Welcome to a special "Big Wednesday" edition of Five Things you need to know about Michigan.

Big Surf in Grand Haven

The Grand Haven Tribune has a feature on meteorologist Will Beaton, who has realized his life-long dream of surfing and reporting weather at the new web site surfgrandhaven.com developed by Masana, LLC of Grand Haven. The site features a live beachcam of Grand Haven Pier and the state park beach, wind, rip current and wave forecasts - all geared to how it will affect the surfing. This morning they were touting today as "Big Wednesday" with 8'+ waves expected. Yow!! The developers hope to eventually spread along the Lake Michigan shoreline.

Big Mining Rush is On, Deadline Looms

Michigan's first sulfide mine (Kennecott Eagle Mine, proposed near Lake Superior) has yet to be permitted, but companies are already stampeding to catalog and plunder Michigan's mineral wealth, this time on Lake Michigan near Menominee in what is being called "The Back Forty Project". An Aquila Resources spokesman pledged "a focus on the environment and noting the economic benefits that will accrue to the local community and the State of Michigan." And then there's the little matter of billions of dollars of revenue for the company and a pesky problem with the atrocious safety record of these sulfide mines (100% failure rate). Please take a moment to consider the safety record, read this editorial in the Capital Times by the author of Hiking Michigan's Upper Peninsula and comment to the DEQ before the October 17 deadline - for 100 jobs the State of Michigan is prepared to permit the first case - and far from the last - of a dangerous process that has polluted 40% of all the watersheds in the West.

Wine Grape Harvest Should Yield Big Reds

A pair of articles: Great Grapes: Harvest should yield fine wines in the Traverse City Record-Eagle and Heat Helps West Michigan Wine from WZZM TV-13 say that Michigan's vineyards are reporting a slightly smaller but very high quality crop, especially for red wines. There is talk that it might rival the 2005 vintage (considered Michigan's finest) and Bruce Simpson of Good Harbor Vineyards & Winery near Leland said "The fruit quality is superlative."(I have to quote Bruce - he's my neighbor!). Be sure to check out the video on the WZZM feature!

Migrant Workers Play Big Role in Harvest

I took the photo on Monday at Shady Lane Cellars in Leelanau County on Monday. There are more photos, and you can view them all right here. I was inspired to get out there by this great feature on migrant workers harvesting grapes the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

Big Bay, Michigan

Big Bay has been in the news a lot as it's near the proposed Kennecott Eagle Mine, and many also know it as the setting for the 1959 classic Anatomy of a Murder. Wikipedia's entry on Big Bay says that as of 2000, the population was 265. Exploring the North says that the town of Big Bay is located 23 miles north of Marquette on Lake Independence, with Lake Superior to the north and east and the McCormick Wilderness Tract and the Huron Mountains to the west. Since I'm calling out friends & neighbors today, I will say that Bill & Kristi of Big Bay Outfitters are great folks and their site has some of the best info on the area (along with Big Bay Online). More links at Absolute Michigan keyword Big Bay. Like everywhere else in Michigan, Big Bay is gonna be COLD today! Windy & rainy too!!