MIDLAND — Russ Harding, director of the Property Rights Network at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, will speak at 7:30 a.m. on Feb. 12 at the River Rat Restaurant, 29370 South River Road, in Harrison Township.

Harding, a former director of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, will discuss property rights and the need for state and local government to rein in their exercise of regulatory power.

“Whether it is state agencies such as the DEQ or local community zoning boards, bureaucrats are overstepping property rights boundaries by rigidly enforcing vaguely written statutes and causing no end of mischief for Michigan landowners,” Harding said. “We’ve had numerous phone calls from Macomb County residents and met with several of them about this problem.”

The talk is open to the media and public, and Harding will be available for interviews following the event.

#####