Asian Cuisine, Catholic Dissension, Boathouse Controversy, Forest Service Probe, and a Busted Window

 

We've now got a Mexican restaurant downtown. Also German, Irish and Cajun.

Art and Amy Thammasiri think it's about time we got an Asian restaurant, as well. They're the owners of the Thai House on Third Street and the Teriyaki Bowl on US 41 near Starbucks.

They're now trying to work out a deal to lease the former Farmer Q's property on Washington Street and convert it into another Teriyaki Bowl. Problem is, it needs a kitchen and that costs money.

If they can swing it financially, they'd hope to open there within three months. If not, they'll be looking for another property downtown.

The Thamassiris are restaurant tycoons in the making. They arrived here in Marquette from Thailand only six years ago and immediately got to work.
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A sad situation developing at St. Michael's Catholic Church.

A longtime parishioner and the current acting secretary of the pastoral council, Bobby Glenn Brown, has been stripped of his job and been told he shouldn't be worshipping in the pew.

The reason? Brown and his partner of 31 years recently decided to cement their relationship with a commitment ceremony.

No. Can't do that. Brown's remarkably stable relationship was well-known to all but once he formalized it, the local clergy took offense. All but excommunicated him.

You have to respect people's diverse views on religion, but something about this seems all wrong.

Apparently the Pope's welcoming, all-embracing words have not trickled down to Marquette yet.

Brown's friends and supporters have been flooding the social media for the last few days. Expect a mass protest supporting him in the next week.

One of Brown's most vocal and articulate supporters has been Andrew Lorinser who's the founder of Marquette Mobile and the social media director for ABC 10. He's been careful to separate his personal support for Brown from his work at the TV station, but regardless, he's been attacked by yahoos who assume that he must be gay.

Which he isn't.

Which begs the question: Is it possible for a heterosexual man to be a fervent believer in gay rights? Apparently, in the eyes of some, it's not.

And in the eyes of the Catholic Church, all of this is just something that ought to be shoved under the rug. Or the robe.
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The campaign against the proposed boathouse at Founders Landing is getting more heated.

Community activist Rita Hodgins is hoping to get a measure on the ballot in November that would stop the boathouse construction and prevent the City Commission from approving any further "private" construction on city-owned lakeshore.

Of course, the Upper Peninsula Community Rowing Association claims the boathouse would not be private--it would be open to anyone who wanted to store their boats there, including NMU, and the entire venue, including a viewing area, would be welcoming to all lakeshore pedestrians.

Hodgins and her group are having none of it.

The heated opposition took the rowers by surprise. They thought they were doing a good thing for the city and they were raising all the funds from private sources.

They've now revised their plans for the boathouse slightly--no showers, no area to set up their rowing machines. Just a....boathouse.

And the latest changes--to move the boathouse closer to the Hampton Inn and to have the city actually take ownership of the building--may or may not make a difference.

The City Commission initially voted to support the boathouse. Are they having second thoughts?

In any case, get prepared to vote on it in November.
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The Forest Service investigation of Officer Louis Cote has been completed and the decision now rests with officials in Washington.

Quick recap: Cote was a Forest Service officer whom dozens of Alger County residents claimed was being overzealous in the performance of his duties in the Hiawatha National Forest. He was belligerent and threatening, they said.

The city of Munising and Alger County got involved, so did Congressman Benishek's office, and finally the Forest Service took a good long look at the complaints.

The Forest Service now says when a decision is rendered on Cote's future, it will not be made public. It will simply happen. An official says it will be handled as a personnel matter within the agency.

An attempt to get Cote's side of this dispute has not been successful so far.
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Just what aspiring entrepreneurs need before they even open up their restaurant: a huge broken window, thanks to the mischief of vandals.

The Tullila sisters discovered the vandalism over a week ago as they continued their preparations to open their new restaurant, Root 41, on US 41 south of Marquette.

Kinda discouraging. You don't expect that sort of thing here.

Oh well. Carry on.

The Tullilas hope for a repaired window and a "soft" open at Root 41 by July 5th. They're now honing the menu with their chef. The cuisine? Classic comfort food.
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As for the Bayou Inn in Harvey, it'll be serving up its first microbrews by the end of the month. The brewing and fermenting process is now underway.

The featured beers, at least initially, will be a pale ale, a blonde ale, a black ale, honey wheat and blueberry.

They'll be branded as beers from the Chocolay River Brewery.

The unassuming Bayou has come a long way in the last few years. It was once a seedy, little bar; now, under owner Tim Souci, it's a pleasant neighborhood restaurant with its own microbrewery.

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

Forest Service Investigation, Sol Azteca Liquor, and a Gem in Ishpeming

A story that's gone mostly unreported in the central UP for the last several months is now the subject of a federal investigation by the Inspector General of the Department of Agriculture.

Here's the narrative: The US Forest Service brought in a new law enforcement officer to the Hiawatha National Forest last summer. His name is Louis Cote. He's reportedly got a military background which can be helpful but apparently he's also brought in a somewhat militaristic--some would say, belligerent--attitude with him to the job.

Complaints against him mounted through the summer and fall. Complaints about unwarranted traffic stops--for "driving over the center line of a gravel road" and for having snow on the license plate.

Complaints about unwarranted, frightening nighttime visits by the officer to check on the welfare of children.

Complaints about harassing hunters, canoers, longtime elderly residents, drivers minding their own business.

Complaints about excessive fines for minor, even nonexistent violations.

Munising mayor Rod DesJardins estimates they've compiled between 50 and 100 complaints against the officer, and says he's heard at least 100 other stories of harassment.

And the harassment, the critics say, has been frequently accompanied by outright intimidation--"Hands in the air!", handcuffs and threats.

At one point, a sign was posted in Chatham advising citizens who were pulled over by officer Cote to call the State Police or 911.

At the very least, the critics say, the officer has been overzealous in carrying out his duties. More to the point, they say, he's scared them.

They took the matter to the City Commission and County Commission and got them on board. They took the matter to the Forest Service itself but got no action from the agency. They then went to Congressman Benishek's office and informed him of the problem.

Now the case is before Inspector General of the US Department of Agriculture. Official word from the Forest Service and Benishek's office is, the case is now pending. No other comments.

A word of caution here. Nothing has been proven, nothing's gone to court. The officer may simply have been doing the job he thought he was supposed to do. But when there's this much concern, this much fear, this much distrust between a community and a governmental officer, something needs to change.
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Everybody's favorite new Mexican restaurant, Sol Azteca, has some good news. It's finally found and bought a liquor license.

Now it needs a final okay from a government inspector before it can start serving alcohol.

Could be in days or weeks, maybe longer, but it's coming.

Not a day too soon according to many diners who'd like a Corona or margarita to wash down their enchiladas and tacos.

You gotta think it's a relief to restaurant management, as well. It's tough to make big money on a pricey piece of real estate when you're charging only eight or ten dollars for lunches and dinners.
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WLUC has some good-sized shoes to fill.

Tyler Czarnopis, who's managed the station's website for the last three years, has just accepted a new job with the Department of Natural Resources in Lansing. He'll be the agency's social media coordinator.

Czarnopis has overseen huge growth on the WLUC website during his tenure. Three years ago, website page views totaled 1.4 million a month. Last month the figure was four million, and just a couple of months ago, aided by all the school closures and weather alerts, the station's website pulled in nearly eight million page views.

Huge numbers for a small market TV station.

Czarnopis leaves on May 23rd. His successor hasn't been selected yet.
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The new Thomas Theatre complex in the Township opens Friday at 2:30.

Hardly a secret but it is big news.

Fancy complex, attractive building, one huge screen--not Imax, contrary to rumors, but it is huge. Also VIP seating. Also, it seems, slightly higher prices: nine bucks for adults.

What's playing? Godzilla, Spiderman 2, Million Dollar Arm, among others. A similar lineup to what Carmike is offering a couple of miles away.

Wonder who's gonna get the bigger crowds this weekend?
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You may not have heard about it, especially if you don't make it to Ishpeming all that much, but there's a gem of a store downtown.

It's Rare Earth Goods, run by Pamela Perkins, the wife of businessman and roofer Dan Perkins.

Here's what the store offers: arts and crafts from more than 100 local artists, wood furniture crafted by a blind carpenter, more than 60 beers, a wide array of Michigan wines, bulk foods, Dead River coffee, Guinden farm meats, specialty foods...and open mic sessions every Tuesday night.

It's a one-of-a-kind store.

And it's in downtown Ishpeming, which could be a problem. There's not a ton of pedestrian traffic there, and you've got to wonder, is there even the demographic mix there to allow an ultra-local, offbeat business to succeed?

Let's hope so. All towns could use a Rare Earth Goods.


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