Alpena is art town. For such a small town to have a year-round professional theater, a vibrant community theater, an impressive stable of public sculptures, a slew of art galleries, and a bevy of talented residents is truly impressive. And making our commitment to the arts clear to any ...
My heart is heavy for young families with school-aged children right now. It has to be hard, especially for those homes with two working parents, to know what to do regarding the start of school in a few weeks. Do we send our children? Do we keep them home and homeschool them? Do we keep ...
The Alpena News Managing Editor Justin Hinkley wrote that “a newspaper’s job is not to give elected officials credit but to hold them accountable for their actions.” That works against newspapers. Holding the feet of elected officials to the fire is fine, but by not giving them credit ...
There’s been a lot of important news on the journalism front recently, but busy weeks have prevented me from tackling it all individually. So let’s punch through it all here in some quick-hit bits of wisdom: ∫ MLive closes its Grand Rapids-area press. The publisher of some ...
A recent letter on this page stated the author was “appalled by journalistic sensationalism.” I (don’t want to, but need to) know about the current COVID-19 local status. It is highly contagious. The examples listed by the author are not. You cannot get cancer from a hug; you will not ...
Waterfowl hunters will have three chances to participate in a goose hunt within the Alpena city limits in September. City Building Official Don Gilmet told the Municipal Council earlier this week that, because of higher number of geese in the city this summer, staff had decided to host three ...
I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to Tony Wyatt, who allowed me to acquire the last remaining artifact from the Onaway Airport. My grandparents from both my mother’s and my father’s families came here from Poland and the Netherlands to carve a community out of ...
The cliff was enormous. Then again, everything is relative. I stood at the base of it, looking up. My kids’ merry faces hung over the edge, watching me expectantly. “Could you put your foot in that little notch?” my daughter asked, pointing with one dangling arm, her hand only a few ...
USMCA (U.S.-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement) guarantees a Mexican minimum wage set at $16 per hour. United States of America federal minimum wage guarantees a United States of America minimum wage set at $7.25 per hour (Aug. 1, 2020). Whom are we taking care of? LANCE A. HEITZ, Presque Isle
EDITOR’S NOTE: A version of this column appeared earlier in The News. The wind came out of the west-northwest and was funneled into a course, the one the river carved. It moved through the trees, the reeds, the stumps, the cattails, causing them to sway, then moved on across lily pads, ...
I recently read the minutes from the May 18 school board meeting. It read that they are not replacing the roofs on the schools until next year. Is the school board sitting on their brains? Without a good roof, you do not have a building. By not replacing the roof now, you are going to ...
It is clear that the coronavirus has had a devastating impact on workers, families and businesses in Northeast Michigan. Our community is hurting, and, without immediate action from Congress, even more people will lose the federal supports that are keeping them from economic collapse. United ...
It is a disgrace that the president who ordered peaceful protesters in Washington, D.C. disbursed using federal officers and troops employing tear gas for a photo op of him holding someone else’s Bible has attacked Joe Biden on religion. Claiming that Biden would “hurt the Bible and hurt ...
“We’re all in this together” says a sign outside The Shop on U.S.-23 South in Alpena. We really should all be in this together. Unfortunately, we are not. Thanks for the reminder, Mike. Divide et impera (Latin) or divide and conquer. Some attribute this to the Romans, others give ...
Someday, sooner or later — and I hope it is sooner — we will dispose of these masks and see each other again. I was checking out at a local grocery store the other day, and a very pleasant woman was checking me out. We joked around a bit and I think she was smiling under her mask, but ...
A lot was learned from Tuesday’s vote across Michigan. And the takeaway is that, unless major changes occur in the election process between now and November, tallying votes is going to remain a very long process. We give local election officials a solid “A” across the region for ...
While there are still no reports, as there have been in other communities, of Northeast Michiganders coming to fisticuffs over coronavirus restrictions or politics, we have noticed a tangible increase in tension. There are the snarky comments at the grocery store, the accusatory letters to ...
What helps children, parents, seniors, people with disabilities, and adults with limited income while simultaneously supporting health care workers? If you guessed Medicaid, kudos! You got it. Last week marked 55 years of the public health insurance program. On July 30, 1965, President ...
Firefighters on July 21 did an awesome job saving the Thunder Bay Theatre from being destroyed by the blaze that leveled the adjacent John A. Lau Saloon. But their valiance couldn’t stop the blaze from causing severe collateral damage to the theater. As News Lifestyles editor Darby ...
If Joe Biden is elected president, this might be the concession speech from the incumbent president: “Hell, no. I won’t go.” Raise your hand if you think President Donald Trump will B.A.M.N. the election results — that is, do everything within his power, By Any Means Necessary, to ...