July 2006

Livable Communities: Reflections from a New Mom
After months of pushing a baby stroller around Traverse City, community planner Megan Olds is convinced that young families and senior citizens have more in common than you might think. Read why communities that work to accommodate all generations are the real "cool cities." 

Community Deficit Disorder
Can an entire community exhibit the symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder? Traverse City Planner Russ Soyring provides some insightful analysis.

Suttons Bay: The High Road or the Drive-Through?
The Village of Suttons Bay is at a crossroads. The Planning Commission is struggling with something many of us take for granted: Is there a place for drive-throughs in a Village...or not? Planning Commission member Kathy Finch covers the options.

The Governor By the Bay
Would William G. Milliken have become Michigan's premier environmental governor had he been raised in the city? Biographer Dave Dempsey asserts that for Milliken, who spent his childhood along the shores of Grand Traverse Bay, place and politics are inseparable.

In Search of a Small Plan
Our home is the place with which we are most familiar. This month, author Anne-Marie Oomen explores how much home one needs.

Water Flowing Underground
The Grand Traverse region is defined by water.  But Grand Traverse Band Environmental Stewardship Director Andy Knott reminds us that there is more water here than meets the eye.

Central Grade at Risk? City should step up to support neighborhood schools
For generations, Traverse City school children have learned and played inside the red brick walls of Central Grade. But as the school district evaluates the future of its buildings, city officials must speak up to support Central Grade and the other schools at the heart of Traverse City's neighborhoods, insists former mayor Carol Hale.

Some Thoughts on Place & Cell Phones

In which Joe VanderMeulen envisions a well-connected future...

Gerie Greenspan on the City Opera House - UPDATED!

The City Opera House in Traverse City was once a booming town center, and will be again, if Gerie Greenspan and the City Opera House Heritage Association have anything to do with it.  Here is a discussion of the past, present and future of the City Opera House facilitated by Jim Muratzki.