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Michigan utility regulators are proposing changes they say could lower electric bills. The Public Service Commission recommends tying utility profits more closely to affordability and reliability, limiting unnecessary spending on new power lines, and encouraging more competition. The proposals came at Governor Whitmer’s request and would require legislative action. Republican critics say the recommendations don’t address what they see as the higher costs of Michigan’s clean-energy mandates.
Votebeat reports Antrim County Clerk Victoria Bishop and her husband will not face charges after he was left alone with her government computer. Attorney General Dana Nessel says investigators found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing or access to voter records, but called the incident a clear misstep in proper practices. #Election2026
In T-C, the estimated cost of renovating Central High School has risen from about 20 million dollars to 25-and-a-half million, largely because of accessibility upgrades. Plans include a new gym, secure main entrance and improved facilities for people with disabilities. Construction is expected to begin next April, with completion targeted for January 2029. #Education
A new study says Great Lakes sturgeon may live far longer than previously thought—routinely surviving more than 200 years, with some potentially reaching 300 or even 400. Researchers used 44 years of tagging data to estimate their longevity, findings that could help guide future conservation efforts. #Environment
An adult lake sturgeon being handled by USFWS staff. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service photo The Headlands International Dark Sky Park is asking Northern Michigan residents to turn out their lights tonight from 10:30 to 11:30. The “Lights Out Challenge” aims to produce the darkest sky ever recorded at the park. Meantime, the Beaver Island Dark Project has released the schedule for its upcoming Dark Sky Festival on the Island. The at will run from the 13th to the 19th of September with an H-Q at the Beaver Island Retreat. In addition to multiple star gazing opportunities around the Island, there will be multiple informative sessions on night sky viewing, the importance of dark skies to bird migration and human health, setting up your telescope, night photography and opportunities for telescopic views of the sun. The full schedule is in the Community Calendar. #DarkSky
The Emerald Isle Irish Féile is getting ready to recruit volunteers for this year’s festival. Volunteers help with everything from setup and registration to merchandise sales, children’s activities and the currach races. Organizers say volunteer signup will open in mid-August. The Féile celebrates Beaver Island’s Irish heritage with music, activities and events across the Island. Visit their website at irish feile dot com for more info. Feile is F-E-I-L-E. Irish feile dot com. https://irishfeile.com |
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Now here’s a look at other upcoming events on your Emerald Isle…
First your meeting planner…
Transportation Authority meets today at noon. A-A meets Thursday and Saturday at 6:00
…and that is it for the week. Locations and more details are in the calendar entries online.
On the fun front today…
Wednesday, there’s Summer Restorative Yoga BIC Center at 9:30. Also at 10:00, there’s American Mah Jongg at the BIC Center in the Hangout, and at 1:00 there is Afternoon Bingo. Protar’s House will be open from 1:00 to 4:00. At 1:28, a very short solar eclipse will reach its peak in our sky. While the eclipse will be total in some place, it will be partial here obscuring less than five percent of the sun. It will only last a few minutes. At 4:00 the Amik Cultural Preservation Center will be open. TUNES workshops continue with a session on Percussive Dance. That’s at 7:00 on the stage at the BIC Center.
A Solar Eclipse happens on Wednesday, but we will be far from the area of totality in Greenland. A partial Lunar Eclipse comes up later this month. Graphic from Time and Date.com
Thursday, there’s Pickleball at Peaine Township Park at 9:00. The COA’s normal Cardio Drumming and Art Therapy is off today on vacation. Those sessions return mid-August. There’s Women’s Bible Study at 10:00 a.m. at the BI Christian Church and at 10:30, there’s Senior Tai Chi at the BIC Center. The Annual Quilt Show opens at 11:30 at the Beaver Island Gallery. See the latest work by Island artists alongside the first and latest quilts made by students at B-I-C-S. The Weekly Bocce Ball rolls is on at 4:00 on the courts at the Peaine Township Park. And, Thursday evenings are Burger and a Beer Night at the Shamrock. TUNES Presents continues with their week of workshops with a session on singing Beaver Island and Great Lakes Songs. That’s at the Brother’s Place. At the BIC Center, Claudia Schmidt and Sally Rogers take to the stage for a night of folk and jazz. Showtime is 7:30. Tickets are at tickets dot bic center dot org.
Claudia Schmidt returns to the BIC Center with Sally Rogers on Thursday for another unforgettable evening of song, story, and harmony. Tickets are available at the BIC Center Front Desk or online at tickets.biccenter.org. Graphic provided by BIC Center
Highlights for the rest of the week include…
Friday, there’s Senior and Vets Coffee and Donuts from 8:30 to 10:30 in the Welcome Center at the BIC Center. At 9:00 A-M Pickleball Outdoors on the Peaine Township courts. Back at the BIC Center at 9:30, there’s Summer Yoga in the Theater plus Chair Strength Training up in the Hangout. At 7:00 at the library, author and poet Steve Brown will read from some of his work and answer questions. Also at 7:00, TUNES Presents an outdoor concert at Gene Masta’s garden featuring internationally acclaimed musicians performing Irish, Appalachian and Great Lakes traditional music. Bring a lawn chair or blanket and enjoy the music, the garden and the company of Islanders. Your free will donation will help support Tunes.
As part of its week of music workshops, TUNES presents a multi-artist concert in the garden. Image from TUNES via WVBI Community Calendar
[On the radio, Kick off your weekend with our fantastic Friday lineup! After the 6:00pm news, enjoy “That Thing with Rich Appel” featuring top forty hits from the 70s. At 9:00pm, tune into “The Titus Jennings Experience” offering music from all genres, followed by “The Midnight Special” with Marilyn Rea Beyer at 11:00pm for music, farce comedy, and late-night escape.]
Saturday, the Artisan’s Market is on at the Point starting at 10:00. Also at 10:00, there’s a writer’s workshop at the library with author Steve Brown. At noon, TUNES has a Guitar & Chorded Instrument Workshop at the TUNES Studio with Brian Miller. It’ll be an interactive, hands-on learning experience designed to help participants master the fundamentals of guitar chords and their application in music. Open to all levels. Registration is required. There’s a link in the calendar online. Protar’s House will be open for tours from 1:00 to 3:00. And Saturday nights are Prime Rib Night at the Shamrock.
[On the radio, tune in for Country Classics at 5:00 Saturday evening with host Sheri Timsak. At 7:00, take a trip back to the best of the 80s and 90s with the Mix Tape show (that’s a 120-minute TDK cassette tape for those in the know) hosted by WVBI’s Adam Pettigrew. Mark Beltaire takes over at 9:00 with Rockin’ the Boat and continues at 10:00 with the Blues Cruise. Cousin Dan wraps up the evening with the Too Good Radio Show starting at 11:00.]
Sunday, there are services at the Episcopal Mission at 9:00 and at the Christian Church at 10:00. Mass is at Holy Cross at 12:15. And the Amik Cultural Center is open 1 to 3 PM.
Looking ahead to highlights for next week…
Monday, at 9:30, summer yoga is on at the BIC Center. It’ll be a session on Basic Flow. COA has Cardio Drumming at 10:00 and Art Therapy at 11:00 at Peaine Township Hall. At 11:00, there’s Summer Therapeutic Chair Yoga at the BIC Center and over at the library, it’s the Senior Digital Café. And, don’t forget, Monday evenings are All You Can Eat Pizza and Salad night at the Beachcomber, so you can go next door to grab dinner before or after the show.
Tuesday, at 9:00 there is Pickleball on the Peaine Township Courts. At 9:30, there’s Chair Strength Training up in the Hangout at the BIC Center. At 10:00, Babes & Toddlers mix it up at the library. At 7:30, the BIC Center stage welcomes John Ellison & the Carpenter Ants. John is famous for his many time covered hit Some Kind of Wonderful released by the Soul Brothers Six. The Carpenter Ants are West Virginia’s renowned ambassadors of Appalachian soul with their own string of hits, including every time they come to the Island. Join us for a special evening of joy, energy, and enduring spirit of American music. Showtime is 7:30. Tickets are at tickets dot bic center dot org. |
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Those are the highlights. Find a full listing of events at calendar dot W-V-B-I dot net. |
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Today’s BIC Center Name of the Day is Simone. If that’s your name, come on down to the BIC Center today to pick out a free drink of your choice. |
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On our Birthday List: Dan McDonough, Jaqueline Martin and Davi Stein are celebrating today. Happy Birthday to Davi, Jaqueline and Dan, and if we missed you on the list, Happy Birthday to you too from everyone at the BIC Center and WVBI. |
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TRAFFIC: No delays inbound or outbound to the airports. The Island Beltway is running smoothly. There are no bridge delays. But, it is busy in town when the ferries arrive and there are lots of folks out hiking and biking. So, let’s be careful out there. |
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On this date in 1877, Thomas Edison made one of the breakthroughs that would change how we experience sound. While experimenting with a device to record telegraph signals, Edison sketched out the idea for the phonograph—a machine that could record the human voice and play it back. Later that year, his first successful recording was “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” The invention helped launch the recorded-sound industry and earned Edison the nickname “The Wizard of Menlo Park.” |
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Our Merriam Webster Word of the Day is gnomic (adjective) [NOH-mik]. Something gnomic is expressed in a short, mysterious, or puzzling way—especially a statement that seems to contain a deeper truth but isn’t immediately clear. For example, His gnomic reply—”The lake decides”—left everyone wondering what he really meant. Gnomic comes from the Greek gnome [GNOH-may], meaning thought, judgment, or maxim. It originally referred to brief sayings that expressed a general truth or piece of wisdom. Think of a gnome dispensing cryptic wisdom and you’ve got a handy way to remember gnomic—although the two words aren’t actually related. |
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Now, to wrap up for this Beaver Island Wednesday… |
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Here’s a thought for the day from Thomas Edison: “When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this – you haven’t.” |
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On a lighter note… A metronome. |
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That’s the W-V-B-I Community Calendar Report for this Beaver Island Wednesday, August 12th, 2026. I’m Kevin Boyle reporting from W-V-B-I’s Langford Family Studios wishing you a great day and asking: why not go ahead and make it the best day ever? And thanks for listening. |
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WEATHER |
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[Current Condition Report, then…] |
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Today Sunny, with a high near 77 by the shore and 83 inland. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming north in the morning. Tonight Increasing clouds, with a low around 65. West wind around 5 mph becoming north after midnight. Thursday Partly sunny, with a high near 76/82. North wind around 5 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Thursday Night A slight chance of showers between 7pm and 8pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 62. North wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Friday Sunny, with a high near 75/82. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Friday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 64. Saturday Partly sunny, with a high near 75/81. Saturday Night A chance of thunderstorms before 8pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 8pm and 2am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. Sunday A chance of showers before 8am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 74/77. Sunday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 60. Monday Sunny, with a high near 75/77. Monday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 64. Tuesday Partly sunny, with a high near 74/77. |
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Air Quality Index at 7:01 was 48. |
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Fire Danger: High |
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Out on the Big Drink…
Photo from the North Lake Michigan Buoy. Provided by the National Data Buoy Center |
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Today Variable winds 5 kt or less. Patchy fog before 7am. Waves 1 ft or less. Thursday Variable winds 5 kt or less. A slight chance of showers after 4pm. Waves 1 ft or less. Friday NNE wind 5 to 10 kt. Mostly sunny. Waves 1 ft or less. Saturday SE wind 5 to 10 kt. Partly sunny. Waves 1 ft or less. Sunday NW wind around 10 kt. Mostly cloudy. Waves around 1 ft. |
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Water Temps: 69 at the mid-lake buoy southwest of Gull Island. 73 at Sleeping Bear and in Little Traverse Bay. 71 in the Straits. |
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Photos from webcams at wvbi.net and mackinacbridge.org |
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Coming up in our Community Calendar Report…
State regulators have some ideas for lowering your electric bill. A new study suggests Great Lakes sturgeon could live for centuries. And, turn out the lights tonight—there’s a challenge to make Northern Michigan’s night sky darker than ever.
Those stories along with a run down of local events, birthdays, this date in hisotry and more are up after this global and national news… [Time check.] |
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Today’s featured image: An adult lake sturgeon being handled by USFWS staff. A new study says they can live up to 400 years. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service photo |
