GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.-- Raising taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products is often considered a way to reduce smoking and improve public health, but according to a new study in part from Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, evidence of effectiveness is sparse.

As stated in the abstract, "the association between cigarette taxes and either smoking participation or smoking intensity is negative, small, and not usually statistically significant," and that large tax increases would be needed -- as much as 100 percent -- to reduce smoking by a mere 5 percent.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.—They aren’t all on the big screen.

Michigan Blood is getting ready to reward life-saving superheroes right here in the Grand Rapids community. The organization is teaming up with Celebration Cinema to offer a free movie pass and a bag of popcorn to each to person who attempts to donate blood during the holidays.

Michigan Blood needs to collect more than 2,200 units of blood every week to supply patients and hospitals around the state.  Donations traditionally drop around the holidays as people travel.

Days and times for the “Be a Star” donation deal vary around the state.  To find the location near you, visit the Michigan Blood website here.  In Grand Rapids, the following donation drives will take place in Michigan Blood’s Main Donor Center at 1036 Fuller Ave. NE:

GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (By Barbara Lee)—Barbara Lee, a presenter at TEDxMuskegon 2013, has published her first book Sacred Sex: Replacing the Marriage Ethic with a Sexual Ethic. 

Lee, who lives in Grand Haven, is not one to shy away from controversial issues. In fact, she welcomes discussions about the topics many would rather sweep under the rug.

“We have to start talking about sex – and we especially have to have these discussions in our churches and with our young people,” says Lee, who led the ministry Extended Grace in Grand Haven for seven years before returning to work in the nonprofit sector.

Lee observes that our society is largely polarized about sex so that we typically approach sex as “sin” or as “sport.”  Lee’s book searches for the middle ground where we embrace our sexuality while treating it with moral authority.