Hit and Run Update, MGH Options and Famous Footwear

It's been almost two months since the hit-and-run death of Robin Rahoi in Big Bay and still, no charges have been filed.

Family and friends of Ms. Rehoi, along with residents of Big Bay, are confused and dismayed by the delay. What's holding things up?

Michigan State Police refuse to say anything publicly about the case but they do, in fact, have a suspect. They're awaiting results of forensic testing to firm up their case. After that, we can expect charges to be filed.

All along, police have known the principals involved in the case. Big Bay residents were able to tell them that both Ms. Rahoi and occupants of the suspect vehicle had attended a party in town that night.

Ms. Rahoi drove home first but her car broke down in the snow. She got out of the vehicle and was attempting to walk home apparently when she was struck by another vehicle also leaving the party.

Whoever hit her left her body in the snow and drove away.

It's horrible. It's distressing. Authorities are just making certain that when they do make an arrest, the case is airtight.
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It'll be two months, maybe three, before officials decide on a new location for Marquette General Hospital.

Thirty original site proposals are being whittled down to a handful.

Among the proposals? A site in Sawyer. That's certainly too far from Marquette. The same, in all likelihood, with the suggested site at the old airport behind TV6.

Marquette Township has offered up a couple of parcels (40 acres are needed for the new hospital) but there are concerns about locating a hospital in the township. Namely, infrastructure--water and sewer lines may not be adequate. And would the new hospital feel comfortable with a mostly volunteer fire department?

Which leads most who've studied the issue to believe that Duke LifePoint will likely keep the new MGH within city limits. The Cliffs Dow property (if it can be cleaned up) and the Roundhouse property are clearly in the running. A site out by the ski hill is another possible location.

And then there are those who are still stubbornly holding out hope that Duke LifePoint, after considering all the alternatives, will say, what the hell, let's just keep MGH in its current location and spend a couple hundred million dollars improving and expanding the facility.
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Westwood Mall, which is facing the discouraging closure of J.C. Penney in the next few months, may have some good news on the horizon. It's hoping to welcome a couple of new stores this year.

Famous Footwear is a definite. Construction is well underway and jobs will soon be available. It should open this spring.

Another store, featuring clothing, is a possibility. Negotiations haven't been completed yet.

Even together, of course, they wouldn't begin to make up for the loss of J.C. Penney, one of the longtime anchors at Westwood.

And then there's the case of Radio Shack which reportedly is going to shutter 500 of its stores nationwide. Could the outlet at Westwood Mall be a candidate? It'd be naïve to think otherwise. But let's hope not.

The fact that one, and maybe two, national chain stores are moving in, is a good sign that marketers still have some faith in a mall that--let's be honest--could certainly benefit from a facelift.

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

Racist Letters at TV6 and the Closing of Farmer Q's

A bizarre, sad and ugly story is unfolding at WLUC-TV.

Seems that prior to her abrupt resignation just over a week ago, news director Regena Robinson, who is African-American, received three racially charged letters signed by bogus names targeting her and other members of the news department.

Ugly, vile stuff.

Robinson turned the letters over to the State Police who have been investigating ever since.

The letters, which were written in cursive, apparently all came from the same person.

A lot of unanswered questions here. A lot of speculation as to who wrote the letters, as well.

Robinson, who's still in town, isn't commenting publicly. State Police visited her home a few days ago looking to get "elimination" fingerprints; in other words, Robinson's prints would be on the letters since she handled them, but were there any other prints?

WLUC so far has made no official comment on the case.
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A sad day, as well, for downtown Marquette. Farmer Q's, the little grocery store specializing in produce, announced that it's closing down.

Two reasons for the shutdown. First, Tom Brian (he and his wife Susan are the owners) was offered another job in the fruit industry downstate. It's reportedly a great opportunity.

And second, the last several months for the store have been "painful," in the words of Ms. Brian.

Farmer Q's, which sells produce grown downstate, has been locked in a continuing, nasty battle with the Marquette Food Co-op and local farmers who don't want the downstate produce sold at the Marquette Farmers' Market.

The two sides exchanged charges and counter-charges, the Downtown Development Authority tried to mediate the dispute but without much success, and everybody emerged from the unseemly mess looking bruised and beaten.

Farmer Q's says it's had enough.  It's shutting its doors within two weeks.
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With the impending closure of Penney's at the Westwood Mall later this year, the inevitable questions arise: Will another store move into the Penney's space? How will the new vacancy affect traffic at the mall? Is the overall viability of the mall threatened?

Let's be honest. The mall first opened back in the 70s and has been expanded a couple of times since then, but it's decidedly dated. It can't possibly complete with the huge, modern malls in Appleton, Green Bay and Detroit...and unfortunately that's where thousands of Yoopers end up doing their shopping.

On the other hand, even with several current vacancies, the mall is more than 90% occupied...at least it will be until Penney's departs. That's not bad.
And at least one more tenant is getting ready to move in.
Another point: You want to criticize the Westwood Mall? Go take a look at the malls in Houghton and Escanaba. By comparison, Westwood seems to be thriving.

A final point that could profoundly impact the future of the Westwood Mall:
The proposed mixed use development--retail, office, hotel, convention center and residential--behind Lowes is scheduled to start up within a couple of years. That will feature big, modern, upscale stores, the kind that have lured shoppers to Appleton, Green Bay and Detroit.

The kind that could eventually spell the end of the Westwood Mall.

The key words for the new development, though, are "proposed" and "scheduled." It's easy to draw up plans with pretty buildings while tossing around impressive dollar figures and getting everybody excited. It's much tougher to bring those plans to reality.

Anybody remember the grandiose plans for the ore dock--the high priced condos, the retail stores, the scenic promenade? How's that working out so far?
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Speaking of closures (seems to be a theme here), it's now been fourteen months since the last function was held at Upfront, one of the premier properties in downtown Marquette.

The former dining, banquet and live music venue, a handsome building overlooking Lake Superior, just sits there silent and unused.

The official word from the office of owner Rhys Mussman is that the building is not for sale and that "something may be in the works" and someone may be interested in leasing the building.

A couple of words about that. Business people will tell you that virtually every business is always for sale...for the right price. And, something is always in the works.

Mussman, who has a vacation home in Big Bay and likes the U.P., won't provide any details about his or anybody else's plans for Upfront. He's simply holding on to the darkened, multi-million dollar building for now. No money coming in.

Wealthy people can afford to do things like that.


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

Giant Credit Card

I wouldn't say I'm undergoing a political conversion, but I would say my views, which have always trended toward the liberal, are evolving about government spending.

Clearly, as a nation, as a state, and as communities, we're spending more than we're taking in, and it doesn't look like that balance is going to shift anytime soon. And increasingly, I think, we need to worry about another possible financial disaster looming ahead of us.

The giant credit card is coming due.

One caveat: This doesn't mean we need less government regulation. Inadequate government regulation, mixed with a healthy dose of greed, is what got us into the financial mess of the last two years, and also into the mess in the Gulf of Mexico.

A second caveat: The Tea Partiers, who've made government over-spending one of their guiding principles, lose credibility because they didn't say a thing about our rising debt until President Obama took office.

But, regardless, we can't afford to keep spending money the way we've done over the last decade or two.

Of course, we all seem to agree with that principle, but then where do you start?

With the schools? Michigan teachers say you can't do that--they spent a full day protesting the cuts earlier this week. Could we eliminate sports programs or the extra-curriculars? Nope, those are too important. Forest Park parents objected loudly to any such cuts at a meeting on Monday.

Should we let the roads and bridges go without repairs? No, can't do that. It's unsafe.

How about reducing the police forces? Heavens, no. Just look at what happens every time Michigan tries to close State Police posts.

Reduce prison costs by letting out some of the less dangerous inmates? No! Absolutely not.

Close libraries or museums? This might draw some support because probably only about 20 percent of us regularly use them, but what would their closure say about us as a society?

Put off Medicare and Social Security eligibility for a few years? Reduce government and teachers' pensions? Good luck on that.

Bottom line: We all want to reduce government spending, just as long as it doesn't affect us. It's another version of NIMBY---Not In My Back Yard.

But we've got to grow up, we've got to make difficult choices. Our county, state and federal governments can't do everything for us.

You want sports in schools? Pay for it. You want the extra courses, beyond the basics? Pay for them. You want city parades? Pay for them. Teachers aren't happy that they have to pay more for their benefits? Tough. That's the way it is in the private world. You like your Medicare benefits just the way they are? So would we all, but the times have changed.

Unfortunately, despite all the heated rhetoric out there about government overspending, there doesn't seem to be the political will out there to do anything about it. Nobody wants to be the first to make a serious and drastic cut.

And we continue marching inexorably toward financial catastrophe.