As bloodshed mounts in Gaza, parts of the West Michigan community are as divided as the warring sides in that Middle East conflict. (AP Photo)
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Automakers ended a horrific 2008 as tight credit and consumers worried about their jobs in a deepening recession continued to depress sales in December.
About 10,000 to 20,000 citizens of one of the economically hardest-hit states converged downtown for a night of excitement and the city's first New Year's Eve Ball Drop. 
Rodney Stuckey scored 24 points, Tayshaun Prince added 20, and the visiting Detroit Pistons got a critical goaltending call in the final seconds on an Allen Iverson shot to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 88-87 on Sunday for their seventh straight victory.
Former Detroit Lions president Matt Millen broke his media silence as a member of NBC's playoff coverage of the weekend. Shame on NBC, though, for putting Millen in front of a camera and letting him comment on NFL personnel like some sort of expert.
Now that it appears the Rothbury Festival could happen in 2009, all sorts of names are being bandied about for the three-day outdoor music festival on the placid but financially beleaguered grounds of the Double JJ Ranch.
To tenderfoot city types, it might seem extreme to shoot a buffalo alone, carry the carcass down a mountainside and float it down a white-water canyon in the midst of grizzly bears and wolves -- but Michigan native, author and chef Steven Rinella begs to differ.
Six West Michigan residents will share their hopes for the Obama administration by writing "Letters to the President" published this week in The Press and on Mlive.com. Now, more readers are invited to follow. 
