News earlier this week that tourism numbers for the area are up is welcome news indeed. According to the Alpena Convention and Visitors Bureau hotels and businesses have seen a steady stream of visitors from out of the area. Tourism is a strong — somewhat unscientific — indicator of the ...
One of the responsibilities and honors the President of the United State has is to represent the entire county at ceremonial events such as the dedication of a U.S. Navy ship, speaking to graduates of one of the military academies or addressing the National Jamboree of the Boy Scouts. I ...
A few thoughts as I head off for some R&R: ∫ I don't know if it happens to you or not, but when I encounter someone on the road who does something wrong/dangerous/illegal/etc., I encounter the same driving behavior all day. For example, on Thursday I got behind someone who was in the ...
In Saturday's Letter to the Editor, Mark John Hunter said in part, “Keeping a low minimum wage is not civil in substance.” Having a minimum wage law is not civil in substance by any stretch of the imagination. I can't think of any other law that does more damage to the education of our ...
A mall in China has installed what are being called "husband storage pods," which contain a comfortable chair and video games to help him pass the time while she shops. American malls and big box stores, please follow suit. I don't necessarily need the video games, although I wouldn't be ...
Last Saturday night while we were on our nightly bicycle ride through downtown Alpena, we decided to finish the night with a ride through Holy Cross Cemetery at about 10 p.m. To our surprise, the amount of solar lights that glow after dark was amazing. We have visited there during daytime ...
“I could feel his spirit coming back with each word I read.” Helen Buccella-Costa recalls a particular gentleman who had enjoyed an extremely full life. By the time she met him he was angry over his body’s betrayal, which had left him bedridden, with a fading ability to communicate. ...
In a traditional Hollywood film it is easy to predict how a neighbor will enter into the film. The majority of the time they walk over to box-filled porches with a plate of food as a welcoming gift. In a few films I have watched, specifically within the horror genre, neighbors are often seen ...
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is well aware of the powerlessness of leaders in this country and others upset about his ongoing repression of his own people. Despite enormous oil reserves, Venezuela’s economy is a shambles and Maduro’s regime is in the process of making liberty no ...
For decades, U.S. military strategy could be focused on the single nation capable of launching an attack on our mainland, the old Soviet Union. A secondary, though still important, consideration was China. There were no other major threats to Americans here in the United States. That has ...
What in the world is the City of Alpena trying to prove? The flow of traffic downtown has been smooth and logical. Parking, if not plentiful, has been adequate and accessible with no need for unconventional plans that are not quite self explanatory. What is the impetus for moving to a ...
I will agree with whoever says that we don't want Alpena/Ossineke to become Traverse City, but driving by the abandoned Dunkin' Donuts store, especially following a recent trip to that Other Town on the West Side of the State, makes me wonder why we do not, or perhaps cannot (for unexplained ...
MS-13 is one of the most vicious criminal organizations in history. All one needs to know about MS-13 is that its preferred method of killing is to use machetes, axes and knives to hack victims apart slowly. Not infrequently, the group’s targets are children. Last week, President Donald ...
It’s Alpena County Fair Week! I’m learning that this one week of summer really takes on a whole new meaning when you have a child in 4-H. I spent many long days at the Fairgrounds while growing up. The fair was the most important event of the year. It was the culmination of a year’s ...
This week the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is trying to raise awareness about invasive species with “STOP the Invasives Week” in state parks. The initiative is running Tuesday through Saturday and will “highlight the identification, management and impact of invasive ...
It's not exactly a new political strategy which you can best describe as "guilt by association." For years both Michigan political parties have tried to siphon votes away from one candidate by linking him or her to someone else who is insanely unpopular with the voters. Democrats linked ...
Northern Michigan extends a warm welcome to visitors participating in Exercise Northern Strike at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center. Nearly 5,000 guests will be in northern Michigan over the next two weeks participating in this important training exercise that involves Army, Air ...
Like many readers of the Alpena News, I'm wondering why the writer focused on the fact that the two accused men were “former Alpena High School athletes.” The multiple criminal sexual conduct charges are alarming and disgusting and the penalties they may face are life altering as they ...
In the end, Republicans have no one to blame other than themselves. For years they have complained about the Affordable Care Act, about how they would repeal it once assuming control of leadership. Yet when in the position to do so, they flopped in the halls of Congress like fish out of ...
I want to express my appreciation for the Long Lake Association — President Tom Ludwig and members Kurt Pratel, Bob and Kathy Garant, Steve Roznowski, Faye and Jack Walker, Doc Woolman, Jim Starks, Roger Liedke, Karen Morey and Howard Welsh — for their active involvement in various Long ...