Musical Michigan Tuesday: Inside Muskegon podcast interviews Scott Speck, Music Director, West Shore Symphony Orchestra, CONCLUSION of Mozart's ASCANIO IN ALBA and Bastien und Bastienne from What's Opera Doc?, Anna and Jonathan Wege's AMAZING "Symphonic House" on Cathead Bay near Northport (related article)

Coaster Brook Trout is Potential Roadblock to Mine

Several articles have emerged over the last few days relating to the coaster brook trout and the proposed Kennecott Eagle mine north of Marquette because the Sierra Club and the Huron Mountain Club have petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to add the coaster to the federal endangered list. The private Huron Mountain Club owns the land on both banks of the stretch of the river accessible to coasters.

The Mining Journal reports that the mine is designed to extract an ore body 1,000 feet directly below the headwaters of the Salmon Trout River. Eagle Project Manager Jon Cherry, the top of the ore body is located 200 feet below the surface soil, which holds a stretch of the Salmon Trout headwaters. Cherry contends that separating the Salmon Trout and the ore body is a layer of 70 feet of impermeable clay, glacial till and surface soil above a 130-foot cap of bedrock. "I'm confident that this project will not have any impacts to the coaster brook trout whether they're listed or not," Cherry said.

• Mine would pollute Gretchen Millich talks with Peter Dykema of the HMC (GLRC)


• Endangered trout? Mine opponents throw a curve ... has a great picture of some coasters (Mining Journal)


• Groups seek endangered designation for prized brook trout ... (Lansing State Journal)


• Detailed profile of the Coaster Brook Trout ... for anglers, the Coaster Brook trout might have been the greatest Great Lakes fish (GLRC)


• Lake Superior Coaster Brook Trout Initiative ... from Trout Unlimited

Back to the Drawing Board for School Criminal List

David Eggert of the Associated Press has a report on the recent (wildly unsuccessful) rollout of a statewide list of school workers with criminal histories. The Department of Education and State Police to check all school employees against a list of people with criminal convictions twice a year until 2008.
Read State's inaccurate list of school criminals draws criticism in the Traverse City Record-Eagle

Without GM, Southeast Michigan Companies Post Profit

Brent Snavely of Crain's Detroit Business reports that as long as you exclude the monstrous losses of General Motors, Southeast Michigan's publicly traded companies collectively made a profit during the fourth quarter of 2005. Total fourth-quarter net income for 46 publicly traded companies based in Southeast Michigan was $3.67 billion, up from $1.12 billion for the same period in 2004.
Read Minus GM, earnings up for local firms from Crain's Detroit Business

Annual Hamtramck Blowout Held First Week of March

Model D has a feature by Walter Wasacz about the Hamtramck Blowout, an annual music festival that takes place in Hamtramck the first week of March. The four-day event kicks off Wednesday at Detroit's Majestic Theatre Center on Woodward in Midtown and there are 200 acts scheduled at venues all over the neighborhood.
Read Hamtramck Rocks Out from Model D (Be sure to check out their Guide to Hamtramck)
Schedule, band links & more info from the Detroit Metro Times

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