Along with many sites on the Web, Leelanau.com went dark on January 18th to protest a pair of truly awful bills that are on a fast-track for passage, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House and the Senate's Protect IP Act (PIPA).
Neither of these new laws would stop piracy, which we at Leelanau.com are opposed to. Both, however, would put control of online content in the hands of large entertainment corporations and the government, placing a giant burden on web media outlets like Wikipedia, WordPress, YouTube ... and even little old Leelanau.com.
With our Leelanau.com, Absolute Michigan and Michigan in Pictures websites all down yesterday, there was some time to think about the issue, and we'd like to share one thought: We live in a world very different from the early 1700s when Parliament enacted the Statute of Anne to address the concerns of English booksellers and printers (you can look it up ... for now, on Wikipedia).
We are encouraged at every turn and by every consumer device to sing along to commercials, dance to the latest music and in general, swim in a sea of ever-present media. You can debate the pros and cons of doing that but it seems that expecting our candid videos, blogged observations or FacebookedTM thoughts won't incorporate background music or samples, brand names is flat-out silly. We need intelligent and well thought out laws that recognize the modern world, and SOPA and PIPA definitely aren't either of those things.
Click here to watch a short video or read more about this issue and please take a moment to contact your elected officials through the links we provide!
Voters around Leelanau County went to the polls yesterday. There's weren't many momentous decisions on the ballot, but it's always nice to have a chance to practice your democracy skills. Some highlights from the Traverse City Record-Eagle Leelanau Election Results:
Bay Area Transportation Authority Millage renewal passed 2541-865.
Leland Public Schools operating millage renewal passed (467-149) as did the Leland Township operating millage renewal (361-119), EMS and fire millages.
In Suttons Bay Township, the park system millage was defeated 440-252.
Photo credit: Fog Bank ... over 'the narrows' by Ken Scott
Thanks to the Sleeping Bear Dunes Visitor's Bureau for this news!
This Saturday (Sep 24) is National Public Lands Day. NPLD is the nation's largest, single-day volunteer event for public lands in the United States, and last year. The impact is huge, especially in this era of declining budgets and last year's 170,000 volunteers worked at over 2,080 sites in every state:
- Removing an estimated 450 tons of trash
- Collecting an estimated 20,000 pounds of invasive plants
- Building and maintaining an estimated 1,320 miles of trails
- Planting an estimated 100,000 trees, shrubs and other native plants
- Contributing an estimated $15 million to improve public lands across the country
The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is inviting you to be a part of this by helping to clean up beaches in the Lakeshore on Saturday from 12-3 PM. Admission to all national parks, including the National Lakeshore, is free Saturday, and volunteers will receive a voucher to use for entrance to various parks at a later date.
Let me be the first to say "I doubt it," but in anticipation of a new burst of energy here, I'm rolling out a fresh post to replace the Turning the Page on Sugar Loaf post with its nearly 400 comments.
This week's Leelanau Enterprise reports that Sugar Loaf owner Kate Wickstrom met with Glen Dempsey, head of the Leelanau County Construction Authority. Dempsey intends to work with Wickstrom towards bringing the long-shuttered resort into compliance with county building codes.
Probably the highlight of the article - other than confirmation that Wickstrom now intends to sell the property - is Cleveland Township supervisor Rick Stein's statement to the township board that Sugar Loaf stands a "pretty good chance of being condemned if things don't happen there pretty quickly."
Thoughts? Comments? Post them below!
The photo is by Karl Kitchen and was posted to the Friends of Sugar Loaf Facebook group.
We try to post positive stories on Leelanau.com, and there's no question that photos like this strike a chord for many as they think fondle of their childhood fishing memories or teaching their grandchildren how to fish.
I think it's important that everyone spend a little time learning about the major threats facing the Great Lakes from Invasive species. Read on for a great feature from IPR's Peter Payette and a little of Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs exploring a new threat from an invasive species we have been able to control until recently, the sea lamprey.
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Every year on the second Friday & Saturday of August (Aug 12 & 13), the Port Oneida Rural Historic District comes alive with activity for the annual Port Oneida Fair (also see the NPS page on the fair). Visitors have the chance to step back in time to experience life as it was in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Visitors can take the trolley, drive, hike, or bike to the six unique historic sites where a variety of traditional rural crafts and activities take place. Timber framers, antique boat builders and quilt makers will be demonstrating their craft. Potters and blacksmiths will be hard at work. Children can try their hand at crosscut sawing and other farm implements. Oxen can be seen cutting hay in the fields while artists in the fields create paintings inspired by the cultural landscape. Take in a display of antique bicycles, cameras and phonographs. Learn about basket weaving, soapmaking, buttermaking, candle dipping, spinning, and fur trapping. Satisfy your curiosity and walk through many of the historic farmhouses and barns that will be open for tours.
The event is hosted by Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and co-sponsored by Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes and Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear. For more information, call the Park at 326-5135.
New this year is a Friday evening Chicken Dinner with music from 5-7 PM to benefit Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear. Tickets are $12 online in advance!
Speaking of Port Oneida, the Park Service is seeking comment on the Port Oneida Rural Historic District Landscape Management Plan / Environmental Assessment. The National Lakeshore would like your opinion on the best way to manage the historic landscape at Port Oneida and are seeking your comments on the EA until the public comment period closes on September 12, 2011. A public open house on the project is scheduled for Tuesday, August 23, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center auditorium in Empire. A 30-minute presentation on the EA will be held at 5:30 p.m., with a question and answer period following.
Click to review the plan at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore website.
While I think the headline New Hope for Sugar Loaf? has been used two or twenty times before, this story from last week's Ticker has some positive news. They report:
The Leelanau County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (LCBRA) recently made a small but meaningful move in the hiring of AKT Peerless. The Saginaw-based consulting firm’s mission: to market and make use of a $1 million dollar revolving loan fund granted to LCBRA by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Roughly 80 percent of the fund would be available to developers to help with up-front and long-term environmental clean-up costs in the county, a tantalizing incentive LCBRA hopes will make redeveloping the resort more attractive to potential developers.
But what exactly needs to be cleaned up? And how much will it cost?
Leelanau County Planning Director Trudy Galla tells The Ticker that the project wouldn’t be easy – or cheap: “The buildings are falling into disrepair … There are issues with mold, water intrusion and a bit of asbestos. There was also a septic backup in one of the buildings. It looks like the Tennis Barn will need to come down, and there are old underground storage tanks that need to be removed.”
Photo by Karl Kitchen from the Friends of Sugar Loaf group on Facebook - see more of the condition of the resort in his Sugar Loaf - April 2010 Album on Facebook!
The Leelanau Enterprise reports that partisan politics in Washington are being blamed for a failure by the Senate and House of Representatives to agree on operational funding for the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and other entities in the National Park System. The Lakeshore is Leelanau's #1 tourist attraction and expects about the same usage as 2010.
Park officials in Empire say they are focused on keeping the Leelanau County’s No. 1 tourist destination open while Congress and the Administration work to head off a potential government shutdown...
Last Thursday, U.S. Rep. Dave Camp (R-Midland), who represents Michigan’s Fourth Congressional District including Leelanau County, blames Democrats who controlled both houses of Congress and the Whitehouse until Jan. 1. The present federal fiscal year began Oct. 1.
“Unfortunately, the reality is the Democratic lawmakers who controlled Congress last year did not live up to their Constitutional responsibilities, by failing to pass any of the 12 annual appropriations bills. With that, Sleeping Bear Dunes management, along with other federal agencies, now faces an uncertain financial future this year because they have no guaranteed funding,” Camp said in a statement.
While the budget proposed by President Obama would increase the National Park Service budget by almost $138 million, he bill in the US House of Representatives would House bill would cut the 2011 NPS budget by roughly 8% ($218 million).
Photo Credit: Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore - gateway by BruceandLetty
Thanks to the Wikipedia entry for Leelanau County, Michigan, I learned something cool this morning:
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,532 square miles (6,557.8 km2), of which 348 square miles (901.3 km2) is land and 2,184 square miles (5,656.5 km2) (86.24%) is water. The county has the second-highest proportion of water area of any county in the United States, behind only Keweenaw County, Michigan. Lake Leelanau is the county's largest body of inland water...
Seems like something we should be spreading around!
To see some of this water, check out the Water slideshow from the Leelanau (dot com) group on Flickr.
Photo Credit: i'll be on the water by todd richter
There's a petition for county government to take a role in broadband access for Leelanau Peninsula that we strongly urge you to review and support. The preamble and text state:
Leelanau County continues to fall behind with regards to to adequate Broadband internet access, due to unserved, and under-served areas. Geographically, Leelanau County has been bypassed by affordable and accessible middle mile infrastructure upon which last-mile services can be built. As education, emergency management, telecommuting, and commerce are more and more dependent upon adequate internet access, We hereby request your acceptance of the need and necessity, and demonstrate interest and show of support as the elected representatives of the People of Leelanau County.
We, the undersigned, request the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners to support and solicit through the "Request for Proposal" for the development of a middle mile broadband open access network.
Click here to view and sign the petition!
Great Indoor Folk Festival ~ Feb 12, 2012
