I got a call from a reader last week complaining that we’re not balanced in covering the auto industry.

It was her perception that we put bad news about Ford, GM and Chrysler on Page 1, and bury any good news inside the paper. She thought we put good news about Toyota and Honda on Page 1, and hide any bad news on the back pages.

While I disagree with her basic premise, I understand the frustration.

News about Ford, GM and Chrysler is critically important to our readers. Many of them work for the former Big Three or their suppliers, or have friends or relatives who depend on the auto industry.

That’s also the case with many of our employees, who have spouses, children, parents, relatives and friends with ties to the auto industry. We want the Big Three to rebound, too.

In recent years there has been plenty of bad news about Ford, GM and Chrysler on Page 1. We put it there when we think it belongs there - such as today when there’s a story about the future of Chrysler on the front page.

When there is good new about any of the U.S. auto companies or their suppliers, I have a feeliing it will be on Page 1, too - simply because it will be unusual.

Here’s hoping for a day sometime in the future when good news about the auto industry is routine and won’t be considered for the front page.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s state of the state speech, if it was anything, was a challenge to the residents of Michigan and the members of the legislature.

It was a challenge to look at Michigan in a different way. Not as a state where we’re entitled to a good job in a factory, but as a state where quality schools and universities produce workers of the future. Not as a state controlled by Democrats or Republicans, the left or the right, but as a state where the two parties work together to create government that is smart and efficient.

Of course, the proof isn’t in the speech, which Gov. Granholm does well. The proof will be in the details of the budget released Thursday.

I will be looking for evidence that her numbers back up her verbiage. In her speech, the governor laid the groundwork for new taxes by also promising significant cuts in state programs and restructuring of government to make it more efficient.

Her basic premise is that if we try to solve the budget crisis with cuts alone, we won’t be able to make the investments in the state’s future that are critical.

I think there’s a chance Michigan residents will buy that premise. But only if there really are cuts, and if there really are fundamental changes to make government more efficient.

With Gov. Granholm’s state of the state speech scheduled for tonight, a serious discussion about the future of Michigan is about to begin.

I spent some time over the weekend at a Michigan Press Association meeting in Grand Rapids that included talks by the governor, the speaker of the House and the Senate president. All were using terms like historic crisis, new vision for Michigan’s future, and rare opportunity to re-invent our state.

The consensus seemed to be that Michigan’s economic crisis is so deep and pervasive it can’t be solved in the usual ways. Budget cuts, in the traditional sense, won’t work. The revenue hole is too deep. Tax increases, in the usual ways, also won’t work. We can’t tax ourselves out of this mess, either.

I was relieved to see that there was little blaming going on. It doesn’t matter who’s fault it is. The decline of the U.S. auto industry; past largesse when there was plenty of  money to throw around; Republicans, Democrats; managment, unions; it doesn’t matter.

What impressed me was the apparent willingness by both parties and both branches of government to work together to find solutions. I suspect, if her speech last week was any clue, that Gov. Granholm is going to focus on the need to create a new vision of the Michigan we want in our future, then re-engineer our government to get there.

It won’t be easy, and that’s a huge understatement. There are plenty of people, groups and organizations with a vested interest in the past. They’d rather go down with the ship than change course.

There are others who will want to shrink state government to stay within our current tax base - even if it means cutting our nose off to spite our face. Cuts in higher education - when the global marketplace is screaming out for a more highly educated workforce - would fit in that category.

And others will want to simply turn the tax tap higher, strangling the economy in the process. While creating a vibrant future for Michigan requires financing essential services and priming the pump in key areas like education and economic development, we can’t afford high-tax solutions.

The next few months could be historic. We could look back to 2007 as the year Michigan’s economic crisis forced a thoughtful, significant re-engineering of state government and how it operates.

And while I’m engaging in wishful thinking, it also could be the year when state leaders put aside their political differences and worked together.

Wouldn’t that be nice.

A brief story in today’s paper caught my eye.

“Passport, eBay events planned,” was the headline. The story explained that Ida Post Office is hosting information sessions Saturday on how to apply for a passport and how to buy and sell online at eBay.com

We live in a world that is changing rapidly - faster than ever in human history. The Ida classes provide insight into two of the tidal waves of change sweeping over us: the war on terror and the internet revolution.

Because of the increasingly unsafe world, we’ll soon need passports to visit Mexico and Canada. And because of eBay and the internet, we can buy and sell virtually anything from the comfort of our homes. Just a few years ago, both notions would have seemed preposterous. Now, they’re a fact of life.

Change isn’t easy. Sometimes it’s for the better, sometimes for the worse. But it’s always a little uncomfortable. Kudos to the folks at Ida Post Office for helping folks cope.

It wasn’t long ago that it was popular to scoff at scientists who claimed that greenhouse gases were eating away the ozone layer, leading to global warming.

Environmentalists were labeled as wackos, and any mention of greenhouse gases was followed by a joke.

Now Congress is talking about a special committee to study the effects of global warming and propose legislation to head it off.

It appears that global warming has gone mainstream. Republicans are joining Democrats in taking note of their constitutents’ growing concerns.

The questions aren’t about whether it’s happening, but whether and how we can do anything about it.

Monroe County is in an interesting place on this topic. Our coal-fired power plants are among the nation’s largest producers of carbon dioxide, considered the leading culprit in the global warming debate. And we have a nuclear power plant and an energy company actively considering building more nuclear plants - which could end up being one of the alternatives to burning fossil fuels to generate electricity.

We’re also dependent on the auto industry - also a major producer of greenhouse gases. Our congressman, Rep. John Dingell, is chairman of the House committee with jurisdiction over environmental issues. Rep. Dingell is known as both a supporter of the auto industry and of the environment.

And our governor is pushing Southeast Michigan as a leader in the development of alternative energy sources - sort of our niche in the world of new technology.

All this adds up to an interesting next few years.

For more on global warming, check out Ria Rogers’ blog, “Our World.”

I attended a military funeral this week, complete with the playing of taps and the presenting of the colors.

The clear, simple notes drifting through the air, mingling with the wind in the trees and the muted sobs of mourners, makes an indelible impression on the senses.

If the emotions of a funeral aren’t enough to bring a lump to your throat, taps will.

I wasn’t at the funeral of a local soldier who died in Iraq, which was held Monday in Monroe County. I was at the funeral of my mother-in-law, 2,000 miles away in Oregon at a tiny hilltop cemetery surrounded by towering cedar trees.

My wife’s mother was a Navy WAVE, serving in San Diego during World War II, supporting the troops who moved through the base on their way to the Pacific. She also worked in a factory building parts for war planes.  

The honor guard was a trio of women currently serving in the Navy. They said it was the first military funeral for a woman in that district in 30 years, and they were proud to participate.

When I returned to the office today and read the coverage of Army Sgt. Christopher Messer’s funeral, I was struck by the similarities.

Even though Sgt. Messer died a few weeks ago in Iraq, in the service of his country, while my wife’s mother served more than 60 years ago, both were properly honored for their contributions to our nation’s security.

Both were touching ceremonies that reminded us of the importance of honoring the men and women who serve their country - while at the same time remembering their special contributions to their families and communities.

At The Evening News, we look for every opportunity to publish news about our soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen. Whether it’s a feature about a recruit headed to Iraq for the first time, or a special section honoring the veterans of World War II, we know how much our readers appreciate hearing the stories.

The two funerals came in the same week that President Bush announced a troop buildup in Iraq.

It’s not a popular announcement. But I’m convinced - and I think virtually every resident of Monroe County agrees - that it’s critical that we continue to show our support for our servicemen and women, regardless of what we think about the president’s decision.

As I stood at the graveside and listened to taps, I couldn’t keep my thoughts from wandering to Iraq, and to friends and relatives with children serving in the military.

I desperately want the U.S. military to get out of Iraq - to quit fighting someone else’s war with our young men and women. But I just as desperately want all of our armed forces to know that whether we agree with their commanders or not, we support their efforts.

Anyone who knows of Monroe County men or women going to Iraq or Afghanistan - or returning from the war areas - let us know about it. We want to continue telling their stories.

The World Wide Web has made global connections within reach of even the smallest newspaper’s stories. We recently wrote a story about Tom Treece and the D.O.V.E. fund’s efforts to raise money to build a school in Vietnam. Now we know someone in Vietnam noticed. Here is the link to the Quang Ngai Web site that Tom received from someone in Vietnam. We Baby Boomers can only exclaim ‘what a world we live in.’

http://www.quangngai.gov.vn/quangngai/english/news/2006/15275/