High Speed Internet – the new Mackinac Bridge?
June 4, 2010
Mackinac Bridge…..I-75, photo by bitsorf.
In this week’s Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce e-News, Laura Oblinger wrote :
In 1957, the Mackinac Bridge connected the state to new economic and social opportunities. More than a half-century later, high-speed Internet service (broadband) can have a similar impact by connecting all regional businesses to the global marketplace. Statewide broadband deployment is projected to result in a $400 billion increase in the state’s gross state product over 10 years.
If tourists can remain connected to their work, it could mean an additional $52 million to the Traverse City area economy due to stays being extended by just two days.
You can check out the Chamber’s Regional Broadband Initiative page and learn a lot more about Michigan’s Broadband Initiatives and even check connectivity across the state through Connect Michigan.
Check this out bigger!
Much more about the Mighty Mackinac Bridge from Michigan in Pictures!
Michigan June Events!
June 3, 2010
June, photo by creed_400
“There are moments, above all on June evenings, when the lakes that hold our moons are sucked into the earth, and nothing is left but wine and the touch of a hand.” ~ Charles Morgan
Absolute Michigan’s June Michigan Event Calendar says that June’s birthstone is the pear and flower is the rose or the honeysuckle. The month is named after Juno (Hera), who was the goddess of marriage and the married couple’s household, and it’s considered good luck to be married June.
The month kicks off with this weekend’s Kalamazoo’s Greek Festival & KIA Annual Art Fair & Beer Garden. There’s also the Festival of the Arts in Grand Rapids, one of the longest-running festivals in the state and the largest all-volunteer arts event in the nation!
Next weekend launches the Mackinac Island Lilac Festival (Jun 11-20) as well as the Water Front Film Festival in Saugatuck (Jun 10-13) the
Nor-East’r Music & Art Festival (Jun 11-13) in Mio and the Ella Sharp Wine and Art Festival in Jackson (Jun 12). If you’re in Leelanau County on June 12th, you van check out the M-22 Challenge in the Sleeping Bear Dunes and the Leland Wine & Food Festival.
June rolls on with the Ann Arbor Summer Festival (Jun 18 – Jul 11), the Hot Blues and BBQ / Detroit Blues Challenge Kickoff 2008 (Jun 17-19), Kalamazoo’s Island Festival celebration of reggae music (Jun 17-19), Lansing’s Lansing Juneteenth Celebration (Jun 18-19), the Belleville National Strawberry Festival (Jun 18-20), the Dearborn Arab International Festival (Jun 18-20) and the International Freedom Festival in Detroit (Jun 18-20).
We’re just halfway through the month and have’t touched on the Ann Arbor Summer Festival (Jun 18 – Jul 11), the Lake Michigan Shore Wine Festival in Bridgman on June 19th, Muskegon’s Summer Celebration (Jun 23 – Jul 4) and the Detroit Windsor International Film Festival (Jun 24-27) – head over to the Absolute Michigan June Event Calendar for details on all these events and more!
Be sure to check this out bigger and in his June 2009 set (slideshow).
Hey – it’s summertime – check our Michigan Summer Wallpaper Archive for photos to get your desktop in sync with the season!
Open Field, Upnorth Michigan
June 2, 2010
_______, photo by ryan sandoval.
Taken with Minolta Autopak 600x.
Check it out background boomtacular and in Ryan’s slideshow.
Stand for the land … and the Yellow Dog River
June 1, 2010
Yellow Dog, photo by Luminous Light Huntress
Stand for the Land is asking folks to show up at the State Capitol this Thursday (June 3) at 11:30 AM for a peaceful rally as they deliver a petition to the Natural Resources Commission regarding Michigan’s first permitted sulfide mine. The event features speakers and Michigan musicians and you can get all the details on Facebook.
The mine is located on the Yellow Dog Plains north of Marquette, where this lovely little river flows. Acid mine drainage from sulfide mines has killed many of the rivers in the west, and there has yet to be a sulfide mine that hasn’t created acid mine drainage.
Have a look at what acid mining has done to Sudbury, and then see if the “jobs” argument holds water when you put the 100 or so mine jobs in one hand and Michigan’s countless tourism industry jobs in the other.
The Yellow Dog Watershed has this to say about the river & watershed:
The Yellow Dog River Watershed lies in eastern Baraga and western Marquette Counties in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The area is known as the Huron Peninsula and is one of the last wild areas in the state. The river begins in the McCormick Wilderness Area as an outflow of Bulldog Lake. It then runs 52 miles and drops 1096 feet at an average rate of 1:150ft through granite gorges, open plains, and hemlock forests to end in Lake Independence. From there, another outflow, the Iron River, runs from Independence to Lake Superior. The Iron River was historically part of the Yellow Dog River but had its name changed once industry came to the area.
The watershed encompasses 98 square miles and drains over six smaller subwatersheds. The Lost, Bob, Bushey, Big Pup, and Little Pup creeks all flow into the Yellow Dog River. Waterfalls abound along the Yellow Dog and its tributaries. The terrain is very hilly (some flatlanders might even say mountainous) with high ridges and low valleys giving a spectacular view. The highest point in the watershed is over 1600 ft. Not only can you see the river and forests from the hilltops but also Lake Superior. Wetlands abound and the forest type varies from old growth pine groves to aspen regeneration to stands of hardwood/conifer mix.
Be sure to check this out bigger.
