Top 10 Stories of 2023

Dec. 31—1. Homelessness and the Pines

Hidden in plain sight, the Pines, a sprawling homeless encampment, sits on a tract of city parkland along a busy stretch of Division Street, just a few blocks from Grand Traverse Commons.

Its inhabitants — as many as 85 in the summer and a few dozen who are spending the winter there — live a lifestyle that is unimaginable to most of the commuters who pass them on their way to and from work.

This year, their ranks included entire families who were left homeless by a lack of affordable housing and unfortunate circumstances that made pitching a tent in The Pines a miserable, but tolerable, option.

Media accounts, including lengthy stories in this newspaper, documented dangerous and unsanitary conditions, including the lack of porta-potties with campers urinating and defecating in the woods. Stories also reported on township officials' harsh enforcement of Michigan's Public Health Code, Department of Natural Resources camping regulations and their own parkland ordinances to force groups of homeless campers out of their townships and into Traverse City.

The response from city officials, including the police, has largely been compassionate. Although the city's parkland ordinance prohibits camping on public property, City Attorney Lauren Trible-Laucht has advised police not to enforce it in recognition of a federal appellate court ruling that homeless residents cannot be punished for sleeping on public property if they have nowhere else to go.

Acting City Manager Nate Geinzer put it: "'Not in my backyard' is not a solution."

Homeless advocacy organizations, including Safe Harbor, Jubilee House, Central United Methodist Church and the Northwest Michigan Coalition to End Homelessness, have also responded, but they are overwhelmed.

Safe Harbor and the Goodwill Inn are filled to capacity. Jubilee House is in dire need of outdoor gear and clothing. And Pastor Jane Lippert says that Central United Methodist is feeding more homeless people than she's seen in her eight years as the church's community outreach coordinator.

Nevertheless, city officials and the Coalition to End Homelessness say they are working hard to find an alternative — a year-round emergency shelter.

"Our goal is to not have another year of the Pines," said Ashley Halladay-Schmandt, the coalition's director. "We're working diligently through April so that we can have emergency shelter beds by the time that Safe Harbor closes" for the season.

2. Whitmer kidnap plot acquittalsAn Antrim County jury in September found three men not guilty of terrorism and weapons charges in a 2020 plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer from her up-north vacation home.

They were accused of helping to plan a kidnapping of the governor from her lakeside home near Elk Rapids, a plot which included discussions about blowing up a highway bridge and attacking the governor's security detail.

Defense attorney William Barnett, after the verdict was read, said his client felt vindicated.

"The FBI was driving people up to her cottage," Barnett said. "This whole thing escalated at a very high level, right before an election."

Whitmer, a Democrat, was singled out as part of an effort by anti-government actors to trigger unrest leading up to the 2020 presidential election. The plot was foiled by a range of informants and undercover FBI agents, who gained the group's trust and trained with them for months, leading to arrests of 14 people in October 2020.

Eric Molitor, 39, and twin brothers Michael and William Null, 41, were acquitted on charges of providing material support for an act of terrorism and possessing firearms while in the commission of a felony.

The case was prosecuted by state Attorney General Dana Nessel's office, and prosecutors entered voluminous audio and video evidence, largely focused on two men the state said were ringleaders of the plot: Adam Fox and Barry Croft.

A federal jury, in 2022, found Fox and Croft guilty of conspiracy; Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks accepted plea agreements with federal prosecutors, while Brandon Caserta and Daniel Harris were found not guilty by a federal jury.

Three other men were found guilty of state charges in Jackson County.

In Antrim County, the jury deliberated about nine hours over two days before reaching a verdict.

Nessel initially called attention to other convictions and plea agreements in the kidnap investigation, including Shawn Fix and Brian Higgins, also charged in Antrim County and who prior to trial accepted plea agreements with prosecutors. A state court judge sentenced Fix to 36 to 240 months in prison and Higgins to 217 days in jail, with credit for the 217 days he'd already served, and 36 months of probation.

Weeks later, in a video obtained by the Detroit News and widely reported, Nessel said the acquittals were not due to a lack of evidence but rather to a jury selected from a "very, very right-leaning county" seemingly unconcerned with the governor's safety.

"I think it's an indictment of where we are politically in this country," said 13th Circuit Court Judge Charles Hamlyn, who presided over the Antrim County trial.

"The polarization that exists in this country currently is both mind-boggling to me and terrifying," the judge said. "In reading history, I don't think we have been more polarized since the end of the Civil War."

In December, William Rollstin, lead prosecutor in the Antrim County case, emailed defense attorneys asking them to return hard drives storing unredacted discovery evidence, to protect the privacy of witnesses and others. Defense attorneys have not responded to requests for comment.

3. Housing crisis continues

Lack of housing continued to loom large over the northwest Lower Peninsula in 2023, and solutions to address it advanced in fits and starts while other local governments hit the brakes.

Housing North, a local nonprofit that assesses the region's housing situation and lobbies for policy changes, released a study detailing how the tight market is affecting employers in the region. Three-fourths of companies interviewed across a 10-county area replied the situation was affecting their employment efforts, including having candidates turn down offers because they couldn't find housing or couldn't afford it. Available rentals in multi-apartment buildings were at or near zero in every county as of February, and homes for sale represented 0.5 percent of the inventory. Meanwhile, costs for both continued to climb.

Traverse City planners and commissioners voted on zoning changes they hoped would make at least a modest impact on housing availability, but which caused a bruising backlash. Commissioners in October passed amendments to shrink lot minimum sizes and widths in single-family districts while increasing the maximum allowed impervious surfaces, allow two homes on lots twice the minimum size in single-family districts without a lot split, and allow duplexes by right in single-family districts, and remove the 15-per-year cap on new accessory dwelling units (ADUs), also called in-law flats, among other changes.

That spurred dozens of city residents to speak out against changes they saw as a threat to the character of Traverse City's residential neighborhoods or the source of unintended consequences. Others insisted the amendments would mainly benefit developers or have little impact. Planning commission Chairman David Hassing and commissioner Heather Shaw both resigned amid the debate, Hassing because he said he failed to communicate effectively with the public and Shaw because she said the deliberations process was a sham.

Traverse City commissioners also adopted far less controversial changes to the city's payment-in-lieu-of-taxes policies. These agreements allow developers to pay a percentage of net shelter rents — rental income less the cost of certain utilities — instead of property taxes over the agreement period. New state laws decoupled these agreements from Low Income Housing Tax Credits, federal credits the Michigan State Housing Development Authority awards competitively and which are limited to renters earning 80 percent of area median income or less.

City leaders also approved two new PILOT agreements, one for Breakwater Apartments and another for planned apartments on Hall Street. Both would rent to tenants earning between 80 and 120 percent area median income.

Elsewhere, local governments, nonprofits and others worked to fill the affordable housing gap. The Frankfort Area Community Land Trust started its first home project, building three-bed, two-bath homes for buyers earning 60 to 120 percent area median income, and HomeStretch Nonprofit Housing finished a set of townhomes in Honor and started another outside Suttons Bay and in Frankfort. The nonprofit got zoning approval for 32 apartments near Thompsonville in May, meeting minutes show.

In Blair Township, Wallick Communities plans a 168-unit apartment complex with rents aimed at tenants earning 68 to 93 percent area median income — Grand Traverse County awarded the developer $1.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds.

Meanwhile, Gilmore Township near Elberta hit pause on planned unit developments after Habitat for Humanity of Benzie County and Graceland Fruit proposed up to 65 houses on land near the company's Forrester Road facility. Neighbors raised concerns over the proposed density and groundwater contamination from the company's past disposal of processing wastewater there.

4. Turmoil at Grand Traverse Pavilions

Major challenges have rocked the Pavilions since the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020. Issues ranged from acute staffing shortages and leadership turnover, debt to Grand Traverse County, and subpar quality ratings from the federal government.

Located on the grounds of Grand Traverse Commons, the Pavilions provides skilled nursing care, assisted living quarters, respite care and rehabilitation services to low-income senior citizens. Currently, 147 seniors live in the skilled nursing facility and another 50 or so live in assisted living cottages nearby. It is the largest such county-owned facility in Michigan.

A federal CMS inspectional survey completed in July 2020 downgraded the facility to two stars after identifying 17 deficiencies. In early December, CMS upgraded the facility to three stars, indicating improved quality of care and operations.

"This upgrade is important because many hospitals will not refer patients to a facility with less than three stars," Mary Marois, chairwoman of the county Department of Health and Human Services board which oversees the Pavilions. "We're happy about the increase to three stars, of course. It will be great news when we reach five stars."

A whistleblower lawsuit filed against the Pavilions in January by the former executive director of PACE North added more trouble to the mix. That suit recently went into mediation and the attorneys involved say it may be settled soon. PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) is an affiliated agency that provides group daytime care to seniors over the age of 55 who prefer to remain living in the community rather than at an assisted living center.

Overshadowing the situation at the Pavilions in 2023 was a financial crisis. The agency is still awaiting more than $7 million in reimbursements from the IRS, as well as millions more from Medicare and Medicaid, both of which have been delayed for many months.

To survive financially, the Pavilions has been borrowing money from Grand Traverse County using a "voucher" system. County officials said the Pavilions currently has a negative balance of at least $6.5 million. But they expressed optimism that the IRS funds will be transferred soon, based on reports from accounting firm Plante Moran.

Leadership turnover was another issue with Pavilions CEO Rose Coleman, who resigned Sept. 28, being replaced by interim CEO Dave Hautamaki, who moved quickly to improve staff morale and operational performance. He will remain in the post until the new CEO, Gerard Botolski, takes over in January.

The DHHS board overseeing the Pavilions also saw new members in 2023. Marois brings decades of experience in skilled nursing oversight to the group. The board also added local attorney Heider Kazim as its third member.

"It's very encouraging to see these improvements," said Rob Henschel, chairman of the Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners. "The Pavilions staff has really been pulling together and regrouping. Our interim CEO has done a really good job focusing on staff morale and operations."

5. Film Festival canceled

The summertime Traverse City Film Festival, after 16 years of bringing films and visitors to the region from around the world, made its final curtain call.

Co-founder and filmmaker Michael Moore made the announcement in May before the July/August festival, continuing a shrinking trend that reached back into the pandemic years and beyond.

Moore also said the smaller Film Fest of 2022, with 50 screenings compared to 200 in previous years, was the first time the festival broke even.

"We've decided, after much heartfelt discussion, that it's best to close this era of the film fest now while we're ahead, no longer in debt, and go out on top with many years of fond memories that we will all collectively cherish for the rest of our lives," Moore said in a statement.

The nonprofit's two theaters, the State Theatre and Bijou by the Bay, remain open. Moore said he wanted to focus on the bricks-and-mortar theaters, bringing in some of the oddball, indie, arthouse and international films to periodic "Film Fest"-type showings.

"We're going to have the best of the best, and sometimes it'll be a big Hollywood movie and sometimes it won't be," he said.

The Film Fest received a $933,000 Shuttered Venue Operators Grant in 2022 that allowed upgrades to ventilation and air circulation systems at both theaters. The grant also could be used to pay rent, utilities and other expenses, but could specifically not be used to pay off debts.

The organization's financial footing was in question before the pandemic after multiple years in the red, a high-dollar payment dispute with its former lighting and sound contractor, and infrastructure problems, such as flooding and boiler issues in the State Theatre. The Film Fest also underwent a number of leadership changes after longtime director Deb Lake left in 2017. Questions also arose about the organization's lease with Traverse City last December as the 172-seat Bijou had not been open 200 days a year as per the agreement.

The Film Fest's summer festival cancellation accompanies other arts organization closures in 2023, including the long-running Arts For All, which closed after 30 years in October, and the closure of Parallel 45 Theatre in December. However, a midwinter comedy festival originally started by the Film Fest was revived by the Downtown Traverse City Association, Traverse City Tourism and SamRose Entertainment in 2023. This year's festival runs Jan. 31 to Feb. 3.

6. City manager fired, post rejected by top candidate

Elizabeth Vogel, Missaukee County's administrator and chief financial officer, will start as Traverse City's top administrator soon, nine months after city commissioners fired former City Manager Marty Colburn.

Commissioners approved a separation agreement with Colburn on April 3, offering little explanation beyond differences over management style. That came weeks after Colburn told city leaders that he hoped to stay on for a few more years, and amid an annual review process that was cut short. Commissioners agreed to pay Colburn $97,038.49 in severance.

Emails, documents and interviews with Colburn and then-Mayor Richard Lewis showed discussions around the review turned into a discussion of a separation agreement in mid-March. City Attorney Lauren Trible-Laucht penned a March 15 memo explaining how commissioners could end Colburn's employment according to state law and his contract, which commissioners discussed behind closed doors on March 20. A day before, Colburn emailed commissioners and offered to discuss whatever issues had prompted deliberations ahead of his review.

Colburn's severance was one expense in a transition that cost the city more than $250,000, including $130 per hour paid to interim City Manager Nate Geinzer for 40 hours per week from May 1 through December and $19,500 the city paid Amy Cell Talent for a candidate search, not including travel, hotel and other expenses.

His termination came at a tumultuous time for city leadership, with Police Chief Jeffrey O'Brien retiring in June, Assistant City Manager Penny Hill retiring in July and city Engineer Tim Lodge retiring in August. The city's treasury and finance department had an interim leader throughout the year, with commissioners recently affirming Geinzer's pick of Grand Traverse County Treasurer Heidi Scheppe to fill the role. And the Traverse City Housing Commission's executive director, Tony Lentych, left for a job with the Michigan State Housing Development Authority — the semi-autonomous commission selected Karl Fulmer as its new director in August.

The city manager search led to three top candidates, city Clerk Benjamin Marentette, Grand Traverse County Deputy Administrator Chris Forsyth and Vogel. City leaders initially offered the job to Marentette, but he declined, citing his desire to stay on as city clerk and the city's top elections official. Then Forsyth subsequently withdrew from consideration. Commissioners agreed to offer the job to Vogel, who will become the city's first woman top administrator when she starts on Jan. 8.

City leaders in October approved an employment agreement with Vogel for $175,000 per year. She also will receive an $8,000 moving bonus and $500-per-month car allowance.

Asked if she had any misgivings about accepting a job for which she wasn't the first choice, Vogel said she had none whatsoever, adding she was impressed with the other candidates and pointing to remarks commissioners made that the top three were within "millimeters" of each other.

"When I got the phone call and the recruiter said, 'Are you still interested?' I said, 'Absolutely.' I didn't even hesitate," Vogel said.

7. Line 5 turns 70, tunnel debate continuesA signature piece of infrastructure turned 70 this year, a milestone that passed with more controversy than celebration.

Instead, Line 5, a 645-mile oil and gas pipeline built in 1953, continues to have energy experts, environmental advocates, Native American tribal members, state taxpayers and attorneys in a kind of judicial watch party, as lawsuits and countersuits move sluggishly through state and federal courts.

"No one case is more important than any other," environmental attorney Liz Kirkwood, who leads FLOW, a Traverse City-based nonprofit focused on the Great Lakes, said in October. "We're watching it all."

In December, Michigan Public Service Commission members approved Enbridge's request to tunnel through the Straits of Mackinac for its Line 5 pipeline. But the Canadian pipeline operator still faces several hurdles before it can build the structure meant to relocate the pipeline's underwater stretch, not least of which is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers environmental assessment set to wrap in 2025.

There also is a 2019 lawsuit and countersuit between the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians and Enbridge. In June, a federal judge presiding over the case in the Western District of Wisconsin did something no other judge in any Enbridge-related case had done before. He gave the company a date — June 16, 2026 — that determines when they can no longer legally operate that portion of Line 5.

"We had an incredibly intensive, grueling pre-trial process," Riyaz Kanji, an attorney for the Band, said during a recent public webinar hosted by FLOW. "I think Enbridge thought: small tribe, small law firm representing it, and didn't know the full strength of the tribe and the whole team."

Attorneys for Enbridge, a Canadian energy conglomerate with thousands of miles of pipelines in the U.S. and Canada, argued that an agreement related to other portions of reservation land compelled the Band to assist in re-negotiating the expired easements.

"Enbridge's position has long been that, in a 1992 contract between Enbridge and the Band, the Band consented to operations of Line 5 on the Reservation through 2043," said Ryan Duffy, an Enbridge spokesperson. "In 2020, Enbridge filed federal and state permit applications for the relocation of Line 5 around the Bad River Reservation, which is the long-term solution to this dispute."

This is just one of the ongoing lawsuits related to Line 5, which is part of the larger Lakehead Pipeline system and daily transports 23 million gallons of crude oil and natural gas liquids used to make propane, from resource-rich tar sands in western Canada to refineries in the southeastern part of that country.

When constructed, the pipeline was touted as an engineering marvel, but many today say it has outlived its usefulness. Since 2019, thousands of pages of court filings, expert reports, amicus briefs and judicial orders logged in a variety of court actions focused on the most controversial sections of the pipeline, point to two opposing legal — and societal — arguments.

On one side is Enbridge and a number of oil and gas companies, energy trade associations and labor unions, who argue Line 5 was built to last, is safe and legal and is a piece of hardware necessary to maintain a steady and affordable supply of energy — at least until an alternative can be approved and built — for consumers in Canada, Michigan and at least one other state.

"Idling Line 5, even temporarily, would have immediate and severe consequences on the economies of Michigan and Ohio," the company states on its website.

On the other side are Michigan officials, Wisconsin and Michigan tribal officials, tourism-related businesses and environmental advocates, who say Line 5 was intended to last 50 years — not 70 — that energy supplies can come from other sources without permanent disruption and that Enbridge's safety record points to an imminent risk of a rupture in the Straits and near the Bad River.

A spill into the Kalamazoo River in 2010, worn protective coating and a screw anchor system in the Straits are among issues referenced as the impetus for taking a closer look at Line 5.

Duffy said Line 5 was actually "over-engineered" when it was built, the standards governing its construction still meet or exceed those for new pipelines and the company added a number of safety measures like "audio listening" and digital leak detection monitoring and conducts quarterly and annual inspections.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel campaigned on, among other issues, shutting down Line 5 and, in 2019, Nessel sued Enbridge in Ingham County's 30th Circuit Court.

The Army Corps of Engineers is still in the midst of compiling an EIS, or environmental impact statement, related to Line 5's proposed 4-mile tunnel crossing. That decision isn't expected until sometime in 2026.

Of interest to consumers is, of course, the price and availability of fuel, and facts on this point are hard to come by.

Enbridge has consistently said, if Line 5 were shut down, fuel costs would rise dramatically and be passed on to consumers. The Bad River Band, in its lawsuit, sought an energy expert to investigate this. Their expert found Canada, not the U.S., would bear the brunt.

Shutting down the pipeline would rise prices either negligibly — or as much as 0.29 cents a gallon, perhaps more, depending on where replacement product was sourced, the expert said. "What is immediately apparent from this analysis of the flows through the Lakehead Pipeline system is that the U.S. refiners are far less dependent on the Line 5 pipeline than the Canadian refiners."

8. Guardianship system shortcomings exposed

A Harbor Springs man defrauded by a conservator who spent $14,000 on lingerie, electronic cigarettes and cash withdrawals, said he's lost faith in the system.

"I try to support the courts, but they have done nothing for me," George Pappas, 97, a widower and World War II veteran, said in July.

Pappas is among an unknown number of vulnerable adults, many of whom are elderly, victimized by guardians and conservators who are court-appointed to protect their money, health and home.

Michigan's Estate and Protected Individuals Code provides for conservators to be appointed when a court determines a person can no longer handle their own finances; a guardian is similarly appointed to make medical and housing decisions.

Many guardians and conservators — who can be family members or professionals — serve without ever running afoul of the law.

But when things go awry, as they did in Pappas' case, victims have little recourse and a criminal prosecution is no guarantee they'll be made whole.

Elise Page, the conservator in Pappas' case, was prosecuted for embezzlement, served five months in jail and was ordered to pay the money back, but that hasn't happened. Court records and email correspondence show that Page paid her court costs, but still owes Pappas more than $13,000.

Adding to Pappas' frustration, he said, is something he's learned about Michigan laws surrounding probate court procedure — judges have discretion over whether to require the conservators they appoint to be bonded.

A surety bond ensures that a protected individual will receive compensation for financial harm if the conservator steals their money or defrauds them out of valuables or property.

When Judge Valerie Snyder appointed Page to be Pappas' conservator, records show she hand-wrote a note on the petition: "Bond will be considered after inventory is filed."

Conservators have 56 days to file an "inventory," which is essentially an accounting of a person's estate. By then, Pappas' money was gone.

Record-Eagle reporters in August 2021 first began examining records in a dozen Michigan probate courts. Since then, they've found a steady stream of worrisome stories ranging from family isolation to outright theft.

"No one seems to know how to hold these people accountable," said Matthew Bush, the service coordinator at The Village of Hillside, a low-income senior apartment complex where Pappas lives.

State Attorney General Dana Nessel launched an Elder Abuse Task Force in 2019, and her office has prosecuted dozens of cases involving theft from vulnerable people.

A package of bills aimed at increasing oversight of the probate court system that appoints these guardians and conservators would, among other regulatory changes, create an Office of State Guardian.

"While many guardians and conservators act in good faith, the truth is 73,000 seniors and vulnerable adults are financially and otherwise abused each year — including some disturbing cases in northern Michigan," said Rep. Betsy Coffia, a sponsor of HB 5047 which passed the House in October.

In its ongoing series "Unguarded," which received state and national recognition this year, the Record-Eagle exposed bureaucratic problems and widespread emotional and financial abuse in the state's probate court system.

The legislation would require courts to set reporting standards and protect a vulnerable person's valuables, but does not address the surety bond issue, or change the 56-day reporting deadline.

The Michigan Guardianship Association, a trade group for professional guardians appointed to serve about 15,000 people, told its members the group's leadership was not in favor of the legislation as written.

"It is not that MGA is opposed to reforming the public guardianship system in Michigan — far from it — we all know that the system is broken and needs serious changes," an Oct. 13 email from the organization states.

MGA leaders expressed concerns about funding services for indigent clients.

The legislation now goes to the state senate; if passed into law, the changes would likely not take effect until Oct. 1, 2026.

9. Hartman-Hammond bridge cost estimate soarsThe future of the hotly debated Hartman-Hammond bridge project is now uncertain because of lack of funding and a dramatic leap in cost estimates. If built, the bridge would span the Boardman River, providing a new east-west corridor for vehicles traveling in the area.

"My understanding is that it's on the back-burner for now because of the funding issue," said Rob Hentschel, who chairs the Grand Traverse County Commission. "The Road Commission is focusing on other projects at this point."

The proposed bridge was originally estimated to cost about $100 million. That estimate soared to more than $300 million this summer following an updated report from OHM Advisors, the consulting firm hired by the county Road Commission.

Road Commissioner Jason Gillman acknowledged some frustration over the 300-percent increase when the updated estimate was released in August, but he said some of those costs are related to lessening the environmental impact of the work on the river and the adjoining wetlands.

"Do you want to argue for the cost, or do you want to argue for the environmental impact?" he said.

Proponents of the bridge say it would ease traffic congestion in downtown Traverse City and along South Airport Road in Garfield Townships. Opponents argue the project is far too expensive and that other solutions are more viable.

Some citizens and environmental groups have also expressed concerns about the environmental impact of the proposed 2,000-foot span. If built, the bridge would be the fourth longest in Michigan.

"The cost to the environment is what I oppose," said Ann Rogers, a longtime member of the Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council. "We have a very precious thing in our Boardman Valley and we need to protect it."

As the population of Grand Traverse County has grown in recent decades, existing roads have become much busier, especially during the warm months when tourist traffic soars. A recent visitor from Cedarville in the Upper Peninsula complained about traffic jams in the area, saying it should be renamed "Traffic City."

Improvements to the Keystone Road corridor, which connects to Hammond Road from the south, have improved traffic flow in the past year, thanks to new roundabouts and expanded intersections, officials said. Drivers can bypass congested areas of the city by taking Beitner Road east from M-37, then connect to Keystone and Hammond roads.

However, the Hammond Road stretch is now undergoing rapid development and no robust connection from Hammond to U.S. 31 in East Bay Township currently exists.

Some local citizens have expressed concerns that, if the bridge is built, east-bound traffic on Hammond could overrun residential neighborhoods along Five Mile Road unless a clear alternative is put in place first. That could require widening Three Mile Road south of the South Airport area and restricting truck traffic to the east, they said.

The current bridge proposal is the result of an intensive transportation study by OHM Advisors to determine is a new east-west crossing was needed and, if so, where it should go. OHM also completed a planning and environmental linkages study as part of that effort.

The $2 million study was done in phases and included several public hearings that presented three bridge options and their costs. The PEL study showed that the Hartman-Hammond crossing would divert the most traffic from Airport Road — about 37 percent — and would have the least environmental effect.

The OHM report also suggested possible design features to support public transit, non-motorized transportation and public access management.

10. Morsels

On Oct. 26, Traverse City police descended on Morsels, a coffee shop on East Front Street.

Armed with photographs, tape-recorded conversations and other evidence that had been surreptitiously collected by two baristas, police zeroed in on the women's restroom, looking for evidence that the owner, Edward J. Witkowski, 49, had violated the privacy of female customers by installing a video camera in the restroom's wall socket.

Police also searched Witkowski's North Oak Street residence that day, seizing computers, iPhones, thumb drives and other devices that they turned over to the Michigan State Police's Computer Crimes Unit.

An analysis of those items by police resulted in Witkowski's arrest on Nov. 10 on five charges: three counts of capturing/distributing an image of an unclothed person, one count of using a computer to commit a crime, and one count of lying to a police officer.

No trial date has been set.