Delta County MI Board of Commissioners Meeting (8/19/2025): Fireworks, mental health, veterans, grants, vicious animals,....

There is never a dull moment when it comes to local life and governance. Being informed helps us better understand changes in the market and community. The area has grown significantly in recent years, both in terms of investment and sense of community. People are working toward positive outcomes, and because of that, new opportunities continue to emerge. Below are a few highlights I found interesting. There’s much more in the video, so you’ll want to watch it for yourself!

• Fireworks Ordinance – Some communities have ordinances, others don’t. A strong point was raised that if a county wants to regulate fireworks, it should do so at the county level. But if opinions are mixed, it may be best left to local communities. The goal is to let people have fun while ensuring fireworks are used responsibly—not late into the early morning hours.

• Delta County Pathways, Diversion, and Mental Health Programs – I agree that providing treatment can reduce repeat offenses. Having a centralized local mental health organization often makes more sense than breaking services apart. It reminds me of the phrase penny wise, pound foolish. While there may be counterarguments, I generally favor local control over services that must adapt to community needs. It keeps the money and the decisions in the hands of locals who have a better finger on the pulse of the community. There are times where that might not be true so everyone has to call it how they see it.

• Veterans Service Department – The county has increased support for veterans, showing its commitment to helping them succeed. In my view, veterans remain an underutilized group for recruitment, workforce development, and entrepreneurship.

• Vicious Animal Ordinance – There was discussion about animal ordinances and the responsibilities of dog owners. I was once nipped by a pack of loose, aggressive dogs, and it highlighted for me that not everyone is capable of properly caring for animals (Wasn't in this area.). Registration and accountability are important to keep communities safe. Everyone should have these type of Vicious Animals! If you feel the need, consider donating or volunteering visit Delta County Animal Shelter.

• Mini Grants – Grants of up to $3,000 are available for community projects, with a focus on opioid-related initiatives: Delta County Mini Grants. I wonder if arts-based approaches could be used—for example, music or theater to teach kids and communities about drugs, or arts activities that support recovery. The arts can strengthen community health, build social connection, boost tourism, and support business. Sometimes the best projects create complementary benefits across multiple areas.

• Attorney Issue – There is an ongoing matter related to county attorney documents that is still being addressed.

Individual Development and Training Plans for Industry Needs

Representing people learning

Human capital requires direction in order to fully develop and reach its potential. In small businesses, training may be fairly rudimentary, but in larger and more complex global organizations, the process tends to be far more intricate. At the societal level, we must continuously update our skills to keep pace with changing demands. This process becomes more intentional when we understand both the needs of the market/employers and the types of training or education available to meet them.

Training and education, while related, serve different purposes. Training is often task-oriented and focused on immediate organizational needs, while education emphasizes broader personal and professional development within the context of industries. Education provides a wide platform of knowledge, alongside key industry-specific skills. Training, on the other hand, might for example equip individuals to integrate quickly into a role or adapt to new technologies within a competitive environment.

Industry trends play an important role in shaping training and education needs. For example, in the rapidly growing field of artificial intelligence, technical expertise is essential—but so is the ability to interpret and apply information effectively. Similarly, in any industry, where the business is heading often determines the skills that will be most valued.

Organizations must also assess the skills already available within their workforce and the broader labor market. For instance, if the goal is to expand shipbuilding capacity, the organization must evaluate the availability of technical and metalworking skills locally, regionally and within the industry as a whole. there are times when gaps are found and additional development is needed.

In some cases, local talent may possess foundational skills but require further development. Organizations can respond by sponsoring education, creating robust internal/external training programs, or offering opportunities to learn directly from highly skilled workers.

At the individual level, effective development plans begin with understanding a person’s current skill set and mapping out a pathway toward growth. Such plans should consider personality, learning style, and career trajectory, aiming to enhance the individual in ways that also create collective value for the organization.

A highly skilled workforce strengthens organizational capacity and overall competitiveness. Training for specific job classifications, comprehensive skills assessments, and ongoing performance appraisals—can ensure that both individuals and organizations continue to develop together over time. The feedback loops and the opportunities are most effective when focused on organizational needs and market trends.

Coordinating between education and corporate onboard training could help create more successful academia-industry transitions as well as greater spill over between general and specific knowledge. It may also have an additional benefit of ensuring that the broad and specific complement each other to maximize human capital development. The academic-industry divide gets more narrow if knowledge and skills are transferred back and forth with relative ease.

The Binding Values of Moral Conscious

Values play an important role in binding people together. They form part of the overarching framework of society, shared as root assumptions of people. Smaller groups, too, develop their own values. Whenever people gather and face challenges, some set of values inevitably emerges. They are constructed from generation after generation of learned knowledge that are applied to the struggles of today.

Representation of ancient
universal values being
shared in a group

The Story of the Clan is a hypothetical thought experiment designed to explore what happens when hate and corruption impact decision making and/or there are no backstops to misbehaviors. It is philsophical discussion so take with a grain of salt.

In such cases, the values guiding decisions may differ from the values of the community at large. Victims, perpetrators, and observers may each hold their own sets of values. A risk arises if  corruption or hate leads to choices that are generally not helpful for everyone else. 

Because people often define their values through the groups they identify with, individuals who engage in harmful behaviors may still be celebrated as champions by those who share their distorted views. The fish in the fishbowl.

The Story of the Clan illustrates how hate and corruption can impact some positions and groups—but also encouraging a higher moral conscious can strengthen social cohesion and even foster economic growth. In the philosophical example, the community ultimately rejected distorted clan-based values, to the frustration of those invested in maintaining them.

What becomes clear is that these distorted values were not accidental; they were cultivated within tight-knit circles that recognized the social and financial benefits of promoting them. Group members came to see each other as moral, despite the harm they caused—a cult-like mindset carrying itself toward its own natural conclusion. 

This thought experiment helps us examine how harmful values can form, spread, and sustain themselves, while also encouraging reflection on healthier alternatives. Fostering good values in our communities and encouraging people who reflect those shared values of togetherness to take leading roles can help. It is a slow process but it does strengthen binding as expectations are built upward from the communities in an organic and natural way.

At the heart of it is this: binding moral values gain strength through close relationships, but their content depends on the community that shapes them. Thus, encourage strong values on a community level so those with distorted values have greater social and moral incentives to realign. All people within the community have value and only through shared commitment to a bright future will people succeed.

The best advice, then, is to form your own values from a variety of sources. Look at the different societal values, your personal values, universal values, so on and so forth. Create a personal sense of perspective that uplifts your community as much as possible. Always try and do the best for the most amount of people and think about the long-term impact of those values for generations to come. Foster what is good in each other so that it can strengthen communal values. Support those who already have those values and have displayed those values consistently; versus when they are convenient.

This is a thoughtful idea on how accepting the most humble of values can lead to stronger leadership.

He who is not a good servant will not be a good master. Plato

You may be interested in this study on binding values. 

Binding moral values gain importance in the presence of close others

*This is a hypothetical, theoretical, philosophical learning thought experiment so take with a grain of salt. It is ok to disagree.

Sunset Picture: It is the small things that can brighten your day.

This is a photo I took in La Jolla a few years ago. Since I do a lot of writing, I thought selling some of my art could help support that work while also contributing to charitable causes. With my hobby projects, I’ve been aiming to donate around 50%—often more—to charity. It’s not a huge amount, but every bit helps.

Sunsets always make for striking pictures because they have a way of brightening our day. This one leans more toward a silhouette, but the sun glowing in the background adds a warmth and appeal of its own. When I look at it, I often think about the fish that might be swimming among the rocks. If you walk barefoot along the shore, you can see right into the water, and the moment you dip your hand in, everything begins to stir and come to life.

La Jolla and Sunset Painting
 For Purchase

Manage Money the Right Way: A Few Tips for Fiscal Success and Long-Term Happiness

Picture representing 
spending, saving, and goals.

Money is something many strive for because it provides access to resources and power. Yet, money is not everything, and lasting success comes from finding balance between today’s spending and tomorrow’s investments. Some people spend for prestige, while others practice restraint and prioritize their long-term goals.

Spending can feel good in the moment, bringing short-term satisfaction. But when overspending leads to debt, that pleasure quickly turns into stress. Those who balance present enjoyment with future security are far more likely to build lasting wealth.

Human behavior often leans toward immediacy—we want to feel good now. The famous marshmallow experiment showed that children who demonstrated self-control were more successful later in life. The same principle applies to financial decisions.

A Few Practical Tips:

• Match your spending to your income. Aim to put at least 15% into retirement and 10% or more into savings.

• Question the necessity of purchases. Many of us realize later that much of what we bought added little value.

• Reflect on how money influences your emotions and buying habits—there are often deeper patterns at play.

• Create a budget and stick to it.

• Explore alternatives. Many free or low-cost activities can be just as fulfilling as expensive ones.

• Ask yourself: Does your money work for you, or do you work for your money?

Studies consistently show that those who see money primarily as a source of happiness tend to be less financially stable. In contrast, people who view money as a tool for the future develop stronger, healthier financial habits.

Money Managers and Personality

100 Years of Veterans Affairs Research 2025

Veterans are individuals who truly walked the talk by stepping forward to serve an important cause—something many others might not have been able to do. They come from all walks of life and reflect the diversity of the American population. The video below highlights VA research and its impact in helping veterans recover and thrive.

I’m a strong supporter of research in general, and of veterans in particular. I’m sharing this because raising awareness of veteran-focused research is important—and because veterans represent one of the best populations to benefit from advanced treatments.

The Clan: A Thought Experiment on Corruption, Social Cohesion, and Economic Futures (Hypothetical Thought Experiment on Hate and Corruption)

Good citizens have long been understood as those who stand for justice and the protection of communal well-being. When corruption and hate permeate decision-making processes, they generate significant risks for future victims, while simultaneously imposing economic costs that constrain growth and undermine the long-term health of communities. The following discussion—referred to here as The Clan—serves as a hypothetical, philosophical, and theoretical thought experiment aimed at identifying mechanisms for social improvement where hate and corruption has left a mark.

Representing societal wisdom and light.
Platos cave. 
Chains of mental slavery.

It is necessary to acknowledge the persistence of bad actors within society. Individuals motivated by bigotry, racism, segregationist ideology, or hyper-partisanship often demonstrate a willingness to advance their beliefs at any cost (every society has some but the % is important). When such motivations are coupled with financial incentives and reinforced by social groups demanding strict adherence to harmful norms, the outcomes can become highly undesirable. The active protection of corrupt and hateful practices intensifies this risk, possibly embedding these behaviors within institutions. Conversely, historical and hypothetical examples demonstrate that collective concern and challenge against hate by community members can generate measurable improvements in social cohesion, economic vitality, and overall community well-being.

Within this learning narrative, a network of corrupted officials emerges as central to systemic dysfunction. Whistleblower reports were systematically dismissed, investigative processes obstructed, and complaints redirected to perpetrators. Witnesses and complainants became targets of retaliation, while those engaged in misconduct received material and social rewards. Women, children, elderly, minorities, and others were victims as indication of long-term patterns. Over time, complaints lost credibility within institutional frameworks, and efforts to question corruption were met with shielding mechanisms or, in extreme cases, coordinated aggression and exclusionary practices amounting to social cleansing. An extreme sense of entitlement that lacked substative beliefs in universal professed oaths and values.

Two critical concepts warrant analysis:

1. Financial and Social Incentives. Corruption and hate endure in part because they generate both financial benefits and social reinforcement for those engaged in such practices. Officials may leverage their positions for personal enrichment, while social groups may perpetuate hate-driven narratives, exploit vulnerable populations, or marginalize specific communities. Over time, these behaviors risk normalization, eroding the ethical and professional commitments of those tasked with protecting the public good.

2. Long-Term Consequences. Once corrupt and hateful practices become institutionally entrenched and openly acknowledged as a drag on the community, reversing their impact becomes increasingly difficult. Aggression may be used to suppress freedom of speech or silence dissent, yet the knowledge of misconduct remains widespread. The normalization of such practices erodes trust in institutions and creates lasting harm to the social fabric. New victims could have been saved and protected but like others before they were dismissed and dehumanized in a type of gross negligence.

These observations prompt two fundamental questions. First, would systems of governance and community life not operate more effectively, sustainably, and equitably if corruption were removed? Corruption represents a misallocation of resources that diminishes efficiency and undermines collective well-being. Second, what are the long-term consequences for human capital when some members of society are systematically excluded from participation, justice, and equitable treatment on the basis of religion, race, political affiliation, or other?

These are theoretical discusions but one can fathom the other implications if corrupted is shielded and protected and the status que is that certain Clan members are the beneficiaries of institutional outcomes not based on truth, justice or merit but on the misuse of authority and power entrusted by communities but put in the hands of those not qualified to yeild it. At some point the community will have to reclaim that power or accept that a certain percentage of victims in long-stemming patterns is just part of "business as usual". 

*Remember this is a philsophical, theoretical, hypothetical learning thought experiment designed to get people thinking but not necessarily find a final conclusion. One may agree or disagree with such questions but it is the process that they thought about it that counts and own whatever conclusions they come to. "I know that I know nothing"- Socrates