Michitwitter November 2009

Asian carp may have breached Great Lakes barrier

Federal officials say DNA evidence shows the aggressive Asian carp may have breached the electronic barrier designed to prevent it from invading the Great Lakes

Officials with the Army Corps of Engineers said today that DNA of the giant carp has been found north of the barrier in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. The Cal-Sag channel leads to Lake Michigan. Environmentalists fear the carp could wreak havoc on the region's $4.5 billion fishing industry.

Read more: The Detroit News

Detroit Tigers Pennant Panic

Old-Time Tigers Remember Glory Days of Detroit

The game Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field was meaningless, just the Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks playing out the season. But the bench coaches for each team found themselves strangely engaged in the one division race that still mattered, drawn from their separate dugouts to watching the numbers change on the scoreboard, knowing just how much what they were watching unfold meant to their beloved former home of Detroit.

Gibson and Trammell's rooting interest in the Tigers is entirely natural; they were in Detroit last week to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the franchise's last World Series victory.

But they also are cheering on a metaphor. Nothing comes easy for Detroit these days. The Tigers had a seven-game lead with 26 games remaining. Kind of like the Big Three automakers all those years ago. Then the Tigers were three up with four to go last week but fell apart before winning their final game to salvage a tie for the division lead.

Michitwitter September 2009

Fall: Football, farms, festivals and foliage tours

Fall tradition "musts" go well beyond apples. Think football, farm markets, fall foliage tours, even beer bashes stemming from the state's German roots. Whatever your pleasure, it's important to mark this season filled with a sense of new beginnings.

Check out some ideas at mlive.com

Michitwitter August 2009

$1 billion proposed in 2010 for Great Lakes restoration

Congress is poised to nearly double its funding commitment to the Great Lakes, adding up to $475 million for restoration that would deter invasive species, clean up polluted sites and create jobs in Michigan and the region.

Earth-mover Craig Hamlin is encouraged because a surge in federal funds could mean new business.

Since home building went bust in Michigan, Hamlin has kept his business going by digging up land to create wetlands instead of basements.

"Great Lakes work is pretty much all there is," said Hamlin, whose bulldozers, other heavy equipment and crews are transforming 70 acres of corn and bean farmland in Newport into a wetlands habitat for migratory birds along Lake Erie.

"These Great Lakes jobs affect a lot of people," added Hamlin of Hamlin Grading in Stockbridge. "Beyond my own workers, probably another 150 people end up getting work, by making pipes, or pumps and other materials we use."

The unprecedented amount of money being considered for the Great Lakes reflects President Barack Obama's pledge on the campaign trail of $5 billion for large-scale restoration.

Continue reading: detnews.com

Michitwitter August 2009

Backers say talk of film credit cuts costing Michigan

Film executives and producers say talk in Lansing of reducing or eliminating Michigan's aggressive film tax incentive is causing Hollywood's bankrollers to hesitate before investing in the Great Lakes State.

Already, industry insiders say, the state has lost hundreds of millions in film spending to other states since talk of cutting or scrapping the credit surfaced late last year, a charge led by Sen. Nancy Cassis, R-Novi, chairwoman of the State Finance Committee. Others warn that cutting the credit could push business away from Michigan's fledgling industry simply because there hasn't been enough time to build a sufficient infrastructure -- studios and such -- capable of supporting long-term business.

Legislative proposals, "even if unsupported, cause talk and rumors that cost Michigan a number of productions and jobs," said Jeff Spilman, managing partner of Ferndale's S3 Entertainment Group, which has worked to bring a number of feature film and television series projects to the state.

Continue reading: detnews.com

Michitwitter August 2009

Michigan apple harvest quite the treat

Branches of Michigan apple trees are bowing under the weight of the healthiest crop in at least 10 years.

Ideal weather conditions -- cool temperatures and lots of rain -- have apple growers anticipating one of the state's best seasons since the 1990s, according to the Michigan Apple Committee, and that could mean lower prices at the grocery store.

Michigan produces an average 20 million bushels of apples each year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, making it the third-largest apple growing state, behind Washington and New York. This year's harvest is estimated to be closer to 25 million to 27 million bushels.

Michigan apple growers contribute $450 million a year to the state's economy.

Continue reading: detnews.com

Michitwitter August 2009

July unemployment dips in 17 states, rises in 26; Michigan nets second-largest job gain

A New York state official credited the Obama administration's $787 billion stimulus package for the improvement. Peter Neenan said federal stimulus-funded projects helped boost employment in the construction sector.

The largest job gains occurred in New York, which added 62,100 jobs; Michigan, with 38,100; Texas, with 37,900; Tennessee, with 15,600 and the District, with 13,200.

Read it all at mlive.com

Michitwitter August 2009

PETA wants Grand Haven lighthouses for fish empathy center

Grand Haven's Lake Michigan lighthouses are the prime location sought by an animal rights group for its anti-fishing campaign headquarters.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has applied through a federal program to take over the structures and lighted catwalk that are frequently photographed for dramatic sunsets, thick winter ice and crashing waves.

The area gets nearly 2 million annual visitors, including anglers casting lines into the Grand River channel and heading out in boats for Great Lakes salmon.

"We want to renovate the Grand Haven lights as a memorial to the billions of fish killed annually by sport fishermen, as well as for their flesh (commercial fishing industry)," said Lindsey Rajt, manager of PETA's campaigns department. "We also want to make it a fun and educational place."

Tentative PETA plans call for an education center, where visitors would learn about fish. There also would be a cafe, offering vegetarian fare including "faux fish."

Signs would likely announce the lighthouse as home of PETA's Fish Empathy Center.

Locals are dumbfounded by the proposal.

Continue reading: detnews.com

Michitwitter August 2009

Bad for Michigan? Lawmaker wants to eliminate film incentive

A battle over whether to keep Michigan's film incentives is about to begin at the state Capitol.

Tuesday morning, several production workers will rally in Lansing to show legislators that they believe the incentives are worth continuing.

The rally is in response to one legislator from Metro Detroit, who said he plans to introduce a set of bills that would eliminate or phase out some of the incentives.

Here at home, the head of the West Michigan Film Office says that's a bad idea.

Continue reading: wzzm13.com

Michitwitter August 2009

GM touts Volt with 230 m.p.g. city rating

The electric-drive Chevrolet Volt is expected to get a rating of at least 230 miles per gallon in city driving, General Motors Co. announced this morning.

The results come as GM pushes to bring the new technology to market in late next year. Later this week, the company is officially announcing its battery assembly pack plant in Brownstown Township.

Continue reading: freep.com

Michitwitter August 2009

Battery grants could mean big job boost for Michigan

Michigan stands to get $1.36 billion of a $2.4-billion federal grant program designed to spur manufacturing of batteries and other components for electric vehicles in the United States, creating up to 6,800 jobs in the next 18 months and up to 40,000 in the state over the next 11 years.
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Vice President Joe Biden unveiled the grants in Detroit with several Michigan officials and lawmakers who had fought to include the money in President Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan passed earlier this year.

"We have to build on Detroit’s rich past," Biden said. "We also need to have a vision of what can be a richer, better future and then we need to invest in that vision."

Continue reading: freep.com

Summer Beer Festival - July 24 & 25, 2009 Ypsilanti

Coming off a widely successful 12th Annual Michigan Summer Beer Festival in Ypsilanti this past weekend (where attendance sold out at just over 8000 at historic Depot Town’s Riverside Park), the Michigan Brewers Guild (MBG) announces two new fall festivals for craft beer enthusiasts.

The UP Oktoberfest will be held on Saturday, September 12 in Marquette, followed by Harvest Fest -- presented with Metro Times -- on Saturday, October 24 at Eastern Market in Detroit.

“We have been looking to add a few new events to our annual calendar,” says Scott Graham, MBG executive director. “Oktoberfest gives us the opportunity to reach out to craft beer connoisseurs in the Upper Peninsula, while the Harvest Fest brings us to historic Eastern Market in Michigan’s largest city. With both, we hope to draw attendance from our existing beer fan base, as well as introduce a whole new group of people to some of the finest craft beers in the Midwest.”

Further details about these events will be released in the coming weeks and will also be posted online at http://www.MichiganBrewersGuild.org.

Michitwitter for July 2009

How would you spend $475 million to restore the Great Lakes?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants public comment on plans to spend $475 million for a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

But the only public meeting on the plan in Michigan will be Aug. 3 in Lansing.

Oh well. The State of the Great Lakes is a bummer, anyway. Nobody cares, right?

A State of the Great Lakes report for 2009 says that in Lake Huron, for instance, "major changes to the food web, new
diseases, and nearshore algal fouling are of serious concern."

Does anyone out there plan to drive to Lansing? You might want to attend a July 22 get-together in Bay City.

Source: mlive.com