Black Sludge, Expensive Energy, Cliffs' Layoffs, TV News, and Hematites' Glory

DRIVE BY THE Shiras Steam Plant and you'll notice a big hole in the ground just northwest of the plant. It's huge actually.

Crews have been excavating it for the last month and have removed about 12,000 tons of contaminated soil. They also recently came across two massive concrete vaults filled with what looked like black sludge--water and "heavy bottoms" was the terminology used. It's all apparently the byproduct of natural gas production that took place here decades ago.

The Marquette city gasification plant, which was first licensed back in 1867, was located here. Nobody's quite sure when the plant stopped operating but it was long ago, which means the two chambers full of sludge have just been sitting there, hopefully undisturbed, since then.

We shouldn't be surprised by this, of course. Marquette's coastline was an industrial slum, rife with contamination, just a few decades ago.

The sludge is being deposited at the Marquette County landfill site.

Indiana Michigan Power Company owns the property and has undertaken the environmental remediation voluntarily. The company applied for a permit to dig up the site to replace two culverts that had degraded over the years. The job is turning out to be little bigger than they expected.

Lotta questions here. What exactly is in the soil? What exactly was in the vaults? Had they been breached? Any need for concern since the site is nearly adjacent to Lake Superior? The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is overseeing the process. Answers forthcoming.
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GET PREPARED TO pay higher electric rates in the U.P. starting December 1st, unless we get a last minute reprieve from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Rates will likely soar in the eastern U.P, and rise more moderately in Marquette.

The reason behind the increases is complicated but basically it's because We Energies wants to close down its old, inefficient, coal-fired Presque Isle Power Plant but we, the customers, need to keep it open, even though it's a dinosaur. And we'll have to pay for it.

The rate increases will anger homeowners and possibly discourage business development.

Ah, but here's the bright side! It'll force us to confront reality. We need to build new, modern power plants in the U.P. to help us break our dependence on Wisconsin.

The new plants (plural) will likely be powered by natural gas. Maybe by wind, even solar. Energy companies are out there, ready to build.

But it'll be a Michigan solution giving the U.P. the opportunity to seize control of its destiny.

That's what U.P. legislators and the governor's office, together, are working on now. In the meantime, unfortunately, we'll have to pay more--maybe a lot more--to turn on our lights.
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THE SHAKEUP CONTINUES at Cliffs Natural Resources.

Casablanca Capital staged a coup a couple of months ago when it assumed control of the board of directors, ousted the CEO, and promised cuts.

The cuts in personnel are taking place all across Cliffs' North American operations, and they've now hit home. Jennifer Huetter, the district director for public affairs, was recently let go.

You'd know Huetter from the Cliffs' TV commercials she's done over the last couple of years. She also appeared recently on the U.P.'s Dancing with the Stars.

She's smart and well-regarded. She'll land on her feet.

As for Cliffs, which has endured turmoil and a drastic plunge in its stock price, the jury is still out.
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MARQUETTE IS LOSING one of its "cool" stores.

Switchback, which specializes in used outdoor and athletic equipment--kayaks, skis, camping gear--is closing up shop this month and relocating to Grand Rapids. That's where the owner is from.

But don't despair. A non-profit store known as Revolutions is taking its place. It's already up and running at the Masonic Square Mall on Washington Street.

And Revolutions offers something different: not only sales of used equipment but also programs to help youngsters learn how to repair their bicycles and skis.

Come to think of it, that might be "cooler" than Switchback.
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GENERALLY YOU DON'T advertise that you're looking for a job unless you're actually looking for a job.

WJMN anchor Gabe Caggiano begs to differ.

His resume and resume tape are listed on Medialine, a website for broadcasters seeking employment in the TV industry.

Caggiano expressed surprise when asked about the listing and said, regardless, it didn't mean anything. He insisted he was very happy at WJMN and had no plans on leaving.

Caggiano is a talented but well-traveled journalist who's also done some TV acting and has cut a music album.
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SPEAKING OF HOLLYWOOD, you may have noticed a vaguely familiar face on a recent episode of The League, a comedy on FX about a group of fantasy football players in Chicago.

She wasn't on the screen very long--just a few seconds--and she didn't say a word, but it sure looked like Regena Robinson, whose stormy tenure as news director at WLUC ended several months ago.

We'd heard she had left the U.P. for Los Angeles. It's apparently true.

Robinson touted herself not only as a journalist but also as a poet, a pageant queen, a motivational speaker and an inspirational blogger.

Now she can add "actress" to her resume.
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YOU GOTTA HAND it to head coach Jeff Olson and the Ishpeming Hematites. They've now won 30 straight football games--a U.P. record--and are aiming toward their third straight state championship.

Olson's built a dynasty, and it hasn't been because he's got the biggest and fastest athletes around. Not even close.

No, he's got only six players who tip the scales at more than 200 pounds, and he's got plenty in the 130-160 range. His Defensive Player of the Year is an inside linebacker who barely stretches to 5'9" and weighs in at maybe 175 after a hearty spaghetti dinner.

None of the Hematites is blazing fast. They're just quick and smart and tough. They block and tackle better than their opponents. No showboating. They're Yoopers, through and through. You'll find kids like them all over the U.P. every Friday night in the fall.

But high school football is all about coaching. A great coach like Olson can transform modestly talented and undersized athletes into a great team.

That's what they have in Ishpeming these days: a great team that's rewriting football history in the U.P.


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

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

Asplund Takes the Reins, Marquette Mountain Takes a Plunge, and StoryCorps Comes to Town

A relative calm has descended upon the newsroom at WLUC.

Steve Asplund, the hardest working man in the news business, has been named the news director at the station. Rather, re-named. He was news director for a few years back in the mid-90's, as well.

And don't worry, he'll remain as the 6 pm anchor. What most viewers don't realize is that Asplund's most important work has always been done off-camera, as assignment editor, producer, writer, photographer, editor, fill-in engineer, snow plow operator. Hell, if TV6 had a cow out back, Asplund would be milking that in his spare time.

He works 70-80 hours a week. No lie. He loves his work, he loves the station.

That's why it was almost criminal what he had to endure for the last two years during the tenure of the former news director, Regena Robinson. For some reason, Robinson locked Asplund, the assistant news director, out of the entire decision-making process in the news department. The hostility was palpable.

Maybe it was a personality clash. Regardless, it was a waste of Asplund's skills and enthusiasm, and it made for a very uncomfortable newsroom because Asplund was universally liked and respected by both the veterans and the youngsters in the news department.

But he kept his head down, worked his 70-80 hours a week, and now he's got the job he deserves. WLUC is the better for it.

(Full disclosure: I was the WLUC news director from 2004-2011)
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Meantime, a former TV6er, Rick Tarsitano, who was surprisingly terminated by Robinson a year ago, is in negotiations to become the new news director at ABC10.

He's been a reporter at ABC10 for the last year, but in the wake of Cynthia Thompson's resignation as ND, Tarsitano was appointed interim news director and has done a creditable job. Now management wants to make him the permanent news director.

No one could quite figure out why he was forced out at TV6. Another personality clash? The fact was, Tarsitano was one of the most talented reporters in Marquette when he was let go.

Now we're going to see what kind of management skills he has. He'll be facing a stiff challenge: ABC10 doesn't have nearly the money or resources that WLUC has, and it'll be facing a brand new competitor when WJMN starts its UP newscast in the next month or so.

And who is WJMN's news director and anchor? That's right, Cynthia Thompson, formerly of both ABC10 and TV6. TV news in the Upper Peninsula is a never-ending merry-go-round.
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It's been a weird season at Marquette Mountain.

The best snow in years and yet the numbers are down. Way down.
Vern Barber, the GM, figures the mountain has attracted almost 30% fewer skiers and snowboarders this season.

Go ahead, take a guess why.

Yep, it's too freaking cold even for skiers. When you consider that the thermometer has climbed above 30 degrees for only a few days in the last three months, and has generally stayed below 10 degrees, it's easy to understand why we've stayed off the mountain.

The only thing that's kept Marquette Mountain afloat this season has been its ever-expanding race schedule. Teams, young and old, come here from all over the Midwest to race. And unlike the casual skiers, the racers don't have a choice; even if it's minus 10 and the wind is howling, they're going to be racing (and spending money in Marquette) because they've already registered and paid the fees.

Barber says this is the coldest winter he's experienced in his 32 years on Marquette Mountain. Sounds about right.
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You got a great story to tell?

You'll get your opportunity to tell it and preserve it for posterity when National Public Radio's StoryCorps trailer rolls into town this July.

StoryCorps brings people together--parent and child, brother and sister, friends, teacher and student, neighbors-- to sit down and tell their stories.
It might be a childhood memory, it might be a hunting story, it might be something traumatic.

But the stories are usually evocative, poignant and fascinating.

StoryCorps is hoping to find 200 such stories in the U.P. A couple of them will likely end up being broadcast on NPR nationwide. The rest will be taped and stored at the Library of Congress. They'll become a part of this nation's history.That's pretty cool.

Participants will also be given a copy of the interview--something to hand down to your grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Public Radio 90 will be announcing in the next couple of months how you can sign up for StoryCorps.

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

Where's the Hospital Going and Where Are the News Directors Going?

 

If there's one issue that provokes anxiety among Marquette city officials, merchants and even residents, it's the future home of Marquette General Hospital.

Duke LifePoint officials, who are working with a site development company, were in town this week checking out potential locations. Reportedly there are about thirty possible sites, about a dozen of them within the city limits, and the remainder outside. A hospital campus would require forty acres or so.

Marquette wants to keep the hospital in town. Badly.

The hospital, with more than 2000 employees, represents a huge tax base for the city. It also provides major support for surrounding businesses. And, of course, an in-town location would likely (though not necessarily) be more convenient for most of the city's citizens.

As for Marquette Township, officials there are excited about the prospect of the hospital relocating there. They met with the LifePoint officials this week and specifically discussed two locations, one of which would be on the property for a proposed 70-90 million dollar, mixed-use development behind Lowes. The hospital would effectively be the anchor of that development if that's the direction LifePoint chose to go.

The decision will be made in Brentwood, Tennessee, the headquarters for LifePoint. When? Likely within three to six months.

City officials and Township officials are holding their breath.
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There's gotta be something in the air. Like resignation fever.

Last week it was TV6 news director Regena Robinson unexpectedly bidding farewell to her staff. On Monday of this week, ABC10's news chief Cynthia Thompson did the same. Her last day is Friday.

She didn't say where she was going or what she would be doing next.

She did tell me she was staying in the U.P.--this is her home--and that on Monday, her first official day off, she'd probably be working out, getting her nails done and maybe taking down the Christmas tree. She seemed to be in uncommonly good spirits.

You could easily speculate that she might be taking the news director/anchor job at WJMN, the CBS affiliate that's aiming to launch a UP newscast in the first quarter of this year. If she is, she's not saying, nor is WJMN.

Who's Thompson's successor at ABC10? Nobody knows but whoever it is will face a daunting challenge.

ABC10 has long been underfunded and undermanned (though improving), while TV6 is a powerhouse in terms of staffing, resources and ratings, and WJMN will likely enter the competition with more-than-adequate funding and a determination to finally loosen TV6's longtime stranglehold on this TV market.
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Remember Eric Dompierre? He's the young man with Down Syndrome who inspired all of us in 2012 as a player on the state champion Ishpeming Hematite football team.

So what's he doing these days? Sitting around, playing video games and eating Cheetos while dreaming of the glory days?

Not really. He's continuing his education in Transitions 2 at MARESA, a program that teaches special needs individuals how to budget their money, how to cook and how to get jobs.

He's also interning at the Blood Center at Marquette General Hospital. He's about to start interning at Anytime Fitness in Harvey.

Oh, and he's also washing dishes at Wawonowin Country Club in Ishpeming, and he may work as a bag boy there again this summer.

He drives everywhere. He lifts weights. He plays in a weekly basketball league.

Yeah, sounds like we have a role model for our young people. Eric's inspiring story continues.
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The timing might seem a bit odd, given that the wind chill is hovering around ten degrees, but a new frozen yogurt shop is going in on the corner of Washington and Third Street.

It'll be called Yoop-Phoria. Self-serve yogurt. You select one of eight flavors, then you add any of more than 30 toppings, then you weigh it, and then you pay, based on the weight.

You can do it with cups or muffins and they'll also offer smoothies.

Sounds like fun. It's all the rage in other parts of the country, and is apparently succeeding even in cold weather towns. You can get your dose of Yoop-Phoria on or about April 1st, just about the time the ice starts breaking up in Lake Superior.

You got news? Email me at briancabell.com

TV6 Shakeup, Cold Weather Breakdown, and a Dinner Theater on the Horizon

WLUC staffers are still trying to digest the implications of the resignation of their news director on Friday.

Regena Robinson, who'd held the position for two and a half years, unexpectedly announced that she'd be leaving the job within two weeks. Later that morning, she told some employees that, in fact, she was leaving that very day. She cleared out her office on Saturday and she's now gone.

What happened? She'd only say that she resigned and she was moving on. To where, she wouldn't say, nor would she say whether she was staying in the TV news business.

The truth was, her tenure at WLUC had been marked by some dissension and a major rift in the newsroom. That's not all that uncommon in  the TV news business, but Robinson's journalistic skills and management style never won her full respect among the veterans in the newsroom.

Who's going to be the next news director? Good question. Anchor Steve Asplund, who once held the ND job, would be a likely and welcome in-house candidate, but station CEO Rob Jamros and the new owners, Sinclair Broadcasting, may have other ideas.
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We're enjoying a respite from the frightful cold of the polar vortex of just a week ago but TV6 weather guru Karl Bohnak says don't put away your thermal underwear and knit caps just yet.

Things are setting up, he says, for a stretch of similarly frigid weather later this month or in early February.

How cold was last month here in the UP? The coldest December in a quarter century, a full seven degrees below average.

Long range forecasters are strongly suggesting that we could have a series of delayed springs in the years ahead--ie winters will last longer.

Bohnak says, yeah, there's a lot of winter left.

How about global warming? Does it figure into this at all? Bohnak doesn't buy it. He claims there's been no significant warming of the earth for the last two decades
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So what's happening with the old Delft Theater in downtown, the one that's been vacant for a couple of years?

Tom Vear, who owns the building along with Donckers next door as well as other properties in town, has a plan.

For a dinner theater. With 250 seats, some in the balcony. Also a bar.

The idea would be to show movies--old classics, maybe new classics--on a huge screen while patrons are enjoying a first class meal and drinks.

Sounds a little off-the-wall, but off-the-wall can be good sometimes.

Vear, who's applied to the state for grant money, expects to present his plans to the City Commission later this month.
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A little bit of a hiccup at Sol Azteca, the new Mexican restaurant overlooking the Lower Harbor.

The restaurant doesn't have its liquor license yet and apparently some patrons were trying to take matters into their own hands. Literally.

They were arriving at the restaurant with their own alcohol and telling staff that it was fine--the patrons would provide their own liquor and the restaurant would provide the tacos, enchiladas and burritos. Hey, everybody does it here! A great deal all around.

Except, of course, for the fact that it's illegal.

The restaurant manager, who's from out of state, made a call to the city and got the true story.

Next thing you know, Sol Azteca posts a sign instructing customers to leave their booze at home.

Crowds are still big there, by the way. Is it just the honeymoon phase or is this the real deal?
 
                          You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com