The TC squad plays its first six games on the road before hosting the Windy City Thunderbolts in the TC home opener on Friday, May 25.

A new Microbrew Pub, along with a Beach Bums Café, have been added to the ballpark. The Ticker checked out the new digs, along with Chad Cooper, Bums director of media and broadcasting.

“For the first time ever, fans will be able to enjoy draft beer at Wuerfel Park,” says Cooper. “The brew parlor will feature four Bell’s microbrews, including Oberon, Two Hearted Ale, Amber Ale and Oarsman.”

A tasty 16-ounce Bell’s will set you back $6. Bonus: The Bums will offer seven “Thirsty Thursdays,” when all beers are discounted by $1.

Located along the first base side, the pub replaces a youngsters’ play area and offers air-conditioned seating for fans wanting to take a break from the game. Enjoy a Bell’s inside or take the cool draft back to your seat.

Fans entering Wuerfel Park will immediately encounter the Beach Bums Café, where the former first-base-side gift shop used to be. Rather than stand in concession lines, fans can sit inside and enjoy new eats, including BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, nachos or Philly cheesesteak sandwiches.

The gift shop has added new items, including an assortment of new Bums head gear.

There are also many new faces on the Bums roster. Out of 23 players, only nine Beach Bums from 2011 return. They include position players Chase Burch, Jeff Flagg, Jose Vargas, Sean Gusrang, Chris Kay, along with pitchers David Deminsky, Scott Dunn, Scott Mueller and Matt Miller.

The entire Frontier League has undergone changes with an expansion to 14 teams. The Schaumburg Boomers are in metro Chicago, while the former Oakland County Cruisers were sold and relocated to London, Ontario.

“The schedule is set up now so that each team plays its three closest geographic rivals 12 games each,” explains Cooper. “For us, that is London, Windy City and Joliet. Then we play everybody else, six games each. Twenty-four of our last 33 games are at home. From mid-July through the end of August, this (Wuerfel Park) is the place to be.”

One highlight of the Bums summer: July 28, when Wuerfel Park hosts a fundraiser for TCAPS. There will be an array of items available in a silent auction with a portion of the cash going to the TCAPS sports programs.

Get yer Beach Bums tickets (and more info) here.

The last time she did, Walker, a lifelong computer buff, seized the rare bachelor-home-alone opportunity to play his Xbox, uninterrupted, all weekend.

By Sunday night, he'd beat the game. By Monday, his win – and its hefty accumulation of points (all “totally worthless in the real world,” he says with obvious disdain) – had inspired his next venture: the creation of Ozmott, quite possibly the nation’s next big discount shopping app, built right here in TC.

Think of it like the love child of Foursquare and Groupon – only leaner, meaner and lots more fun. At its simplest, Ozmott is a free mobile app that allows users to nab deals on products available in nearby stores.

But much unlike Groupon or other store-discount apps, Ozmott’s business model doesn’t limit it to major metro areas or require an army-sized sales force to secure hundreds of single-store deals.

Rather, Ozmott handpicks national brands that have their own outlet stores – minimizing its overhead, maximizing its reach, and enabling its merchants to enjoy fat margins – and its users to get great deals.

Walker’s winning game piece: Infusing Ozmott’s practicality with some fun incentive. Essentially, the more deals that users share with their Ozmott friends, the more Pips (points) they accrue, which they can then use to buy real-world items.

“The more friends you have, the more Pips you can earn,” he says. “The more Pips you have, the bigger prime offers you can get.” Ozmott’s prime offers will be bigger ticket items – a kayak, say, as opposed to a pair of shoes – which only can be purchased with Pips, not money.

“It’s a virtual economy,” Walker says. “An economist actually helped us design it."

Ozmott is still in its infancy. The app went live in iTunes last month, and next week it’s launching on Android. But the eight-person TC-based company has already has secured discounts with Wolverine Worldwide, which carries brands like Hush Puppies, Merrell, Patagonia, Caterpillar, Harley Davidson and nearly a dozen more. Last week, Ozmott won a contract with MC Sports. Walker says several more are in the pipeline.

Though much of the app’s magic comes from its big merchant bias, Ozmott also is embarking on a pilot program with the town of Woodstock, New York, to test how Ozmott can work for small, street-level merchants.

“Usually, to acquire mom-n-pop stores – it’s pretty cost prohibitive,” he says. But thanks to an eager bunch of Woodstock merchants and a reward system the town already has in place, the acquisition cost is significantly less, and Ozmott stands simply to enhance the town’s existing reward system, Walker says.

Could he foresee the same thing happening in TC?

Walker, who says his goal is to have Ozmott become a Groupon-size company headquartered here, doesn't hesitate: “I’d love to see Ozmott usable on Front Street,” he says. “Now that would be fun.”

Get the free Ozmott app here.

The unseasonably warm temperatures this spring did bring early buds, but several winemakers report their vines not only suffered minimal damage from the frost that followed, but might actually be better for it. “The early bud break and longer growing season will give us riper grapes come harvest time,” says Marie-Chantal Dalese of Chateau Chantal.

Bluestone’s Tom Knighton says buds on his vines began breaking last week. (Bud break is the first sign of life in the vineyard, when tiny green shoots emerge between the woody vine’s stem and leaf stems.)

“As long as there’s not a killing frost in the next couple of weeks, our vines should be in good shape,” Knighton says. “We’re never certain, but we are cautiously optimistic that 2012 will be another great vintage.”

Another? Indeed. The 2010 and 2011 vintages of northern Michigan wineries represent some of the finest ever produced in the region, with many wineries recently taking top honors in state, national and international competitions, and beating California and French wines in the process.

The 2010 Pinot Blanc produced by TC's Left Foot Charley, for example, brought home the award for Best White Wine at the Long Beach Grand Cru international competition in California, beating more than 1,000 wines entered from five continents and numerous appellations.

Black Star Farms received two bronze, one silver and two golds – those for its 2010 Arcturos Riesling and 2010 Arcturos Cabernet Franc – at the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition (FLIWC), which drew 3,200 entries from 22 countries and all 50 states.

Of the 53 wineries and 367 wines entered in the most recent Michigan Wine and Spirits Competition – judged by wine experts from around the country – the region's wines dominated. Among the winners seizing Best of Class in their category of wine: Chateau Fontaine's 2010 Dry White Riesling, L. Mawby's Cremant Classic and Forty-Five North's 2010 Rosé of Cabernet Franc.

Chateau Chantal’s Dalese credits the region’s climate – finicky though it’s been of late – as the reason for northern Michigan wineries’ standout performance above other regions. In northern Michigan, she says, “[Grapes] maintain a higher acidity level than warmer climates, and this makes them particularly refreshing and food friendly.” Chateau Chantal’s 2011 Late Harvest Riesling recently won a double gold in the Taster’s Guild International Wine Competition.

Despite the region’s recent winning streak, Alan Eaker of Cedar’s Longview Winery & Vineyard isn’t eager to predict the future of the 2012 vintage until after the danger of the final frost is behind him. But, he says, “If we have grapes, it’ll be wonderful.” 

But what about that road your marriage or partnership is supposed to be on?

Counselor Joe Sanok’s got an idea for that. He and fellow counselor Steve Greenman have launched a new concept in couple’s therapy: dinner, with a side of counseling.

It works like this: A couple purchases a single counseling session for $99.99. They check in to the counselors’ Union Street practice – Mental Wellness Counseling – chat with Sanok or Greenman, then receive a $50 gift certificate for TC’s Chez Pères French bistro where, hopefully, says Sanok, “They can go and have a deeper conversation than they would if they were looking at a movie screen.”

The beauty of the dual deal is, in part, its savings. Sanok says it would typically cost a couple $200 for an intake session – the first session where the couple and counselor meet and outline what they’d like to work on long-term – then $150 per each successive session.

“But when you drill down to it, this is basically an hour-long counseling session for $99 – with a $50 gift card,” he says.

The hope is that the concept’s affordable and inventive approach broadens its appeal.

“We really wanted to aim at those people who normally wouldn’t consider counseling,” he says. “Dinner and a movie? People get that. So when you switch it, make it dinner and counseling, people see it more as a fun idea. We wanted to take away the stigma of ‘couples counseling.’”

Making things even more palatable for the couch adverse: The dinner and counseling session is a single-shot deal. Although successive counseling sessions would be available, couples don’t need to make any commitment beyond the single session.

If long-term therapy were a complete transmission overhaul, says Sanok, the counseling and dinner concept is akin to an oil change – “Something any couple could benefit from,” he says. “Maybe a few things aren’t firing right, so OK, let’s work out some new strategies that we could tackle in one or two sessions.”

Ideally, after the session, Sanok envisions the couple strolling under the stars to nearby Chez Péres.

There is no special menu arranged for counseled couples, Chez Péres waitress Amy Miller tells The Ticker, but she recommends any couple hungry for an unforgettable dinner call 24 hours ahead to take advantage of one of the bistro’s four plats pour deux – generous, sharable and specially prepared dishes for two.

An extensive wine list and full bar is available to aid the conversation’s ease. And should the cozy space and candlelight fail to inspire any more amorous leanings, Miller has her own suggestion: “I don’t know if it’s an aphrodisiac, but the scallops are my favorite thing on the whole menu,” she says. “And we don’t ever charge for split plates.”

To learn more about Mental Wellness Counseling or sign up for one of the 100 dinner and counseling sessions offered, click here. 

Cedar Sol Taco Stand
For a second summer, Michael and Nikki McHugh’s Cedar Sol Hydro Farm will sell fresh-made tacos. The couple’s popular roadside taco stand in Leelanau County opens Memorial Day weekend, with the authentic Mexican fare including tacos, pico de gallo, cheese quesadillas, hot sauces and tortilla chips available noon to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. “Our good friend Carlos Cortez, who learned to cook from his upbringing in a small village in Oaxaca, Mexico, taught us how to prepare this food,” says Nikki McHugh. “One of the things that makes these tacos so outstanding is the freshness of the ingredients. We prepare them daily, and most of the veggies come from our farm.” www.cedarsolhydrofarm.com, 231-883-8080.

NJ’s Grocery
This independent market in Lake Leelanau provides everyday staples along with flavorful authentic Indian cuisine prepared daily by NJ’s cook Rosie Chugh. India’s Kitchen, as it’s known, features a menu of items such as Chicken Tikka Masala, Malai Kofta and Samosas for take-home and catering. Still not enough to cure your craving? Cookery classes in Indian cuisine also are offered individually or for groups. www.njsgrocery.com, 231-256-9195.

K2 Edibles
Thursday happy hours at Left Foot Charley includes a plate of ethnic food, thanks to Kristin Karam and her business K2 Edibles. For $15, visitors to the wine bar in the Village at Grand Traverse Commons can savor an ever-changing ethnic menu item with their glass of wine or cider. “Every week we pick a different ethnic food,” Karam says. “It’s always first come, first serve, 5 to 7 p.m. every Thursday. There’s usually more than enough to go around.” Karam, who rents out kitchen spaces at nearby Underground Cheesecake Company, also makes fresh Lebanese food – grape leaves, hummus, tabouli – that’s sold in the shop’s deli case. www.k2edibles.com, 231-642-0097.

Mobil
(gas station at the corner of 14th and Veterans)
Stop for gas, pick up some baklava. Or, as many customers do, just stop for the homemade Middle Eastern treat. “We always offer it,” says George Yasso, of the square pieces of baklava his aunt Nada Saco of Acme makes for the store. “We’ve been selling it for over five years now, and we sell a lot of it. It’s delicious. A lot of people make a special trip here just to get it.” Baklava squares sell for $1.50 each. Special orders accepted. 429 West 14th St., 231-941-0909.

The Pita Pitstop
Leslie Narsisian’s mobile white trailer full of yummy lunchtime goodness – think: $5 falafel sandwiches with salad and hummus –plans to return to Traverse City this spring. Narsisian tells The Ticker that her Pita Pitstop operation, most frequently seen near Munson Medical Center last year, has been aiming to make its way to a spot on Woodmere, which would offer seating out front. But as of press time, that location – or any other – had yet to be locked. (Have a spot that might suit? Contact Narsisian at 231-463-7114.) She offers this incentive: “We want you to eat well and eat often.” Follow The Pita Pitstop Facebook page for updates.

By no means is ours an exhaustive list of hot spots for authentic ethnic dishes and treats. Feel free to add your own suggestions by commenting below!

The nearly five-year-old pub is picking up its tanks and taps and heading to 225 E. 16th Street in Traverse City – to a space ten times the size of its current location – on the west side of Boardman Lake.

Last call inside RBB’s current Garland Street location is Memorial Day (Mon. May 28). Lights go out at 10 p.m.; Right Brain will re-open in its new space June 15.

But before you start fantasizing about all that space for beer, know that some of that square footage is leased to other businesses, says Right Brain founder and owner Russell Springsteen. Salon Saloon, currently adjacent to Right Brain’s Garland Street space, will set up shop at the Boardman Lake location too. An architect has also signed on to move in, and a couple other tenants are in the works.

From 3,500 square feet to 36,000
So what brought on the big move? Sheer necessity, says Springsteen. The Warehouse District location offers no space for grain storage (which prevents bulk buys and raises costs), very limited space for barrel aging brews, and – a brewery no-no – tanks touch each other.

“We capped out [on space] two years ago,” says Springsteen. “I didn’t want to go out of business, so I started looking at other buildings.”

At the new location, Springsteen will have grain silos, enabling him to buy 20 pallets of grain at a time, rather than the four he’s limited to now. He’ll also be able to bottle and can Right Brain brews – hopefully four brands by fall, he says – as well as triple production capacity, triple the pub space, and offer a few things the brewery couldn’t before: TVs, space for live music and events, plus a 60-80 spot parking lot.

TVs and live music? Springsteen is quick to quell the fears of those who’ve grown to love the quiet, “unplugged” side of Right Brain, where conversation and board games reign. There is definitely room enough to please all tastes, he says. The music space will be separate from the main pub area, and Springsteen assures that elements of quiet will make the move, too.

An initial plan to include a roller derby track, however, is a 'no go.' “We tried really hard to make it work, but there were just too many requirements for their space,” he adds.

In the just released May-June issue of the Michigan Beer Guide, Right Brain is ranked 19th out of 66 on the list of the state’s microbreweries in terms of production. According to the guide’s 2011 industry report, Right Brain produced 1309.125 barrels of beer, up from 1216.906 barrels in 2010. Overall, the Michigan beer industry has grown by more than 26 percent in one year.

Right Brain’s new space will have a new 15-barrel system dedicated to production and distribution, plus the current seven-barrel system used exclusively for the pub.

The brewery will need it; Springsteen has just signed agreements to expand distribution to Oakland County, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. He currently has 100 Right Brain beer taps in restaurants and bars stretching from Benzie County to Mackinaw City.

Want to attend Right Brain’s Urban Challenge grand opening party on June 30? Stay tuned for details!

In honor of the redevelopment’s 10th anniversary, The Ticker did a quick status check on some of the latest happenings at the grandest historic redevelopment project in the nation. For more of the story, check out the May issue of the Traverse City Business News, available at retail locations around the area now.

Village Hotel
There are new potential developers on the scene rekindling efforts to construct a boutique hotel offering between 85 and 100 rooms for weekend getaways and weeklong vacations on the grounds. The as-yet named developers are from Michigan. Given the timeline for financing, approvals and building renovation, the project would be eyeing a 2014 completion date.

Food Hub
A feasibility study for a regional food hub in Building 58 is underway with a report expected to be made public by early June. The hub would house a year-round farmers market and the building would be divided into three separate areas – an incubator kitchen, a teaching kitchen and a leased kitchen. Plans are also in the works for a mobile slaughterhouse so the market could sell fresh meat, though the animals would be processed off-site. Funding would be a mix of private and public investment. If all the pieces fall into place, the project could be completed in late 2014.

Village Brew?
The clamor for a brewpub on the Village grounds has not died down despite recent additions to the TC beer scene – including The Filling Station Microbrewery and the soon-to-be-open Terra Firma Brewery in Garfield Township. According to Village developers, several parties are sharing brewpub dreams and there is talk of a potential plan for the former carpentry building near the back of the property.

Historic Barns
Fundraising is nearing the finish line to retool the two historic farm buildings at the development’s south end for concerts, weddings and other special events. The Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation has raised more than $800,000 toward a $1.5 million goal. A large part of the work includes both utility and technical hookups. The area will also be home for a 26-acre regional botanic garden. Work begins on that this spring.

More Mercato
Three new businesses will soon fill 3,000 square feet in a recently completed expansion of the Village’s Mercato. The north wing of the indoor marketplace – just beyond Yoga For Health – is slated to be open by Memorial Day. Only one of the tenants has been announced so far: The Village General, a convenience store.

This week TCAPS will hold a series of informative meetings to answer questions and attract students to the Pre-K through five program.

TCAPS Superintendent Steve Cousins says the board conducted several studies and visioning sessions prior to pursuing the IB school. “When we put that information together, a lot jumped out,” he tells the Ticker. “Most significant is that we provide more resiliency in the programming that we are developing in our district.”

The majority of parents surveyed wanted to look at something beyond the traditional public education model. IB programming places emphasis on a multicultural understanding of the world around us, connecting the classroom with the surrounding community. In addition to core competency requirements, students participate in a wide-range of project-based programming.

Said Cousins, “Even at primary level, the students spend half of their day in project-focused learning where they are really trying to answer problem issues for the community.”

Cousins said emergence in a second language is also attractive to parents: “Students study a second language on a daily basis.”

TCAPS Director Alison Arnold says enrollment is learner-based, tuition-free, and open to all. “The choice is based on what parents perceive is the best learning environment for their child,” she said. She says the announcement has garnered positive responses from TCAPS families.

The district will begin interviewing for the position of Director to oversee implementation of the IB program. Already the district has received 40 applications.

TCAPS plans to spend an estimated $200,000 on infrastructure to support new information technology and an additional $400,000 in upgrades to the building over the summer.

Informational meetings will be held Thursday, May 10 at 6p.m. at the Acme Township Hall and the Traverse City District Library, and again at the Acme Hall on June 7 at 6p.m.

Already in the works: Washington Place, a four-story residential and commercial condominium project planned for the northeast corner of Cass and Washington streets, which is now occupied by surface parking lots.

The project is the brainchild of developers Sheila and Tom McIntyre. It will be located next to the McIntyres’ City Center Plaza building (whose newest tenant, The Towne Plaza restaurant, opened last week in the space formerly occupied by Stone House Bread).

Sheila McIntyre tells The Ticker she envisions filling the roughly 9,000 square feet of space on Washington Place’s ground level with three or fewer commercial tenants who will own, not lease the space.

“I’d love to see a grocery store or market in there, maybe a deli … a wine bar,” she says. “It’s just a matter of who’s going to go in first.”

The top three floors of Washington Place will be dedicated residential – high-end condominiums that could start as small as 900 square feet – or cover an entire floor. “The sky’s the limit,”says McIntyre. Either way, the price tag is the same: about $300 per square foot.

To attract potential buyers, McIntyre says the project will utilize commercial construction standards – cement floors, upgraded windows, etc. to eliminate street and neighboring condo noise – as well as tailored-to-suit interior design options. Underground parking and a small surface lot also will be available to tenants and guests.

McIntyre says the condos will be pet friendly and offer an elevator-accessible, framed-in rooftop, “So if the tenants wanted to have parties or build something up there, maybe a glass conservatory, they could.”

Along with herself and husband, Tom, five buyers have already signed on for units; the goal is to find six more by summer’s end and break ground by the end of 2012.

On the Drawing Board
You know that small patch of land on the south side of the Old Town Parking Deck on Eighth Street? Socks Construction hopes to build two four-story mixed-use developments there.

The vision: two buildings, each with 2,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor, plus three floors above, each floor boasting two 1,000-square-foot residential units.

The genius of the pint-sized plan? Each level would connect to a level of the parking structure behind it, enabling tenants to utilize the deck and its elevator for their parking needs, and making it possible for Socks to make the condos more affordable, says John Socks, co-owner of Socks Construction. He says pricing could start as low as $199,000.

So far, the company has the property on contract, but Socks is quick to point out it’s not yet a done deal; company owners will go before the TC City Commission tonight to request the necessary encroachment and permission to link to the city-owned deck, then to the city’s zoning board. If all goes well, Socks says he’s hoping construction will start this fall.

Wrong.

“That’s really a popular myth,” 86th District Court Chief Judge T.J. Phillips tells The Ticker. “Defendants are entitled to a fair and impartial jury, not a jury of their peers.”

Judge Phillips, along with fellow 86th District Court Judges Michael Haley and Michael Stepka, hears cases daily, traveling among Grand Traverse, Antrim and Leelanau county courtrooms to do so.

The Ticker tapped Judge Phillips, who served as a defense attorney for 24 years and a judge for the last 11, for a tour of the local judical system.

He tells us the 86th District Court includes four divisions:
• The civil division handles cases involving money or damage claims, plus landlord/tenant disputes.
• The criminal division is responsible for processing paperwork filed by police, state law and prosecutors.
• The traffic division processes citations written by police.
• And the probation department conducts pre-sentence investigations, alcohol assessments, probation violation hearings and supervises offenders.

Good to know for the accused and their accusers, but what about those unlucky innocents who get yanked into court for jury duty?

The names of some 2,000 potential local jurors are pulled each year from state driver’s license and state ID card lists, and then contacted by mail. Each judge conducts jury selection one day a month. At this time, 40 to 45 potential jurors are summoned to the GT County courthouse. Failure to respond to the summons can result in a jail term, but that’s pretty rare. “There have been a couple of people jailed in the 11 years that I’ve been serving,” recalls Judge Phillips. “But it’s unusual. Most people show up.”

Are there actually people who volunteer for jury duty?

“No, we don’t allow volunteers – that might affect the impartiality of the jury,” explains Judge Phillips. “But we do have people come in who really want to serve.”

Others are reluctant to serve for a variety of reasons.

“The first and foremost is because it interferes with their job,” explains Judge Phillips. “But employment is not a valid reason to be excused. A juror may be excused for health reasons, or if they are a new mom, or if there’s been a death or funeral in the family, or if they have a paid-for, planned vacation. Folks over 70 years of age also have the option of not serving.”

Also complicating matters Up North: Snowbirds are usually out of town from January to May, so the court often reschedules their jury service to fit their schedule.

Jurors are paid mileage for reporting to the court and also are paid for each day they appear in court for jury duty. In GT County, that’s $25.00 for the first day, and $40.00 for each subsequent day of actual service, plus $.25 per mile in travel expenses.

Sound like a bum deal for a day’s work? You won’t find a sympathetic ear in Judge Phillips. He’s passionate about the vital role that juries play in the judicial system.

“It’s very, very important,” he says. “There’s a constitutional right to have a jury trial where the people decide the guilt or innocence of a person. And, I believe, that system works. Juries are a vital part of our culture and our legal system.”

Brew
108 E. Front St.
This is the hot spot, according to patron Laura Galbraith. “I see someone I know every visit,” she says … as two people walk up to say hello to her. A who’s who of TC’s java junkies, Brew’s always-packed interior boasts coffee by day, beer and booze by night. Its high customer numbers can sometimes stymie service speed and refills on its otherwise genius serve-yourself coffee and creamer stand, but Brew’s payoff is consistently worthwhile: drinks are delish; the rustic, funky interior is fabulous; service is always with a smile. 

Crow About It Coffee & Cakes
corner of 4 Mile Rd. and US-31
An outsider for insiders, Crow About It is just a smidge beyond downtown but all the better for it. The eclectic gem sits inside a strip of shops, and its under-the-radar status means no one minds when you kick back with the house-provided Clue boardgame on your table or strum the guitar on the wall. Best of all, this nest is next to the TART trail, so you can bike in. Better yet? A bite-size treat comes free with every drink. Two to try: Nothing Gold Can Stay or Oh Captain, My Captain.

Espresso Bay
202 E. Front St.
Milky Way Mocha. Need we say more? The steamed milk, golden espresso, chocolate and caramel combo is killer, as is the shop’s gelato. Scramble for the sofa next to the fireplace, but be wary: If you miss the cushioned perch, you’ll compete for decidedly less comfy seats with heaps of high schoolers. (While we were there, we heard a dude declare he needed some “bagel-age.”) Bonus: The Cass Street corner location, wrap-around windows and warm-weather sidewalk seating make the people watch-age potential as sweet as the shop’s gelato.

Good Harbor
111 W. Front St.
There’s a reason Good Harbor has perched on Front Street across from The TC Record-Eagle for 20 years: It’s primed for those with pressing deadlines. Expect easy parking out front, no tables to navigate inside, and owner Alice Tighe and staff to steam, pour, press and push orders through as fast as the line can order them. The lone street-facing counter is just big enough for pausing with a paper or a friend; lingering longer is best at the few tables out front.

Latté Dah
720 W. Front St.
Walking in here feels like dropping in to mom’s place. Find cozy booths in back (a new addition), knickknacks on the walls and fresh baked goods that’ll blow your mind every morning. Owner Kelly Hollinger does lunch too – lobster bisque and homemade garlic bread even. Didn’t know that? Here’s another well-kept secret: She’s got seating down by the river in the summer.

Got a favorite local coffee spot you don't see here? Tell Ticker readers about it by hitting the comment button below. Click the picture above for a look at the shops listed in today's story.

Prosecutor Kirk Metzger is looking into the possibility of submitting evidence in the 1996 rape and slaying of Geraldine Montgomery, a 68-year-old widow, to the FBI’s nationwide CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) to see if it matches anyone arrested or questioned elsewhere in the country.

A jury convicted Jamie Lee Peterson, now 37, of the crime two years after it was committed. He’s serving a life sentence at Oaks Correctional Facility in Manistee.

Yet there is DNA found in the case that is not his. (No DNA samples found in the investigation matched Peterson.) He and several other people were ruled out several years ago, says Bob Carey, Peterson’s trial lawyer.

Carey recently asked the Kalkaska County board to order Metzger to submit the DNA sample. The board declined; Metzger says that’s simply because they don’t have the authority to order him to do so.

With the assistance of retired Southfield attorney Alfred Millstein, Carey has waged unsuccessful appeals for Peterson in the years since the conviction.

He says that taking a fresh look at the evidence might exonerate Peterson, though he acknowledges that it’s hard to make people sympathize with Peterson and take up his cause.

“He was a ne’er-do-well, but he had brain damage,” Carey says.

Still, the fact that the sample did not match with Peterson’s genetic code makes Carey’s effort more than just a crusade from a losing lawyer to re-try one of his biggest cases, he says.

It means, Carey contends, that at the very least, Peterson might have had an accomplice who might still be at large.

Connie Swander, director of the Michigan State Police crime lab in Grayling, says there were samples connected with the scene that indicated more than one donor. She is reviewing the case for Metzger but says she does not know how long it may take to determine if there is a sample that can be submitted to the FBI.

Metzger was not the prosecutor who put Peterson away. That was Brian Donnelly, who died in January while cross-country skiing on the VASA trail.

Donnelly had opposed attempts to release the DNA in the past, but Carey says the timing of his renewed efforts had nothing to do with Donnelly’s death.

“That’s just a coincidence,” he says.

Not long before Donnelly died, at least a couple of people had written letters to Kalkaska’s local weekly newspaper, the Leader & Kalkaskian, asking that the DNA be given another look.

Metzger does not believe submitting the DNA will clear Peterson. “Jamie Lee Peterson has been tried and convicted and already gone through the entire course of appeals,” he says. “If anything, this may lead to another person connected to it.”

Metzger says he agrees the DNA should be sent to the database if possible, though he’s reluctant to make Montgomery’s family relive the tragedy. “The victims are getting tired of having all this re-done,” he says.

Metzger was Donnelly’s assistant prosecutor at the time of his death, but not at the time of the Montgomery case. He has been appointed interim prosecutor, but is not running for election to keep the position.

Coming soon: a new sleek interior, comfy chairs and every flavor of Coca-Cola you can imagine to the outdated restaurant on U.S. 31 South next to Meijer.

The Burger King corporation first announced its “20/20” global redesign in late 2009, but it will take years for all its locations to adopt the updated look because the required renovation is based on franchise agreements. Franchisees own an estimated 90 percent of Burger King’s stores.

Here in Traverse City, Burger King is synonymous with the Casciano name – specifically Chris, Dan III and Mike – the three brothers who own and manage six locations in and around town.

“It’s our most tired store, so it’s a good time for this to be happening,” says Chris Casciano of the U.S. 31 South location.

“Both Wendy’s and McDonald’s are doing the same thing,” he adds. “Burger King has to get in the game in order to compete.”

The 20/20 design, intended to set the tone until the year 2020 and beyond according to company officials, is marked by chrome-trimmed booths, brick walls, corrugated metal, red and black paint and “flame” chandeliers.

Casciano says the Traverse City re-do is more aptly described as “20/20 Lite” with softer colors, a lounge area and TVs, along with stainless steel and red accents. It also will include the region’s first freestyle Coca-Cola machine – offering more than 100 flavors.

Cost of the renovation is in the $500,000 range, according to Dan Casciano, but it also typically brings a double-digit increase in business. “We’re hoping for a 10 to 12 percent uptick,” he says.

Right now the restaurant is completely operational, but on May 13 the dining room will shut down, though drive-thru service will be available through the 19th. The entire operation will be closed May 20 through 24, re-opening for business on the May 25. (Special note to the Coca-Cola lovers out there: The Freestyle machine won’t be available until July 1.)

A Grand Rapids-based construction company that has done work for the Casciano’s Burger Kings for years is the general contractor, says Mike Casciano, with several local subcontractors hired on for various aspects of the project.
The Cascianos’ five other locations include: Front Street, Garfield Cherryland, Chum’s Corners, Acme and Grand Traverse Crossing.

The next store to receive the new 20/20 look will be Acme, but not until 2015.
 

The Magical History Tour, a nostalgic nod to The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour, will haul TC history buffs around town, bringing them through 200 years of local history via one of the Celtic Tours Irish green buses – now sporting a 1960s-inspired psychedelic “skin” for the occasion.

“We think this could save the museum,” says History Center Executive Director Bill Kennis. “We have to take history to the people. They aren’t all going to come to us.”

Nearly one year ago, the organization received a directive from its landlord, the City of Traverse City, to become more financially self-sufficient. The city currently spends about $110,000 annually on the History Center; and City Manager R. Ben Bifoss has recommended cutting funding from the 2012-13 general fund budget.

The idea for a history tour on wheels sprouted from a strategic brainstorming session last fall that had one goal in mind: “Find out what the community wants the History Center to be so that we become an invaluable asset,” Kennis said at that time.

While an actual trolley vehicle fit the original vision of its creators, its price tag was far beyond what the struggling organization could afford, Kennis says.

Plan B? Find a bus partner. No sooner did John O’Brien of TC-based Celtic Tours hear about the project did he commit a 30-passenger bus and drivers.

Kennis says the four-season tour is targeting 10,000 riders in its inaugural year. The 90-minute, nine-mile loop includes Sixth Street’s stately homes, the Old Town commercial district, the historic courthouse, downtown TC, the waterfront, the Warehouse District, Slabtown neighborhood, and the Village at the Grand Traverse Commons. Stops will be short (3 to 5 minutes), with the exception of the bayfront and the Commons, where riders will be able to stroll about a bit.

Tours will run weekends only through May, and then the schedule will build as demand dictates – running as many as five tours daily. Cost will range between $10-$15 per person. An online ticketing system will soon be available, but for right now interested riders can call the History Center, 995-0313, for tour reservations.

Things are already considerably brighter this year for The History Center compared to last, Kennis notes. A recent Saturday logged some 500 visitors to its Lego exhibit, which runs through Memorial Day weekend, and he adds that the organization is on target to see 14,000 museum admissions by year’s end.

In light of the City’s potential cutting of the History Center line item from the budget, Kennis is working with the Downtown Development Authority on a possible amendment to the TIF (Tax Increment Financing) 2 district to assist with capital expenditures and operational costs. He says a recent meeting with the DDA Board indicated support for help with capital projects, but more lukewarm concerning operational funding.

First up: Miguel Osorio – the Mexican food maestro whose former eatery Taqueria Margarita made a follower of even famed chef Mario Batali – is giving the restaurant business another go.

He and his wife, Karla Osorio-Franco, are opening Osorio’s Tacos and Salsas in Acme, on the northwest corner of the US-31 and M-72 intersection.

Target opening date: May 5, Cinco de Mayo.

Osorio tells The Ticker that the new menu will retain many of Taqueria’s authentic Oaxacan-style staples: homemade tacos, tamales, hand-mashed refried beans and hangover soup, check.

But new are the additions of Baja-born Karla’s authentic fish tacos – and 12 of Osorio’s 100-percent homemade salsas.

“Before, I didn’t focus too much on the salsas because it takes a whole day of boiling, roasting, cooking. I follow the recipe of my grandmother. And it’s a lot of physical work,” he says. “But it is worth it to see the faces of people eating my salsa.”

Now equipped with a bigger kitchen and the help of his wife, niece and nephew, Osorio plans to bolster the restaurant business by bottling his salsas and Karla’s homemade enchilada sauce.

Already he’s got a dozen accounts around the area – among them, Oryana, Maxbauer and Union Cantina. “I am doing wholesale so I don’t have to just depend on selling my tacos,” he says.

But he adds that he’s in no rush to tackle too much too soon. He’s closed his South Airport grocery store, Osorio el Mexicano, and says he wants to focus only on making food – for the new restaurant and his wholesale accounts.

“I want to take my time,” he says. “We closed [Taqueria Margarita] more than two years ago, and so many people wanted, wanted, wanted. It’s nice to know. But I cannot please all the people. So I tell my family, OK. The economy is hurting, but let’s go. We can do some dishes. Later, maybe more.”

TC Takeout
Just a dozen miles away, at the corner of Zimmerman and Silver Lake roads in Traverse City, another Mexican restaurant is opening: Taqueria TC Latino.

The owners behind the restaurant: husband and wife team Adolfo Mendez and Sandra Rios, owners of Mexican market, TC Latino, at 1456 South Airport Road.

Mendez tells The Ticker a Mexican-born friend of his, who works on the farms but wanted to do something different, inspired him. 

“He made for me a very good dish – ‘Oh my God,’ we said. ‘Yes! You don’t want to work for only the farmers, help me open the taqueria!’”

The space, briefly home to Rusty’s Pizza and Subs in 2010 but long remembered as the old Green Hill Grocery store, is small – just a couple tables and a little bar, says Mendez. But it suits their menu, which will be primed for take-out: tamales, quesadillas, burritos, tacos – “all good, homemade, fresh.”

Mendez hopes to open in the next week or two, but the hours aren’t decided yet: “Maybe 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., definitely seven days a week. But it depends. If it’s summertime, we see customers coming late, maybe we extend it.”

Traverse City resident Liz Lancashire, a Portland, Oregon native, brought the SCRAP concept to the Cherry Capital two years ago. The local incarnation is an offspring of SCRAP USA, a national not-for-profit founded in Portland in 1998.

Since Lancashire started it, SCRAP TC has accepted heaps of interesting stuff: old metal film canisters and spools from The Camera Shop; old gymnasium light fixtures and light bulbs; bottle caps and corks from area watering holes; rubber tubing; and – a high rollin' creative's personal favorite – components used to make dashboard drink warmers for Cadillac Escalades, courtesy of TC manufacturer Tellurex.

Under the artsy hands of teachers, students and crafters, those items have found a second life as materials for jewelry, home décor and even clothing.

“I think people are generally quite impressed by all of the things that can be used creatively, and by the variety of what we have,” says Lancashire. “Our bins are full of fantastic items, all saved from the waste stream.”

Where are those bins of bounty?

Find them at 821 S. Garfield, near The UPS Store and Agave restaurant in a space donated by SCRAP TC supporter and TC businessman, Mike Anton. SCRAP is open every Saturday from 12:00 until 4:00 pm for your shopping pleasure, as well as donation drop-off. And while SCRAP will take almost anything, there are certain items it won’t accept, says Lancashire.

“We do not take items that others are set up to take, such as Goodwill or American Waste,” she says, citing items like clothing, electronics and pots and pans as SCRAP unacceptables.

Want to get involved? SCRAP TC currently offers a guided craft night every Tuesday evening. Future plans include increasing hours of operation; adding kid-oriented workshops and birthday parties; and eventually creating summer camp, spring break and after-school programs.

Bonus: SCRAP TC is hosting an open house tomorrow night, Friday, April 27, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at its Garfield retail location. You’ll have the opportunity to see all of the unique stuff that’s been donated by the Traverse City community (donors receive a tax deduction, by the way) and to bid on silent auctions items local artists have created from donated SCRAP items. To learn more, click here.

“We have existing electrical and steam distribution systems to allow for the operation of an electrical co-generation system, and it would be possible to install without our existing power house facility,” NMC President Tim Nelson wrote in a memo to the school’s Board of Trustees. “If installed, this could be linked to an academic program in power generation that could provide training at the certificate, associate and potentially baccalaureate levels.”

Nelson is attending the American Association of Community Colleges National Convention in Orlando, Fla., so Vice President Marguerite Cotto outlined the project for The Ticker.

She says NMC officials have held discussions with Traverse City Light and Power and DTE about the project. A next step would be to contact an engineering firm for recommendations and to continue talks with TCLP and DTE. “We’re exploring the possibility,” says Cotto. “It’s in a very early, talking stage right now.”

So what would this mean to students?

NMC officials are evaluating the national need for power production technicians and alternative training methods. The school has a power systems associate degree curriculum that was designed years ago but has never been launched. If implemented, the curriculum could utilize existing equipment at the Great Lakes Maritime Academy and Aero Park Laboratories.

Nationwide, electricity generated by gas-fired plants has risen by more than 50 percent over the last decade. Gas plants generated about 600 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in 2000 and 981 billion hours in 2010, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency.

Between 2009 and 2010, natural gas use for power generation nationwide rose 7 percent, says EIA – that's about 515 billion cubic feet. The biggest jumps were in the Southeast, with use rising 24 percent in North Carolina, 18 percent in Virginia and 15 percent in South Carolina.

While no dollar figure has yet been attached to the NMC project, Nelson estimates that the cost for the next step would fall within authorization limits of his office and not require board approval.

“Having our own sources of power could reduce our long-term costs and be a viable asset for the region,” wrote Nelson. “We could decide to establish a system that exceeds our needs and sell electricity into the grid. These issues would be examined in the study and with input from TCLP and DTE.” 

The first round of interviews began yesterday, and today they end. Unless the nine-member board of commissioners requests an additional round, the county could make its selection as early as tomorrow night, says Jen Seman, GT County’s human resources director.

So who are these candidates? From a pool of 14 applicants, county commissioners whittled the list of final-round interviews to seven. One, the lone female applicant, dropped out of the running, leaving these six contenders:

David Benda: Midland, Michigan
Resume highlights: Midland County administrator/controller, 1999-2009 ($27 million budget, 350 employees); Clinton County administrator, 1993-1999; budget director for Ingham County, 1987-1993
Bonus point: former high school English teacher, Bergland, Michigan

Jeffrey Naftal: Lancaster, South Carolina
Highlights: deputy Lancaster County administrator, 2011-2012, ($47 million budget, 29 departments); Lake Worth (Florida) interim budget director, risk manager and assistant to city manager, 2008-2010; Juno Beach town manager, 2005-2008
Bonus point: Launched one of Florida’s only town-wide Wi-Fi networks

Rob Hillard: Allegan, Michigan
Resume highlights: city manager/clerk, City of Allegan, 1995-2000 and 2005-present; manager, Village of Yellow Springs, Ohio; clerk, Village of Mattawan, Michigan, 1990-1993
Bonus point: coordinated carpool database for state’s West Shoreline region encompassing Lake, Mason, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana and northern Ottawa counties

John Michael Hall: Dauphin, Pennsylvania
Resume highlights: national director of Integrated Health Systems, federal Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2011-present; cabinet secretary, department of aging, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 2007-2011; deputy commissioner, department of health and human services, State of Maine, 2004-2007
Bonus point: Following state health department crisis of flawed claims processing software, led a complete overhaul of organization based on “idea that the only way to repair the organization was to repair the people…”

James Bottorff: Traverse City
Highlights: business manager, Coca-Cola Refreshments, TC, 2004-present; senior master sergeant/human resources advisor, United States Airforce, 1994-present; adjunct professor, University of Phoenix, 2009-present
Bonus point: deployed with U.S. Air Force in operations Northern Watch, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom with public funds of $30k, achieved 100-percent accuracy in funds management

James Gitz: Freeport, Illinois
Highlights: in-house counsel to multi-state real estate appraisal and consulting firm, 2012 to present; administrator/clerk/treasurer, Campbell, Wisconsin, 2011; city administrator, Prairie de Chien, Wisconsin, 2007-2010.
Bonus point: as mayor of Freeport (1997-2005), Gitz initiated major rebuild of city’s water and sewer systems, consolidated operations for cost savings, and secured more than $10 million in state and federal grants – some for regional bike trail development and environmental cleanup

The Ticker contacted the GT commissioners to find out the biggest issue GT County – and its incoming administrator – faces in the coming years. Each commissioner who responded cited issue No. 1 as the county’s budget, which is strained by a growing population and shrinking tax revenues. Following on the wish list? Communication, people skills and the ability to help the board reach consensus.

As for any candidate looking for the inside edge on the competition, GT Commissioner Rob Hentschel has a suggestion: “They get points with me if they read this article. I love it when a person does their homework.”

The outreach sites, supported by the millage passed in November of 2010, are drawing participants that weren’t previously part of the Traverse City Senior Center.

Kingsley’s location at the Rock was launched in January of 2011, and Interlochen started its programs in the summer of 2011 at Green Lake Township’s Golden Fellowship Hall.

“The numbers were showing that 75 percent of the people the Traverse City Senior Center was already serving came from outside of the city of Traverse City and within Grand Traverse County,” says Lori Wells, director of the senior center network.

“We are generating a little less than $400,000 in tax revenue that also supports the existing Traverse City Senior Center. So the tax revenue absorbed our budget, which was a little over $200,000 to start with and then gave us additional revenue to essentially hire … an outreach coordinator, clerk and start up costs for new Senior Center Network sites.”

By this summer, there will be five active sites for the Senior Center Network; new sites in Fife Lake and Acme are planned.

“This year our goal is to get Fife Lake and Acme up and running. Next year we will look at additional communities, such as the Peninsula and Long Lake, and what is available to us as far as space, interest and volunteers. After we add Fife Lake, Acme, then Peninsula and Long Lake, I feel like the area is pretty well covered,” Wells explained.

However, Wells says there is not room in the budget for additional hiring beyond the outreach coordinator and clerk – therefore, much of the work will have to be done by volunteers.
“Each site, just like Traverse City, has always had to be fiscally responsible to cover program operational costs – if we start a program, the program needs to sustain itself…millage dollars are not used to keep a program running.”

The network is also partnering with the Village at Bay Ridge and Glen Eagle this spring, as sites for their duplicate bridge program.

“The outreach expansion is going faster than we anticipated, offering more in the outreach locations than we had predicted by this point in time,” Neuman says. “That is thanks to the support of the communities and the volunteers in those communities.”

With last year’s substantial increase in membership, Wells says, “I am really excited about our future…we will be evolving with the people that we are serving, changing what we are doing to meet the needs of the population we are serving. Now that we have a millage and secure funding, we are in a position where we can do just that.” 

Bill O. Smith, Empire
“A good children’s book has first the language and pictures that draw the child into an irresistible world. Second, the child is a participant explorer in that world. I also think the great ones are deeply reassuring,” says Smith.

Smith’s first book, Chickadees At Night, illustrated by TC artist Charles R. Murphy, is the retired elementary principal's first. Its inspiration: watching Chickadees fly in odd patterns around his bird feeder and wondering what they did at night.

After being turned down by publishing houses in New York, Smith went the self-publishing route. “The key thing I needed was an illustrator, whose spirit and ability matched what I had in mind,” he says. “I was very fortunate to find Charlie. It turned out he loves chickadees too.”

Murphy, who has illustrated a number of books, including the award-winning Reach for the Moon by TC’s Samantha Abeel, believes a good children’s book has to capture the child’s imagination from a pictorial standpoint first. For youngest readers, he emphasizes contrast, which is recognizable before color senses develop – then bright colors.

Chickadees At Night launches this weekend (April 21) at Horizon Books.

Anne Margaret Lewis, Traverse City
Lewis is releasing her twentieth book, Fly Blanky Fly, next month. The story revolves around a little boy named Sam, who launches his blanky from his upstairs balcony and yells out, “Fly blanky, fly!” as he sends it into the world of his own imagination.

“The book was intended to follow a little bit of a musical pattern – it has a crescendo, getting bigger and more exciting, and then items are strategically placed to calm things back down, so it would be the perfect bedtime story with very few words for a younger audience,” Lewis says.

A book’s listening potential is key for young readers, says Lewis. The best are built on words or sentences that resonate and are musical.

Harper Collins releases Fly Blanky Fly on May 22; Lewis will launch the book locally at TC’s Horizon Books on May 19.

Lynn Rae Perkins, Suttons Bay
Newberry Medal winner Perkins has hit another publishing milestone with her latest book, As Easy As Falling Off The Face Of The Earth. It’s just been released in paperback. The book tells the story of a teenage boy who steps off the train to a summer archaeology camp, then finds himself stranded in the middle of nowhere. A series of unlikely (but not impossible) adventures ensue.

“There are a million kinds of ‘good children's books,’ all different from one another,” Perkins says. “What they have in common is that they draw you, for a time, into their world, and you want to go there again and again.”

Perkins recently stretched her storytelling talents into the visual realm. She’s illustrated Seed by Seed, a book by author Esme Raji Codell about the life and legends of John Appleseed Chapman. It will be out in August.

Catherin Wolfe, Honor
Wolfe’s first children’s book, Pets Rule, was inspired by her work: promoting animal welfare and preventing animal cruelty through education.

“I wrote Pets Rule because it occurred to me, as I go around the country and talk to people, they really don’t understand the magnitude of the homeless animal problem … so, I thought I would start with the children.”

Horizon Books releases Pets Rule April 28.

Now Read This
Nationally, April is the Month of the Child, and TC is celebrating the wee ones in grand style on Saturday, April 28. Expect hands-on activity tables at the City Opera House, activities and movies at the State Theatre, Wings of Wonder at Horizon Books, a rock dig at Miner’s North and more. Learn more here.