News

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.

Letters

Catholic priorities... Reading in the Feb. 3rd Detroit Free Press of retired Catholic Cardinal Roger Mahony’s efforts to “shield priests from prosecution and keep parishioners in the dark about sex crimes against minors” leads me...

Wants to drive 55... Does anyone remember why a national 55 MPH speed limit was imposed by a law signed by President Nixon back in early 1974? This speed limit was in response to 1973’s oil price increases on oil shortages. Limiting vehicular speed was intended to reduce consumption of oil...

Pay attention, voters... As if the lame duck actions of the Michigan legislature weren’t enough, the GOP is now working on a new law to change the way our electoral votes are counted. State Rep. Peter Lund, R-Shelby Township, is sponsoring the bill that would tie our votes to the congressional districts instead of the number of electoral votes assigned to each state based on population...

Assaults weapons unnecessary... Do people really think they need assault weapons that fire 100 bullets without reloading to protect themselves? Do we really think that the federal government will confiscate our guns? If that is our fear, it seems to be a bit unrealistic when the federal government has drones and other sophisticated weapons which could be used far more effectively than gun power...

Features Patrick Sullivan Detroit News columnist Neal Rubin will be in Traverse City, March 5, to host the next National Writers Series event, an evening with Buzz Bissinger, a bestselling author whose book, “Friday Night Lights” was turned into a movie and an NBC television series. Although Bissinger takes the spotlight next month, we wanted to shine it on Rubin and find out more about this great columnist from the Detroit News.

Features Rick Coates

After a one year hiatus, Traverse City Winter Comedy Arts Festival is back and with a new partner, The National Cherry Festival.

“For all the right reasons, we’re taking our wintertime efforts that went into producing the Winter WOW!Fest over the past six years, and this year we’re putting them to great use by working together with the Traverse City Film Festival to make a world-class event that will benefit the entire community,” said Trevor Tkach, executive director of the National Cherry Festival.

Letters

True meaning of MLK Day... Something about Paul J. Nepote’s letter lamenting the “hijacking” of Martin Luther King Day by the gay community seems a little disingenuous. It’s hard to tell if he’s attacking the gay community, the use of public funds for the celebration, or the holiday itself, but I did not find it to be in the spirit Dr. King’s life...

Racist rant... It’s too bad that Paul Nepote considers himself a viable voice for the African- American community, when it’s clear by his racist rant (Letters, 1-28-13) that nothing could be further from the truth. It’s too bad that anyone with a brain will see through his weak claim that “the majority of the black community do not support homosexuality...”

Sick of it... Is it just me or is everyone sick of hearing about Paul Nepote’s anti-Homosexual diatribes? And now he claims that the LGB&T movement has hijacked MLK day. Really? Ludicrous at best. Yes Mr. Nepote, you are entitled to your opinion, and I to mine...

Watch out for meddlers... While Barack Obama won the state of Michigan in November, Republicans successfully invested millions of dollars in local elections to impact policy decisions. Proposal 2, designed to guarantee collective bargaining rights, was defeated by a well-financed campaign...

Christian values violated... I found a copy of your publication on the break room table at work today. I was instantly upset and ashamed that you are proudly telling the story of the two homosexual men in Traverse City...