Features Mike Terrell Wildwood Rush lives up to its name

Perched on the edge of a platform 40-some feet in the air wrapped around a sturdy pine tree, my 69-year-old knees were quivering as much as nearby aspen trees.

Features Robert Downes Killing 80 pig sows and their piglets in cold blood this spring to comply with a controversial order from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources was the toughest thing Dave Tuxbury has ever had to do.

Features Erin Crowell Under the Wikipedia entry for “drone,” you will find such words as “chemical,” “warfare,” “target” and “humanoid” – words that send a chill down one’s spine when considering their recent presence in the media. Drones, or unmanned aerial systems (UAS) as they are technically referred to, are being heavily manufactured and put to use by the U.S. government, and in countries throughout the world.

Letters

Irony & Oklahoma

A lady from Oklahoma sent in a pronatural gas/fracking response letter in your August 13th issue. I wonder, do they have something called irony in Oklahoma?

I ask this because it makes perfect sense that someone from a dry, flat, hot, nearly treeless place like Oklahoma would want to vacation in a land of verdant forests, rolling hills and immense stretches of clean water like our Michigan. The irony comes in when she lectures us on how wonderful natural gas drilling/fracking is, and that those of us who are rightly terrified of it are “unenlightened.”

Lady, the only way we can keep this area a vacation/everyday living paradise is to stop fracking cold...

Features Jim Motavalli

After back-to-back trips to the Detroit Auto Show and the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, I’ve put together a pretty good picture of where the auto industry is headed in 2013.

The big news at CES was cars bristling with electronics to both allow them to drive themselves and to do just about anything you could possibly want with infotainment, including access the cloud. CES isn’t an auto show, but it may as well be these days—Lexus, Ford, Audi and many more were there.

Returning oldies but goodies will include stars of the local acoustic music scene, including Adair Correll with Kurt Westie and Friends, Song of the Lakes, Sister Wilene, Wild Sullys, Sour Mash, New Third Coast and many others. (See the full line-up and times in the ad on page 25.

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

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 Harwell, of Reed City, is charged with criminal conspiracy for allegedly certifying medical marijuana patients without a “bona fide doctor-patient relationship” and with putting false information in medical records. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison.