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

No Answers in a Mysterious Death and the Little Engine That Could

So after fifteen months, Marquette Police have determined that the death of 34 year old Shawn Dollar, whose body was found in a vacant building on Washington Street in September 2012, was "likely an accident."

But the case is still open. Meaning maybe it wasn't an accident.

Ask Captain Gordie Warchuck how Dollar, who died from head trauma, ended up in the vacant building, and you'll get no answer. It's still an open case, you're told, it's still under investigation.

Who was the last to see him? No answer. Drugs, alcohol? No answers.

Bottom line: the police have no definitive answers after fifteen months, and they're providing zero transparency.

I have a full appreciation for what the police do and their concern for not compromising a case but seriously...After fifteen months, all you can say is "It was likely an accident, but maybe not. And, oh by the way, don't ask us any questions about it."

You get the sense that maybe, over time, we'll just forget about the case. Kind of like we've forgotten the case of Robert Dusseau who was shot and killed and dumped in a snow bank outside his pawn shop on US 41 almost four years ago.

It, too, is still an "open case."
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Amid all the rumors about CBS starting a newscast in the UP and TV6 undergoing an ownership change, TV10 just keeps plugging along.

Consider it "The Little Engine That Could."

When Cynthia Thompson took over as news director and anchor four years ago, she commanded a three person news department, barely enough to fill a half hour newscast. And it frequently wasn't pretty.

Now, with the recent hiring of social media director Andrew Lorinser, the news staff is up to eight. That's barely a third of what powerhouse TV6 boasts for its news staff, but it's an improvement, and the results show on the air. They're still understaffed and underfunded but they put out a pretty good news product.

The ratings are still dismal (in some cases, one-tenth of TV6's) but Thompson, who also serves as station manager, says her only charge is to put on the best newscast possible every day.

You can't help but root for the scrappy little underdog.
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You like Asian food and you live on west side of Marquette?

You've got a new option and it's pretty damn good. The Teriyaki Bowl opened a couple months ago, next to Starbucks, and it fits into that "fast casual" genre of restaurants--a little slower than fast food but much better food with fresher ingredients, and costing a bit more.

In this case, a large bowl of noodles with meat, vegetables and spices will cost you about eight dollars. A couple of egg rolls or fresh (uncooked) rolls cost almost five dollars.

That's more than a burger and fries but you'll feel better at the end of the meal.

The service is quick and friendly. The Teriyaki Bowl is brought to you by the same folks who own the Thai House.
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I've always wondered why, as we're nearing Christmas, we still see construction taking place in Marquette, outside.

Outside, like in 15 degree weather, with 15 mph winds and a foot of snow on the ground.

Yet, as you can see above, with the construction of the new Anytime Fitness on West Washington Street (across from Shopko), it's happening.

Our sympathies go out to the bundled up, shivering workers.

I guess it's better to have a winter job than no job at all.