Tagged: mackinac island

MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. (AP) - The owner of Michigan's most famous summer hotel has died. R.D. "Dan" Musser Jr. was 80.

Musser owned the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. In a statement, the hotel says he died Saturday of congestive health failure at a Lansing hospital.

Musser started working at the hotel when he was in college in 1951. It was owned at the time by his uncle, W. Stewart Woodfill. Musser became president in 1960 and purchased the hotel, with wife Amelia, in 1979.

A national environmental group says plans to expand an oil pipeline near Mackinac Island presents a serious ecological threat.

The National Wildlife Federation opposes Enbridge Energy’s plans to expand the nearly 60 year old pipeline that passes through the Straits of Mackinac.

Beth Wallace, with the National Wildlife Federation, said the age of the pipeline, the Straits of Mackinac's dangerous currents, and a lack of safety equipment close by threatens to put the vacation destination at risk of a major spill.

"With Enbridge’s estimates and average current speeds for the Straits, we believe oil could spread to Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island in the three hours it would take them to respond," said Wallace.

"If six hours passed, oil could spread to Wilderness State Park. Twelve hours, and oil could be all the way to Cheboygan [Michigan],” said Wallace,  “and the damage from a spill, without a doubt, would be devastating."

It took Enbridge 17 hours to realize it had a broken pipeline near Marshall, Michigan in 2010.   

That spill released more than 800,000 gallons of crude oil. The cleanup of Talmadge Creek and the Kalamazoo River has cost close to a billion dollars.

There is still oil in the river.

An Enbridge spokesman says the Calgary-based oil company is reviewing the National Wildlife Federation's report.

Jeannie Layson, PHMSA's Director for Governmental, International, and Public Affairs, issued a written statement on the NWF report:

Pipeline safety is a top priority at PHMSA, and we hold pipeline operators accountable when they violate federal requirements. For example, Enbridge just paid thehighest civil penalty in the agency’s history for the Marshall, Michigan spill. In addition, PHMSA executed a consent agreement which imposed morestringent safety requirements for the entire Lakehead System, including Line 5.

Pipeline safety requires a combination of enforcement, information sharing and transparency and public education. PHMSA  created  the Stakeholder Communications website to provide the public comprehensive, searchable information on the safety records of pipeline companies, such as incident rates and PHMSA’s oversight actions and enforcement activities including fines, warnings, and violations. Additional information on pipeline operators in Michigan can be found on our Michigan State Pipeline Safety Profilepage.

MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. (AP) - Gov. Rick Snyder is scheduled to make opening remarks as the Detroit Regional Chamber begins its annual policy conference on Mackinac Island.

The conference regularly draws more than 1,000 business and government leaders for three days of discussions about the Michigan economy, education and other issues. It starts Tuesday.

This year's program will focus on how Michigan can improve its global competitiveness through innovation and collaboration.

The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, where Mark Twain once lectured, five U.S. presidents have stayed, and a place that has been named a National Historic Landmark, is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year.

The hotel opened for the first time in 1887, and it starts this year's season today with a series of special events marking the milestone.

In July, the AP reports there will be a party with a 125-foot birthday cake for guests to enjoy (I'm guessing that's not 125 feet tall).

Here's a grand ole' 1944 Metro Goldwyn Mayer video on Mackinac Island in which narrator James Fitzpatrick calls the Grand Hotel "that romantic institution justifiably called the grandest of grand hotels."

The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians will rebury human remains found last week at a construction site on Mackinac Island.

Cecil Pavlot, Sr. handles repatriation for the tribe. 

He said the ceremony won’t be publicized to avoid it becoming a “three-ring circus.”

"Not to be secretive," said Pavot, "But to be respectful and not have a crowd standing around and watching."

Pavlot said it’s possible the remains could be European settlers.

But he thinks it’s much more likely they’re Native Americans, because of the way the bodies were buried.

Republican presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Rick Perry will be on Mackinac Island this weekend for a Republican conference held by the state party every two years. The two prominent presidential candidates will speak with party faithful tomorrow at the Grand Hotel.

Also on the island are many campaign signs, buttons and t-shirts advertising names of Republican U.S. Senate hopefuls. Among them is Gary Glenn, the president of the anti-gay-rights group American Families Association of Michigan. He says coming to Mackinac Island this weekend is important for his campaign.

On the heels of last night’s Republican presidential debate, Texas Governor Rick Perry and Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney are heading to Mackinac Island. The two GOP presidential candidates are scheduled to attend the Michigan Republican Leadership Conference this weekend.

As Rick Pluta tell us, it’s a time for Republicans to brainstorm their policies and political messages:

"It's where half of the political culture is going to be. [They'll] be developing the platforms and messages that they're going to be coming back to us with next year...  to try and make the case that it ought to be another Republican year."

Pluta notes that fundraising also plays an important part at the conference:

"Conceivably its to network and to plot strategy but, it's on a resort island, and it's really for Republicans who have the money or the means to go up there so, as you can imagine, there's a lot of fundraising... as the individual GOP campaigns figure out how they're going to finance their efforts."

Governor Snyder will address the conference this evening. The events wrap up on Sunday.