Word on the Street

Marquette's plan for its SmartZone is on the fast-track.

City manager Bill Vajda expects to have the SmartZone application submitted to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation by May.

The decision on exactly what to do and where and how would be made in June.

And then work begins in July.Yeah, that would be fast-track.

The project will bring in and nurture new technology-based companies, something all cities dream about. The focus here in Marquette would likely be health sciences (NMU's strength) and agricultural sciences (Michigan State).

The original SmartZone in the UP, of course, is the one started by Michigan Tech. Tech, along with Houghton and Hancock, as well as NMU and Michigan State, are all playing a part in planning for Marquette's SmartZone.

We want good, forward-looking jobs in Marquette? We may have found them.
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Silence on the hospital relocation front.

Vajda says he's heard nothing recently from the site-selection folks, and Randy Girard, the Marquette Township manager, says it's been almost two weeks since he's had conversations with them.

The site-selection officials did their local groundwork a few weeks back, then retired to their offices back in Nashville. Best guess is they'll come up with their recommendation for the future site of MGH and forward it to Duke LifePoint within 30-45 days, and then Duke LifePoint will make its momentous decision.

A tidy little $290 million dollars is on the line for the two contenders for the site--the city of Marquette and the Township--along with the prestige of being home of the biggest and most important hospital in the UP.

Girard says, regardless of the decision, the Township will continue to grow at 7-10% a year. There's plenty of land, and people and businesses want to locate there. The big box stores are clear evidence of that.
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Downtown, there have been rumors that things were a little shaky at L'Attitude and Elizabeth's Chop House.

Couldn't be further from the truth, according to co-owner Tommy Wahlstrom.

Take a look at the newly refurnished L'Attitude. New booths, new chairs, new bar stools, new artwork. Impressive and much, much more comfortable.

Up next, a new 30 foot long heater to be suspended from the ceiling on the outside patio. Nice. It'll make those 52 degree days outside bearable. The heater arrives this week. Also coming up, new tube lighting and a new menu.

What's been the impact of the new restaurant, Sol Azteca, upstairs? Not surprisingly, it's increased the liquor revenue at L'Attitude because the Mexican restaurant doesn't have a liquor license yet.

As for the Wahlstroms' other restaurant, Elizabeth's Chop House, 2013 was the best year yet. Marquette's most expensive and arguably classiest restaurant has struggled through the recession years, like just about every other restaurant in town, but last year was a breakthrough. This year should be even better.

That's good news for fine diners in Marquette.
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More restaurant news.

Coco's, just across the street from McCarty's Cove and Picnic Rocks, is taking a turn toward Margaritaville, UP style. It's busting out a wall on the north side of the building, installing a 900 square foot deck that'll be shaded from the direct sun, and then lining up bands on the deck this summer. They'll play Thursday through Sunday.

They're also considering bringing in a few truckloads of sand and setting up a volleyball court on site.

And they're starting a remodeling of their bar this month.

Finally, it seems, Coco's is taking advantage of its unique and attractive location just across the street from the beach.
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You may have noticed that Fox UP, TV6's junior partner in the WLUC duopoly, has a new anchor, just in from the University of Maryland.

He's Ben Oldach. He's young but he has a pleasant look with a nice voice and carries more authority than you might expect from a rookie. His hairdo, featuring a big wave on top along with sideburns, seems a little retro, but hairdos come and go every half century or so.

The Fox UP newscast, at 10 pm, has never drawn much of an audience. It's actually pretty good and it features an early dose of meteorologist Karl Bohnak if you don't feel like waiting up until 11 pm.
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Overheard at Babycakes this week: a job interview with an NMU graduate who went on to get his PhD at the University of Leeds in medieval history.

He's back in town hoping to land a job as a barista.

The message here? We need (and value) baristas more than we need medieval historians.

You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com

Vern Barber, the longtime general manager at Marquette Mountain, is heading to snowier slopes.

Mount Bohemia in the Keweenaw, specifically.

After 32 years at Marquette Mountain, he's looking for a new challenge at a unique venue (extreme skiing, ungroomed slopes) with the potential for growth. That's what Bohemia offers.

No hard feelings here, he says, it's just time to move on.

Was the issue compensation? He wouldn't "go there."

This last ski season was a tough one here. Extremely cold temperatures kept attendance down for much of the winter although the last three weeks were pretty good.

Barber will face a different kind of a challenge at Bohemia--they need more lodging in a more remote location than Marquette--but it's the kind of challenge he welcomes at this point of his career. And, he says, Bohemia is his kind of skiing.

Good luck to him. And thanks.
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More losses for Marquette tourism.

The Convention and Visitors Bureau recently lost its PR and marketing director, Allison Silk, to the Mackinac Island CVB. Silk had been considered the likely successor to Pat Black, the CVB director who's retiring at the end of this year.

So that means there's a vaccum at the top in an industry that needs to continue showing growth in Marquette County.

A search is now underway for Silk's successor who ultimately might be Black's successor.

The big loss, of course, will be Black, who is Ms. Tourism for Marquette County. She knows and charms everyone in the tourist industry, in the state and far beyond.

In her retirement, she's planning to travel--for pure pleasure, not for business. She's earned it.
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Any day now, you can expect to see a new local newscast on your TV screens at 6 and 11 pm.

Preparations continue at the new WJMN studio and offices, just off US-41 in Marquette Township. Some of the staff have moved in, they're working with their new computers and getting acclimated to their new surroundings.

Two months ago, management guaranteed the newscasts would start in April. News Director Cynthia Thompson says that remains the plan, though she wouldn't get specific.

They've got their equipment, the news cars are in the lot, the news staff (about 10, less than half the size of TV6's staff) are arriving to begin their careers in the UP.

Interestingly, one of the most important rating periods for local TV stations is May. WJMN, no doubt, will try to make a big promotional splash when it starts its newscasts but certainly can't have expectations of a major ratings impact in May.

Many UP viewers will sample the new newscasts but will likely return to
the tried and trusted Steve Asplund, Karl Bohnak, Greg Trick and Mike Ludlum on TV6 at 6 and 11. Fifty years of history is a lot to overcome.

WJMN will have to be in it for the long run.
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Casa Calabria is certainly in it for the long run.

The popular Italian eatery on Third Street, one of the biggest restaurants in the city (seating for 188), is now finishing off major renovations of both the restaurant and bar.

New booths, tables, chairs, stone walls, pillars, wallpaper, floors, bar stools. That's just about everything. It's the first major renovation for the Casa since 1995.

Sometimes, even when you're popular, you gotta freshen things up.

The result is a new, Old World look, if that makes sense. Clean, fresh, casual, comfortable, classy.

The Casa never closed down during the construction period. They just worked at it during the day, then swept up, and started cooking.

Smart. That's a good way to keep the customers...and the revenue...streaming in.

You got news? Email me at briancabell.com

Unless you're part of the NMU community, you may not have noticed it, but the student newspaper, the North Wind, has broken three major stories in the last couple of weeks.

First, the arrest of the former student body president, Amber Lopota, for embezzlement.

Next, the disciplining of an NMU football coach and adjunct professor, Karl Maslowski, for repeatedly missing classes and soliciting students to buy an energy supplement.

And most recently, the suspension of ten NMU football players for failing a drug test.

Those are big stories, some of which were eventually picked up by the mainstream media in town, others of which were simply ignored.

The North Wind, with a staff of 14 students and a circulation of 5000, is showing remarkable aggressiveness and enterprise...and independence. If the stories don't reflect well on the university, tough luck. That's what good journalism is all about.

Seems like the mainstream media, utterly devoted to protecting the bottom line, placating their advertisers and maintaining good relations with the institutions in town, could learn a thing or two from the students.
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Tuesday is the deadline for local candidates running this fall.

A few big names have already filed. Tom Baldini, a former aide to Congressman Bart Stupak and a longtime political leader in town, has filed for City Commission, along with retired physician Mike Conley, Craig Miller and Russell Kangas.

The Bureau of Light and Power, which has generated some controversy and dismay over its vision for the future, has drawn former mayor Tom Tourville as a candidate, as well as Chuck Wanberg and John Braamse.

The County Commission so far features a race between attorney Steve Pence and former mayor Johnny DePetro in District One, and NMU professor Dwight Brady and Randall Yelle in District Six. All are Democrats.

The lone Republican to file so far has been Justin Carlson in District Two. He'll oppose Democrat Joseph Derocha.

Democratic incumbents Bruce Heikkila and Gerry Corkin, and attorney Bill Nordeen are so far running unopposed. Expect more candidates to file by the Tuesday deadline.

What happened to the supposed block of candidates advocating decriminalization of marijuana in the city? Good question. Maybe it was all talk, no follow-through.
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Remember the Grove, the little restaurant on US-41 south of Marquette? Well, it's coming back to life.

It's new name is Root 41 Food and Spirits, a word play on its location and its ties to the community.

The entrepreneurs are sisters Sarah and Barbara Tullila, both of Negaunee. Together they share 25 years in the food service industry and a dream to provide what they call classy comfort food to the community.

They're re-doing the inside and outside. Lots of sweat equity, tons of enthusiasm. Of course, they're bucking the odds. Most restaurants, unless they're well capitalized, don't make it past the first couple of years.

Here's hoping the Tullila sisters make it.

They hope to open in late May.
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More sister news, and this time it concerns the former Backroom on Front Street. You know, the place that was raided and closed down two years ago because of bath salts sales?

Three sisters, former residents of Marquette, returned to town for the sled dog races a couple of months ago, took a look at the shuttered, sad-looking building and decided this was something they had to do: buy it, renovate it, and open it up for both residential and retail use.

The sisters (who would have been known as the White girls back in the Eighties) have since scattered to other parts of the country but have retained their roots here in Marquette. Sara now lives in the DC/Annapolis area, Anne's in Houston, and Katy's in New York.

They hope to begin the renovations this summer and they'd welcome ideas for possible retail tenants.

Welcome back, ladies.
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As for the Bayou in Harvey, its microbrewery (Chocolay River Brewery) should be serving up its first glass of craft beer by mid-June.

Its equipment is mostly installed with minor adjustments being made.

Once everything's set, it'll take three weeks for the first drinkable suds to be produced.

So plan on sampling the fare from Marquette's fourth microbrewery on about June 15th.

That'll be just about the time the last of the snow has melted.
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Speaking of which.

Marc Gilmore, the pro at Marquette Golf Club, said last Friday that they're hoping to open up the driving range this coming Friday.

At that point, you might have wondered what he was smoking. You might also have suggested that the golfers wear snowshoes.

However.

After this weekend's melt, Gilmore looks like he's on to something. We got a heat wave coming this week--40s! Even 50s!!--so the range could very well be clear by Friday.

The opening of the Heritage and Greywalls courses is still up in the air. Along with a reluctant sun which still needs to burn through a couple feet of snow on some shaded parts of both golf courses.

You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com

Rumors have been circulating that Forsberg Flowers, a longtime Marquette institution on Third Street, is going out of business.

Not true, says co-owner Lou Ann Balding (a Forsberg), but the property is for sale. In fact, it has been for a year now.

Why the sale? Balding simply says it's to "keep our options open." She's not comfortable getting more specific than that.

Meantime, though, Balding says business continues normally. A rumor (false) that Forsberg's was no longer selling corsages and boutonnieres certainly didn't help during the prom season.

Forsberg has been making things pretty for us since 1971.
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The boathouse controversy is heating up.

Background: the Upper Peninsula Community Rowing Club wants to build a boathouse near Founders Landing that would house its boats, along with those from the NMU rowing teams...and any other human-powered boats that other citizens might want to store.

They'd do it with all private money and they'd maintain it. No taxpayer money, no public obligations.

The rowers insist the beach would still be open to everybody, as would a viewing area on top of the structure.

Sounds fine, except that back in the 90s, the City Commission declared that the still undeveloped shores along Lake Superior should remain undeveloped.

That declaration, according to an increasing number of petitioners and a heavily promoted campaign on Facebook, should remain sacrosanct.

The intent, of course, was to prevent selling the city's coastline (and soul) to private developers. God knows, a lot of towns have been ruined by unrestrained greed.

But would a boathouse for citizen and student rowers truly violate the spirit of the declaration? Marquette's justifiably proud of its marinas. Sure seems like a facility for rowers and kayakers would be less expansive, intrusive and exclusive than the marinas...and less noisy.

A tough call.

The City Commission, which has initially endorsed the idea of a boathouse, will likely decide the issue within the next couple of months.
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Marquette County Sheriff Mike Lovelace is back in town and he's hearing a little criticism.

Some are calling him an absentee sheriff. He's calling it politics.

Lovelace, who's held the job for 18 years, concedes he's spent most of 2014 at his home in Arizona but he's had to do it, he says, only because his wife has been dealing with serious heart problems. She's been in and out of hospitals.

But even when he's been out of town, he's handled the department's conference calls, emails and faxes. There have been no problems with the operations of the department, Lovelace insists. No hiccups.

His undersheriff, Jack Schneider, has been filling in admirably, he says.

And that's where the "politics" comes in.

Late last year, Lovelace announced he was retiring but he was doing so with the expectation that Schneider would inherit the job until the next election. However, the county had other ideas and opened the job up to other applicants.

That's when Lovelace suddenly stepped in and said, "Never mind, I'll unretire and keep the job until 2016."

So he's still got the job, he's now back in town and he's tending to the health of his wife of 40 years. He owes it to her, he says. Can't blame him.

But don't expect the politics and the criticism to just fade away.
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You got a spare 3.9 million dollars?

If so, you can go out and buy the Rosewood Building which houses Upfront, along with some retail and office space.

The Upfront, more than a year and a half after closing, is now officially up for sale.

Owner Rhys Mussman had been coy about his plans for the building until now.

Any buyers for a gorgeous building in an unsurpassed location? Maybe we should pass a hat.
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As for the Carmike Theater next to Econo, you've got to wonder about its future now that the fancy new theater complex in the Township is set to open later this month.

The Carmike corporate folks in Columbus, Georgia aren't saying much about their plans for the theater.

Well, actually their legal department said, "We got nothing to tell you, and we'll tell you when we're good and ready."

Hard to imagine that Marquette could support two theater complexes, but who knows? We've done it before.

Stay tuned.
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Get prepared for a cool summer.

That's what WLUC weather guru Karl Bohnak says. A frosty winter like the one we've just experienced (It's over, right?) generally leads to a late- starting summer with temperatures that usually stay below average.

Doesn't mean we won't have hot spells, just not as many or as hot.

Just what we want to hear as we're staring out at the dreary skies, the ugly, little patches of snow, and the miles upon miles of stubborn ice still clogging Lake Superior.

How cold was the winter? How about 5 degrees below average in April? Nine degrees below average in March. Ten degrees below in February, 8 degrees below average in January and December.

Historically frigid, Bohnak says.

Bring on the cool summer and those balmy 60 degree days.

You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com

Gabe Caggiano, WJMN's anchor on its brand new 11 pm newscast, is not your typical bright-eyed kid eager to shine in his very first broadcasting job.

He's been around the block a few times. He's worked as an anchor, reporter, writer and columnist. He's been employed by Inside Edition and Al Arabiya. He's moved around from Texas to New England to Maryland to DC. He covered the first Gulf War and the White House.

He was even an actor on TV several years back with credits from Matlock and Radioland Murders.

He's got talent. He's won a few awards.

And he's got a bit of a reputation. A TV columnist in Austin referred to him as "very likely the most hated man in Austin television journalism." To be fair, that was back in the 90s, and God knows, we've all made mistakes and enemies.

But some of the criticism has followed him over the years--hotheadedness, insensitivity, egotism.

Now he's in the UP at WJMN. He does a nice job. Let's hope we see more of the talent and less of the flaws.

By the way, an attempt to interview Caggiano was rebuffed by him until he got corporate approval. Maybe that's a good sign. Discretion.
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Speaking of WJMN, the CBS station has been broadcasting local news for just about three weeks now, and there's not much to criticize.

Cynthia Thompson's team looks professional and energized. The news set, graphics and production values are superb.

In fact, you might say the overall presentation reminds you a lot of TV6, the longtime number one station in Marquette. What WJMN lacks is TV6's storied history, the leadership of Steve Asplund, and perhaps most important...Karl Bohnak.

People love weather in the UP and they love Bohnak who's very possibly the most trusted and popular man in the Upper Peninsula. It's very tough for a 20-something meteorologist to come in and compete with that.

As for Rick Tarsitano's troops at ABC10, they continue, despite a shortage of resources, to put on a remarkably strong newscast, and their website is robust and current with a strong social media presence.

WJMN's website, by contrast, has a strange, minimalist look. Not sure why. Looks like something circa 2003.

In any case, they've joined the fray. The UP now has three legitimate TV news and website sources. We viewers are the winners.
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This may have slipped your mind, but the YMCA, after getting a three million dollar federal loan last year, is getting ready to start a major expansion and renovation at its Marquette facility.

Like doubling its size.

It all starts on June 1st with the resurfacing of its pool deck. That'll take a couple of weeks.

But then comes the exciting stuff: two new basketball and volleyball courts, bleachers, a concession stand, an indoor running track, a gym for gymnastics, a climbing wall, new high-tech machines, an expanded exercise and weight room...and a seniors locker room.

Huh? A separate locker room for oldsters?

Yep, apparently that was the request of some seniors--to dress and shower away from the rabble-rousing young folk.

Seems like the YMCA could find a better use for the money than that.

Still, a lot to celebrate here. Construction will continue through late summer, fall and early winter. Should be done in January.

Meantime in Negaunee, members are getting an entirely new, bigger and better facility. That, too, should be ready in January. (Correction: the Negaunee facility will be open in June.)
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The Marquette Farmers Market is getting ready to open after a tumultuous off season. It's time to forget all the dissension and instead, focus on the food and the crafts

The first Saturday of the season is May 17th.

Forty-three full season vendors will be selling their goods--36 are returnees, 7 are new, and the word is, there are more produce and meat vendors this year than last year. All of them are from the UP. Hoop houses and green houses here have extended the season and the varieties.

No vendors selling produce from downstate applied to sell at the market this year.

As usual, there were many more wannabe vendors than spots available, so about 30 of them will have to settle for daily spaces. The Downtown Development Authority expects to create 3-7 new spaces by mid-summer when the market is re-configured.

All in all, it sounds like local farmers are determined to make farming in the frozen tundra of the UP work.

Which is great for those of us who love local produce and meat.
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And who's not eagerly awaiting the opening of the new Marquette Food Co-op on Washington Street? That's May 22nd.

It'll be triple the size and double the inventory of the charming but cramped store on Baraga Street.

The new store will also feature a meat and seafood counter, a deli, and a little café. With Wifi.

Yikes. We're becoming bigtime.

The Co-op will close down on May 20th and 21st while it makes the move to the new location.
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Now that the snow has finally melted, you've probably noticed with dismay that your spruces and junipers are rust-colored on the outside and on top.

Dead? You can't be certain.

Gardening guru Barb Kelly says the best advice she's heard is that you should wait four to six weeks before lopping off any branches. Give them a chance with warming temperatures to come back.

If you're impatient, break open a branch and see if there's any green left. If it just snaps off easily, it's likely dead.

Yeah, Kelly says, this is the worst winter for plants she's ever seen here. The dwarf Alberta spruces, one of our most popular varieties, were especially hard-hit.

You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com

A story that's gone mostly unreported in the central UP for the last several months is now the subject of a federal investigation by the Inspector General of the Department of Agriculture.

Here's the narrative: The US Forest Service brought in a new law enforcement officer to the Hiawatha National Forest last summer. His name is Louis Cote. He's reportedly got a military background which can be helpful but apparently he's also brought in a somewhat militaristic--some would say, belligerent--attitude with him to the job.

Complaints against him mounted through the summer and fall. Complaints about unwarranted traffic stops--for "driving over the center line of a gravel road" and for having snow on the license plate.

Complaints about unwarranted, frightening nighttime visits by the officer to check on the welfare of children.

Complaints about harassing hunters, canoers, longtime elderly residents, drivers minding their own business.

Complaints about excessive fines for minor, even nonexistent violations.

Munising mayor Rod DesJardins estimates they've compiled between 50 and 100 complaints against the officer, and says he's heard at least 100 other stories of harassment.

And the harassment, the critics say, has been frequently accompanied by outright intimidation--"Hands in the air!", handcuffs and threats.

At one point, a sign was posted in Chatham advising citizens who were pulled over by officer Cote to call the State Police or 911.

At the very least, the critics say, the officer has been overzealous in carrying out his duties. More to the point, they say, he's scared them.

They took the matter to the City Commission and County Commission and got them on board. They took the matter to the Forest Service itself but got no action from the agency. They then went to Congressman Benishek's office and informed him of the problem.

Now the case is before Inspector General of the US Department of Agriculture. Official word from the Forest Service and Benishek's office is, the case is now pending. No other comments.

A word of caution here. Nothing has been proven, nothing's gone to court. The officer may simply have been doing the job he thought he was supposed to do. But when there's this much concern, this much fear, this much distrust between a community and a governmental officer, something needs to change.
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Everybody's favorite new Mexican restaurant, Sol Azteca, has some good news. It's finally found and bought a liquor license.

Now it needs a final okay from a government inspector before it can start serving alcohol.

Could be in days or weeks, maybe longer, but it's coming.

Not a day too soon according to many diners who'd like a Corona or margarita to wash down their enchiladas and tacos.

You gotta think it's a relief to restaurant management, as well. It's tough to make big money on a pricey piece of real estate when you're charging only eight or ten dollars for lunches and dinners.
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WLUC has some good-sized shoes to fill.

Tyler Czarnopis, who's managed the station's website for the last three years, has just accepted a new job with the Department of Natural Resources in Lansing. He'll be the agency's social media coordinator.

Czarnopis has overseen huge growth on the WLUC website during his tenure. Three years ago, website page views totaled 1.4 million a month. Last month the figure was four million, and just a couple of months ago, aided by all the school closures and weather alerts, the station's website pulled in nearly eight million page views.

Huge numbers for a small market TV station.

Czarnopis leaves on May 23rd. His successor hasn't been selected yet.
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The new Thomas Theatre complex in the Township opens Friday at 2:30.

Hardly a secret but it is big news.

Fancy complex, attractive building, one huge screen--not Imax, contrary to rumors, but it is huge. Also VIP seating. Also, it seems, slightly higher prices: nine bucks for adults.

What's playing? Godzilla, Spiderman 2, Million Dollar Arm, among others. A similar lineup to what Carmike is offering a couple of miles away.

Wonder who's gonna get the bigger crowds this weekend?
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You may not have heard about it, especially if you don't make it to Ishpeming all that much, but there's a gem of a store downtown.

It's Rare Earth Goods, run by Pamela Perkins, the wife of businessman and roofer Dan Perkins.

Here's what the store offers: arts and crafts from more than 100 local artists, wood furniture crafted by a blind carpenter, more than 60 beers, a wide array of Michigan wines, bulk foods, Dead River coffee, Guinden farm meats, specialty foods...and open mic sessions every Tuesday night.

It's a one-of-a-kind store.

And it's in downtown Ishpeming, which could be a problem. There's not a ton of pedestrian traffic there, and you've got to wonder, is there even the demographic mix there to allow an ultra-local, offbeat business to succeed?

Let's hope so. All towns could use a Rare Earth Goods.

You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com

It ain't over 'til it's over but it looks like the Marquette teachers' contract dispute with the school board is moving closer to resolution.

It's about time.

Union rep Stuart Skauge says a meeting between the two sides on Tuesday was the most encouraging they've had to date. They made progress. They'll meet again May 29th.

Until now, the main obstacle to an agreement has been "steps" and "lanes" for teachers. "Steps" allow teachers, through seniority and experience, to increase their pay . "Lanes" provide a boost when the teachers further their education and boost their credentials.

Pretty basic stuff, common among school districts across the nation.

But the board wants to eliminate them. Surely, it seems, there's got to be value in experienced and credentialed teachers. Why not reward them?

And it's not like the teachers are demanding huge pay raises. Actually, their latest contract offer, prior to Tuesday's meeting, was a zero percent pay raise the first year...and a zero percent pay raise the second year. Zero.

Just keep the steps and lanes, they say. Reward a teacher for her experience and her desire to further her education.

Yes, there's an argument to be made for requiring greater accountability by teachers, and basing their pay more on their performance than their seniority. But until we come up with a fair and reasonable plan to do that, let's move on.

Marquette prides itself on being an enlightened and family-friendly city. An eleven month old unresolved teachers' dispute doesn't enhance our reputation.

It also keeps about $10,000 a week out of teachers' pockets. That's money that would likely be spent here in the community.
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It was dismaying to hear a couple of residents suggest on Wednesday that maybe the Upper Peninsula Community Rowing Club should just move out of Marquette and relocate instead to Teal Lake.

Seriously?

The comments came at a City Commission hearing on the club's now controversial proposal to build a boathouse with private funds at Founders Landing.

Yes, it is public land and we're all for preserving the coastline, but 60 foot boats need to be stored somewhere, out of the weather and away from possible vandals, and the boathouse, as designed, would not block any views and it would not hinder access to the beach. And it would be open to all residents.

And let's be honest, this isn't a Hilton or a Red Lobster or a T-shirt shop they're proposing to build. It's a boathouse.

If the Founders Landing site is too objectionable, fine. Come up with another location where the water's not too rough and there's enough room to turn the big boats around. The options are extremely limited.

But let's not suggest that these active, community-minded rowers who actually enhance our coastline should just pack up their boats and get out of town.
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What's the first thing you think of when you hear the word "Carhartt"? It's probably not beer.

But later this year, the famed clothing maker, in conjunction with the New Holland Brewing Company, will be introducing a new Carhartt beer. It'll be called the Carhartt Woodsman, a barrel-aged pale ale.

Beer and sturdy work clothes--a natural fit.

We'll be celebrating the introduction of the new brew this October outside Breakers Roadhouse on Baraga Avenue.

A big party. Wear your Carhartts, drink your Woodsman.
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Speaking of Carhartt, Getz's, one of the biggest online distributors of Carhartt clothing in the nation, recently got a boost from the clothing company.

Carhartt announced that, starting June 1st, Amazon will no longer list about 40 Carhartt stores carrying their clothes. Instead, they'll list only five stores, and Getz's will be one of them.

That'll give Carhartt more control over their product distribution, and it'll drive more business to Getz's.

Filson, the maker of upscale clothing and bags, recently worked out a similar deal on Amazon with Getz's.

Marquette's favorite clothing store continues to flex its muscles around the nation and around the world.
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No surprise here.

The Carmike theater complex is shutting down June 5th. No point in trying to compete with the fancy, new complex on the other side of town.

One of the managers at Carmike says none of her employees were hired by the new theater, so they're out of jobs.

As for the building itself, it's hardly an architectural gem. Basically a box. It'd be surprising if it wasn't razed.

You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com

Everybody loves taco trucks and ice cream bikes, right?

You get great snacks right where you want them--outside the bars, in parks, next to your work places, on the bike paths, at the soccer games.

Plus it's a boost for capitalism, the free enterprise system and entrepreneurs.

Win-win-win.

Well, not quite.

Marquette now has two taco trucks--Dia de los Tacos and Senors' Food Truck--along with an ice cream bike--The Treat Trike--and almost everybody's happy with them.

Almost everybody.

Here's the problem. These scrappy, on-the-go businesses have to pay only for an inexpensive peddlers and hawkers license in Marquette. The bricks-and-mortar merchants, on the other hand, have to pay heavy property taxes.

So is it fair, say, for a taco truck or an ice cream bike to sell their products in direct competition with a nearby restaurant?

Still, you can't help but root for the little guy. Rick Rhoades Sr, for instance, just recently started up Senor's Food Truck. At 57, he was out of a job and he was known to make great Mexican food (he's part Mexican), so he said, what the hell, let's cook up some tacos, carnitas and quesadillas, and get our food out on the streets. And make a few bucks. Capitalism in its purest form.

Same thing with Dia de los Tacos, which has been around for a while and was recently voted to have the best tacos in the UP. The same also with The Treat Trike. Pedal your bike around town and offer up ice cream to walkers, bikers and beachgoers in need of refreshment.

The food truck industry is now a one billion dollar a year business and growing. One company in San Francisco actually sends out 150 trucks a week.

Of course, things are a bit more modest here in Marquette--two trucks and a trike--but we like the idea. Love it. It's small-town, it's personal, it's entrepreneurial, it's nostalgic. So let's encourage them.

We just have to make sure that, in our burst of enthusiasm for the little guys, we don't inadvertently squeeze out the merchants who are paying the big bucks to keep the city viable and prosperous.
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One week, you're up. The next week, you're down.

That's the update on the teacher contract talks. Superintendent Bill Saunders says he's disappointed with the lack of progress in Thursday's negotiations, especially after the optimism that arose with the previous week's talks.

No new talks are scheduled. That's not good.

Saunders says compensation for the district's 193 teachers remains a major stumbling block. The district's current offer calls for 4% base pay increases, but essentially no steps--in other words, no built-in increases for seniority and advanced education.

Previous offers had included reduced pay increases for steps, but with little or no overall pay increase.

Medical insurance and class size are also unresolved.

The administration's concern is a paltry 1.3% increase in state funding for the district for the next year. That gives the district only about $335,000 to play with. Not much.

Talk to the teachers and they'll tell you the money is there. The purse strings just have to be loosened.

This back-and-forth has been going on for a year with no resolution. Sad.
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Speaking of teachers, it'd be hard to top the poignancy of the graduation ceremony of the Marquette Alternative High School this week.

Twenty-seven students got their diplomas. These are kids who, for one reason or another, were struggling in the traditional high school setting.

But they finally made it, and the ceremony, at times, brought tears to your face even if you didn't know the kids.

The teachers, remarkably bright, fun and energetic, paid lengthy, emotional tributes to each of the students. The students reciprocated.

Plenty of hugs, plenty of tears and quivering lips. How many teachers say "I love you" to their students? Better yet, how many students say "I love you" to their teachers. You heard that a lot at this graduation.

Amid all the criticism of the American educational system, this was heart-warming.
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One of our most talented individuals in town is leaving Marquette.

Dave Poirier, who ran the video production house, Thunder and Lighting, has gotten an exciting and lucrative job broadcasting Professional Bullriders which airs on CBS.

He'll be the technical director for the broadcasts while also doing some occasional shooting and editing. He'll be based in Colorado but he'll be traveling a lot around the country. In fact, Professional Bullriders is now expanding to Brazil and China.

Poirier's originally from Lake Linden but for the last 15 years he's been working out of Marquette. His work has appeared on ESPN, PBS, Showtime, and the Sundance Channel, among others. He also produced the Doug Garrison Show locally and numerous TV commercials.

He's got some regrets leaving the UP but--big surprise!--it can be tough making a living up here. That, and the fact that his new job no longer requires him to tote around a couple hundred pounds of TV gear, were enough to attract him to Colorado.
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If you've made it out to the Marquette Golf Club, you've probably noticed that the greens, especially on the Heritage course, are in remarkably good shape.

In past years, some of them had been ravaged by ice.

This year was different. A nice, thick layer of snow settled on top of the greens early and never melted and re-froze into ice for the duration of the winter. When the snow did finally melt in the spring, the grass was fine.

In previous winters, the snow would melt, then refreeze directly on top of the greens. That's bad. To counteract the ice, Superintendent Craig Moore and his crew would throw down 50-75 pounds of sunflower seeds on each green to draw in the sun's heat and melt the ice. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not.

Makes you wonder who first figured out that sunflower seeds were an important tool in maintaining golf courses during the winter.

You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com

Get ready for a new farm-to-table restaurant opening up in Marquette later this summer.

It'll be called The Marq and it'll be located in the space that the much-loved but short-lived Rubaiyat occupied a few years ago, next to the Childrens' Museum.

Chef Austin Fure and three partners, all from the U.P., are behind this new culinary venture that will strive to bring as much local produce and meat to their tables as possible throughout the year, including winter. Hoophouses are extending the growing season here.

Fure, who worked as a chef in New England and Chicago after graduating from the College of Culinary Arts at Johnson and Wales University, describes The Marq as a "gastro-pub." That's fancy restaurant talk for cool, hip food and great drinks. The drinks will include creative cocktails and craft brews.

The four partners will be adding a full sit-down bar to the restaurant but, otherwise, the changes will be only cosmetic. The empty restaurant is already a great space.

The hope is that the gastro-pub will attract both date-night diners and the more casual types, taking a break from their bike rides.

What's not to like here? It's an infusion of young and local energy into the Marquette restaurant scene which would seem ripe for exactly what The Marq will offer--fresh, local food.

Anticipated opening date is August.
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Meanwhile, a few blocks away, L'Attitude (no, it's not plural or possessive...there is no "s") is undergoing a few changes of its own.

The owners, Steve and Sam Nagelkirk, are bringing in a new management team who will be starting in about three weeks.

Tommy and Elizabeth Wahlstrom, the owners of Elizabeth's Chop House, had been managing L'Attitude for the last three years but the Nagelkirks say they'll be taking the parkside restaurant in a new direction.

Most of the staff will be staying on but a new wine list is on the way, and a new menu will likely follow once the new management team gets in place.

The Nagelkirks say they want the new iteration of the restaurant to offer a more casual, friendly, welcoming atmosphere with an emphasis on drinks as well as a good but limited selection of food. The kitchen is small.

Just an opinion: the food, under the Wahlstroms' management, has been good. Diverse and tasty. Let's hope that doesn't change too much.

L'Attitude is as good a restaurant space and location as any in Marquette. Aged brick on the walls, with high ceilings, and huge windows looking out on the park and Lake Superior. Inside and outside seating.

The furnishings were recently updated and made more comfortable. The only obvious improvement, it seems, would be a fireplace or wood-burning stove to warm the place up for the frigid winter months, but that apparently is not doable.

L'Attitude should keep doing what it's doing...just do it a little bit better.
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A strange and ugly story is playing out in Tennessee but it has a distinct connection to Marquette.

Seems that a former resident here who claims to have taught English here and published the weekly live-arts magazine Marquette Jam several years ago has had a conversion to rabid anti-Semitism.

The guy's name is James Laffrey who says on his Tennessee-based blog that he's 56 and once voted for Barack Obama but now he's seen the "truth." He describes himself as an educator and journalist.

There's a lot of nasty, angry, frustrated people on the blogosphere but the reason this is relevant to us here is that, for some reason, Laffrey is spewing some of his hatred at Jason Schneider, a former city commissioner and now a candidate for county commissioner.

Schneider says he once knew the guy and Laffrey seemed nice enough. Normal. Why did Laffrey change? Schneider's got no idea.

In any case, he and another man who was also the target of Laffrey's hate-mongering, notified the police and FBI of the problem back in December. Laffrey's now being monitored by authorities.

And Schneider, who's one of our brightest, most talented and forward-thinking citizens in Marquette, is left to wonder...What the hell? What did I do to piss off some middle-aged man in Tennessee?

You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com

Here's the unofficial, official update on the relocation of Marquette General Hospital.

It's down to three locations: 1)the southern half of the Heritage course at the Marquette Golf Club. 2)the so-called Roundhouse property off of Seventh Street in Marquette. 3)the Marquette Township property off of Venture Drive behind the mall.

That said, keep in mind, some previous reports from people in the know have been misleading if not just plain wrong.

What we do know with some certainty is that the Cliffs Dow property along Lake Superior is out, the Medical Center location is out, the current MGH site is out, and all other locations in the Township are out.

We think. Well, we're pretty sure, anyway.

So, by means of elimination and with the benefit of observations by officials (not by Duke LifePoint, though), it's down to three.

The golf course location would have the benefit of direct access to McClellan Boulevard and the airport, but the sale of it to Duke LifePoint would require the approval of two thirds of the voting members at the club. No slam dunk.

The Roundhouse property would be centrally located in Marquette, just a few blocks off of US 41 but the hospital would have to acquire several properties, public and private, to come up with the 40 acres needed. Could be complicated, maybe not.

The Township property may be a little farther out than ideal, but it's vacant and shovel-ready. Seems like the simplest, cleanest deal but who knows?

The previously announced timetable for a decision on the hospital would seem to tell us the decision would come...oh, today, or so.

Meantime, the city and the township, eyeing tax revenues from the 300 million dollar project, are waiting anxiously for the climactic news.
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Now that we're all tingling with excitement over the opening of the Marquette Food Co-op at its spacious new location with its expanded inventory, maybe it's time to look at a direct comparison of prices between the Co-op and Econo, the supermarket located just about two miles away.

Econo, you may have noticed, is selling more and more organic foods.

A couple things first. We're not going to compare produce because we know the stores are getting it from different sources. The same with meats. The Co-op clearly has more local produce and meat, along with a huge selection of bulk foods, so we can't make a direct apples-to-apples comparison.

But we can compare brand-name organic or natural products that both stores carry. Here goes:

Organic Valley milk.....Econo $4.99, Co-op $3.99
Garden of Eatin chips...Econo $3.79, Co-op $3.79
Luna Bar.......................Econo $1.49, Co-op $1.59 (but with .50 off coupon)
Clif Bar.........................Econo $1.49, Co-op $.99
La Croix 12 pack..........Econo $4.59, Co-op $4.99
Florida Natural OJ........Econo $3.83, Co-op $4.89
Blue Diamond Nut Thins...Econo $3.99, Co-op $3.89 (and with an additional .50 off coupon)
Nature's Path Raisin Bran.....Econo $6.09, Co-op $4.69
Lakewood Cranberry Juice...Econo $10.29, Co-op $12.49
Good Belly Probiotics (blueberry)...Econo $4.79, Co-op $4.79
Annies Naturals dressing..................Econo $4.69, Co-op $4.89 (but with $1.50 off if you buy two)
Lifeway Kefir (blueberry, raspberry)...Econo $4.29, Co-op $3.99

So there you have it--the first totally unscientific, uncomprehensive comparision of the two stores. Sophisticated math calculations tell you that the Co-op had cheaper prices on seven of the products, Econo was cheaper on three, and they tied on two.

Hats off to both stores. The Co-op, for expanding and making our shopping experience more pleasant, even fun. And Econo, for clearly recognizing a growing demand, and significantly expanding its line of organic and natural products in the last few years.
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Yikes, somebody at The Motley Fool is less than thrilled with the prospects for Cliffs Natural Resources.

Four days ago, Motley listed Cliffs as one of the worst three stocks: "Research firm Cowen group noted that, as long as iron ore prices remain depressed, Cliffs stock will, too, and the business could struggle to even remain profitable."

A day earlier, The Motley Fool wrote of Cliffs that "there are conflicts of interest within the current board of directors and executives" and "there are some serious risks associated with Cliffs stock."

A month ago, The Motley Fool ran the headline, "Is Cliffs Natural Resources on Its Last Legs?"

What's up with The Motley Fool?

How about some balance? Two weeks ago, Forbes ran a story titled "Cliffs Natural Resources is Oversold." That means the stock price is too low and should go up.

For all the suffering Cliffs investors out there, yeah, that sounds exactly right.
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Another restaurant shakeup in downtown Marquette.

The Blue Lounge on Washington Street is giving way to the 906 Sports Bar and Grill. Same ownership, same location but different management and a different direction.

It'll now feature seven 55 inch TVs, one projection screen and three 42 inchers. Also, a full kitchen seven days a week. And five days a week, it'll be open until 2 am.

Management says it'll be more family-friendly than the Blue Lounge with much longer hours of operation. It'll drive more people downtown, they hope, which is always good.

You gotta wonder how the Dog House and Awbrees, which are also sports bars within shouting distance of the newcomer, feel about it. Do we really have that many sports nuts downtown?

We'll find out. The 906 is hoping to have its transformation complete by June 30th, give or take a week or two.
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On the other hand, there seems to be a much greater need for a restaurant-bar in downtown Negaunee, and a couple of residents--Mike and Ivy Ridenour--are stepping in to fill that need.

They'll be opening Jackson's Pit on Iron Street (the former Ed's Iron Inn) on Friday, June 27th, if all goes as planned.

They'll offer signature burgers, great sandwiches, Michigan craft beers, 19 brews on tap. Also root beer. Woohoo.

Family friendly, open seven days a week, from 11 am until 1:30 am most nights. Capacity of 130. An industrial mining theme. The name comes from the Jackson Mine of years ago.

24 employees hired. New life and new food added to downtown Negaunee. What's not to like? Now all they'll need is a steady stream of customers, day and night, from a city not exactly noted for its bustling and prosperous downtown.

You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com

We've now got a Mexican restaurant downtown. Also German, Irish and Cajun.

Art and Amy Thammasiri think it's about time we got an Asian restaurant, as well. They're the owners of the Thai House on Third Street and the Teriyaki Bowl on US 41 near Starbucks.

They're now trying to work out a deal to lease the former Farmer Q's property on Washington Street and convert it into another Teriyaki Bowl. Problem is, it needs a kitchen and that costs money.

If they can swing it financially, they'd hope to open there within three months. If not, they'll be looking for another property downtown.

The Thamassiris are restaurant tycoons in the making. They arrived here in Marquette from Thailand only six years ago and immediately got to work.
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A sad situation developing at St. Michael's Catholic Church.

A longtime parishioner and the current acting secretary of the pastoral council, Bobby Glenn Brown, has been stripped of his job and been told he shouldn't be worshipping in the pew.

The reason? Brown and his partner of 31 years recently decided to cement their relationship with a commitment ceremony.

No. Can't do that. Brown's remarkably stable relationship was well-known to all but once he formalized it, the local clergy took offense. All but excommunicated him.

You have to respect people's diverse views on religion, but something about this seems all wrong.

Apparently the Pope's welcoming, all-embracing words have not trickled down to Marquette yet.

Glenn's friends and supporters have been flooding the social media for the last few days. Expect a mass protest supporting him in the next week.

One of Glenn's most vocal and articulate supporters has been Andrew Lorinser who's the founder of Marquette Mobile and the social media director for ABC 10. He's been careful to separate his personal support for Glenn from his work at the TV station, but regardless, he's been attacked by yahoos who assume that he must be gay.

Which he isn't.

Which begs the question: Is it possible for a heterosexual man to be a fervent believer in gay rights? Apparently, in the eyes of some, it's not.

And in the eyes of the Catholic Church, all of this is just something that ought to be shoved under the rug. Or the robe.
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The campaign against the proposed boathouse at Founders Landing is getting more heated.

Community activist Rita Hodgins is hoping to get a measure on the ballot in November that would stop the boathouse construction and prevent the City Commission from approving any further "private" construction on city-owned lakeshore.

Of course, the Upper Peninsula Community Rowing Association claims the boathouse would not be private--it would be open to anyone who wanted to store their boats there, including NMU, and the entire venue, including a viewing area, would be welcoming to all lakeshore pedestrians.

Hodgins and her group are having none of it.

The heated opposition took the rowers by surprise. They thought they were doing a good thing for the city and they were raising all the funds from private sources.

They've now revised their plans for the boathouse slightly--no showers, no area to set up their rowing machines. Just a....boathouse.

And the latest changes--to move the boathouse closer to the Hampton Inn and to have the city actually take ownership of the building--may or may not make a difference.

The City Commission initially voted to support the boathouse. Are they having second thoughts?

In any case, get prepared to vote on it in November.
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The Forest Service investigation of Officer Louis Cote has been completed and the decision now rests with officials in Washington.

Quick recap: Cote was a Forest Service officer whom dozens of Alger County residents claimed was being overzealous in the performance of his duties in the Hiawatha National Forest. He was belligerent and threatening, they said.

The city of Munising and Alger County got involved, so did Congressman Benishek's office, and finally the Forest Service took a good long look at the complaints.

The Forest Service now says when a decision is rendered on Cote's future, it will not be made public. It will simply happen. An official says it will be handled as a personnel matter within the agency.

An attempt to get Cote's side of this dispute has not been successful so far.
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Just what aspiring entrepreneurs need before they even open up their restaurant: a huge broken window, thanks to the mischief of vandals.

The Tullila sisters discovered the vandalism over a week ago as they continued their preparations to open their new restaurant, Root 41, on US 41 south of Marquette.

Kinda discouraging. You don't expect that sort of thing here.

Oh well. Carry on.

The Tullilas hope for a repaired window and a "soft" open at Root 41 by July 5th. They're now honing the menu with their chef. The cuisine? Classic comfort food.
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As for the Bayou Inn in Harvey, it'll be serving up its first microbrews by the end of the month. The brewing and fermenting process is now underway.

The featured beers, at least initially, will be a pale ale, a blonde ale, a black ale, honey wheat and blueberry.

They'll be branded as beers from the Chocolay River Brewery.

The unassuming Bayou has come a long way in the last few years. It was once a seedy, little bar; now, under owner Tim Souci, it's a pleasant neighborhood restaurant with its own microbrewery.

You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com

David versus Goliath. New media versus old media. Marquette Social Scene versus the Mining Journal.

A classic battle is brewing here in Marquette. Or maybe it's more of a skirmish.

In any case, it's got the Mining Journal threatening to take some guerrilla journalists to court.

What started it all was the Mining Journal's recent decision to erect a paywall on its website. If you want to get news online from the Mining Journal, you now have to pay for it.

Not all that unusual. Newspapers across the country are doing it. At a time when hard copy circulation is declining (and the Mining Journal concedes this), it's a way to make money.

Well, Marquette Social Scene, a young, digital upstart that covers news, sports and entertainment, wasn't thrilled with the new paywall. Brice Burge, the owner and editor of Marquette Social Scene, considers it a violation of public trust. He's an idealist. He believes newspapers should be available to everybody so that we can be enlightened about the world around us.

So...(and this is where the skirmish started)...Burge re-published in Marquette Social Scene a posting from a reader on the Mining Journal's Facebook page that told other readers how to work around the paywall.

Talk about irony. The newspaper's own Facebook page was telling readers how to get the news product for free.

When Burge re-published the posting, the Mining Journal wasn't pleased. Publisher Jim Reevs sent Burge a cease-and-desist order, claiming that he was promoting an illegal activity, and threatening legal action if the posting wasn't taken down.

So far Burge isn't budging.

One thing seems eminently clear. The Mining Journal needs to start monitoring its own Facebook page more carefully. Its failure to do so is what created the problem.

Second and more important is this. The new, hyperlocal, digital media--Marquette Social Scene, UP Second Wave, Marquette Magazine, Marquette Music Scene and Word on the Street--are here to stay. Some will die, some will grow, many will evolve, but as a means of gathering and distributing the news, they will play an increasingly vital role in our lives.

And the dinosaurs--the Mining Journal and the TV stations--will have to adapt (with more robust websites and social media involvement) or die. Cease-and-desist orders can only delay the inevitable.
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Speaking of TV stations, the latest Nielsen ratings are out, and they spell good news for TV6. The longtime news leader here reasserted its overwhelming dominance at 6 pm after a serious drop in ratings last May.

The 11 pm ratings, which depend more heavily on the prime time offerings of the networks, were a little more competitive, with the new WJMN newscast posting decent numbers, but TV6 is still the unquestioned leader.

WJMN debuted its UP newscasts just a couple of months ago. It'll take some time for the station to become truly relevant. You don't overcome 50 years of dominance in just a ratings book or two.

As for ABC10, it keeps plugging along. Underfunded and underresourced, it produces solid newscasts at 5:30 and 10 pm and a substantive website with continual social media interaction. One of the station's most obvious flaws, a news set that looks like it was hastily assembled in someone's back office, will soon thankfully be history. The station is getting a new "virtual" set within a couple of months.

What does "virtual" mean? It means it'll look like things are there on the set when they really aren't. Electronic tricks. Slick. Sportscenter on ESPN employs a virtual set.

Also in from ABC 10: Al Jazeera America has requested that the station send them a long form story on the Bobby Glenn Brown story. Brown, of course, is the local man who recently took part in a commitment ceremony with his longtime partner, and was subsequently told by St. Michaels Catholic Church he could no longer take part in the ministry of the church.

The story's gotten some national play. Now Al Jazeera America wants to do something with it.
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If you've been wondering what's going to happen at the site of the old Food Co-op, here's a partial answer.

GEI Consultants, a nationwide engineering firm that's currently located on Washington Street, is taking over half of the downstairs space and all of the upstairs space.

Upstairs will house the GEI offices while the downstairs is set aside for a soils and materials lab. A wall has already been erected downstairs, splitting the space. No word yet on who may move into the other half.

GEI works with the mines, government agencies and businesses. They employ 15 people here. The employees should be moving in to their new digs on about July 10th.
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The Marquette Farmers Market has been kind to the St. Charles Winery.

Marquette's only winery moved into the Farmers Market for the first time this season, and sales are already up 30%.

In fact, owner Randy St. Charles says he and his wife Lisa are struggling to keep up with the sudden surge in demand. Production has more than doubled since they took over the winery nine months ago.

They offer between 20 and 30 wines--like watermelon and mandarin orange as well as the more traditional chardonnay and pinot noir--at prices ranging from $13 to $25 a bottle.

Of course, the grapes don't come from the UP. They arrive in concentrate form from Central California and then they're processed, with Lake Superior water and flavoring, by St. Charles at his shop on Washington Street.

It's in a second floor office, next to an insurance agency, across the street from McDonalds. Not exactly the lush, rolling hills of Napa Valley.

But they have a wine-tasting room on site where they welcome individual wine enthusiasts and host small events and parties.

It's a start. And it's classic UP, devoid of pretension and driven by energy and enthusiasm.

You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com

So now Duke LifePoint is down to the nitty-gritty of wheeling and dealing with the city, the township and the property owners over the future location of Marquette General Hospital.

It's been down to three possible locations for at least a month--the Heritage Golf Course site, the so-called Roundhouse property, and the township property just off of Wright Street--and negotiations with the various property owners, public and private, are well underway.

When it finally announces the site winner, Duke LifePoint wants the property deals all signed and sealed, with no last minute snags.

Those "in the know" will tell you Duke LifePoint would prefer, all things being equal, that MGH stay in the city. The township disagrees and says their site is shovel-ready.

The Roundhouse site may not be shovel-ready, according to some sources. In fact, there's word that Duke LifePoint may want further remediation on the property--like another thick layer of soil--before it erects a $300 million hospital on the site.

Not only that, but Duke LifePoint may want further financial considerations in the deal.

The golf course site? The Marquette Golf Club has a nagging $4 million dollar debt. It would like to get out from under that burden, but even if Duke LifePoint agreed to that, would golf club members vote to split their golf facility in half? Greywalls 18 holes would be on one side of a huge, congested hospital complex, and a truncated Heritage course would be on the other.

Not terribly appealing, but then again, neither is a $4 million debt.

So that brings you back to the township property which seems like the simplest deal, even though some have voiced concern about the township's ability to provide infrastructure and services. Bull, say township officials.

Actually, both the city and township officials are staying remarkably tight-lipped on the whole process. They either don't know or they're not talking.

And Ed Banos, the Chief Executive Officer for MGH, meantime is badmouthing all three sites. None of them is ideal, he says, they're all lacking.

Kinda like three homely girls (or guys), but you gotta take one of them. There's probably some truth to it. There's probably also the wee hint of a negotiating ploy in there somewhere.
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The ill-conceived recall petition against three City Commissioners appears to be dead in the water.

The Board of Election Commissioners said the petition contained factual errors and couldn't proceed unless it was revised.

Problem is, Michael Neiger, who initiated the campaign, is now on his way to the Arctic Circle in northern Canada and won't be back for a couple of weeks. So he won't be doing any rewriting or resubmitting anytime soon.

Actually he's a fascinating guy. A 25 year veteran of the State Police who retired as a Detective Sergeant. Worked in a crime lab. Graduated NMU with a degree in criminal justice, got a PhD in political science from Wayne State. He's paddled all the way from here to the Arctic Ocean.

He does work for Michigan Backcountry Search and Rescue, and in fact, his expedition into the Arctic Circle over the next couple of weeks will be in search of two people who were murdered there over a half century ago.

Yeah, kind of an interesting guy.

His recall campaign was motivated by his desire to keep private development off the city's coastline. It now appears that the city commissioners fully intend to make the controversial boathouse publicly owned and operated. That, he concedes, eases his concerns. He'll have the next couple of weeks in the wilderness to think about it.
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A culinary school in the UP?

Yep. Not in Marquette but rather on the far east side of the UP in Hessel. The program director for the brand new Les Cheneaux Culinary School is NMU graduate Zach Schroeder.

The school, which starts up in September, will emphasize local farm-to-table products.

Local investors are now having the Hessel Bay Inn reconstructed to house the school which expects to enroll 12-14 students for the one year course. The Inn will also serve as a working restaurant where the students will get real-life experience.

Schroeder is now contacting restaurants throughout the UP as well as Lower Michigan to make certain his students get jobs when they graduate.

And Schroeder himself? He's only 27 but he's acquired experience at Upfront and Company in Marquette, at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island and the Drummond Island Resort and Conference Center, as well as downstate.

Now he's ready for a new challenge. Seems like he and the folks in Hessel are tapping into something--local food--that's getting bigger every day. The evidence is clear. Local farms here are expanding and increasing, the Food Coop just recently doubled in size, and The Marq, a farm-to-table restaurant on Baraga Avenue, will be opening later this summer.
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Coco's, which recently completed its outside deck, is becoming an appealing place to go on those sultry summer afternoons and evenings.

They're now featuring live music Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and sometimes Sundays.

A great place for beachgoers, bicyclists and walkers to stop in for a drink or two and a bite to eat.

Coco's had been hoping to capitalize on its location across from the beach by setting up a sand volleyball court but was told by the city, no deal unless they constructed an eight foot fence around the court.

Huh? The court would be located a good distance away from the road but rules are rules. Coco's, after its recent renovation, doesn't have the money for the fence, at least for now so...no volleyball court.

Too bad. So it goes.
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Remember Hakem Dermish?

He was a young sportscaster for TV6 about 8-9 years ago. Well, if you're an avid ESPN watcher during the late or weekend hours, you've probably seen Hakem. He's made the bigtime. He'll likely to become more prominent on ESPN or other sports channels in the years ahead.

He's got a natural, fluid, likable style, something he showed here almost from day one. Some folks have it, most of us don't.

Other TV6 alums who are moving ahead in their careers:

Pooja Lodhia is in Houston.
Samantha Liebman and Noel McLaren are at cable channels in New York.
Jerry Hume is in Orlando.
Kathy Kuretich is in Santa Luis Obispo, California.
Charlie Marlow is in St. Louis.
Phil DeCastro, Heather Sawaski, Gabrielle Mayes and Andrew Lacombe are in Green Bay.
Yona Gavino is in Milwaukee.
Natalie Jovonovich is in Dayton.
Emily Pace and Chris Abbotts (Website director) are married and in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Emily Lampa is in Salisbury, Maryland.
Eric Kane and Gabriella DeLuca are in Norfolk.
Nikki Junewicz is in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Nikki Davidson is in Des Moines.
Aaron Martin is in Roanoke.
David Fath (Fox UP) is in Charlotte.
Wesley Williams is in Monroe, Louisiana.
Brad Soroka (Fox UP) and Meagan Quigley (who are engaged) both recently left Jackson, Mississippi.

The list goes on and on. And it doesn't include some of the very best and smartest alumni who decided to leave the business in the last few years. It's a tough and demanding job, and not very conducive to building a strong marriage and happy family.
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No one's gone to court yet in the dispute between the Mining Journal and Marquette Social Scene, the young digital upstart.

Last week Mining Journal publisher Jim Reevs threatened to take legal action against Brice Burge, the editor of Marquette Social Scene, after Burge posted a way to work around the Mining Journal's new website paywall.

Burge didn't back down but he's had no subsequent contact with Reevs or any attorneys.

Oh, actually, he has heard from the Mining Journal. From a reporter. He's been asked questions about his candidacy for the City Commission. It's good to know the legal dispute isn't preventing the news department from doing their job.

IF YOU'RE ROOTING for the city of Marquette to get the new Marquette General Hospital, you can't like this: a Duke LifePoint helicopter was observed last week conducting an aerial survey of the Township's proposed site for the new hospital.

And then consider this: Duke LifePoint CEO Ed Banos recently provided an update on the hospital relocation to the Marquette County Board and the Marquette Township Board.....but not to the Marquette City Commission.

What the hell.

It couldn't have been a simple oversight, could it? Was Banos sending a message? Is he peeved at the city? Is it a bargaining ploy? Or is the selection process all but over?

We're closing in on mid-July. A decision, already overdue, should be coming soon. Three sites--the Township site behind the Westwood Mall, and the City's two sites at the golf course and on the Roundhouse property--are all still technically in the running.
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THE CITY IS struggling with another huge, financial problem.

Its two biggest taxpayers--the Presque Isle Power Plant and Marquette General Hospital--are challenging their tax bills before the Michigan Tax Tribunal.

That's their right, of course, but this type of challenge, with the amount of money at stake, may be unprecedented in Marquette's history.

What it does is handcuff the city. It can't spend the money in question which might please some residents who prefer lower taxes and a smaller government, but it will seriously jeopardize city services. The Tax Tribunal cases can take up to two years to be resolved.

Interpretation of tax law and the overall tax climate are changing, for better or worse.
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NOTHING LIKE AN ice-cold brew after a long, exhausting day on the slopes of Marquette Mountain. Or how about a hot toddy?

Well, you might want to think twice about that.

Marquette Mountain has lost its liquor license. The license belonged to Vern Barber, the former general manager who departed for Mount Bohemia a couple of months ago. A transfer couldn't be worked out.

So that means for now, banquets, weddings and any other events will have to bring in their own liquor to Marquette Mountain. Not an impossible situation but it certainly makes the venue less attractive for adults.

As for this skiing season, well, we'll see. Management is working on it. Liquor licenses can be expensive and difficult to find.
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ANYBODY WANNA RUN for the Marquette School Board?

As of Tuesday, nobody had filed yet for what will be four open seats.

No reason for alarm, though, because several potential candidates had taken out applications, and the deadline for filing is July 22nd, and you need only a handful of signatures to file.

Still, given the stalemated and contentious teacher contract talks, you'd have thought there'd be more public interest in the races.

Stu Skauge, the teachers' union negotiator, says he's not getting involved in the elections although he'd welcome candidates who'd be pro-teacher and willing to challenge the four incumbents, including chairman Rich Rossway, whose terms end this year. It's uncertain how many of the incumbents are running for re-election.

Superintendent Bill Saunders says he's convinced that whoever wins the elections will soon see that the district's finances are in dire straits and unable to accommodate the financial demands of the teachers.

Bargaining talks between the teachers and the district continue almost weekly with little or no progress. Skauge wants the entire board to be involved in the talks; the board says no, its team of three negotiators is sufficient.

The teachers have been working without a contract for more than a year.

What kind of leverage do the teachers have? Almost none. A strike? They'd lose pay for every day they were out and they'd never get it back, and the district would lose state money. Lose-lose.

Sympathetic yard signs--and there are hundreds around town--are good for morale, but not much else.
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JACKSON'S PIT, THE new bar and grill in Negaunee, had some good news and bad news last weekend.

The good news was that it was jam-packed.

The bad news was that it was jam-packed.

It opened unannounced and unpublicized late Friday, on the 4th, and things went fine. But then on Saturday, following stories on Fox UP, TV 6 and the WLUC website about the new restaurant, it was overwhelmed with customers.

Waits extended up to two hours because the kitchen and wait staff, which hadn't had time to practice, couldn't keep up. No surprise, there were plenty of complaints.

Now the best news. Customer flow has moderated, the staff is up to speed, and Negaunee has a new and attractive alternative for lunch and dinner downtown.

Moral of the story: TV newscasts and TV websites can certainly pack a powerful punch.

You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com

CLIFFS NATURAL RESOURCES is preparing for a potentially nasty and climactic shareholders meeting and vote on July 29th.

Casablanca Capital, the activist hedge fund which owns about 5% of Cliffs, is essentially attempting a coup of the company. It's putting up its own, hostile slate of candidates for the Cliffs board of directors.

If it wins the board vote, Casablanca would likely fire the CEO, radically change the company strategy and divest some of Cliffs international operations.

Cliffs, for its part, calls the Casablanca candidates inexperienced. It's attempted to appease Casablanca by offering the hedge fund a few slots on the board of directors, but Casablanca has rejected the compromise. It wants control of the company. It blames current Cliffs management for failed strategies, excessive salaries and plummeting stock prices.

How much of a plummet? How about a share price of $99.86 on July 22, 2011...and a share price of, oh, about $15 or so today. Quick math tells you that's an 85% slide in three years.

Worse news: there's nothing to indicate that iron ore prices worldwide are going up anytime soon. If anything, they may continue to decline.

Worse, worse news: a law firm has just filed a class action suit against Cliffs for allegedly misrepresenting itself to investors and misleading them about the company's financial condition.
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IF JASON SCHNEIDER, the former City Commissioner and current County Commission candidate, had intended to botch his exit from his job at Accelerate UP and to sully his otherwise sterling reputation, he succeeded in admirable fashion.

For the last fifteen months, Schneider, with funding from the Lundin Foundation (yeah, the mining company), has been helping young businesses get on their feet with the aid of other established businesses in the community. By all accounts, he's done a wonderful job, and he, himself, has nothing but praise for Lundin and its role in supporting him.

Problem is, the Accelerate UP board of directors told him back in May it didn't like the idea of him running for county commission because it didn't like to mix politics with business. You can disagree with that logic--and many of us do--but the fact is, he was told back then that if and when he won the commission seat, he'd have to resign from Accelerate UP.

If he'd been so upset about the ultimatum, he should have resigned right then and there. That would have been the principled thing to do.

But Schneider chose not to resign then. Instead, he decided to wait for a couple of months before suddenly announcing his resignation last week. He informed his board of his decision by email...and then one hour later, notified the media. Soon thereafter, he then told all his friends on Facebook about his decision.

At worst, it sounds like a publicity stunt designed to gain sympathy and votes a few weeks before the election. At best, it was an unfortunate, ill-timed move by a novice politician.

Oh well. But what's more baffling is why he didn't continue working his job helping entrepreneurs until the election came around. If he were to lose the election (he's up against incumbent Bruce Heikkila), Lundin had told him he would keep the job and continue his good work.

You also have to ask yourself: Which is more valuable? A fulltime job helping struggling, young businesses? Or a parttime job as a county commissioner?

Yeah, we'll hear all about "principles" and the big, bad mining company and the backroom conspiracies, etc but the fact is, a good man doing a good job took a messy way out when he didn't have to. And Marquette County is the worse for it.
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NUMBERS CAN LIE, and frequently do.

But here are some numbers that might force the local television industry to sit up and take notice:

TV6 in May reported 2.5 million page views on its website (impressive, a tenfold increase over just ten years ago).

But ABC 10 in June reported...(drum roll, please)...2.7 million page views.

What???

Okay, time for caveats. First, it is two different months but that shouldn't have made that much of a difference. And second, it's two different companies calculating the monthly analytics reports so maybe it's not quite apples to apples.

But still.

TV6 has long been the overwhelmingly dominant station here--its newscast numbers dwarf those of ABC 10 and TV 3 (the newcomer to the game). But online, ABC 10 apparently has been making huge strides. It does have a remarkably active social media presence.

It still seems hard to believe, because the TV6 website remains robust and ever-alert to breaking news and it's got many more reporter-contributors than ABC 10 does.

Let's see what shakes out in the months ahead. Maybe these latest numbers are just an anomaly. And yes, sometimes numbers do lie.

You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com

THE DECISION IS is getting close.

Duke LifePoint has been dealing directly with the city of Marquette and Marquette Township for the last couple of weeks regarding the three possible sites for the new hospital.

The township says they've now supplied Duke LifePoint with everything they need on the site behind the Westwood Mall, and everything's in order. The township is just waiting.

The city is still negotiating on its two sites--the Roundhouse property and the golf course--but it's also filed the requested papers.

How much actual back-and-forth bargaining is going on? It's uncertain. Who knows? Maybe it's just starting, even though the original deadline for a decision was about a month ago.

What is certain is that Duke LifePoint is holding most of the cards in this high stakes game. Both the township and the city dearly want the hospital and are willing to accommodate the hospital's demands....up to a point. As one city official put it recently, "How much are we willing to give them to keep them in the city? If we have to spend too much--money we don't have--is it worth it?"

If they had their druthers, most Marquette officials and merchants would love Duke LifePoint to choose the Roundhouse site because it would amount to immediate urban renewal. The neighborhood would be transformed, money would pour in. But the golf course property would be just fine too.

And the township? They're just saying, with full-throated enthusiasm, "Come on down!" They've got their hands on their shovels and their eyes on the prize.
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A COMPROMISE COULD be near on the truck route controversy that has had the city and township exchanging hostile words and glances.

Here's what the compromise would look like: Marquette would pass a truck ordinance that would send all westbound, eastbound and southbound trucks along Wright Street to US 41, but the ordinance wouldn't take effect for a couple of years.

In the meantime, all parties involved--the Road Commission, the city and the township--would work on getting a bypass built that would send truck traffic around the edges of the city and the township.

And once funding and permitting are secured for the bypass, the city would then designate McClellan (over likely vehement protests from residents) as the north-south route through the city.

Bottom line: for now, the big trucks could continue, as they do now, to use all roads in the city for the next couple of years.

With two major exceptions. (This is known in the news business as "burying the lead.") In this proposed compromise, truckers would no longer be able to drive on Lakeshore and Third Street except for local deliveries. That would be a major change that would take effect immediately (and would be cheered by local residents and merchants.)

The township's not exactly embracing the proposal because it still feels, with some justification, that the city is trying to dump its big, lumbering, noisy, polluting truck traffic into the township. But the two municipalities seem to be getting closer.

The long term solution to the problem--the bypass--is, at best, three years away from construction.
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ANOTHER HIAWATHA MUSIC festival is in the books.

Great weather, great crowds, great fun, great music.

Well, about the music. For aficionados, it was wonderful and artistic and eclectic. But did you take a look around during the daylight hours at the seats in front of the main stage?

Most were empty. Performers were playing to a sea of empty seats. Some of the performers even mentioned it. It's got to be dismaying to them. Hiawatha attracts more than 3000 festival-goers, but for some daytime acts, only about 100 people, sometimes fewer, seemed to be actively listening. That's three percent.

The other 97% were elsewhere, at campsites, workshops, at the beach, on the streets, at the food booths. Anywhere but at the main stage where the supposed attractions of this traditional music festival were performing.

Maybe it's just time for us to acknowledge that Hiawatha is more about communalism--the joy of being together with friends and family--than it is about traditional music.

Which is fine. You just feel kinda sad for the performers who were up on stage playing their music for a mute and static crowd of empty chairs and blankets.

Maybe "traditional" music is something that we all respect...but we don't necessarily love.

Maybe we should look into Justin Bieber's availability next July.
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NEXT TUESDAY'S CLIFFS Natural Resources shareholder meeting and election has directors, officials, employees and shareholders sipping their coffee nervously.

Casablanca Capital is attempting a takeover that could affect jobs, salaries, bonuses and share prices, as well as the future direction of the mining company. The impact could be felt here at both the Tilden and Empire mines.

One positive sign in all this, amid the corporate conflict, the declining steel prices and the seemingly imminent closure of the Empire mine (yeah, we've heard that before), is that ArcelorMittal, one of Cliffs' partners, is spending big money to partially reline a huge blast furnace in Indiana.

That's where iron ore pellets from Empire and Tilden are melted into pig iron.

Does that mean ArcelorMittal is anticipating extending the Empire contract beyond 2016? Not necessarily, says one Cliffs official.

But hey, we'll take any good news we can get our hands on.
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ALL'S WELL THAT ends well.

Remember the nasty little spat between the Marquette Farmers Market and Farmer Q's last year and early this year? It ended with Farmer Q's and their downstate produce noisily pulling out of the Farmers Market, telling their friends and customers they were moving downstate, then suddenly reversing course and moving into a new shop in south Marquette.

Some of us were concerned the Farmers Market might suffer because Farmer Q's had offered a wide variety of fruits that simply weren't grown in the UP.

Good news. The Farmers Market crowds have not diminished since last year. They still average about 700 customers every Saturday, the same as 2013, according to the DDA. No serious growth either, but every year, the UP farmers are growing more local produce, and the crowds will likely increase.

And Farmer Q's? Business is great, according to owner Susan Brian. Revenue's up 50% over its old location on Washington Street. More walk-in traffic, more visibility and more parking at its location on US 41.

So everybody wins here--the Farmers Marquette, Farmer Q's, and the customers.
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YOU MAY NOTICE some vaguely familiar young faces on the streets and beaches and in the bars and restaurants of Marquette the weekend after next.

Nearly a dozen alumni from TV6 and Fox UP are returning to the UP for a reunion.

Among them: Phil DeCastro, Aaron Martin, Nikki Junewicz, Natalie Jovonovich, Mike Bedard, Nikki Davidson, Noel McLaren, Beth Jones, Eric Kane, and Andrew Lacombe.

What's ironic is that many of them, if not most, probably dreaded coming up to the remote, primitive, frozen tundra of the UP when they first got their broadcasting jobs here...Yet, now, a few years later, having thoroughly enjoyed their stay here and the relationships they built, they're returning.

Welcome back.

Last call is at 2 am.

You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com

NO COMMENT.

That's the official word coming out of Cliffs Natural Resources following the apparent...and shocking...takeover of the Cliffs board by Casablanca Capital, the activist hedge fund, on Tuesday.

Final results of the voting won't be tabulated for a couple more days but Casablanca is declaring victory, and the current Cliffs leadership is remaining silent.

What does it all mean for Cliffs? Probably the ousting of the CEO and president Gary Halverson, along with the seating of six new board members, a new direction for the ailing company, a divesting of some of its operations, and maybe a rise in its stock price. It jumped more than two dollars a share after the voting results were first made public on Tuesday.

How about the Tilden and Empire mines? Hard to say if there'll be an impact here. What we do know is that Casablanca likes the Minnesota and Michigan mines and thinks they're profitable, unlike some of Cliffs' other operations. That's good news for Marquette County and Cliffs' 1500 or so employees here.

Any loss of jobs? Can't tell yet. You can be certain, though, that Casablanca is out to make money for its shareholders. Period.

If that means hard-working people lose their jobs, so be it. That's the way the system works, especially when a company's stock price has plummeted 85% in three years.

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UPDATE ON THE relocation of Marquette General Hospital (aka "The $300 Million Guessing Game!"): The Marquette Golf Club has informed Duke LifePoint that the hospital needs to make a serious offer for the golf course.

To date, that has not happened.

The club is burdened with a stubborn four million dollar debt but it's not about to give away half of its treasured Heritage course for a song and a dance and a shiny set of golf clubs.

Next meeting for the club to discuss the issues is August 7th.

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BOBBY GLENN BROWN, who was recently booted from his leadership role at St. Michaels Catholic Church after marrying his longtime partner, is searching for a new religious home.

In the past few weeks, he's attended services at Lutheran and Episcopalian churches as well as another local Catholic church.

He says he still considers himself a "member" of St. Michaels but he's had no correspondence with the priest or bishop.

He's pinning his hopes on a change.org petition with more than 1000 signatures that's asking the Pope to review his case. Seems like a longshot.

At some point, you gotta believe Brown will settle in at a church that truly embraces gay marriage. He'll have a new, welcoming spiritual home, and the Catholic church will continue its struggles to adapt to the changing realities of the 21st century.
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SOME OF US may not understand it but you've got to admire the courage of Bob and Peggy Lorinser.

They're headed to Afghanistan. It's supposed to be lovely in the fall.

Actually these foreign service employees had volunteered to go to Iraq--another delightful vacation spot--but that was overruled as being too dangerous given the recent military gains by ISIS, the Islamic group that's considered slightly more radical than Al Qaeda.

So the Lorinsers, after serving tours of duty in Pakistan and South Korea, are off to Washington DC where they'll get three weeks of training on the Afghan culture...and then it's straight to Kabul.

Bob, a doctor, will serve as regional medical director and travel throughout Afghanistan; Peggy will perform her work at the American embassy in Kabul.

And to think, just a few short years ago, this couple, after having raised their children, was enjoying a normal, comfortable life in Marquette. And then this. A midlife crisis? A second chapter? A thirst for adventure? A hunger for meaning?

Whatever it was, it was imbued with a strong sense of patriotism for which we should all be thankful.
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YA GOTTA LOVE Dan Perkins.

He's the westside businessman who's dreaming about transforming Ishpeming, and is actually pursuing his dreams.

His pet project for the last year or so has been establishing the Partridge Creek Farm, a 20 acre tract at the intersection of Malton Road and Heritage Trail in Ishpeming.

Right now the land is suitable for growing weeds and not much else but Perkins, in conjunction with the Ishpeming City Council and some far-seeing volunteers, continues to push for permitting and financing of the tract as a non-profit community farm with a ten month growing season (in greenhouses) and an aquaponics operation.

Aquaponics? That's raising and harvesting fish who, at the same time, provide natural fertilizer for your crops. Brilliant. Synergistic. Symbiotic. It's working at farms in Milwaukee. Perkins is convinced it can happen here.

Call him Don Quixote tilting at windmills. He doesn't care. Scoff at all the delays and obstacles. So what. He sees Ishpeming in need of jobs and fresh produce (He calls the UP a "food desert") and he's convinced he may have a solution. He continues to push forward.

He's hoping, with a substantial grant, Cliffs and Lundin might give Partridge Creek Farm the boost it needs to start tilling the soil and building the greenhouses. Composting the soil should take place next year, crop production should start in 2016.

Let's wish them luck.
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MORE NEWS FROM the westside.

The long delayed microbrewery, Cognition Brewing Company, is finally making substantial progress toward completion.

Anticipated opening? November.

It'll be located in the tap room of the historic Mather Inn so much of the structure and furnishing is already in place. It will have the feel of an old English pub, with eight to ten brews on tap. What's not to like?

And the name Cognition? Seems a bit strange for a brewing company. Well, the owner, Jay Clancey, and the brew master, Brian Richards, want you to "think" about what you're drinking, and truly appreciate the flavors, rather than simply drinking to get a buzz.

Whatever. Craft beer at a renovated historic pub sounds like a great idea, regardless of the name.
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THE MARQUETTE COUNTRY Convention and Visitors Bureau isn't having much luck so far in finding a successor for director Pat Black who's leaving her post at the end of the year.

More than 20 people have applied for the post...but none of them has had tourism experience. That would seem to be a major deficiency in a region whose economic fortunes are increasingly tied to tourism.

Case in point: after a frigid winter that really didn't seem to end until May, Marquette is now poised for what may be the biggest summer season in its history. Yeah, a lot of out-of-towners actually enjoy blustery, 68 degree days where the sun plays peek-a-boo with the clouds.

And Ms. Black? She's heading down to Arizona for a long, sunny vacation early next year. Her successor--whoever he or she turns out to be--will have some big flip-flops to fill.

You got news? Email me at briancabell.com

If you'd like to receive Word on the Street whenever it's posted, just go to Facebook...to Word on the Street by Brian Cabell...and "like" it. This was just set up in the last few days.

STEVE ASPLUND AND Greg Trick will soon have a female co-anchor sitting across from them at the TV6 anchor desk.

Her name is Sophie Erber, fresh out of a Masters program at the University of South Florida. She'd previously graduated from University of Tampa in the honors program.

A co-anchor? We haven't seen that since the days of Elizabeth Peterson and Jackie Chandonnet.

It's a further indication that TV6's new owner, the Sinclair Broadcast Group, has money to spend and intends to head off the challenges of Local 3, WJMN's new newscast team, and ABC 10.

Dual anchors at TV6 were ditched several years back by the previous owner, Barrington Broadcasting, in a cost-cutting move. Times have changed, ownership has changed.

Erber is scheduled to arrive in the UP in a couple of weeks. You'll see her on the air as a reporter initially as she familiarizes herself with the area...and then she'll sit down in the 6 pm co-anchor chair. Eventually, plans call for her to appear on the 6 pm, 7 pm and 11 pm newscasts.

One more report, that Asplund won't comment on but everybody else at TV6 will, tells us that morale at the station, especially in the news department, has soared since the former ND Regena Robinson abruptly left late last year, and Asplund took over.

One staffer referred to Robinson's tenure as "two and a half years of hell."
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A FEW YEARS ago, Forsyth Township and Randy Buchler, a local farmer, were battling each other in a courtroom. Today, they're working together to come up with new and fair zoning ordinances on backyard farms.

Take note, Washington DC. This is a story about how government is supposed to function.

Quick background: Buchler and his wife have been raising laying hens and sheep (for wool), along with vegetables, for the last decade at their Shady Grove Farm in Gwinn. However, a few years ago, the Township Planning Board determined that the Buchlers were in violation of the township's zoning ordinance.

The township took them to court but, surprise, the Buchlers actually won. The judge ruled that Michigan's right-to-farm act trumped the county ordinance. The ruling garnered national attention.

So, was there bad blood between the victors and the losers?

Nope. The planning board is now drawing up new ordinances that will fit in with the township's master plan and it wants Buchler, with his experience and knowledge, to help them. The board also acknowledges that its residents have made it clear they want to loosen the rules when it comes to raising livestock on their property.

How about that? A government that listens to its constituents, doesn't hold grudges, and simply wants to govern.
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HOW MANY FITNESS gyms does Marquette need?

Well, we just got another one. Anytime Fitness, without any fanfare, opened its doors on Washington Street across from Shopko August 1st, and the manager claims they've already signed up 100 members. Mostly by word-of-mouth.

Radio ads are just starting. The official grand opening won't take place until the end of the month.

It's not just some modest little hole in the wall, either. It's a brand new two story facility. Anytime Fitness now boasts 2600 gyms worldwide. It's one of the fastest growing chains in America.

The new gym comes on the heels of Snap Fitness, on US 41, closing down. Not enough clients?

So again, do we need another gym? There are now about a dozen in and around town, some specializing in personalized training, others offering a wide array of activities, still others keeping their doors open 24 hours a day.

We've become a fitness-obsessed society although you'd never know that by looking at our ever expanding waistlines.
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YA GOTTA LOVE this.

Have you seen all the attractive landscaping outside the new Marquette Food Co-op?

It's all being irrigated by rainwater captured on the roof of the store. Simple but brilliant and far-seeing. That's what sustainability is all about.

Oh, one other thing. The toilets at the Co-op are also using water from the roof. Flushing is provided by rain.

It's amazing what you can learn by reading informational signs on the back of the commodes.

You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com

You can now get Word on the Street as soon as it's posted by going to "Word on the Street" on Facebook and "liking" it.

IT'S NOT A sure thing yet, but it's getting there.

The long awaited Nestledown Bed and Breakfast on Lakeshore Boulevard, across from Picnic Rocks, may be just a few weeks away from groundbreaking.

Ken and Sue Schauland bought the property two and a half years ago and tore down the existing building with the expectation that they'd soon be building a unique B and B on prime property right across the street from the beach.

Not so fast. Zoning, financing, and environmental concerns cropped up. In fact, in the eyes of some, the project seemed dead.

The Schaulands (who Sue describes as "regular people with a dream") persisted. Now, they have one final financing obstacle to overcome, and with any luck, they'll put shovels to the ground by the end of summer. Their hope is to be open for business next summer.

The Schaulands both have Scandinavian blood and Nestledown will feature a distinctly Scandinavian theme, complete with a sauna. It'll consist of six guest rooms in the main building, and one room, for longer term guests, over the garage.

Question: Why doesn't the city of Marquette currently have any B and B's? There are a few in the area--in Sands, on M-28 toward Munising and in Big Bay--but none in the city proper. Strange. It seems like an ideal location--scenic and outdoorsy but with plenty of shops, restaurants and bars. Nestledown may be carving out a niche all to itself.

In any case, Lakeshore Boulevard is coming alive. Looks like Lakeshore Cottages, a group of seven condos, will be going in up the block from Nestledown...then a mile away, they'll soon be breaking ground on the Clark Lambros Beach Park...single family homes continue to be built at the corner of Fair and Lakeshore...and Cocos recently underwent a renovation.

Traverse City, here we come.

Just kidding.

Maybe.
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THE UPFRONT BUILDING downtown remains for sale, but it is drawing interest.

Six potential buyers, two of them corporate, have taken a look at the property so far. No offers yet.

The asking price remains $3.9 million. Realtor Dan Keller says the current owner Rhyss Mussman has at least twice that much invested in the property.

Upfront has plenty going for it--great space, attractive venue, solid infrastructure.

Now all it needs is an investor with money, vision, and a willingness to bet on Marquette.
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THE GUESSING GAME continues on the hospital relocation front.

Rumors are running rampant--"The Roundhouse property is definitely out!""No, it's the odds-on favorite!""The golf course is rapidly losing favor!""The township site is all but a sure thing!"

Bottom line, no one but a select few at Duke LifePoint know how the process is going.

What we do know is this: the Township has submitted all its documentation regarding the 42 acre site behind the Westwood Mall, and Duke Lifepoint, in response, has said virtually nothing to Township officials for the last three and a half weeks. Good news? Bad news? Who knows?

The city, which apparently still has the golf course and Roundhouse sites under consideration, has had "dialogue" with Duke LifePoint recently, but nothing that could be characterized as "negotiations." Just questions.

Questions. That pretty well characterizes this entire story. The final answer, if we're to believe Duke LifePoint, should come by the end of the month.
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QUITE A SCENE at the Ore Dock last weekend.

The increasingly popular string group known as Eccletico tried to finish their set and make room for the headline band, but the boisterous crowd wouldn't let them go. Eccletico, worried about overstaying their welcome, did play one encore but the crowd would have been much happier with five or six.

They're a group of up to 15 members (it varies) who all play string instruments, along with a drummer.

They play hit songs--rock, pop, country, jazz, folk, alternative--but they class it up with their strings. The music is infectious and exciting. Just imagine a line of violinists stomping their feet to the music and you get the idea.

Don't be surprised if these violinists and cellists start attracting groupies.

Eccletico's next gig is at Harbor Fest, Saturday, August 23rd, from 3:30 pm to 5 pm.
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AN INTERESTING AND eclectic little shop has opened up next to Frosty Treats on Third Street.

It's Superior Vitality, which features in its cute but compact space, a raw juice and smoothie bar, organic soaps and lotions, herbs, hemp products, massage and Reiki therapy, clothes, cards...and breast prostheses and bras.

It's the brainchild of Penny Aldrich, herself a breast cancer survivor. The idea is to provide convenient and comfortable service to other breast cancer survivors, and to invite all of us to enjoy a healthier lifestyle.

If you're interested in the First Chakra juice at Superior Vitality, your beverage would include red beets, carrots, ginger, fennel and lemon. The Fourth Chakra juice would consist of honeydew melon, pear, apple, cucumber, kale, celery, parsley, and lime.

Gotta be healthy, right?

Certainly a teensie bit healthier than the sweet, succulent and oh-so-popular soft serve ice cream and yogurt next door at Frosty Treats.

You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com

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LOOKS LIKE WE can cross one of Duke LifePoint's options off the list.

The Marquette Golf Club Board Wednesday morning voted to cut off all negotiations with DLP regarding a possible location for the new Marquette General Hospital.

Duke LifePoint, at last word, had been considering half of the Heritage course as one of its three options for relocation. But communication between the golf club and DLP over the last few weeks had gone silent and DLP's last offer to the club had been woefully inadequate.

Not only that, but the ongoing negotiations and gossip had upset the club membership and some of the surrounding neighbors. So, the board said, Enough.

Which apparently leaves DLP with two sites left on its list: 1) the 42 acres behind the Westwood Mall in Marquette Township, and 2) the Roundhouse property on the western fringe of downtown Marquette.

Maybe there's some unpublicized, darkhorse candidate out there. Who knows? We should have an answer by the end of this month.
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REMEMBER THAT GREAT property trade that Marquette made with the US Coast Guard several years back?

You know, the one in which the city got almost nine acres of coastal property for a public park, and the Coast Guard, in return, received one and a half acres on which to build their fancy new station.

Worked out great. The Coast Guard immediately built their $5 million, 6000 square foot facility in 2009 and opened it up to rave reviews, and the city...well...uh...the city...well, it seems that the city, you know...

The city still doesn't have squat.

Five years later, the city still doesn't have ownership of the property. It's fenced off. "No trespassing" signs abound.

Why the delays? Last year's government shutdown is one supposed reason. Whatever. That reason's getting old.

The government has determined that before the city takes ownership, the lighthouse and the other buildings on the property need to be repainted to encapsulate the old lead-based paint. Okay. That should take...what?...two or three weeks?

The real reason for the delay apparently is government bureaucracy. Despite pressure from our elected representatives, the Coast Guard clearly has not made this a priority. We all love the Coast Guard and appreciate what it means to Marquette, but clearly five years should be more than enough time to complete a deal. A deal was made and a promise was made but neither so far has been honored.
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HOW WOULD YOU like to work 70 hours a week and not earn a paycheck?

Welcome to the world of Andrew Sear, the owner and chef at Paladino's Café at the Peter White Public Library.

He, along with a tiny staff, has been at it for three months now turning out what most consider to be remarkably tasty and inventive food. Eclectic. Fusion. Local produce, local meat. Farm-to-table.

Problem is, it's a tiny café with a limited clientele and limited revenue even as its catering business grows. Thus, so far no paycheck for Sear. He's paying the bills, that's all.

So what's the plan?

He's looking to grow--start another Paladino's, a larger café-deli, preferably in Marquette but he's not ruling anything out. He's looking for investors, people with money who believe in his food and his vision. That hardly makes him unique, but you can't fault him for trying and dreaming and working 70 hours a week.

This week's special, by the way, is the Hot Mess which includes roasted pork, pickled red onions, kimchee, Michigan brie and bread. Yeah, that would be fusion. And eclectic.
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NOT TO PLAY middle man in all this, but a venue Sear and his angel investors might be considering is the building on Third Street currently housing Sweet Basil and MacDonald's Music Store.

If you passed by in the last week, you couldn't help but notice the For Sale sign on the building. The sign is roughly the size of a minivan.

Great location. It also includes four apartments. Two showings so far. $349,000.

As for Sweet Basil, business owner Shelly Morley says she'll either stay in the current location, or move it elsewhere in town if the new building owner asks her to move. But Sweet Basil, which has built a substantial catering business over the years, is not going away.
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ON THE OTHER hand, the Huron Earth Deli on South Third Street is going away.

The little café and deli tucked away into a mostly residential neighborhood is shutting down a week from this Friday. A shame. Good, wholesome high quality food here.

What this tells you is that even if you work hard and offer a great product, the profit margin in the restaurant business is tiny, sometimes non-existent. For every Vango's, there are a dozen good restaurants that go under within a couple of years.

The Huron Earth Deli building is up for sale at $325,000, but there appears to be a very interested owner from out-of-state. Another restaurant? We'll have to wait and see.
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THE BAYOU IN Harvey is now brewing its own suds under the brand name Chocolay River Brewery.

After a series of delays, the beer is now flowing under the direction of brewmaster Grant Lyke.

Here's what they have to offer so far:
   Bayou Blonde Ale
   Blueberry Wheat
   Gitchigoomie Black Ale
   Shot Point Wheat
   Rock Cut American Pale Ale

Needless to say, a distinctly local flavor.

You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com

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SmartZone Fast-Track, Hospital Silence, L'Attitude Makeover, and Margaritaville at Coco's

Consternation at Marquette Mountain and the CVB, Anticipation at WJMN, and Renovation at the Casa

North Wind Scoops, Baldini Files, Sisters Invest, and Golfers Don Snowshoes

Forsberg Future, Boathouse Battle, Lovelace Criticism and Upfront For Sale

Caggiano's Past, YMCA's Future, Co-op's Move, and Farmers Market Opening

Forest Service Investigation, Sol Azteca Liquor, and a Gem in Ishpeming

Progress for the Teachers, Brush-off for the Rowers, and Beer for Carhartt

Taco Trucks, Teacher Talks, High School Hugs, and Bullriding

Farm-to-Table, a Change of L'Attitude, and Enigmatic Anti-Semitism

Hospital Update, Co-op vs Econo, and Motley Fools Bash Cliffs

Asian Cuisine, Catholic Dissension, Boathouse Controversy, Forest Service Probe, and a Busted Window

Mining Journal Legal Threat, TV Ratings, Co-op's New Tenants, and Yooper Wine

Hospital Location, Recall Campaign, UP Culinary School, and Mining Journal Legal Threat

Hospitals and Helicopters, Tax Tribunals, Liquor Licenses, and Demanding Diners

Cliffs Shake-up, Schneider Break-up, and a Surprising Website Breakdown

Hospital Anticipation, Truck Route Compromise and Hiawatha's Empty Seats

Cliffs Coup, Duke's Dollars, Brown's Search, and Lorinsers'"Vacation"

TV6 Co-Anchor, Right-to-Farm, Fitness Craze, and Rainwater Toilets

B and B News, Upfront Interest, Hospital Guessing, and Eccletico Encores

Golf Course Is Out, Coast Guard Is Out to Lunch, and Huron Earth Deli Will Serve Lunch No Longer