If you care about Michigan’s economic and energy future, a trip to northern Lower Michigan’s Crystal Mountain Resort, located roughly between Cadillac and Traverse City, for this weekend’s conference on that subject looks to be well worth the price of admission-and the carbon emissions to get there.

Some of the nation’s most recognized experts on energy and economics will be appearing at Crystal Mountain, in Thompsonville, for the conference, entitled Michigan’s Future: Energy, Economy & the Environment. The conference program is unique: It features an unusually broad group of energy experts, tree huggers, energy executives, legislators, entrepreneurs, economists, authors, and … Continue Reading

I made my first batch of homebrew in 1975 or so. It was pretty bad. In fact, the guy I learned from, who in turn had learned from his dad, didn’t know a few key steps. Like how to carbonate the swill. But over the years, I figured out a thing or two, and by the early 1990’s (ok, I am a slow learner) I was making a respectable brew.

For a number of reasons unrelated to the topic at hand, I didn’t make any beer last year-maybe the first whole year off brewing since that … Continue Reading

Longtime Benzie County Planner Dave Neiger now has a job for at least a couple more months, but questions continue to surface about the future of county-wide planning and zoning in Benzie County.

In the face of a sharp political backlash over Neiger’s proposed ouster last month, we can now report that the county Board of Commissioners has agreed to hold off - for now - on laying off Neiger.

“They’ve decided to extend my position through the end of December,” Neiger said.

But whether the county will retain Neiger for the long-term is unclear. Neiger has no commitment from the county regarding … Continue Reading

As the Grand Vision Decision heads towards next week’s “Fill It Out!” deadline, I’ve noticed two things: First, people are very enthusiastic about a project that invites their help in shaping their region’s future growth.

And second, a surprising number of those people seem reluctant to actually fill out the Grand Vision Decision Scorecards. They feel they need to know a lot more about what they’re doing before shouldering such a big responsibility.

Well, there are mountains of data out there, some … Continue Reading

Benzie County Zoning Administrator Craig Seger apologized to the planning commission Tuesday night for the furor caused by his role in the ouster of longtime Benzie County planner Dave Neiger.

Mr. Seger has faced sharp criticism from some observers for advocating for Mr. Neiger’s dismissal, including a “no confidence” vote by the planning commission.

Mr. Seger told commissioners last Tuesday night that he was trying to improve the Benzie County Planning and Zoning Departments, but admitted his “methods” were flawed.

“When I was hired for this position, I was asked to make improvements” Mr. Seger said. “When I started, I was under the … Continue Reading

The Harvest Festival, which comes to the Cathedral Barns at Grand Traverse Commons on Saturday, Oct. 11, sparks strong memories for me-of both a previous, uneasy time in Traverse City, and of more recent times when our community pulled together to protect land, preserve a heritage-and build a vibrant future.

That future, evolving right now at the lovely Commons property, includes economic bustle, quiet natural spaces, and neighborly connections through good food.

Show up next Saturday, and you’ll see what I mean.

You’ll see it when you … Continue Reading

Big things are happening in a small office in Houghton, Mich., on the campus of Michigan Technological University, and they are affecting kids in classrooms across the state, as well as citizen planners literally around the world.

Joan Chadde wants to make sure that, in the coming decades, Michigan’s citizens can make well-informed decisions about their communities’ growth, land use, environment. But Ms. Chadde is not turning to local governments and officials to do that; instead, she’s turning to teachers and kids.

Ms. Chadde and her colleagues at the … Continue Reading

“Traverse City’s recent Day of Caring featured a parade through the downtown.”

For 13 years thousands of volunteers in this rural and quite vibrant northwest corner of Michigan have answered the call to help their community on a special Day of Caring that drew nearly 1,000 people this month.

They spruce up neighborhood schools and weatherize homes of the elderly. Collect food for local food pantries. Mentor youth. Employers give teams of employees the day off to work on projects together.

And this year, for the first time, the breakfast that … Continue Reading

Local food is all the rage. Books over the last couple years by Michael Pollan, Barbara Kingsolver and others have been a factor, rising fuel costs have played a part, the proliferation of farmers markets and community supported agriculture (CSA) farms is important. I don’t think Bill McKibben mentioned local food in his talk in Traverse City a couple weeks ago, but it is a big part of his latest book, Deep Economics.

Local has been described by some as the ‘new organic.’ People are ready for real food that tastes good!

Thanks in large part to the Michigan … Continue Reading

Update: On Oct. 1 the Senate Agriculture Committee CANCELED a hearing on the four farm-to-school and related Select Michigan bills originally set for Oct. 2. It will be rescheduled in NOVEMBER. To weigh in, send your comments to the clerk of the committee, Jeff Cobb, at jcobb@senate.michigan.gov or fax 517-373-3300.  You may also speak at the hearing if you are able. For more information, call Mr. Cobb at 517-373-1635. Click here for contact information for each of the members of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

Farm-to-school legislation took a big step forward in Michigan earlier … Continue Reading