Features

Features Kristi Kates Earth Week Plus! Expo celebrates environment in Cheboygan
By Kristi Kates
 Running March 31 through May 1 in Cheboygan, Petoskey and the Straits
area, Earth Week Plus takes Earth Day (Friday, April 22) to the maximum
for the Northern Michigan area.

Features Rick Coates Mitch Albom: Weighing in on newspapers, Detroit and Michigan sports
By Rick Coates
When the National Writers Series announced the first half of their season
in January, co-founder Doug Stanton said there would be some additional
surprise guests added along the way. One of those “additional” guests is
bestselling author Mitch Albom, who will take the City Opera House stage
this Wednesday April 6 at 7:30 pm. 

Features Anne Stanton Road to Nowhere:Leelanau taxpayers will pay for a road that no one seems to want
By Anne Stanton
 A legal settlement that has been reached over a controversial, unimproved
road past the Wings of Wonder bird rehabilitation center in Leelanau
County will likely cost county taxpayers something.

Features Rick Coates Ridin’ High with the Very Big Bike
By Rick Coates
Joseph VanLoozen of Levering has always been fascinated with bicycles.
While growing up in Redford Township outside of Detroit he was always
riding and fiddling around mechanically with bikes. While in high school
shop class in 1978, he began experimenting and developed what would become
the prototype for the Very Big Bike. 

Features Mike Terrell Pedal & Paddle: The Boardman River offers the best of both
By Mike Terrell
 It seemed like a long winter this year, and I’m looking forward to some
warm weather outdoor activity.  Paddling Northern Michigan rivers and
cycling -- especially mountain biking -- are a couple of my favorite
springtime activities. 

Features Robert Downes The Car-Free Life: Bill Palladino is on a roll year-round
By Robert Downes
“When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race.”
-- H.G. Wells
At a time when most of us are just starting to think about getting our bicycles out of storage, Bill Palladino is looking back on another year of riding all winter long.
Two years ago, Palladino, 52, gave up his vehicle in favor of commuting by bicycle, which has been his preferred way of getting around since his teen years.
“I had a Saturn SUV, but the car sat in the parking lot most of the time. I only used it occasionally,” he recalls. “Then my nephew called and said he needed a car. I thought about it for a bit and then flew him up from Florida and gave him the keys -- the decision was made that fast for me.
“I’m part of the pedestrian and cycling advocacy community,” he adds. “And it seemed

Features Erin Crowell The Rough Riders of 2 Wheel Technique Are you ready to take on the ‘Pipe of Death’?
By Erin Crowell
“Like riding a bicycle.”
It’s a comparative statement we use when describing life – the revisiting
of something we thought once forgotten, but relearned as if second
nature…easy peasy, you could say.
Think about it. How many 30-year-olds do you see swapping spots with their
child after teaching them how to ride? Little Tommy cautiously holding the
back of the bike seat as giggling Dad rides nervously down the driveway?
Hopefully zero; because riding a bike is something you only have to learn
once, right?
Jonathan Pool believes there’s more to riding a bike than just pedaling
forward, and many of us could use a refresher.

STAIR-CLIBING ENVY
2 Wheel Technique is a Traverse City-based group dedicated to the art of
balance… on two wheels. Pool, an avid cyclist, started the group after
moving to the area in 2003 from southeastern Michigan.
“When I moved here, I was the only one in the area with trials
experience,” said Pool about the biking discipline where mountain bikers
attempt to cross terrain, using any obstacle such as boulders or logs,
without putting a foot on the ground.
Observed trials are also known as technical mountain biking.
“I started mountain biking seriously in the early ’90s,” he said. “I had a
friend who could ride over anything. He could even ride up stairs without
putting a foot down. I was so envious.”
The group meets every Tuesday during the summer and rides at local spots,
as well as across the state (Marquette) and out-of-state (Ray’s Mountain

Features Anne Stanton Does Our Justice System Need Fixing? A retired judge weighs in
By Anne Stanton
 Slugging and choking a Michigan state police trooper gets a local deputy a
six-month jail sentence with almost immediate work release. He’s given a
plea bargain that involves a guilty admission to a misdemeanor. His record
was clean.

Features Anne Stanton Tragedy on A Ski Trail: Friends reflect on the death of Carole Hague
By Anne Stanton
A few days before St. Patrick’s Day, Carole Hague, a vivacious, pretty
brunette from Boyne City, was showing off pictures of a wooded
cross-country ski trail where she had just skied.

Features Rick Coates Christos Piliafas: Best Fitness Trainer
By Rick Coates
Mess with Christos Piliafas and you’re asking for a whoopin’ -- either
that or some good advice on how to get in shape: Christos was voted “Best
Fitness Instructor” by Express readers in a recent poll.

Features Kristi Kates The Planting of Yoga Roots: Tiffany Lenau has a lifelong commitment to yoga
By Kristi Kates                       
 The story of how Tiffany Lenau’s Yoga Roots studio began, Lenau says, is a
“magical and miraculous story” that has its own roots early in her life.
It’s also part of the path that led her to being named “Best Yoga
Instructor” for Emmet County/Petoskey by Express readers.

Features Erin Crowell he Inadvertent Success of Marc Schollett: TV newsman wins ‘Best Broadcast Journalist’ award
By Erin Crowell
When it comes down to it, TV 7&4 news reporter Marc Schollett knows more
about algae than his career – but you would never know that from his
numerous journalism awards from the Associated Press, The Michigan
Association of Broadcasters, the National Television News Director’s
Association and the Seven Seals Award from the United States Army Reserve.

Features Erin Crowell Raiding the Closet at Zany Consignment Boutique
By Erin Crowell
From the sidewalk, Zany Consignment Boutique looks like any other home in Traverse City’s “Slabtown” – a yellow two-story house with green shutters. Dismiss the sign and hours posted as you walk through the door, and you pause in the covered porch, wondering if you had mistakenly entered a resident’s home.
Inside, it’s like raiding a girl friend’s closet—and a stylish one, at that—but this closet has trickled downstairs, lining entire walls and filling every room. Other friends are over, too – swapping a skirt for a blouse or a pair of heels for a vest.

Features Robert Downes Becky Thatcher: Best Jeweler is also a World Traveler
By Robert Downes
Business has literally been an adventure for Becky Thatcher, who has roamed the world in search of gemstones and pearls which drape the counters of her jewelry stores around the region.
It’s this dedication to tracking down the best of the best -- even going to the far side of the world -- that earned Becky honors as “best jeweler” in Leelanau County.
Creating dazzling works of art in jewelry has been a lifelong quest.

Features Kristy Kurjan Best Look for 2011? Hint: chances are it’s your favorite style…
By Kristy Kurjan
When you pick up a copy of Northern Express, do you flip directly to the
“My Style” article to check out the featured style that week? For many of
us fashionistas, this is a ritual that brings delight