Is a story about the clout of the Michigan Beer and Wine Wholesalers an environmental story? It is if you remember the group was and is one of the leading opponents of Michigan's bottle deposit law, and its proposed expansion. And if you also remember that other special interests use all of the same techniques to checkmate environmental and other progressive reforms. Good job, Detroit Free Press.
Michigan's beer and wine wholesalers like to take along special guests when they jet off every winter for a convention at a luxury resort.
The lucky travelers? They're some of Michigan's most powerful lawmakers.
The legislators fly for free to beachfront retreats like the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas and the Hyatt Regency on Grand Cayman Island. They pay nothing for their rooms and can bring spouses, too.
They give a speech or two. Then they can kick back and enjoy their escape from cold, gloomy Michigan.
http://www.freep.com/news/mich/beer10e_20050210.htm