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Now that winter’s over, Michigan’s other season — construction — is under way. U.S. 10 traffic is one lane in each direction under the East Ashman Street overpass, part of a project by the state Department of Transportation to reconstruct U.S. 10 from the Bay County line to Sanford Lake this year and next. (Photo by John Palen)
A presentation on shipwrecks in the Saginaw Valley shipwrecks on June 3 will officially open a three-month exhibit on Great Lakes shipwrecks at the historical museum in Midland.
The exhibit, “Great Lakes Titanics: Shipwrecks on the Inland Seas,” actually goes on display May 17 at the Herbert D. Doan Midland County History Center, 3417 W. Main St. (more…)
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Monday’s the night for a charter-mandated public hearing on the proposed 2008-09 city budget.
In a meeting at City Hall starting at 7 p.m., the public has its most formal chance to bend the ear of City Council members on the proposed revenue and spending plan.
The budget proposal includes a number of significant changes: (more…)
The author of a recent best-selling book on the U.S. Supreme Court will speak in Midland Monday, June 2.
Jeffrey Toobin, author of “The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court,” will talk about politics and the law in a Matrix:Midland presentation at 7:30 p.m. in the Little Theatre of the Midland Center for the Arts. (more…)
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With fuel costs way up and federal and state aid leveling off, Midland’s Dial-A-Ride public transportation system is slated for more support from the general fund next year.
Moreover, those cost and outside revenue trends are expected to continue, the City Council was told in a budget workshop Monday, so the city administration plans to evaluate ways to stabilize future general fund contributions. (more…)
The Redcoats softball complex just south of the Tridge will get a $53,000 facelift this year, thanks to two local organizations.
The Redcoats organization is donating $40,000 for paving, tiling and fencing, and the Midland Softball Association is giving about $12,800 for a pavilion and landscaping. (more…)
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The Fusion Piano Trio of Detroit performs works by Haydn, Mendelssohn and Foote in a Grove Music Festival concert at 8 p.m. Friday at Chapel Lane Presbyterian Church. Tickets are $10 at the door. Quartet members are Marian Tanau, violin; Pauline Martin, piano; and Robert deMaine, cello.
A monthly peace demonstration against the Iraq war will take place from 5 to 6 p.m. Friday.
Sponsored by Midland Citizens for Peace, the demonstrations are held on second Fridays at the corner of Wackerly Street and Eastman Avenue.
Participants can bring their own signs or use signs provided by the group, and should park behind the auto parts store and walk to the corner on the public easement, not through the store parking lot, organizers say.
The group’s web page is at www.midlandcitizensforpeace.com
The mood about Currie Golf Course was upbeat at Tuesday night’s meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission.
“It’s a much more pleasant, more professional environment,” Chair John Rothhaar said after an update from the course’s new manager, Paul Milholland. (more…)

Midland Civic Arena
With ice rental by major user groups down by nearly 1,000 hours last year, the Midland Civic Arena faces future budget issues.
The City Council was told Monday that the $10 million arena on Fast Ice Drive, which opened in 2005, is running at a slight operating deficit. (more…)