were 2 meetings held on the same day with mostly the same people present. The first was almost 3 hours and started with a very informative tour of the airport behind the scenes. The next 2 hours were spent reviewing the various models of airport governance. This was done by the firm of Steven Baldwin Associates, Airport Management Consultants. They have been hired to educate the BOC and the Airport Commission about their options. And then probably write up the legal papers to

The following article was first published in the Northern Express. It is reproduced here with permission by the author, Tom Gutowski. There’s no denying that by traditional measures, the economy is doing fine. As of this writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is well over 25,000, unemployment remains very low, wages have begun rising, estimated GDP growth in the first quarter was 3.2% (though it’s expected to be revised slightly downward), neither inflation nor deflation

In this report I highlight some of the items from the May 15, 2019 Board of Commissioner Meeting. A video of the meeting is available at http://www.upnorthmedia.org/govtv_gtcounty.asp and the official minutes are available at https://www.grandtraverse.org/AgendaCenter There were several excellent points made by the public, but none is more important than this one by Dave Petrove: The public comments are not recorded in the minutes. If this continues, I will offer to publis

Previously published in the Record Eagle Opinion Section May 10, 2019 Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners, I am here to talk about the Harm Reduction Program you recently turned down. When you voted against that program, you voted to increase the spread of Blood-borne pathogens throughout our county. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, because how would you know about the complexities and frustrations of dealing with the drug culture? You should have postponed t

Sponsored by the GT Bay Watershed Center The forum was kicked off by moderator Morgan Springer, News Director of Interlochen Public Radio. First to speak was Steve Sliver, Environmental Great Lakes Energy (EGLE), Michigan PFAS Action Response Team Exc. Director. Steve explained that the PFAS (polyfluoroalkyl substances) designation includes a number of chemicals such as PFOA’s (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS’s (perfluorooctanesulfonic acid). He stated that PFAS are a dive