Business & Economy

Can airlines fix their antiquated accessibility procedures?

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WHEELCHAIRS ON PLANES: Airline travel has its hassles, but the experience can be harrowing for wheelchair users. Possible ways to allow passengers to travel using their own chairs are getting a renewed look. We talk to a Lansing disability advocate who travels by plane, a University of Michigan transportation researcher and the International Air Transport Association. By Samuel Blatchford. FOR LANSING CITY PULSE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS AND ALL POINTS.

Construction & Development

State eyes rail improvements but passenger groups want more

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RAILROAD: New federal money may boost intercity passenger train service in Michigan. We talk to the Michigan Association of Rail Passengers, MDOT and the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission. Current Amtrak stops include Port Huron, East Lansing, Pontiac, Dearborn, Holland, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Imlay City, Battle Creek, Flint, South Haven and Ann Arbor. By Sam Blatchford. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, HOLLAND, DETROIT, PLANET DETROIT, LAPEER, LANSING CITY PULSE, WKTV, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS AND ALL POINTS.

Business & Economy

Are teachers ready for the rise of Artificial Intelligence?

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CHEATING: Some Michigan education officials and teachers are worried that the free new ChatGPT artificial intelligence software will make it easier for students to get away with cheating, while others see its availability as a positive. Superintendents of Traverse City and Anchor Bay schools, Grandville and Waverly teachers and the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals discuss. By Samuel Blatchford. FOR TRAVERSE CITY, WKTV, DETROIT, LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS.

Article

Treasure Coast wants future for potential Brightline stop

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FORT PIERCE, FL – The high speed passenger rail project Brightline, which operates service from West Palm Beach, FL to Miami is about to complete its extension from West Palm Beach to Orlando International airport. With future stops planned in Aventura and Boca Raton, the Treasure Coast city of Fort Pierce has advocated for a future stop in their city. The government of Fort Pierce has been vocal about securing a future Brightline stop. Fort Pierce City Manager Ben Mimms wants rail service to come back. Passenger rail service has been a forefront of the city since the 1900s.

News

New Hobe Sound development receives mixed reviews from residents

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HOBE SOUND, FL –  The Tradewinds at Hobe Sound is a new development being constructed in Hobe Sound between U.S 1 and SE Dixie Highway. The 177-unit apartment complex includes amenities such as fitness center, clubhouse, swimming pool and a dog park, according to its website. 

Kasey DeMarr has lived in Hobe Sound for over a year and a half. She said she prefers luxury apartments and thinks the Tradewinds should be a good fit. “It’s a great idea because it allows more people to have chances to live in a nicer area,” DeMarr said, “Down in Jupiter, the prices have just skyrocketed up and you can’t really get a place anywhere.”

Tom Reed is also a recent resident of Hobe Sound. He moved to Hobe Sound in February.

Birds

Red-winged blackbirds are Back. Watch Out!

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CHICAGO — It’s summertime in the city of Chicago. The weather is nice, the beaches are open and the birds are out. More specifically, the Red-winged blackbirds. 

Entrance to the Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary in Lincoln Park. You can spot a male by its black body plumage with red and yellow on the shoulder of its wings.  Females are brown with streaky plumage. Plumage is another term for a bird’s collective feathers.

arts

Comedian Mike Birbiglia wraps up residency at Steppenwolf theater

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CHICAGO – Mike Birbiglia brought his one-man show “The Old Man and The Pool” to Chicago in May, wrapping up a month-long residency at the Steppenwolf Theater.  

For the Chicago show, Birbiglia sauntered through themes of mortality and anxieties of aging in “The Old Man and the Pool.”Henry Gessner from Northbrook, Illinois, attended the May 7 show. He has been a fan since Birbiglia put out his special, “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend.” Gessner said that show resonated with him. He saw Birbiglia for the first time at a Q&A for his film “Don’t Think Twice” at the Music Box theater in July of 2016. “To be able to see him now after seven and a half years … that was a real full circle moment,” said Gessner. 

He said he thought the performance was a bit somber but expected, given the subject matter. Gessner brought up the moment of silence as one of highlights of the night.