Illinois’. Georgia’s 4.99% is scheduled to decrease every year until it reaches 3.99% and next year will drop below Illinois’ rate. Click here to read more.
Socialism Is So Hot Right Now. But One Candidate Seems Too Toxic For Even Them
The left is all in on Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) candidates in deep-blue strongholds, but the movement’s biggest names are silent in a genuine battleground state.
Wisconsin state Rep. Francesca Hong sits on the verge of a historic nomination, and one election away from becoming the first Democratic socialist governor in American history, in the state President Donald Trump carried in 2024. Still, despite being one of the most talked about gubernatorial candidates of the 2026 cycle, the most prominent elected members on her side want nothing to do with her. Their indifference or calculated move could reveal the limits of the socialist boom in the U.S.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s victory sent far-left organizers into overdrive, ushering in similar surges in other liberal cities and districts. Click here to read more.
Socialism may be a hot "issue" for politicians, but the majority of Americans are not in favor of it. I don't need more government in my life. Less would be better. It's like being taxed on the value of my house. I haven't sold it. It's not going on the market while I breathe. If my daughter wants to sell it when I'm gone, she can do so with my blessing. The offers I get in the mail to by my home for cash are ridiculously low. One offer was for the amount I took out in a loan. Knowing I put $50,000 in repairs to the house the first year. I laughed as I tore up the check. Then there are those who offer me what I paid for it. I have well over $75,000 invested in it at this point. I've been there almost 8 years. Knowing I am investing more in it in the future ain't no way I'd even consider the offers. I look at Zillow and Realtor.com to see what they think my house is worth. Then I look at it realistically. I am somewhere in them middle of their high and low numbers. If and when it needs to be appraised, that will be done. It's getting new siding, new windows, and a new kitchen yet. I built my library too small. But the shelving in the library stays with the house as it is mounted to the wall. Yet my taxes went up this year. In spite of the fact, that taxes go down when you hit 65 and again at 70. I suspect again at 80. I'm not worried about the taxes. The state honestly has it undervalued.
Georgia would not have been the state to compare Illinois to. Georgia is stuck in the 1980s. They only pay $5.15hr minium wage. They are the lowest in this country. They are doing everything they can to be a welfare state. Kentucky only pays $7.25/hr minimum wage. Also not a good state for comparison, because the sales tax on property insurance will kill you. As does the sales tax on auto insurance. People there only have insurance for those days when they need it. To obtain a new license tag, to get a driver's license, if they have a mortgage. Having a $5,000 deductible in order to pay $2600 for property taxes is insane.