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).
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!
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.
The Leelanau Enterprise reports that units of government and other organizations in Leelanau County will receive about 20% of the nearly $1 million in casino revenue sharing funds paid by the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (GTB). The largest single award is $75,000 through Grand Traverse County for a Father Fred Foundation program to offer financial assistance to families facing utility shutoffs. Other highlights:
Government-to-government agreement with Leelanau County for a prisoner housing contract, $63,875.
Empire Township, funding to purchase a generator to be used on conjunction with the township’s agreement with the American Red Cross for emergency needs, $4,568.
Leelanau Conservation District, funding to purchase two new desktop computers, three sets of new office software, and one operating system for existing laptops, $2,400.
Leelanau County, funding for Leelanau Clean Water programs for various projects, $9,930.
Leelanau County, funding for the county Planning Commission to update aerial mapping, $20,000.
Suttons Bay Township, funding for Inland Seas Education Association to develop and install an "Asian Carp Exhibit," $7,550.
Also included are numerous payments to the Suttons Bay-Bingham District Library, Fire & Rescue Authority, and Suttons Bay Public School.
The Leelanau Enterprise reports that County commissioner David W. “Chauncey” Shiflett and the county board’s Wireless Internet Subcommittee are exploring Leelanau County residents' use of and satisfaction with their Internet service and whether or not there's a role for county government in improving Internet service.
The county is seeking proposals from about a dozen Michigan internet service providers to gauge interest in setting up a wireless Internet backbone on the Leelanau Peninsula using county-owned towers and other assets which could then be utilized by providers of wireless internet service.
Rob Franzo of Mitten Communications is working as a consultant for the county and said:
“What we’re proposing will essentially complete the ‘middle mile’ for service providers ... The whole idea behind our plan would be to remove some of the barriers that have prevented companies from investing in Leelanau County and being able to provide better Internet service to more remote areas of the county."
Subcommittee chairman Shiflett said the overarching goal of the group should be to ensure that at least 95-percent of Leelanau County residents have access to wireless Broadband Internet service...
(county information technology director Ron) Plamondon said he had been in touch with representatives of several schools in Leelanau County who, he said, are very interested in the issue because students are now routinely being issued laptop computers and doing homework online.
The Port Oneida Rural Historic District — the picturesque tapestry of late 19th century farms, fields and rolling hills, just east of Glen Arbor on M-22 — will soon have a Cultural Landscape Management Plan, which Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (the local branch of the National Park Service, or NPS) will develop together with an Environmental Assessment.
“The purpose of the Plan,” according to a Park press release, “is to explore the various ways in which the NPS might preserve cultural landscapes in the District in order to protect cultural resources and provide for visitor interpretive and recreational opportunities.”
But first, the Park wants public comments on how to best to preserve and celebrate Port Oneida. The National Lakeshore is especially interested in how you envision the landscape looking many years from now. Will some fields be allowed to return to mature forest? Will some fields be cultivated or planted with cover crops?
Comments are now closed on this post - head over to A New Leaf at Sugar Loaf to follow the ongoing cavalcade of folly that Leelanau's signature ski hill has become.
Please post your information, memories and thoughts about Sugar Loaf Mountain below. I'd like to have us try and take the discussion to a level that moves Sugar Loaf past the sordid mess it has become over the last decade and a half and towards becoming a productive driver of Leelanau's economy once again. Click for the Sugar Loaf Poll!
I'd also ask you to start asking your elected officials at every level you can why an entity that directly employed hundreds of people and indirectly hundreds more has been allowed to fester for so long and what they are going to do to change this.
Election results are still rolling in so we probably won't have the final results until later today. Probably the biggest news is Republican Ray Franz beating incumbent Democrat (and Leelanau resident) Dan Scripps for the 101st District State House.
The results are not final, but Record-Eagle's Leelanau County Results page says that the new 86th District Court Judge will be Mike Stepka and that Larry J. Nelson looks to be the new Leelanau County Probate Judge. The parks request in Suttons Bay looks to have failed, but Fire & Rescue Millage in Leland & Elmwood and the solid waste and recycling proposal rolled to passage. School bonds in Suttons Bay and Leland passed as well. The likely county board is:
We at Leelanau.com would like to encourage you to get out and VOTE today! Over at Absolute Michigan, we have a 2010 Michigan Election Resources page that gives some great information and links to help you make your decision on statewide issues.
TV 7&4 has a nice feature on Leland High School's Mock Election, a bi-annual affair that drew over 1000 area students to learn about and meet candidates for office. A Leland student (who I'm pretty sure I know) produced this video from the 2008 Mock Election that gives you a taste of what this 20 year old program is all about.
Northern Lakes Community Mental Health is sponsoring the movie PROOF on Wednesday, October 27 at the Bay Theatre in Suttons Bay. There will also be a discussion afterward on mental illness, family relationships, boundaries, and how to be a supportive friend or family member. PROOF stars Oscar winners Gwyneth Paltrow and Anthony Hopkins (trailer below). It's a powerful story of a young woman haunted by her father's past and the shadow of her own future. Learn about mental health services and supports available in the Grand Traverse region.
No tickets are necessary but you may reserve a seat at no cost by calling The Bay at 231-271-5800 or emailing thebay@chartermi.net.
Northern Lakes Community Mental Health (NLCMH) serves Crawford, Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Missaukee, Roscommon, and Wexford Counties, and directly provides and contracts services for adults with Mental Illness, Persons with Developmental Disabilities, and children with Serious Emotional Disturbance as defined by the Michigan Mental Health Code in these six counties.
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.
There's a 
