YOU MAY HAVE noticed that big hole next to the big pile of dirt in the parking lot in front of the Westwood Mall on US 41.
Nope, it’s not gonna be an Olive Garden. (For some reason, that seems to be on a lot of wish lists.)
What it will be is a new branch of Aspen Dental Management, a corporate dental chain with about 400 offices in more than 20 states.
Aspen will arrive here with a less than stellar reputation–chronic complaints, a class action lawsuit, and an unflattering report two years ago by Frontline and the Center for Public Integrity–Patients, Pressure and Profits at Aspen Dental.
A quote from the report: “…The same business model that makes Aspen Dental accessible to people short on cash can also lock people into debt and has led to complaints of patients being overcharged or given unnecessary treatments. Former employees say Aspen trained them in high pressure sales…”
Aspen has admitted no wrong.
It markets itself to moderate to low income patients, many of whom may have neglected their dental health for a long time. The U.P. probably has plenty of such patients. Let’s hope that Aspen’s somewhat dismal reputation is more hype than reality.
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WE’LL BE WITNESSING a lopsided political forum Thursday at Peter White Public Library. It’ll be tilting to the left.
The American Association of University Women and the Upper Peninsula Children’s Coalition are co-sponsoring the event. They invited candidates for the UP’s House seat, two local State Senate seats, and four State House seats.
Fourteen candidates all told, seven Democrats and seven Republicans.
The problem is, all but one of the Republicans has begged off of the event, claiming a conflict of some sort.
Pete Mackin, who’s challenging incumbent John Kivela for his State House seat, is the only Republican promising to show up.
Here’s a guess at what happened. The two sponsoring groups sound kinda liberal, don’t they? Maybe the Republicans don’t believe they’d get a fair shake with the questions or the audience. In fact, a couple of years ago, one of Republicans reportedly felt he got a raw deal on the questions at the forum.
It’s too bad. The forum will be televised by Charter Cable and aired several times before Election Day. We need to know who we’re voting for.
While we’re on the subject, why is there no forum for City Commission candidates? It’s an important election for a city dealing with major issues, and the candidates are interesting and diverse. But what exactly do they stand for?
Looks like the minority of us who go to the polls will just vote on the basis of friendship or name recognition or eenie-meenie-miney-moe.
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NOW, SOME ENCOURAGING news.
The Warming Center for Room at the Inn has just opened on Washington Street downtown across from the Food Co-op.
The Room at the Inn provides beds for the homeless and transients at a rotating group of churches throughout the year, but what the volunteer agency has needed is a place for their clients to go every morning when they have to vacate the churches.
That’s where the Warming Center comes in, and just in time for winter. It’s now providing breakfasts seven mornings a week, plus showers and rest rooms, and a social worker.
More services and longer hours for the Center are planned in the months ahead.
Yeah, you gotta admit we’re a pretty good town with individuals and companies stepping up to offer their help for the less fortunate.
The biggest donor? Cliffs Natural Resources. In fact, the Warming Center wouldn’t have happened without Cliffs.
Makes you wonder whether the new, budget-slashing management of Cliffs will be as generous with community outreach dollars as Cliffs has been in the past.
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OUR SUMMER MAY have been short and cool but the Isle Royale Queen III apparently had a good season, nevertheless.
More passengers and more revenue in its third season.
The big difference this year was free food on several of the cruises around Marquette’s harbor. In some cases, it was local restaurants providing the food at no cost; in others, the cruise line paid.
Regardless, it was good for advertising and marketing and good for the passengers. After three years (and many of us worried it wouldn’t last that long), the Isle Royale Queen III is building a strong bond with the business community in Marquette. They need each other.
By the way, the man at the helm of the 81 foot boat on Sundays this summer was Captain Bill Carmody, who also, you may have heard, finds time to preside as the chief judge of the 11th Circuit Court. He says the Isle Royale Queen III provides therapy for him.
Only in the U.P.
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(CORRECTION: The first version of this story was incorrect. Your intrepid, and apparently blind, reporter misread the results.)
MARQUETTE’S MARATHONER TRACY Lokken had an off day at the Twin Cities Marathon over the weekend.
He finished in a time of 2:31:10, about ten minutes slower than his alltime best time.
Slacker.
He finished second in his class of men, 45-49. These are the best runners in the nation.
Why the slow (!!!) time? He reportedly told one observer he felt fine but just had no speed. So it goes.
Back to the grind. Now there’s Marquette’s winter to look forward to. Ice and snow have never slowed Tracy. You’ll see him on the streets–he’s the guy with the 1% body fat. Wish him well if you get a chance.
You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com
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