Behind the Headlines

By Danielle Portteus

Social media sites have increased in popularity, especially in the last year. Before beginning at the Evening News, I had a Facebook page.
I really wasn’t into MySpace.
And, to be honest, I wasn’t too keen on blogging.
It’s been about two and a half years since I starting with the Evening News and the paper has significantly redesigned the way to reach out to readers.
I’m not totally sold on blogging. I think I prefer using Twitter to communicate quick ideas to readers. I use the medium a lot when I attend government and school board meetings.
I think Twitter is a great way for me to get out little pieces of information that readers won’t get in a story, as well as some of the core decisions made in real time.
As soon as Bedford Public Schools board of education announced Jon White’s retirement, I posted it on Twitter.
If I need to find someone who has recently lost a job, I send out a Tweet and within minutes, I have a direct response from someone locally who is interested in sharing his story.
It’s amazing how fast something like that spread. Like friends on Facebook, I can follow whomever I want on Twitter. Sometimes there are mundane daily tasks posted like what someone had for breakfast, but then there are other times… like the death of Michael Jackson, that I found information out almost instantly.
At first, I wasn’t sure how I would like using Twitter, but after using it for about six months, I’m sold. It’s my preferred social media site.
The Evening News has a Twitter page featuring breaking news and daily headlines. My co-worker Paula also frequently posts on the site.
Check us out: me (newschic); Paula (MonroeOnaBudget) or the Evening New (monroenews)
I’m sure you’ll get addicted too.

By Danielle Portteus

Just read the report from 2008 on water quality from the South County Water System. Everything checks out. Some small traces of lead were found, but at 0.4 parts per billion, it was far smaller than the maximum of 15 parts per billion that would be declared unsafe to drink.
Water was tested monthly from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2008.
Drinking from the tap is perfectly safe. There is a recommendation to let the faucet run for 15 to 30 sec. before filling up a glass.

By Charles Slat
What was all the excitement in downtown Monroe Saturday night?
Barrage, a renowned musical group of five exceptional violinists, backed by two guitarists and a drummer, brought a capacity crowd to the River Raisin Centre for the Arts.
RRCA director Mike Trapp said it was the biggest crowd at the RRCA in years. People came by the busload.
Tickets were sold out a couple of days in advance and there even were some folding chairs in the balcony section.
The group played some classical or familiar tunes such as Ravel’s
Bolero, Tico Tico and Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles, but with a decidedly jazzed up presentation. A range of lesser known but no less amazing pieces were performed that also had the audience clapping or stomping.
What’s unique about the group is they are not only world-class musicians, but their act is heavy on choreography. Playing the violin and jumping and dancing is difficult, but they made it look easy.
The musicians chatted with the audience, signed autographs and sold CDs after the performance.
Floral City Beverage was the main sponsor of the show. The group was brought to Monroe at the urging of Robin Bloomberg, director of Team Fiddle, Ann Felder, Monroe Middle School music teacher, and Tara Vespirini, a music instructor at the Chelsea Center for the Arts and the Monroe Youth Orchestra.
It was a night to remember for music fans in Monroe.

By: Michelle Swartz

I covered Monday night’s kickoff celebration of the annual Big Read of Monroe County. It was held at the La-Z-Boy Center at the college.

I was impressed with how many people attended, especially the range of ages. I talked to teenage students as young as 15, which is quite refreshing. Most people picked up free copies of “The Great Gatsby” novel and then watched the movie.

There had to be around 200 people attending the event. I guess it’s nice to see — in this world obsessed with technology — that warming up to a good book remains a favorite pasttime.  

I even ran into my high school English teacher who now teaches at the college. It was good seeing you, Mrs. Venier! And thanks for all the English lessons that helped me land my job!! 

Hope to see you all there again next year!

As I drive around the city and see piles and piles of debris left at the curb, I’m reminded this will be a tough week for refuse companies picking up trash. Due to all the basements flooded last week, many homeowners had to throw tons of carpeting, furniture, toys and other items that were ruined in the flood. That means more work for the refuse haulers. They can’t always rely on their automated systems to pick up the extra trash and will have to get out of their trucks and physically handle each item…

– Dean Cousino

The National Weather Service in Detroit has posted high wind warning and flood warning in Monroe County, Mich., for Feb. 11.

– Paula Wethington

By Danielle Portteus

I spent the better portion of last night at Bedford Township Hall. The majority of the candidates for township trustee attended.
Township Supervisor Walt Wilburn and Treasurer Sherri Meyer also came to join in on the wait for returns, even though they both ran unopposed.
The contested candidates, for the most part, were poised and patient.
Walt, however, looked like a nervous wreck. He told me he was on edge because each of those running were his friends.
I guess I didn’t really believe him because, after all, he is a politician. But, after the final numbers were tallied, Walt hugged at least four of the candidates who were still in the main hallway of the government center.
One of the best moments was when he went up to Tom Covrett, who lost his bid for trustee. Mr. Covrett, who is serving his last year on the planning commission, has been actively seeking the seat. He really wanted to continue serving the citizens of Bedford Township.
Walt embraced Tom for what seemed like forever, but was really like a couple of seconds. He leaned over to Tom and told him he was disappointed he wasn’t elected, but encouraged him to try again. Tom said he would have to see how the next few years play out, but said he might give it another shot.
Another moment that struck me was the graciousness of incumbent Trustee Paul Francis. He didn’t realize he had been re-elected until seconds before I approached him for comment. Besides being humbled, Mr. Francis said anyone of the seven candidates serve the community well.
He said he would be more than willing to work with the new trustees to make improvements to the community. Mr. Francis also acknowledged there are a number of challenges facing the township in the next couple of months.
Humility seemed to be contagious at Bedford Township Hall last night. It was everywhere from the township supervisor on down.

By Charles Slat
Sen. Barack Obama outpolled Sen. John McCain in the City of Monroe 5,532 to 3,971 votes, according to returns from the Monroe County Clerk’s offices.
Also in the City of Monroe, State Rep. Kate Ebli captured 6,015 votes to 3,067 for Republican Jeanmarie Dahm and 211 votes for U.S. Taxpayers Party candidate John Eleniewski.

By Danielle Portteus

Bedford High School announced its results from the mock election it held yesterday. The school’s winner was Barack Obama, who received 326 electoral votes to John McCain’s 212. Obama also won the school’s popular vote, 227 to 214.
Ralph Nader received 22 votes. Bob Barr receieved 8 and Cynthia McKinney received 2 votes.

We’ll have to see if the students’ results compare with the township and the nation.

They’ve announced the results of the “My Dog Looks Like Obama or McCain” photo contest.
Check out the winners.

By Charles Slat
Which side of the political fence does your seemingly non-partisan neighbor really fall on?
The Federal Election Commission has a campaign finance database than can be sliced and diced in a few different ways to show who has donated to which campaigns.
But Fundrace at The Huffington Post has a database that’s a bit more user friendly. It’s fascinating to plug in a ZIP code, street name or person’s name to see what comes up.
You also can tell whether your ZIP code has more Republican contributors than Democratic. And you can find out who donates to both parties, just to cover their bets.

By Danielle Portteus

My co-worker Paula posted a little while ago about campaign signs being stolen or vandalized.

After speaking with a caller yesterday, I thought this would be a good time to make some additional comments to Paula’s post.

It seems this year, more people are noticing that signs are being damaged or stolen. I think more people are complaining about it because they think there is a different motivation this time.

I spoke with a man who lives along Secor Rd. in Bedford Township. His Obama/Biden sign was spray painted black. He thinks it was racially motivated.

A sign just up the road from his was also damaged.

When I traveled the stretch of road near his home, I noticed it wasn’t just the Obama/Biden signs that had been hit, but the McCain/Palin signs as well. Those signs, which were smaller and made of different material, had been torn in pieces.

The Bedford substation has reports of signs being damaged on both sides. The difference, I think, is people’s awareness about what signs have been hit.

I think people do take political sign vandalism personally this time around because of the candidate choices, at least for the Presidential election. I think more people are concerned because they think a random “attack” is really and attack on their candidate of choice rather than just silly mischief.

By Charles Slat
I had a panic attack Sunday on my way to a reception at Pagelli’s Cuchina for the mayor of Hofu and other visitors from the Japanese city.
I forgot to bring along some business cards.
Here I was, trying to remember the few Japanese words I picked up on a visit to Hofu and Tokyo in 1986, and I forgot to remember some of the most important protocol when meeting Japanese professionals — the obligatory exchange of business cards.
I dug deep in my wallet and, happily, discovered two cards squirreled away. Upon meeting Mayor Masato Matsuura, he quickly pulled a card from his pocket. I responded with my own at the ready in my shirt pocket.
My visit to Hofu was to have a look-see at the Mazda plant there, which was the model for what now is the AutoAlliance International plant in Flat Rock. I recall Hofu as an industrial town. Today, it has about six times the population of Monroe.
Once of the big attractions in the city is a Tenmangu Shrine, dedicated to worshiping the god of literature and scholarship, Tenjin.
Oh yeah, Monroe might be one of the oldest settlements in Michigan, but Hofu is older. In fact the Tenmangu Shrine was built in 904.
By the way, a photo of the shrine adorns the business cards of the Hofu group.

By Charles Slat
Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign stop in Monroe was unique not only because of the venue — a barbeque behind the Plumbers & Pipe Fitters union hall — but because of the Democratic heavy hitters it drew.
During his speech in Detroit earlier in the day, Sen. Obama dropped a lot of Michigan names, including that of U.S. Rep. John D. Dingell who, he said, “had to be in Monroe.”
That’s because Rep. Dingell was serving as a warm-up man in advance of Sen. Obama’s visit here. But others who chose to show up in Monroe were Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, Rep. John Conyers, Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Toledo and others.
My guess is that until Rep. Dingell, and later Sen. Obama, acknowledged the dignitaries in attendance, not all the barbeque attendees knew who they were picnicking with.
By the way, those hoping to crash the party without snaring one of the tickets that were distributed in advance might not have had a lot of luck. Detroit Ave., where the union hall is located, was shut down to all but authorized traffic and ticketholders. The picnic area also was cordoned off and secured by police.

By Charles Slat
CHICAGO — This is what political campaigning is all about.
Sen. John McCain’s visit to DTE Energy’s Fermi 2 nuclear plant was a media event designed to, well, attract media coverage.
Attending a journalism educator’s conference here, I guess I was a little surprised to see McCain’s photo on Page One of USA Today, which was delivered to my hotel room. A tiny photo of McCain standing behind a podium with Fermi’s cooling towers in the background graced the front page with a tinier caption explaining how he was touting nuclear power.
Inside was a larger article with two photos, one with McCain chatting with DTE Energy boss Anthony F. Earley in the Fermi control room.
The Chicago TV news stations also were playing up the story with some stock footage of nuclear plants and B-roll of McCain wearing a DTE Energy hardhat standing beside the Fermi generator.
Some of the reports said the Fermi 2 plant was meant to replace one that had a near-meltdown.
Well, not exactly, but this campaign stuff is more about face-time than substance and accuracy.
Bottom line: We all knew McCain was a strong supporter of nuclear power. There was little news here beyond Monroe County, but the candidate scored heavily on national face-time.
And that’s how campaigning works in the information age.