Lansing’s Complete Streets Victory

In the midst of all of the things that make people cynical about Lansing’s ability to get much done, the Michigan Legislature pulled a fast one last month: It adopted a package of “Complete Streets” bills without acrimony or posturing.
The bills, aimed at providing safety for all roadway users, not just cars and trucks, pulled [...]

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Traverse Region Eyes a Rail Revival

There was something of a Grand Vision twist to last Thursday’s Michigan By Rail Forum at the Grand Traverse County Civic Center.
For one thing, like Grand Vision events, it drew a big crowd: Roughly 130 people packed the room-some of them fresh off a special, rare train trip from Cadillac to just south of Traverse [...]

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Hey, Locavores: Rate the Plate!

Do you ever wish eating local could be easy? Well, for the next seven weeks in Frankfort and Elberta, it is not only easy, it’s spiced up with some friendly competition.
Four restaurants in those two towns are staging something brand-new: the Green Plate Challenge. Each eatery is featuring one menu item that is made almost [...]

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Benzie Citizens Moving Grand Vision

More than 20 Benzie residents, community leaders, and local officials are now working together to further the goals of the regional, citizen-based Grand Vision planning process in Benzie County.
The group is planning a countywide event this fall-not only to update the community on the local and regional progress the Grand Vision is making, but also [...]

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Carless Love: The Bonuses

Part Two of a two-part series
When I gave away my car a year ago, I not only intended to save money, I actually did: about $6,000. And, it turns out, a large portion of the money I spent getting around by bike ended up staying in the community, rather than leaving town.
But other good things [...]

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Carless Love: The Financials

Part One of a two-part feature.
Just over a year ago, I made a commitment to myself and my community.
On that day-July 17, 2009-I picked up my nephew Kevin at Traverse City’s Cherry Capital Airport in my 2002 Saturn Vue, gave him the keys and the title, and walked away from car ownership.
It was a small [...]

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Tour de Plants

There is simply nothing like a farm tour as a learning tool for growers. I don’t really care if you are a farmer wannabe, a beginner, or a veteran with years of experience. There is always something to learn.
And the best people to learn from are others in the same business with plenty of practical [...]

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Summer Celebration: The Video!

Wow, what an evening!
On June 29, more than 500 people gathered for our annual Taste the Local Difference Summer Celebration-a lively party that celebrates our region’s excellent and varied locally grown food.
Growers, grocers, wineries, breweries, our sponsors, supporters, and friends joined 20 food artisans under a big tent at the Grand Traverse Resort-and enjoyed all [...]

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Good Coops Make Good Neighbors, Better Eggs

Honk if you see the Eggmobile!
The very colorful Farm-to-School Eggmobile is now in place and in action. It’s parked in a pasture leased by The May Farm, on the southwest corner of Graves and Lobb Roads, near Frankfort, and its producing top quality, farm-fresh eggs for our county’s school children.
What exactly is an Eggmobile? It’s [...]

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Creating a Community Climate Action Plan

There is widespread consensus that real action must be taken now to decrease the impact we are having on our environment and combat climate change. To help guide the actions our community takes, SEEDS is launching a Climate Action Planning Survey.
“If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and [...]

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To Be a Star, Hire an Energy Czar

So far, our answers to Traverse City Light & Power’s questions about our “20-20″ proposal have explained that saving a watt is the same as generating a watt and is much cheaper, so spending on efficiency makes way more sense than spending on new power plants.
We’ve also highlighted something called “decoupling,” which allows a utility [...]

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Bikes, Busses, Carpools—Oh My!

The 16th annual Traverse City Smart Commute Week is now over, and what a week it was!
Many who joined in on the fun left with a full belly from all those free breakfasts, a healthier bod from all that biking and walking, and a new outlook on the possibility of a car-light future. Here’s the [...]

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Extinction? Forever! Seed-Saving Class? Next Month!

“Extinction” usually makes me think of things like mastodons or civil political discourse, not tomatoes or apples.
True, tomatoes and apples are in no immediate danger of going completely away.
Think about this, though: 100 years ago there were an estimated 7,000 named apple varieties being grown in North America. Perhaps 1,500 remain, many hanging by a [...]

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N. Michigan Governments Investing in Energy Efficiency

Frank Shaler is constantly on the lookout for ways to save Charlevoix County money on its electricity bills.
These days, the county maintenance director has a new ally-$130,000 in energy efficiency grants. The money will allow Charlevoix County to perform complete energy audits on seven of the county’s buildings.
Already, Mr. Shaler said, an audit has found [...]

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Hagerty’s Strawberry Surprise Boosts MLUI’s Farm Food Guide

Philip Howes is used to maneuvering the big Calvin Lutz Farms delivery truck up to the loading docks of Tom’s, Oleson’s, and Glen’s Market grocery stores in Traverse City.
But last week he experienced something new:  He made the tight squeeze into the parking lot of a major downtown employer, where the company’s human resources staff [...]

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