A scientist has discovered a number of biologically rich sinkholes at the bottom of Lake Huron.

Bopaiah Biddanda of Grand Valley State University’s Annis Water Resources Institute in Muskegon says the sinkholes are similar to deep sea vents on ocean bottoms.

He tells The Muskegon Chronicle they were formed by salty groundwater seeping into the lake and dissolving the ancient underlying seabed.

They are found offshore of Alpena in about 65 feet of water.

Biddanda says the sinkholes host strange ecosystems dominated by brilliant purple mats of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae. Few fish are found there.

Biddanda says there probably are sinkholes under the other Great Lakes.

Source: LSJ.com

For more on this story go to New Scientist.com and read Lost world of extremophiles hides beneath Great Lakes

Travel Michigan will spend an additional $700,000 this year on its summer and fall Pure Michigan promotions, thanks to a growing partnership with cities, tourism organizations and attractions across the state.

The extra money means more radio spots, TV ads and billboards with the Pure Michigan campaign, with the aim of luring more tourists to the Great Lakes State. Some ads feature the voice of native actor Tim Allen describing the state’s natural attractions. Others focus on destinations such as The Henry Ford, Sault Ste. Marie, and art sites in Grand Rapids and shopping in Metro Detroit.

The state’s tourism agency formed an advertising partnership in 2002 to raise money for marketing. The partnership has grown from two to 51 members, and this year the partners have committed $1.7 million, up from $1 million last year. The agency will match the money, bringing the summer and fall advertising budget to $3.4 million, said Travel Michigan Vice President George Zimmermann.

Continue reading: The Detroit News

Michigan’s agricultural industry has plenty to crow about. According to a Michigan State University Product Center (MSU) study, the systems that raise our food and grow fuel products showed nearly a 12 percent increase in economic impact in 2007 over 2006. More recent figures are not yet available.

According to the study’s authors, Bill Knudson and H. Christopher Peterson, the total economic impact of Michigan’s agri-food and agri-energy system is estimated to be $71.2 billion, an increase of approximately $7.6 billion or 11.9 percent over 2006.

Continue reading: Lansing Area Capital Gains

The greater Grand Rapids area is ranked among the top ten most affordable places to live in the country, according to a report from the National Association of Home Builders.

The Grand Rapids and Wyoming market took 5th place on the list.

East Lansing/Lansing was ranked as the most affordable city in the country for an area with a smaller population.

Source: WOODTV.com

A neighborhood farm in Detroit has been recognized as one of the top producing urban farms in the country by a national magazine.

Natural Home, an environmental publication, selected Earthworks Urban Farm as No. 3 of its top ten farms for its active role in providing food for the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, running an educational youth program and contributing to the health of local residents by offering fresh produce for consumption.

Continue reading: Freep.com

The misery of January and February’s seemingly endless string of snow days and rainy nights may have a silver lining once warmer weather arrives.

Lake levels have been on the decline for most of the last decade, helping to increase unwanted vegetation, increasing the distance between “lakefront homes” and the lakes, and causing financial headaches for the shipping industry. But the latest estimates from the U.S. Army Crops of Engineers show that for the second year in a row, lake levels in February are higher that the year before.

“In the last 18 months or so, we’ve been trending, trending away from the lows of previous years and are moving closer to the lakes’ long-term historical averages,” said Scott Thieme, chief of the Corp’s Great Lakes Hydrology office.

Continue reading: The Detroit News

Michigan’s state park/harbor reservation system will shut down for a week in March, according to state officials. The system will be upgraded to add new features.

“We’re going from a year 2000 system to a 2009 system with all kinds of goodies for staff and customers,” said Harold Herta, Michigan State Parks resource management chief.

Upgrades to the online campsite reservation system will allow campers to reserve up to five camping periods per online session, using a “shopping cart” approach, according to Herta.

Customers currently are limited to one camping period per log in.

The system’s capacity is being expanded to handle more people, too.

Continue reading: LSJ.com

Online gift cards soon will be available in Michigan to buy licenses for hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced the new program Thursday.

New hunting and fishing licenses go on sale March 1. License prices remain the same as in 2008.

Gift cards can be bought through the Department of Natural Resources Web site. They can be redeemed for hunting and fishing licenses or snowmobile and off-road vehicle trail stickers.

The e-cards are available in $15, $30 and $50 increments.

They can only be used to buy licenses online. They cannot be redeemed at retailers or DNR offices.

Gift cards will be available at http://www.michigan.gov/dnr

Source: LSJ.com

Steve Tennes has nine acres of canola growing on a field that once sprouted pumpkins. He got a brand new canola press in December. This summer, he’ll have canola oil to use as biofuel for his farm machines. And the Charlotte farmer has an $11,000 grant from the federal government that helped pay for it all.

Which is part of the reason why he thinks Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s proposal to merge Michigan State University Extension with the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station and cut their combined state funding from $64 million this year to $32 million next year is a step in the wrong direction.

“None of this would have been possible without MSU Extension,” he said.

Continue reading: LSJ.com

Michigan Brewing Co. is competing to make a beer for musician Kid Rock.

The Webberville brewery was awarded a $722,957 state tax credit over seven years to help win a contract for the Michigan rocker’s line of suds, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. announced today.

The company would spend $7 million on the project, MEDC said. State officials said the local brewery is competing with facilities in Minnesota and Pennsylvania for the beer line.

The project would create 161 jobs directly and could help spur 233 jobs at other area businesses, MEDC said. The village of Webbervile is considering an undisclosed tax abatement for the project, MEDC said.

Continue reading: LSJ.com

It’s a sure sign that winter’s nearly over: Debate begins anew on the value of the volume of water in the Great Lakes.

Think of Great Lakes as a giant liquid bank account — an ice-age-old savings plan, but with only a 1 percent interest rate each year. And most of that is already being mostly used up by us for our own use (and some would argue misuse).

Then, imagine climate change continuing to dip deeper into that water volume savings (by evaporation) and realize that even 6 quadrillion gallons of water in five vast lakes shouldn’t be touched to slake the thirst of the American Southwest if drought persists.

That’s the opinion of a trio of water resources researchers, including an aquatic ecologist from Miami University (Ohio), in an article “Sentinels of Change,” published in this month’s Science magazine. The full study is available online and in print only by subscription.

Continue reading: CLEVELAND.COM

Solar shingles is not a new disease, but Dow Chemical Co. hopes they spread like gangrene.

During the past year, engineers, scientists and others at Dow Solar Solutions — a $50 million investment — have worked at a photovoltaic facility, a retrofitted former research and development building in the company’s sprawling 1,900-acre complex here.

Their goal is to produce thermoplastic solar roof shingles for sale throughout North America. With President Barack Obama’s insistence on renewable energy and conservation, the time is ripe for such an enterprise, said Robert J. Cleereman, senior director of solar development for Dow.

Continue reading: mlive.com

While many factors come into play as reason why you might not be landing a job — the economy being the No. 1 reason to speak of — one thing job seekers often don’t think of as being a cause is the state they live in.

State unemployment rates play a huge role in whether or not you are likely to find work; the higher the unemployment rate, the more difficult it is to find a job. With today’s national unemployment rate at a dismal 7.2 percent, there aren’t many states with unemployment rates much less than that.

The latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics* showed six states recording rates of 9 percent or more. Overall, 10 states had significantly higher jobless rates than the average and 18 had similar rates. Michigan recorded the highest unemployment rate at 10.6 percent, followed closely by Rhode Island at 10.0 percent.

Continue reading: careerbuilder.com

Four chefs from southeast Michigan are among 20 semifinalists announced today for Best Chef Great Lakes honors by the prestigious James Beard Foundation in New York City.

The four are Luciano del Signore of Bacco Ristorante in Southfield; Brian Polcyn of Five Lakes Grill in Milford; John Somerville of the Lark in West Bloomfield and Alex Young of Zingerman’s Roadhouse in Ann Arbor.

The only other semifinalist working in Michigan is Ali Barker of Bistro on the Boulevard in St. Joseph.

Continue reading: Freep.com

Forbes.com recently released its list of the top college sports towns in American. Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan, ended up No. 1 on the list. Ann Arbor beat out Palo Alto, Calif., home to Stanford, and Madison, Wis., home to the University of Wisconsin, to claim the top prize.

Continue reading: Freep.com

Read the full story: Forbes.com

A mayoral scandal, auto industry woes, rising unemployment and a local NFL team’s record losing season in 2008 was not enough for Detroit to retain its title as America’s Most Miserable City, according to Forbes.com.

In the site’s second annual list of America’s 10 Most Miserable Cities, released last week, Detroit ranked No. 7 — slipping from the top spot claimed last year.

“The Motor City benefited from our revised criteria this year (we added sales tax and sports teams in addition to corruption),” according to the site. “Its 6% sales tax is one of the lowest in the country. The success of Detroit’s winter sports teams more than offset the ineptitude of the Lions. The Red Wings and Pistons won two-thirds of their games, including a Stanley Cup title for the Wings.”

No. 1 on the list was Stockton, Calif. Rounding out the top five were Memphis, Chicago, Cleveland and Modesto, Calif. Flint also outranked Detroit.

Source: The Detroit News

See the full article at Forbes.com

After months of speculation about its fate, the Rothbury music festival has been confirmed to return this summer, the Free Press has learned.

The event will take place at the Double JJ Ranch, north of Muskegon, July 2-5, said officials with promoter Madison House Presents. Artist and ticket information will be announced in coming weeks. Tickets purchases will be available on a layaway basis, according to a press release to be issued this afternoon.

Continue reading: Freep.com

All 162 of the Tigers’ regular-season games will be televised this season — 156 by Fox Sports Detroit and six by Fox on the Saturday Game of the Week — the team announced Monday.

Some games will be on Fox Sports Detroit Plus due to conflicts with Red Wings or Pistons. The Tigers will announce at a later date which games will be available in high definition.

In addition, four spring training games will be shown by Fox Sports Detroit.

Click on over to The Detroit News for a complete schedule

The 100-foot ice curtains that form on the cliffs of Grand Island off this Upper Peninsula resort town are among the most spectacular natural beauties of Michigan, gleaming under the winter sunshine in shades of blue and green and diamond-bright whites.

They may also be the most rarely seen by people. The ice shelf that allows travel between the island and the mainland usually doesn’t form until late February; and by the end of March, the spring sunshine has turned the ice bridge and the cliffs into another winter memory.

Munising is a winter mecca for Midwestern climbers, offering dozens of gleaming ice faces and columns on both the island and the mainland cliffs in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

Continue reading: Freep.com

Some presidents are handed the chance to remake the Supreme Court for a generation, if enough justices leave. Others wait in vain to make even one appointment.

President Barack Obama took office with a strong prospect that his first four years in office could bring two or more openings on the high court, though he may well be replacing aging liberal justices with younger ones.

Barring the unexpected, the court’s balance of power — four on the left, four on the right, one in the middle leaning right — is not likely to change significantly.

Continue reading: Michigan Politics & Elections on mlive.com

The French government says it still owns the Griffin, a 17th-century ship built by legendary explorer La Salle that may have been discovered in northern Lake Michigan.

France filed a claim to the vessel Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids, escalating a legal battle over who owns and has authority to retrieve artifacts from the long-lost vessel.

Michigan also is seeking title, although state officials have raised doubts about whether the Griffin’s gravesite actually has been found. They say federal law gives the state ownership of abandoned vessels embedded in its Great Lakes bottomlands.

Continue reading: The Detroit News

In case you’re wondering, Traverse City would have laughed it off as it doesn’t come close to the record low of -27 set in 1918. And in case you just don’t have any actual work to do, you may be interested to know that Pellston aka “The Icebox of the North” was at -25 below yesterday, just missing the 1970 mark of -26.

The resounding winner – bolstered by nearly 10,000 new jobs and, most notably, one jaw dropping, multi-billion-dollar business partnership—is the crown of the Midwest: Michigan.

A dual-peninsula poised along four of the five Great Lakes, Michigan’s triumph is a well-deserved accolade for a state that recently has been linked to unflattering headlines pertaining to the struggles of the U.S. automotive sector—a long-standing pillar of the state’s economy.

Continue reading: Business Facilities