The door-to-door trick-or-treating that many of us remember so fondly from our childhoods has been replaced in many Detroit neighborhoods by trunk-or-treat and organized parties. Not so for the Audubon Block Club.

I was at Trader Joe’s in Grosse Pointe a few weeks ago, where a young man outside the store was collecting signatures on a ballot initiative sponsored by Americans for Citizen Voting. It would require Michigan voters to provide proof of citizenship to vote.

All you need is one disaster, like a basement flood or a tree falling on your house, to know how important homeowners’ insurance is. But more than one quarter of Detroit residents simply can’t afford the high insurance rates we pay – often significantly higher than our suburban neighbors. O

If you’ve been to any large outdoor gatherings this summer, chances are someone has approached you about signing one of several ballot initiatives to amend the Michigan constitution. These questions will go on the ballot a year from this November if their supporters gather enough signatures statewide in the next few months.