WVBI

From studios in the BIC Center on America’s Emerald Isle, this is the W-V-B-I Community Calendar for Wednesday, October 21^st, 2020. 

First, some news…

Governor Whitmer has signed a bipartisan bill extending unemployment benefits through the end of the year. It mirrors many but not all elements of one of her overruled executive orders—giving 26 weeks of benefits instead of 20 and allowing more businesses to take part in workshare programs to employ workers part-time while the state picks up the balance of their pay. With federal programs added to the mix, the bill means that Michigan workers put out of work by COVID-19 can be eligible for up to 59 weeks of benefits.  As part of a deal to get the unemployment provisions back in place, the governor agreed to limited liability exemptions fof employers from COVID-19 related employee claims.

Washtenaw County health officials have issued a stay at home order for undergraduate students at U of M.  It extends through election day.  Students are allowed to leave their rooms or home only to go to class, to get food to bring back, for exercise and for medical appointments.  But the go to class exception won’t be all that relevant as the University says it plans to eliminate almost all in person classes for the rest of the semester.  Students can choose to go home for the balance of the semester, but only after getting a negative COVID-19 test.

A Chiropractor is challenging the Michigan Health Department’s masking order—one that essentially replace the similar one from the governor that was tossed out by the Michigan Supreme Court. The lawyer in the case also represented the barber in a dispute with the state over opening his shop in violation of the governor’s orders. He says the health department has no authority under its statutory mandate to require masks or contact tracing—and that the only authority it does have is to limit the size of gatherings.    

Overall the number of cases in the state continues to grow at about what has become the new normal rate of 1,500 a day.  There were 1,586 cases in yesterday’s report with 33,522 of those active.  Averages are 1,670 new cases a day and 22 deaths a day.  Safe Start stats are 4.9% for the positive test rate—still blipping up according to the state’s chart—and 119.3 cases per million, which is up from yesterday but still shown headed sharply down on the safe start chart.

In our region, there were 23 new cases and one new death.  Three new cases in Charlevoix.  The death was in Leelanau. There are 445 active cases in the region with averages at 23 new cases a day and 1 death a day. Safe start data for our zone show the positive test rate up to 3.1%, which is now above the target.  New case rate is 52.7 per million—up from yesterday, but still headed down according to the state graph. 

Here on the island, no change in the data from the health center.

Full county-by-county data for both for our region are in today’s script online along with state, regional, U-P and Safe Start Zone totals, plus rolling averages and active case estimates.

Data from 10/20/2020

So far this year we’ve had murder hornets, nuclear power plant attacking Mayflies and flesh eating weeds invading from Wisconsin among other things.  But just as you thought things couldn’t get worse,  here comes another sign that the year 2020 is a total train wreck: The traditional Halloween TV special “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown” won’t be broadcast on network TV this year.  A Charlie Brown Christmas won’t be on either.  Apple has acquired the rights—so both specials will only be available on Apple TV this year.  Surely a meteor strike is next.

Now, here’s what’s happening on your island…

Meeting planner for this week is a short affair with just two meetings on the books. St. James Public Works Committee meets today at 11:00 at the Township Hall—a changeup from their regular meeting place at the governmental center.  BIESA meets Thursday at 2:00 at the Peaine Township Hall.

Today, C-O-A has the third in their series of Cyber Generations Cybersecurity seminars online for you.  That’s at 5:30. Topic is internet scams and fraud.  Call Lonnie at 2124 for info on how to Zoom in for it.  Also Wednesday evening is the last Bingo night of the season at Gregg Fellowship Center.  Doors open at 6:15 for fellowship. Games at 7.

On Thursday, Games Galore from 1 to 4 here at the BIC Center and then Euchre at the Shamrock. Cards hit the table at 7.

Friday, Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program is up in the Deerwood Hangout from 10:30 to 11:30.

Friday and Saturday are the dates for the Medicare Open enrollment meetings set up by the C-O-A.  9 to 6 on Friday and 9 to 1 on Saturday.  Call Lonnie at 2124 to set up an appointment.

Saturday, Greenwald Construction and Real Estate One are sponsoring a community cleanup event.  Their plans include free curbside pickups with scheduled appointments.  They’ll pick it up and take it to the transfer station, but you need to pay the disposal fees if any.  To schedule a pickup, call the Real Estate One office at 448-2449. 

Also, Saturday— Pickleball is on from 10 to noon.  And just one movie this weekend as the Elks are having an induction ceremony here at the BIC Center Saturday afternoon. Evening movie is Beckman. It’s a high energy action flick with good guys and bad guys.  Rated R.  Concession stand will be open—for snacks, a meal or both.  Pizza and hot dogs are on the menu along with all your favorite movie treats. Trailer is on the BIC Center website at BIC Center dot org.  And, if you were waiting to see the Good Dinosaur—which originally had been set for Saturday afternoon—don’t worry, it’s coming in November.

There are weekend services at Holy Cross and Sunday services at the Christian Church.  Times and details are on the calendar.

[C-O-A is has a fall recipe contest on now. Submit your winner today through the deadline on the 28^th.  Details are in the calendar.]

[Don’t forget about the BIC Center W-V-B-I 2020 Raffle.  Go to raffle dot bic center dot org if you would like to get tickets.  Or get them at the BIC Center from desk.]

Keep up to date on COVID-19 news with the W-V-B-I COVID-19 info page. Click COVID-19 Info in the menu at W-V-B-I dot net. 

Weather, here there and everywhere – presented every day with the support of Hogarth’s Pest Control:

Today

A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before 9am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 50. West wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph.

Tonight

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36. West wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Thursday

Showers, mainly after 2pm. High near 58. East wind 5 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Thursday Night

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Low around 40. East wind 5 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

Friday

Showers, mainly before 8am. High near 51. Northwest wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Friday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32.

Saturday

Partly sunny, with a high near 44.

Saturday Night

Cloudy, with a low around 32.

Sunday

Showers likely after 2pm. Cloudy, with a high near 46.

Sunday Night

Showers likely, mainly before 2am. Cloudy, with a low around 35.

Monday

A chance of showers. Cloudy, with a high near 47.

Monday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 45.

Out on the big drink…

Today

W wind 15 to 20 kt, with gusts as high as 25 kt. Mostly cloudy. Waves 1 ft building to 6 ft.

Thursday

ENE wind 10 to 15 kt becoming ESE in the afternoon. Showers, mainly after 2pm. Waves 1 to 2 ft.

Friday

NW wind 15 to 20 kt. Showers, mainly before 8am. Waves 2 to 3 ft.

Water Temps: Temps are up this morning: 50 at White Shoal and   55 at the mid-lake buoy.

Fire Danger Level: Low.

TRAFFIC: None, but color is everywhere.  Prettiest fall we’ve had in years say many. But, let’s be careful out there.  Don’t drive into a tree while you are looking at the forest.

BIRTHDAYS:  Jenna Butler, Captain Kevin McDonough and Joe Bosquet are all celebrating today. Happy birthday to Jenna, Kevin and Joe, and, if we missed you on the list, happy birthday to you, too, from all of us at WVBI and your Beaver Island Community Center. 

ON THIS DAY in 1854 a nurse journeys to the heart of battle.  Although born to a life of luxury, Florence Nightingale is devoted to serving others and begins a long journey to the Ottoman Empire to help soldiers wounded in the Crimean War. Nurse Nightingale will significantly reduce death rates, and lay the foundations of the modern nursing profession. (bing.com)

WORD OF THE DAY: dorsal (adjective) [DOR-sul], which means: relating to or situated near or on the back especially of an animal or of one of its parts; situated out of or directed away from the axis : abaxial. The most famous use of dorsal is with fin, whether it conjures the ominous dorsal fin of sharks or the benign, even benevolent, image of porpoises and dolphins. Less well-known is the botanical sense of dorsal, meaning “facing away from the axis or stem” (thus the underside of a leaf can be the dorsal side), or the linguistic sense referring to articulations made with the back part of the tongue (\kuh\ and \guh\, for example). Dorsal can be used of non-living things too (in particular, the backs of airplanes), as can its opposite, ventral, which means “relating to the belly.” Dorsal descends from Latin dorsum (“back”), which also gave us dossier (via French, for a bundle of documents labeled on the back) and reredos [rare-ra-dos] (“an ornamental screen or partition wall behind an altar”). (Merriam-Webster)

Now, to wrap up for this Beaver Island Wednesday…

Here’s a thought for the day from Florence Nightingale: “I think one’s feelings waste themselves in words; they ought all to be distilled into actions which bring results.”

On a lighter note: When does a joke become a “Dad” joke?  When it becomes apparent.  

That’s the W-V-B-I Community Calendar for Wednesday, October 21^st, 2020.  I’m Kevin Boyle reporting from the Langford Family WVBI Studios of the Voice of Beaver Island, 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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From studios in the BIC Center on America’s Emerald Isle, this is the W-V-B-I Community Calendar for Tuesday, October 20^th, 2020. 

First, some news…

Michigan Health Department’s latest report on COVID-19 outbreaks at K-12 schools shows a 25% week over week increase—jumping from 68 to 84 places with outbreaks and 435 cases.  The number of outbreaks at colleges and Universities was up by a more modest nine percent—but involves 5,368 cases.  However, northern lower Michigan now has no such outbreaks.  None at K-12 schools, none at colleges or universities.  Last week there was just one outbreak at a school in Leelanau county.

https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2020/10/coronavirus-outbreaks-reported-at-84-michigan-k-12-schools-and-30-colleges-in-oct-19-report.html

Meanwhile, Grand Rapids public schools have announced that their students will not return to the classroom until 2021 at the earliest.  The change is driven by the surging number of cases in Kent County as well as the jump of outbreaks at schools. School leaders say it would be more disruptive for students to move back and forth between  online and in-class at individual schools to deal with outbreaks—as opposed to just staying at home until January or later.

Overall the number of cases in the state continues to grow at about what has become the new normal rate of 1,500 a day.  There were 2,909 cases in yesterday’s report, which covers Saturday and Sunday—and 21 deaths.  That brings totals since March to 147,806 with 32,419 of those active—and 7,031 deaths.  Afewrgaes are 1,620 new cases a day and 20 deaths a day.  Safe Start stats are 4.7% for the positive test rate—still blipping up according to the state’s chart—and 112.4 cases per million, still heads sharply down according to the chart.

In our region, 49 new cases over the weekend and no new deaths.  We have 433 active cases and are averaging 21 new cases a day and 1 death. Safe start data for our zone show the positive test rate up to 2.8%, which is below the target, but has move up 1.6% at the start of the month.  New case rate is 47.2 per million, still headed down according to the state graph. 

Here on the island, no change in the data from the health center.

Full county-by-county data for both Friday and Saturday for our region are in today’s script online along with state, regional, U-P and Safe Start Zone totals, plus rolling averages and active case estimates.

Data from 10/19/2020

Now, here’s what’s happening on your island…

Meeting planner for this week is a short affair with just two meetings on the books. St. James Public Works Committee meets Wednesday at 2:00 at the Governmental Center.  BIESA meets Thursday at 2:00 at the Peaine Township Hall.

Today, Pickleball 10 to noon.  Meet up here at the BIC Center to decide where to play—probably inside given the cool weather. Also, today, Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program is on up in the Deerwood Hangout from 10:30 to 11:30.  Wednesday, C-O-A has the third in their series of Cyber Generations Cybersecurity seminars online for you.  That’s at 5:30. Topic is internet scams and fraud.  Call Lonnie at 2124 for info on how to Zoom in for it.  Also Wednesday evening is the last Bingo night of the season at Gregg Fellowship Center.  Doors open at 6:15 for fellowship. Games at 7.

On Thursday, Games Galore from 1 to 4 here at the BIC Center and then Euchre at the Shamrock. Cards hit the table at 7.

Friday, Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program is up in the Deerwood Hangout from 10:30 to 11:30.

Friday and Saturday are the dates for the Medicare Open enrollment meetings set up by the C-O-A.  9 to 6 on Friday and 9 to 1 on Saturday.  Call Lonnie at 2124 to set up an appointment.

Saturday, Greenwald Construction and Real Estate One are sponsoring a community cleanup event.  Their plans include free curbside pickups with scheduled appointments.  They’ll pick it up and take it to the transfer station, but you need to pay the disposal fees if any.  To schedule a pickup, call the Real Estate One office at 448-2449. 

Also, Saturday— Pickleball is on from 10 to noon.  And just one movie this weekend as the Elks are having an induction ceremony here at the BIC Center Saturday afternoon. Evening movie is Beckman. It’s a high energy action flick with good guys and bad guys.  Rated R.  Concession stand will be open—for snacks, a meal or both.  Pizza and hot dogs are on the menu along with all your favorite movie treats. Trailer is on the BIC Center website at BIC Center dot org.  And, if you were waiting to see the Good Dinosaur—which originally had been set for Saturday afternoon—don’t worry, it’s coming in November.

There are weekend services at Holy Cross and Sunday services at the Christian Church.  Times and details are on the calendar.

[C-O-A is has a fall recipe contest on now. Submit your winner today through the deadline on the 28^th.  Details are in the calendar.]

[Don’t forget about the BIC Center W-V-B-I 2020 Raffle.  Go to raffle dot bic center dot org if you would like to get tickets.  Or get them at the BIC Center from desk.]

Keep up to date on COVID-19 news with the W-V-B-I COVID-19 info page. Click COVID-19 Info in the menu at W-V-B-I dot net. 

Weather, here there and everywhere – presented every day with the support of Hogarth’s Pest Control:

Today

A 10 percent chance of showers after 4pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 47. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northeast in the morning.

Tonight

Rain. Patchy fog after 11pm. Low around 39. East wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.

Wednesday

A 30 percent chance of rain, mainly before 7am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 52. Breezy, with a west wind 15 to 20 mph increasing to 20 to 25 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph.

Wednesday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light northwest in the evening.

Thursday

Showers, mainly after 2pm. High near 58. Light east wind increasing to 10 to 15 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

Thursday Night

Showers. Low around 43. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Friday

Showers likely before 8am, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 8am and 2pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Cloudy, with a high near 58. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Friday Night

A chance of showers before 8pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32.

Saturday

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 44.

Saturday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32.

Sunday

A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46.

Sunday Night

Showers likely. Cloudy, with a low around 34.

Monday

A chance of showers. Cloudy, with a high near 48.

Out on the big drink…

Today

NNE wind around 10 kt becoming E in the afternoon. Mostly cloudy. Waves 1 ft or less.

Waves 1 to 2 ft.

Wednesday

W wind 15 to 20 kt increasing to 25 to 30 kt in the morning. Showers likely before 9am, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms between 9am and 11am. Waves 1 ft building to 9 ft.

Thursday

ESE wind 10 to 15 kt. Showers, mainly after 8am. Waves 1 to 2 ft.

Water Temps: This morning: 48 at White Shoal and   54 at the mid-lake buoy.

Fire Danger Level: Low.

TRAFFIC: Occasional road conference delays as folks make sure they are getting everything they need across before the ferry stops. Otherwise, no delays inbound or outboaund to the airports, island beltway flowing well with lots of eye-popping color reported.  Bridges clear. But, let’s be careful out there.

BIRTHDAYS:  Emily Gray and Jayne Koziej are on our list today. Happy birthday to Jayne and Emily, and, if we missed you on the list, happy birthday to you, too, from all of us at WVBI and your Beaver Island Community Center. 

ON THIS DAY in 1977 Lynyrd Skynyrd’s plane goes down, killing six.  The band’s chartered plane runs out of fuel due to a faulty engine and crashes in Mississippi. Singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines are killed, along with three crew members. Lynyrd Skynyrd would disband after the accident, with the remaining members reuniting a decade later.  (bing.com)

WORD OF THE DAY: visage (noun) [VIZ-ij], which means: the face, countenance, or appearance of a person or sometimes an animal; aspect, appearance. The word face may be a pretty generic word, but it has several high-flown synonyms. Physiognomy, [fizzy-og-na-me] for instance, refers to facial features thought to reveal qualities of temperament or character. “I thought I could detect in his physiognomy a mind owning better qualities than his father ever possessed,” Emily Brontë writes in Wuthering Heights. Countenance is often used to refer to the face as an indication of mood or emotion, as Bram Stoker types in Dracula: “Mina struggled hard to keep her brave countenance.” Visage [viz-ij] can refer to the face of a person or an animal, and it can also refer to the appearance of nonliving things, as in “the dirty visage of the old abandoned factory.” (Merriam-Webster)

Now, to wrap up for this Beaver Island Tuesday…

Here’s a thought for the day from Winston Churchill: “Craft is common both to skill and deceit.”

On a lighter note: What song always gets chickens dancing at a wedding?  The Y-Hen-C-A.

That’s the W-V-B-I Community Calendar for Monday, October 20^th, 2020.  I’m Kevin Boyle reporting from the Langford Family WVBI Studios of the Voice of Beaver Island, 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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From studios in the BIC Center on America’s Emerald Isle, this is the W-V-B-I Community Calendar for Monday, October 19^th, 2020. 

First, some news…

As COVID-19 cases surge around the state—matching trends in the U-S and in Europe, among other places—the campaign rhetoric has heated up still more. Both Vice President Biden and President Trump visited Michigan in the past three days.  Biden was in Southfield on Friday where he spoke about protecting and expanding Obama-care, his role in rebuilding Michigan’s auto industry and his plans for the economy. His remarks got mixed reviews for accuracy. He appeared again later in Detroit. Governor Whitmer and Seantor Gary Peters were at the Southfield event, and Whitmer’s COVID-19 response compared to the President’s, Trump’s record on the economy and jobs along with Peter’s opponent John James were all subjects of attack.  James fired back at Biden’s attack later in the day Friday.  “Don’t forget your place in Black America,” he told the former V-P saying that he was the Democrat candidate only because Barack Obama chose him as V-P.  Biden had called James a disaster.  James said he was a disaster, but only for the Democrat’s narrative because he was a Black man who could think for himself.  He said Black American’s would do better with Trump’s economic plans.

Trump held a rally in Muskegon on Saturday where he touted his record, including the strong economy before COVID-19, and blasted what he called a draconian response by Governor Whitmer to COVID-19 in Michigan. The crowd broke into cheers of “Lock her up.”  Trump said that Michigan has to get Whitmer to open up the state and open up the schools—a bit of an odd demand given that most restrictions have been listed and schools are open for the most part albet it virtually in many cases by local choice.  Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield, a Republican, criticized the “Lock Her Up” cheers, saying the governor was just targeted.  “Let’s debate differences. Let’s win elections.  But not that,” he said. 

Arguments over mail in ballots continued last week with a court of appeals panel reversing a lower court order allowing two additional weeks for mail in ballots to arrive and be counted. The ballot receipt deadline and other provisions set aside by the lower court were matters for the Michigan legislative process to resolve—not the courts—the appeals panel said.  On that note, remember that today is the day you are advised by Post Office officials to get your absentee ballot in the mail to be sure it arrives on or before election day.

As the campaign attacks fly back and forth and arguments over the treatment of mail-in votes continue, the number of COVID-19 cases has been surging overall in the state –but not so much in our region.  Friday and Saturday’s reports included 3,806 new cases and 37 deaths state wide.  That brings totals to 144,897 cases—with 30,205 active—and 7,010 deaths.  Average is 1,463 new cases a day and 17 deaths a day. Safe start numbers for the state are 4.5% for the positive test rate—which continues to blip up—and 115.8 new cases per million, which looks like it has gone up if you compare that to the last number—but is shown as going down on the Safe Start page.  That’s quite often the case calling into question how accurate those calculations are.  We report on them because state officials say they rely on them in making their plans.

While cases surge state-wide, that’s not what’s happen in the group of counties we’ve followed here at W-V-B-I since the start—or in our safe start recovery zone, which is northern lower Michigan.  In our region there were 40 new cases in the Friday and Saturday reports and one new death. Two of the new cases are in Charlevoix.  The death was in Grand Traverse.  Total of active cases in the region is 390.  Average for new cases is 17 and the average for deaths is 0.  For what they may be worth, safe start numbers for our zone continue to look good with a 2.3 percent positive test rate—with less than 3% as the target—and new cases at 42.4 per million—again a number higher than that shown Friday but still graphed on a downward trend on the safe start page.  That’s above the target and in the B zone on the state’s low then A to E scale. At the health center, they are reporting another test run and three more back as negative. That puts us as 198 tests run with 190 back negative.  Two tests pending. Six positive tests none of which are active on the island.

Full county-by-county data for both Friday and Saturday for our region are in today’s script online along with state, regional, U-P and Safe Start Zone totals, plus rolling averages and active case estimates.