Patrick Sullivan

Features Patrick Sullivan Some environmentalists are alarmed after it was learned that thousands of gallons of flowback wastewater from two high-volume, deep-shale hydraulic fracking wells in Kalkaska County was sprayed on roads throughout the region to control dust.

Features Patrick Sullivan John Matthews knows he is an outsider and he knows he might be a long shot in the race for one of three Elk Rapids Village Council seats up for grabs this November.

Features Patrick Sullivan How many groups of friends get together, tell jokes, laugh really hard, and think, “Our lives should be a sitcom?” One bunch of friends who met years ago at Northwestern Michigan College decided to do something about it.

They’ve formed a sketch comedy troupe called Falling Down Stairs Productions and they produce short, funny videos that can be found on YouTube and Funny Or Die.

Features Patrick Sullivan There is a quaint, old-fashioned sign outside of the arched stone gate at the entrance to the Harbor Point Association that reads “AUTOMOBILES NOT ALLOWED.”

This is no ordinary gated community. And it is not the typical setting for an armed standoff with police.

Features Patrick Sullivan Dear Readers: For this story, investigative reporter Patrick Sullivan looked at 12 police reports for cases of disorderly conduct obtained from the Traverse City Police Department, the Grand Traverse Sheriff’s Office, and the Leelanau County Sheriff’s Office through the Freedom of Information Act.

Since the cases were selected at random and would not normally become the subject of news feature stories, we are not identifying the suspects or witnesses by name.

Features Patrick Sullivan Rogers City native Melissa Fleis beat out hundreds of applicants to be among 16 designers who are competing in season 10 of Project Runway in New York City. So far, she’s done her home town proud.

Features Patrick Sullivan Former drug addict Jason Craig Blackmore was apparently getting his life back together and trying to emerge as a productive member of society when out of the blue he was arrested.

Features Patrick Sullivan

It didn’t take long for police to make an arrest after someone broke into a shooting range in May and made off with five semiautomatic handguns.

Break-ins that involve stolen handguns tend to get a lot of police attention, and this one was no exception.

Features Patrick Sullivan

British soldiers didn’t take Mackinac Island entirely by surprise 200 years ago, though they may as well have.

When the British invaded on July 17, 1812, they found the Americans unprepared because news of the war had not yet reached this frontier outpost, even though President James Madison had declared war on the British a month earlier.

Features Patrick Sullivan

When science fiction writer Ray Bradbury died last month, the world mourned the loss of a literary giant.

Northwestern Michigan College professor Garyn Roberts mourned the loss of a friend.

Roberts, an English instructor at Northwestern Michigan College, has been working on a biography of Bradbury and grew close to the author over the years. Recently, the Express sat down with Roberts to talk about Bradbury, science fiction and other literary forms that grew out of the “pulp” publications of the early 20th Century.

Features Patrick Sullivan

This is the second of two stories about a family in Elk Rapids who encountered a mortgage modification scam artist and wound up on the brink of losing their home. Last week, the Express looked at what happened to Pablo and Guadalupe Bocardo that caused their home to be foreclosed.

This week, we look at the efforts of their attorney to fight Fannie Mae to get their house back.

Features Patrick Sullivan This is the first of two stories about an Elk Rapids couple who encountered a mortgage modification scam artist and wound up on the brink of losing their home. This week, the Express looks at how becoming victims of fraud caused Pablo and Guadalupe Bocardo to have their home foreclosed. Next week, we will look at the efforts of their attorney, Jason Jenkinson, to fight Fannie Mae to get their house back.

Features Patrick Sullivan Attorney John Racine recognized for helping clients who can’t pay

Over the years, Legal Services of Northern Michigan has tried to plug holes when they’ve spotted them. Take divorce cases. Some less well-off people found themselves going through that ordeal without a lawyer at their side.

Features Patrick Sullivan The Sleeping Bear Natural Heritage Trail is under construction in Leelanau County, and now some residents are worried.

Features Patrick Sullivan Environmentalist alleges Antrim County official looked the other way as wetlands were destroyed