MEIJER INQUIRIES, MARIJUANA DEFIANCE, HOSPITAL FUTURE, CLIFFS MAGIC TRICK, AND AN IDLE LONGBOAT

IF YOU'RE ONE of those shoppers desperately hoping for news that Costco is expanding into Marquette, sorry, this ain't it.

No Costco sightings yet.

However, two property owners on US 41 in Marquette Township report that they were recently approached by a representative of Meijer, the superstore from downstate, to see if they'd be willing to sell their land to Meijer.

One was told that Meijer was looking into three possible locations in the U.P. and this would likely be one of them.

No word on the whether the property owners would be willing to sell.

Again, these were just inquiries, and Township Manager Randy Girard says his office has had no communication with Meijer.

The Meijer chain, which is headquartered near Grand Rapids, boasts more than 200 "hypermarkets" or "supercenters" in five Midwestern states. The stores are a combination grocery and department store, sometimes with a gas station. Kinda like a Walmart, certainly not a Costco or Sam's Club.

Marquette Township may have lost the hospital sweepstakes but it certainly seems to be winning the hearts of the box stores.

-----------------------------------------------

MICHIGAN'S HALF-ASSED, half-hearted medical marijuana law may be facing a challenge here in Marquette.

A new marijuana dispensary, the Green Room, has opened up on West Washington Street in the last month, even though a state appeals court ruled that such dispensaries are illegal.

If you walk into the Green Room, you'll be told by a man sitting by the phone that he can't tell you anything unless you're a member of the "private club."

Go to their website and they'll tell you to get a medical marijuana card and then you can become a member of the "private club."

How do you get a card? Get a doctor to stipulate that you might be helped, medically, by marijuana. Easy-peasy. Some doctors dispense permission slips like candy on Halloween.

Then you pay a fee to the Michigan Medical Marijuana Program and, bingo, you get a card. 146,000 Michiganders now have such cards.

Which brings us to the state law that some sadistic lawyer drew up and we the voters approved. We decided we didn't want to continue an outright ban  on pot--that would have been too backward--nor did we opt for straight legalization--that would have been too progressive--so instead we got this silly, complicated, legally questionable mess.

The law says stores or dispensaries can't sell pot. Nope. Not doctors either. Just "caregivers" who are allowed to grow up to 12 plants in their basements or other enclosed areas. "Patients" find "caregivers" and they make a deal. Patients get their pot, caregivers make their money. A drug deal, in other words.

It's no secret that the majority of the patients are recreational users. So what? We drink alcohol too.

The last we heard, pot-smokers weren't starting many bar fights nor were they beating their wives and girlfriends.

But we're apparently not yet ready to make the step toward full marijuana legalization, which leaves us with this crazy law and leaves the Green Room in legal limbo.

Marquette County Prosecutor Matt Wiese is aware of the Green Room's existence. On its face, he believes it's illegal under current Michigan law. But until he has substantive evidence against it, he won't bring charges. He won't say whether a case is in the works.

So for now, that means the Green Room can continue to dispense its medicine.

----------------------------------------------------

YOU MAY HAVE noticed that construction has resumed at the Founders Landing condo complex.

They're laying the foundation for the parking garage of the Gaines Building which will be completed next summer.

Nine units, all told. Five have been sold.

Once Gaines goes up, that leaves only one more building to finish up the project which generated controversy early on because of the buildings' height, but which has been supported by the city because the condos provide property tax revenue.

And the buildings--from the lakeside, at least--you have to admit, are attractive.

Next up for the partners in the Founders Landing project is the building that'll be erected just north of the Hampton Inn.

That'll be two levels of parking with 230 spaces, topped by up to four levels of retail, residences and offices.

Financing, according to one of the partners, Ron Thorley, should be wrapped up within a month. Construction should start within a year.

-----------------------------------------------

SPEAKING OF CONSTRUCTION, what's next for the soon-to-be abandoned Marquette General Hospital?

That's what the city would like to know. Duke LifePoint owns the building complex and will almost certainly sell it...but to whom, and for what purpose, and when?

So far Duke LifePoint isn' t tipping their hand.

Possibilities? Turn it into residential apartments or condos. Or NMU housing. Or make it mixed use--retail, office, and residential. Tear it down and build single family homes and apartments.

Or how about this idea? Move the Jacobetti Home for Veterans to the hospital? It'd be a bigger and more modern facility for our vets.

Regardless, the city would like to know what lies ahead. What it doesn't want is a monstrous, abandoned building in the middle of town.

--------------------------------------------------------

AMID ALL THE the controversy over the proposed boathouse for the Upper Peninsula Community Rowing Club, local builder Mike Potts has a suggestion.

He says we should be thinking less about the sleek racing shells of the rowing club, and more about hardier longboats, which are far better suited to the frequently rough waters of Lake Superior.

Just so happens he has such a longboat, actually a 32 foot Cornish pilot gig. He and some friends and fellow builders have built it over the last five years. It's now lying under a tarp outside Fred's Rubber Stamp Shop on Lakeshore Boulevard.

He'd like to see it used more. At events. By a rowing club. For races. For coastal outings. For anyone who just wants to get out on the water, even in the spring and fall. Potts insists the boat is extremely safe.

He'd like to see another one built, maybe by alternative high school students. It sure sounds like a project that technically-minded kids could get into.

Potts says these longboats are becoming very popular on the east coast and in England. Why not here? They have a history to them, they have tradition. Sounds like something Marquette could embrace.

Imagine this: Longboat races between clubs in Marquette, Munising and Houghton, cheered on by crowds on the shore. And after the races, retire to the nearest brew pub for a raucous award ceremony, some hearty camaraderie, and a drink or two. Yeah, sounds like Marquette.

---------------------------------------------

YOU GOTTA HAND it to Cliffs Natural Resources.

The mining company has perfected  a magic trick. You invest money in its stock and...Presto!...your money disappears.

Cliffs shares started the year at $27. Now they've sunk below seven dollars.

And this just in! An analyst for Credit Suisse has just downgraded his stock price estimate for Cliffs from $10 to $1.

One dollar, as in four quarters. Ten dimes.

A few years ago, Cliffs was trading at $100 a share.

All in all, a dandy year for Cliffs: managerial ineptitude, a hostile takeover, layoffs, facilities closed, others for sale, plunging demand, excessive debt.

One bright spot: The Empire mine, previously set for closure, was saved earlier this year for a couple more years. That saved 600 jobs.

That's something to celebrate for the New Year while we nervously await the next vanishing act.

-------------------------------------------------------

MARQUETTE'S GETTING MORE love from the national press.

This time from The Week, a well-regarded British magazine that puts out a U.S. edition.

The December 26th issue features a story on "fat bikes" in Marquette. Those are the bikes with fat tires, lightly inflated, that more of us are riding in the snow these days.

It's the latest wintertime trend, and Marquette's in the vanguard of the sport. The article points out that the Noquemanon Trail Network now has a 15 mile snow bike trail considered one of the best in the country.

Of course, fat bikes can be expensive. A good one will cost you about 100 shares of Cliffs. But act fast, because tomorrow the price could go up to 500 shares of Cliffs.

 If you've got news, email me at briancabell@gmail.com.

595 Revival, Hospital Feedback, Rahoi Settlement, Museum Collaboration, and Taco Mystery

COUNTY ROAD 595 ain't dead yet, not by a long shot.

The Marquette County Road Commission is getting ready to sue the Environmental Protection Agency which rejected the proposed 595 cut-through in northern Marquette County in 2013.

That's right, a county agency is going to be suing a federal agency

Interesting. And what's more interesting is that the money behind the lawsuit will be coming from private interests, specifically the timber industry.

State Senator Tom Casperson (Republican) is the man behind this unusual private-public collaboration, and State Representative John Kivela (Democrat), who's been privy to the talks, fully endorses the suit as well. They insist the EPA was just flat-out wrong in rejecting the proposed road.

Background: CR 595 was proposed in 2011 as a way for Kennecott Minerals to transport its ore from the Eagle Mine near Big Bay down to its mill near the old Humboldt mine--a 22 mile road that would have been a shortcut through wilderness and kept the heavy trucks away from Marquette, Negaunee and Ishpeming. It would also have been used by other trucks, loggers in particular.

It was a plan that had the full support of city and county officials, as well as US Senators Levin and Stabenow (Democrats) and Congressman Benishek (Republican) and Governor Snyder (Republican). Nearly a consensus.

Not quite. Environmental groups, including Save the Wild UP, opposed it, as did the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community....and ultimately, and most importantly, so did the EPA. The feds ruled that the road would be impinging on wetlands.

So County Road 595 died. Almost. Now its being revived, thanks to the efforts of Casperson and some county officials.

The recent accident involving a mining truck on CR 550 that tied up traffic for hours might generate more support for 595. None of us wants those big-ass trucks anywhere near town.

So the battle is back on. Environmentalists versus a business/government coalition that's well-funded and, to be honest, probably has more popular support than the environmentalists. Will that be enough to prevail over the EPA in court?

We'll see.
--------------------------------------------

REACTION CONTINUES TO come in from our roundtable discussion about the hospital three weeks ago.

Analytics tell us that more than 20,000 people, the overwhelming majority from Marquette County, have read the blog, which means nearly one in three residents here read it. More than 170 posted comments. It's fair to say we all care about our local hospital.

It was the first agenda item for the hospital's Leadership Meeting shortly after the blog was posted. No word on what was said or suggested at the meeting.

Otherwise, hospital executives are offering no official reaction except to say that "internal" discussions are taking place.

Oh, and CEO Ed Banos and Chief Nursing Officer Dagmar Raica brought in Jimmy Johns sandwiches to a group of nurses the day the blog was posted.

And the exodus of doctors from the hospital continues. Dr. Richard Rovin, a neurosurgeon, is the latest to close up shop.
-----------------------------------------------

THE TRAGIC ROBIN Rahoi hit-and-run case has been settled in criminal court, and now it appears that it's nearing resolution in civil court, as well.

In fact, it'll be settled out-of-court for an undisclosed sum. The settlement will not be anything substantial, from what we're hearing, because there just wasn't much money to get.

Michael Nelson of Big Bay received a nine month jail sentence, plus two years probation, for the hit-and-run killing of Rahoi, an NMU employee, just about a year ago. Rahoi was walking along a dark road when she was struck by a vehicle driven by Nelson.

The vehicle left the scene. Rahoi was left to die.

Rahoi's three children had filed the civil suit, not because they were looking for big money or vengeance, according to their attorney Steve Pence, but because they were hoping Nelson would take responsibility for having taken their mother's life.

Nelson all along has insisted he never realized he had struck a human on that dark night.

So it goes.
--------------------------------------------------

WHAT THE HECK happened to Ron's Taco Shop?

The little diner was in the process of relocating from Third Street to Washington Street downtown when suddenly, amid rumors, the move ground to a halt.

The last posting on Ron's Facebook page came way back on November 19th when the owners said they were working on the kitchen, the floors and the walls, with an anticipated opening around the Christmas holidays.

Not likely. The landlords at what was to be the new location now say they don't want to talk about Ron's.

The landlord at Ron's old location is still grumbling about unpaid bills.

And those of us who liked the fare at Ron's Taco Shop are searching instead for our beloved taco trucks.
----------------------------------------------------

ONE OF DOWNTOWN'S stalwarts, Moonstone Gallery, is closing up shop on Wednesday, Christmas Eve.

Jeweler Ann Kuhnly says nine years is enough. She'll still be making her own jewelry and selling it at art fairs and such, but operating a store downtown is just not working for her. The last two years in particular, when we've supposedly been recovering from the recession, have been very tough.

Apparently the millionaires and billionaires who've watched their stock portfolios soar in recent years aren't buying moderately priced jewelry in Marquette.                                                                                        

 -------------------------------------------------------------------

A TOTALLY DIFFERENT story right next door where Spice Merchants opened up just a couple of weeks ago.

Owner Mike Carl, positioned near an overheated cash register, tells us he's having trouble keeping his spices, teas, rubs, chocolates, soups and gifts in stock. The damn customers keep buying them.

It's been busier, he's been told, than even the Spice Merchants store in Traverse City.

We'll check back with him January 15. Here's guessing he'll likely have more time to talk next month. And the month after.
-------------------------------------------

THE OTHER NEW store in town, Great Turtle Toys, may be moving next door into the Childrens Museum.

Nothing's definite yet but Ben Nye, the store owner, is interested in taking over Sprouts, the less-than-successful store on the first floor of the museum.

Museum director Nheena Ittner would welcome some sort of collaboration with Nye, but the final decision, including the financial arrangements, would have to be approved by the museum's board.

If something is worked out, Nye's shop could be in the museum, under a new, as yet undetermined name, by the end of next month.

Nye's got plenty of ideas and energy. His pop-up store, Great Turtle Toys, has done steady business since he opened up a couple of weeks ago but his quickie lease will expire on January 1st. Now he wants to stay in town.

Seems like a good fit with the museum.


You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com

If you want to be notified when Word on the Street is posted, go to Word on the Street by Brian Cabell on Facebook and "like" it.

Newspaper Blues, Mesothelioma Risks, Unfair Airfares, Boathouse Battle, and an Embattled Newsroom

HARD-CORE NEWSPAPER lovers in Marquette County are grieving.

After December 28th, out-of-town newspapers will no longer be trucked up here, except on Sundays.

Mader News Agency, the Green Bay newspaper distributor, says it doesn't make economic sense for them to make the trip anymore. The trucks will bring the papers as far as Iron Mountain but no farther.

Maybe we can find the Pony Express or a team of sled dogs to finish up the last 50 miles or so.

If we needed further evidence that the paper version of newspapers is dying, this is it. Mader says publishing and printing costs are too high, circulation is declining, and free Internet access to news is cutting into newspaper readership.

On the surface and in the short run, this is good news for the Mining Journal. It'll be the only game in town.

But for those of us who've been desperately clinging to our pulp-based New York Times or Detroit Free Press or USA Today, well....we'll now have to join the rest of the under-50 crowd, and click on to our computers or iPads for news.
------------------------------------------------------

IT'S NOT LIKE we didn't know that mining could be hazardous to your health, but the latest study provides a few more facts.

It's a $5 million dollar, six year study conducted by the University of Minnesota and funded by the Minnesota state legislature.

The findings? Miners on the Iron Range of Minnesota working around taconite dust are more than twice as likely as the average person to get mesothelioma, a rare cancer.

The good news? The afflicted miners' families were not affected by the taconite exposure, nor were the surrounding communities. Just the miners themselves who were exposed to high levels of airborne mineral fibers.

The researchers strongly recommend that potentially exposed miners use respirators and other protective gear.

Cliffs Natural Resources says that's precisely what they do here in Marquette County: use respirators and conduct regular screenings with chest x-rays and breathing tests. Cliffs, which cooperated with this latest study, also says it supports continued studies on taconite exposure.

One other, unexpected finding in the Minnesota study: miners exposed to the ultra-fine dust particles had a 30% higher death rate from heart disease than the average worker.

Again, sadly, no huge surprise. Working at a mine is an inherently risky job.
----------------------------------------------------

A QUICK COMPARISON of Delta airfares, roundtrip, to Detroit:

Leave Escanaba Dec 19, return Dec 21
     $447
Leave Marquette Dec 19, return Dec 21
    $584
That's a difference of $137.

Leave Escanaba Jan 1, return Jan 8
    $213
Leave Marquette Jan 1, return Jan 8
    $385
Difference? $172.

Leave Escanaba Dec 29, return Dec 31
    $517
Leave Marquette Dec 29, return Dec 31
    $1083
A difference of a mere $566. Pocket change.

It's crazy. The reason for the disparity, of course, is that Escanaba's airport (as well as Iron Mountain's and Houghton's) is federally subsidized. It gets almost three million dollars a year to keep the airlines at their facility, and keep their airfares artificially low.

It's all part of the Essential Air Service program, designed to guarantee air service to rural communities. Which is great, except that it punishes BIG, MASSIVE, HUGE airports like Sawyer International, which isn't considered small enough to qualify for EAS money.

Yeah, we're really big, like three flights a day.

Sawyer management also points out that our airfares are driven up because of supply and demand. Flights out of Marquette are usually full. Escanaba's aren't.

So that begs the question, why don't they bring more planes up here? That's a possibility.

Not only that, but with fuel prices now plummeting, maybe Delta and American will finally cut us a break on fares.

Yeah, and pigs will finally learn how to fly.
---------------------------------------------------

 

IT AIN'T OVER til it's over.

That's the lesson the Upper Peninsula Community Rowing Club has learned yet again.

The rowers thought they were all set to start raising private funds to build a boat storage house (to be owned by the city) on the beach next to the Hampton Inn.

The City Commission, after a long, tedious process, finally approved the plan allowing the club to build the boathouse and then lease it back from the city. High-fives all around.

Well, the opposition never quite went away, and they're now circulating petitions to revoke the lease, or put it up for a vote of the people. The opponents have a daunting challenge--they need more than 1300 signatures of registered Marquette voters within a month or so. That's 10% of the voters.

Meantime, the two sides are hurling charges of misrepresentation, lies, and intimidation at each other.

Although it's debatable, the boathouse, as planned, does not seem obtrusive or unsightly. It'll cost taxpayers nothing. It'll provide boat storage space for the public (for a fee) and for the NMU rowing team, and also access for the handicapped. And it'll keep the rowers--a genuine asset to the community--in town.

Sure seems like a great idea, but if you believe that Marquette's coastline should be pristine and inviolable--and the rowers should just take a hike--then maybe another building on our shores is a problem.

Something else that's hurt the rowers' cause: the building of the Founders Landing condos a couple of years ago to a height that wasn't expected. A lot of residents were irate about it at the time but city officials, in response, just seemed to shrug their shoulders.

Distrust of our government? Nah, it doesn't seem possible.
--------------------------------------------------------

THE ORIGINAL REPORT out of ABC 10's newsroom was "hard times and mutiny."

Turns out that was a bit over-stated, but there is dissension within, and it concerns the new news director Greg Peterson, who's been known to step on a few toes from time to time.

Peterson has taken an aggressive approach to the news, which is not a bad thing. But at times, it's been a highly personalized and journalistically unsound approach, according to the critics.

They emphasize that Peterson knows news and has aggressively found news for ABC 10 but the presentation of the news has sometimes been sloppy, even unethical.

It should be noted that newsrooms are rarely mistaken for prayer circles or Kumbaya sing-alongs, but the rift at ABC 10 seems a little more serious than normal.

Strange: repeated attempts to contact Peterson on Tuesday failed. Staff members didn't know where he was or when he'd return, and he wasn't answering his cell phone.
-----------------------------------------------

FOODIES REJOICE.

Spice Merchants, a brand new store featuring spices, teas, rubs, soups, chocolates and gifts, has opened downtown on Washington Street.

Looks pretty, smells great.

The owners are Mike and Carolyn Carl. She's a kitchen designer and he's been a commercial fisherman and schoolteacher. They both went to NMU, then migrated south to Florida before hearing the call to return north.

Now they're store owners, and Spice Merchants, which operates about 20 other stores, seems like a genuine enhancement to downtown, something that will attract both locals and tourists.

You looking for a Cranberry Maple Rub? Now you know where to go.

You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com

If you want to be notified when Word on the Street is posted, go to Word on the Street by Brian Cabell on Facebook, and "like" it.