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Posted on Sat, Aug 27, 2011 : 8:34 p.m.

Here's what people were saying in the news this past week

By Steve Pepple

“Twenty years of neglect and deterioration cannot be fabricated on the witness stand. It would be absurd to suggest that there are no public nuisance issues going on at the Square. Virtually every individual with whom I have spoken, including current and past owners as well as current and past residents, realize that the degradation of the exterior is extreme, leading to the uninhabitability of the interior.” - Ypsilanti Township building inspector Ron Fulton, on the Liberty Square housing project after it was ordered razed by a judge.


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Mark Ouimet (left) and Jeff Irwin

"The taxpayer dollars that our schools and local governments can save could be used to put more money in our classrooms or pay for essential services like police and fire protection. The majority of Michigan residents are paying more for their coverage and it's time to put public employees more in line with the private sector." - State Rep. Mark Ouimet, R-Scio Township, on his vote favoring legislation capping public employee health care costs.


"They take that job at a very low rate of pay because they know they can get benefits for their families. Those folks are going to get hit with a huge bill that's going to be a giant percentage of their income and then what choice are they going to have to make?" - State Rep. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, arguing the cap on public employee health care costs unfairly targets low-income school and government workers.