July 8, 2013: The Bay County Bulletin

Welcome back to the Bay County Bulletin. We've been away for a little while from our regular weekly publishing, but we're aiming to get back into the swing of things.

GOV. SNYDER OP-ED ON CNBC: The Comeback State: Michigan's Reinvention: Creating a business-friendly tax and regulatory environment is at the core of the reinvention of Michigan. We're using an approach that levels the playing field and promotes free market solutions, rather than having the government pick winners and losers. http://www.cnbc.com/id/100857238

30th Biennial Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference. Since 1953, Michigan Republicans have gathered every two years at the historic Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island to discuss ideas, to learn how to articulate the Republican message and to interact with fellow Republicans from across the state—and the country. The Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference has become one of the premier Republican events in the Midwest. Information and registration is available online: http://www.mackinac2013.org/

THE OBAMACARE MESS. Obamacare was sold on two flagrantly false promises: that you could keep the insurance you have and that prices for insurance would drop. But employers will dump significant numbers of employees onto the exchanges to save on their own health-care costs. And the latest indication of the law’s price shock came via The Wall Street Journal this week, which reported, “healthy consumers could see insurance rates double or even triple when they look for individual coverage.” http://politi.co/16QFhke

Supreme Court rejects governor's request for advisory opinion on RTW. The Michigan Supreme Court has denied Gov. Rick Snyder’s request for an advisory opinion on whether the controversial right-to-work law he signed in December is constitutional. “We are not persuaded that granting the request would be an appropriate exercise of the court’s discretion,” the court said in an order released Friday. http://on.freep.com/126MqwU

Unions strike out at appeals court on Michigan teacher dues. A federal appeals court says it won’t take a second look at a Michigan law that bars school districts from helping unions collect dues from employees. http://bit.ly/13w92Kj

BIRTHDAYS: Monday. George W. Romney Wednesday. Ken Horn (h/t Mrs. Horn) Thursday. Friday. Bill Cosby (h/t Cliff Huxtable) Saturday. Harrison Ford, Patrick Stewart Sunday. Gerald R. Ford.

Bay City Fireworks Festival 2013 ends with a bang to delight of large crowd. As streams of red, gold, green and blue poured down from the sky above the Saginaw River, couples tilted their heads together, children gasped in the laps of their mothers and friends contemplated the amazing sight of the 2013 Bay City Fireworks Festival finale on Saturday, July 6. http://bit.ly/16ZztoG

Vessels set sail for Bay City's 'breathtaking' Tall Ship Celebration. A fleet of majestic tall ships sets sail beginning Monday, July 8, from a stop in Cleveland on a voyage to Bay City. The city's 2013 Tall Ship Celebration take places July 11-14 and is the only official gathering of tall ships in Michigan this year. http://bit.ly/1d9I35M

TIGERS WATCH: The Tigers are currently in first place in the A.L. Central by 2.5 games over Cleveland. Miguel Cabrera leads the Major Leagues with a .368 batting average and 90 R.B.I. Baltimore's Chris Davis leads M.L.B. with 33 home runs (Miguel has 28). Max Scherzer has 13 wins, tops in the majors, and 139 strikeouts, third in M.L.B. The club finishes a series against Cleveland tonight, then hosts Chicago and Texas.