IF THE WEDNESDAY BEFORE Thanksgiving is the biggest bar day of the year… and it is, then the Friday after Thanksgiving must be the biggest leftover day of the year. (He said while enjoying his first leftover turkey sandwich.)
So, in that spirit, Word on the Street is going shelf to shelf to see what’s still just as good as it was yesterday, what’s on the brink of turning, and what was long ago forgotten and needs to be tossed.
Still Good
• The old hospital property is just a few more swings of the wrecking ball away from becoming an empty lot, destined for redevelopment. Apparently the former blood bank building will be coming down, but the last big block to fall will be the Neldberg Building, seen above.
Once cleared of all the different structures that served the healthcare needs of this community for decades, the landscape will surely have a different look. At least until new homes, condos, apartments, commercial space or whatever the developers plan to put there, begin to take shape.
It seems a shame to tear down a building that appears to still have some functionality, but if it’s not in the plans, it’s coming down. That’s just the way they do things these days. We’ll keep this on the top shelf and dig into it again when we see more progress on the site, probably next spring.
• Negaunee’s historic Vista Theater remains a fresh story after the community had a chance to share ideas for what they’d like to see happen there at an open forum held last week. City staff presented info about the progress of making the building whole again, and also entertained ideas for how the theater can be more of a community center.
Progress is going to be steady but slow and heavily dependent on additional fundraising. The dedicated folks at the Peninsula Arts Appreciation Council are willing to help in whatever way they can. According to PAAC President Rusty Bowers, their group is anxious to work with the city in order to begin a new era for the venerable theater.
• Oh yeah, here’s something. NMU alum Howard Schultz, the former CEO of Starbucks, was in town a couple weeks ago and met with President Dr. Brock Tessman, as well as some Northern business classes.
Nice of Schultz to share some of his business savvy with students who’d love to have a taste of Starbucks’s success. But I’m thinking Northern’s fundraisers were hoping the billionaire ’75 grad would also leave behind something a little more eye-opening than a piping hot triple espresso. Like a bag full of cold hard cash.
Wish granted. Schultz ended up committing a million bucks to the university… money that’ll be dedicated to first generation students and student athletes.
Good work by Tessman in orchestrating the substantial donation, but even more kudos to Schultz for paying it forward… in a big way.
Still good, but the “Use By” date is in sight
• The election is over, right? Then why am I still being inundated with appeals to donate? Both parties have me on speed dial, even though what I’ve donated over my lifetime wouldn’t be enough to finance a pizza party for door-knocking volunteers.
Do they think they’re going to wear me down? Like, after spending months routinely deleting their barrage of text messages, I’m suddenly going to donate to a campaign that ended weeks ago? Enough already. I’M NOT SENDING YOU ANY MONEY.
• Here’s a little something I put back on the shelf knowing I probably wouldn’t reopen it, but wasn’t ready to give up on it… the time change.
In a previous post I suggested the practice of moving our clocks back and forth wasn’t the hair-on-fire schedule scrambler many made it out to be. Well, I’ve survived falling back, but, truth be told, hitting the hay at 8 and waking up at 4 isn’t exactly how I aim to survive our winter months. Is it too early to start thinking about springing forward?
Ready for the Circular File
• I probably should’ve moved on from this some time ago, but I’m a bit of a hoarder, and I hate to discard anything that might still have a little flavor to it, and that’s anything involving Margaret Brumm.
We haven’t seen much from Brumm lately. Her effort to recall a couple MAPS board members flamed out due to the lack of necessary petition signatures. I think she’s still selling Redmen apparel, but every day that passes puts that issue deeper into the history books and further solidifies the Sentinels moniker.
I’m sure we haven’t heard the last from Margaret, but her recent attempts to influence public opinion have been met with an equal amount of public indifference. I’ll keep an eye out for her next foray into civil disobedience, but until then, this leftover has hit its expiration date.
• Ahh… here’s one last item that’s outlived its usefulness and needs to be tossed. Unless I missed it, Westwood Mall’s lights haven’t been turned off lately. Well, for a couple months at least. Maybe ownership finally realized unpaid electric bills have a way of discouraging interest in your property.
It wasn’t that long ago I wrote about renewed optimism in the mall’s future, with a few new businesses filling some of the vacancies. Then that resurgence kind of stalled out with the plug being pulled, more than once, by the Board of Light and Power.
This story left a bad taste in my mouth from the get-go, and now it’s just taking up space better dedicated to something more fulfilling. I don’t know what that’s going to be, but it’s gotta be better than some of these leftovers.