News

Features Ross Boisonneau

Classic. That word can describe many things: Music. Cuisine. Clothing.

It’s the lattermost that concerns Maurie Allen. Despite some rather, umm, flashy socks on display, the attire at Captain’s Quarters has always hewed toward apparel that is both stylish and timeless.

That’s why Captain’s Quarters was voted “Best Men’s Clothing Store” by Express readers in the Grand Traverse area.

Features Patrick Sullivan

Residents of Mayfield Township near Kingsley got creative a few years ago when they learned of a proposal to inject liquid industrial waste into a disposal well located in a field near the corner of of M-37 and M-113.

The township enacted an ordinance to require a special use permit for the disposal of industrial waste and amid public opposition, the owner of the well, Team Solutions of Kalkaska, backed off plans to dispose liquid waste from the shuttered Glen’s Landfill at the site.

Features Erin Crowell “We took a walk through the vineyards--and this sounds corny but it’s true--I picked up a dandy-lion and blew it,” said Fox. “Brody asked what I wished for and I said that we would spend our lives together...When I turned around he was down on his knee, with a box in hand!”

Letters

Sugar buzz in our schools: Too much sugar is bad. Too much of the alternative is worse.

Because my kid’s public school (Glen Lake) doesn’t allow sodas, I naively thought most schools followed that trend. Unfortunately, while attending a district finals basketball game at Traverse City Central I was a bit surprised to find a bank of soda machines in the school cafeteria. Surprise turned to concern when I noticed they contained only diet sodas, water and sports drinks. Pepsi Next, which boasts 60% less sugar, quickly caught my attention. Guess what’s in it...

Wolves & free-thinkers: Your article (“Confessions of a Save the Wolves Petitioner”) hit home about the lack of citizenship in America where apathy, selfishness, frustration and lack of care is rampant in a government that serves the people...

New war on marijuana: We pride ourselves on how we take care of the sick in this country. We have the best hospitals in the world, as well as the finest doctors. You would think that America totally supports people getting better with whatever resources are available.

But wait just one minute. If you choose to medicate with cannabis, (aka: marijuana), not only are you NOT supported by most of the medical industry (which won’t treat you if you have THC in your system), but you may find yourself in a jail cell for growing and using it...

Scott Weiland rocked: I have been a big fan of Northern Express for many years. I have never felt compelled to write a letter to the Express or any other publication in the past. However, the recent article by Rick Coates where he trashes Scott Weiland’s performance at Ground Zero leaves me so compelled...

Ordinance clears way for demolishing junk building: On February 19, the Benzie County Board of Commissioners approved Ordinance number 2013-001, adopting the International Property Maintenance Code, provided by the International Code Council.

Approved, adopted and provided by who? The people of Benzie County didn’t know anything about this until it became enforceable law on February 27, when it was published in the Record-Patriot...

Features Patrick Sullivan Ten months after Keno was installed in the bar at VFW Cherryland Post 2780 in April, 2010, an audit discovered that $26,000 in gambling revenue was missing. The person who conducted that audit, Richard Thibeau, was then just a rank-and-file member, but he had an accounting degree and almost two decades of criminal investigation experience in the Army...

Features Rick Coates For the past 34 years Traverse City has hosted the annual St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl attracting not only locals but visitors from as far away as Petoskey. Now residents of Petoskey will have their own Pub Crawl this Friday, March 15 starting at 4 pm at Beards Brewery.

“I started discussing the idea with some of the bars and restaurants in Petoskey and they loved the idea,” said Charlie Ferguson, general manager of Northern Broadcasting.

Letters Students defend work Last Friday, we, writers of The Leek, the satirical page of Traverse City Central’s the Black & Gold, published an infographic describing in four steps how to “grind,” a controversial dance that has been commonplace in TCAPS schools but was recently banned.

We cannot stress enough that this graphic is satirical and in no way encourages the practice of grinding...

Rough roads & TC Michigan residents appear to agree that Michigan roads are in poor shape and in need of immediate improvement. What no-one can agree on is where we find the dollars to complete the task. To begin with, we should stop building new roads until we can maintain the roads we currently have...

Source of the sequester In his 2/25 column, Steve Tuttle offers a reasonably fair-minded look at this sequester’s history. However, he asserts that Congress came up with “a law under which budget cuts and tax increases will take place automatically absent a budget deal.”

Features Erin Crowell Traverse City Central High School senior Abbey Kaufman takes center stage as Elle Woods, the sweet, bubbly, sorority heroine of “Legally Blonde, The Musical,” a stage adaptation of the Broadway hit and film starring Reese Witherspoon.

The 17-year-old Kaufman beat out dozens of other young actresses to capture the lead role.The Express chatted with Kaufman—a sweet, soft-spoken girl, herself—to find out what it’s like to don pink and perform with an older cast.

Letters

Time for gun insurance... Guns are not toys. They are lethal weapons. Just as in order to drive my car it must be registered and insured and I need a valid license, a similar approach to guns should remind people that owning a lethal weapon is a serious responsibility. Instead of banning guns by type and magazine capacity, let’s require liability insurance and registration along with licenses to carry...

Incredible waste of water... A mind-boggling 21 million gallons of groundwater was mixed with toxic chemicals and used to frack State Excelsior well 3-25 HD1, located within the Mackinaw State Forest in Kalkaska County...

Now showing at Northern Express Video Seen: Saving Michigan's Gray Wolves.

Features Patrick Sullivan It was a hare-brained plan, and it failed in almost every way it could, except that no one got shot or killed.

There were six involved, and five went to the trailer that night, Feb. 28, 2012, a rundown, dingy-looking thing on a dead-end street across from a cemetery in the village of Wellston in Manistee County.

The plan was to rob the place to get a backpack that belonged to the woman. She was a medical marijuana patient, and they figured there was pot and cash in the bag.

Features Mike Terrell Northern Michigan, despite recent warmer winters, isn’t going to be thought of as a tropical zone anytime soon, but some who love to paddle don’t necessarily put their passion on hold until spring.

Those who like winter paddling seek the solitude and quiet beauty of area rivers adorned with a mantle of snow. They find the rewards are worth the risk and cold.

Letters

Republican mischief... I have taken pride in the past of being a fiercely independent voter, casting my ballot for example, for Carter (once), Reagan (twice), both Bushes and Obama (twice).

I am not a fan of the social agenda of the Democratic Party, as I view some of their policies as morally repugnant and counterproductive to a healthy society. That being said, I find myself in a sad position of giving up my status as an independent and becoming a member of the Democratic Party. Here are the reasons why...

Seniors mugged by GOP... Just had my 2012 taxes completed; I suspect most people would agree that it is a relief to have it out of the way. What is not a relief however, is losing the over-65 age exemption, and due to the evaluation of my home, losing my property tax credit. The two biggest breaks seniors previously have enjoyed...

Hypocritical Democrats... I have to agree with Bob Ross’s letter in the Feb. 11-17 issue of your paper about the Catholic churches shielding priests guilty of sex crimes against children. His statement that the church should show the same care for postnatals as they do to pre-natals could apply to the Democratic Party in general as well...

Frog for dinner, anyone?... If you put a frog in a pan of cool water, then put the pan over a fire and heat it to boiling, the frog will set in the pan until it is cooked and never try to escape the hot water. If we continue to burn fossil fuel...

Features Rick Coates

The sturdy, box-shaped building at the corner of Eighth Street and Boardman Avenue in Traverse City looks like it was built to last. And it has -- almost 100 years. But in order to survive, it’s had to become a lot of things. It started as a cigar box factory, then it was a power company service building, then it was a furniture store and then a fitness center.

For the 21st century, the building recently took on another identity -- home.

Hot Dates On Saturday, Feb. 23, Sunny Country 101.9 (WLDR) will host the first regional round at Southside Hideout, located in Buckley. Winners will then move on and compete at Outlaws in Kalkaska, March 2, then at the main event at Leelanau Sands Showroom, in Peshawbestown, on March 23.

Features Rick Coates

We caught up with a few of the headliners of this week’s Traverse City Winter Comedy Arts Festival and got their thoughts on comedy, coming to Traverse City and some of their future projects.