francishsu
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Posts posted by francishsu
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It's not GRR is always expensive, but there's going to be an overall disadvantage compared to a hub airport like Chicago or Detroit. And even at the hub airports, the low prices at the more popular times of the day tend to fill up rather quickly. If your dates were June 30 - July 5th, you could have gotten $354 a person non-stop GRR -> DEN. At one time, maybe you could have gotten $354 on United departing June 29th, but once a certain number of tickets are booked, then the price goes up.
Yesterday, I booked 5 tickets GRR -> SNA for the week before labor day, but within the parameters (dates, time of day, duration of the entire flight, etc) that I wanted, it said there were only 9 tickets available at the $400 price. A few more days of waiting, and that price would likely have gone up for me. My alternative was to do a hotel Park & Fly package out of Chicago.. I would have saved around $50 a person on the ticket cost, but then I have to figure the cost of a night's stay the hotel + gas, 5 hours of driving, and having to drive back late in the evening back from Chicago to GR.
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If you enjoy playing table tennis (aka "ping pong"), please consider participating in these upcoming tournaments. This year is a special one for our region and our ability to draw players is the only way to make it possible to secure these tournaments in future years (details below). Feel free to PM me with any questions.
May 17-18 - West MI Holland Spring Open
Location: Holland Civic Center
http://www.hollandtabletennis.com
June 20-22 - 80th Annual Michigan State Closed
Location: DeVos Place
Michigan residents only. In the past, the tournament has been hosted in the eastern half our state, but we got the opportunity to host this year and maybe in subsequent years (only if we can get good participation). Having it in GR allowed us to get it incorporated into the Meijer State Games of Michigan. June 20th is the opening ceremony of the Meijer State Games, with the actual competitive events for table tennis held on the 21st and 22nd.
http://www.hollandtabletennis.com
http://www.stategamesofmichigan.com/TableTennis
July 1-5 - US Open
Location: DeVos Place
The premiere table tennis tournament in the United States, drawing the best players in North America and even beyond. GR has hosted the US Open in 2010, 2012 and now 2014. A good turnout is required for consideration in future years.
http://www.usopengrandrapids.com
http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Table-Tennis/Events/2014/July/01/2014-US-Open
July 2 and 5 - US Open Novice
Location: DeVos Place
Held in conjunction with the US Open, this unofficial tournament has a lower cost of entry and includes a spectator pass for the official events. July 2 has the events for individual novice players and July 5 is a 3 person novice team event.
http://www.omnipong.com/EntryForms/1020-10.pdf
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They chose Charmin instead of the Quilted Northern!? Gosh darn it.. I'm going to have to bring my own roll to ArtPrize AGAIN!
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This means that the Pharmacy will be moved from its current area next the produce dept. to the area where photos and video games are currently situated.
Censored words can't fully express my sentiment on moving that pharmacy section to the other side of the store!!
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Missed this update from Novemeber..
Grand Rapids VA Clinic will open new site near Metro Health hospital in 2013
97000+ sq ft building with 550(!) parking spaces. Must be a parking structure? Ground breaking in the spring.
Current location is 64000 sq ft with 150 parking spaces.
Also, the D&W grocery store is apparently going to be a Family Fare.
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What a great development. We'll likely get routes using Chicago Midway now. Currently all the airlines flying to Chicago are using O'Hare. From Midway, Southwest goes to a number of destinations including Los Angeles, which I care about the most.
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Looks like the we're going to add another highway directly though the region.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/04/final_hurdle_passed_for_buying.html
The study that was done to support constructing this highway was done to "examine options to ease the traffic flow through Grand Haven," but never mentions any other form of transportation besides single passenger automobile.
Average daily traffic over the Spring Lake bridge has actually decreased since the study was completed.
I see this as a loss for anyone who had a vision for connecting the regional urban areas through any sort of public transportation system. I see this as a win for sprawl.
I'm interested in the thoughts of others
This document provides good detail about the new M-231 highway.
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdot/MDOT_Preferred_Alt_Map_US-31_278995_7.pdf
It's scaled down from what MDOT originally wanted that would have cost over $1B. Personally, I tend to be supportive of bypasses as a way of dealing with congestion. But I can't say I'm supportive about this one. At least it will not be as much of a waste as the original.
First, I wonder how much use M-231 will actually get. I like the north end at I-96 at Nunica. But with the south ending at M-45, it feels more like a construction detour. Second, the project still calls for adding lanes to US-31 in Grand Haven by getting rid of the tree-lined median. So my problem is not so much with the concept of a Grand Haven bypass, but with the specific plan. M-6 is an example of one that I do support.
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The SL should have come up on a major ballot, not a teensy school election one. What was the turn-out, 15% of the electorate? It passed in the urban core; it's the 'burbs who voted it down (and the unaffected opposition out in the townships who raised all the ruckus).
Sadly, I think it would have been voted down regardless of turnout in the election unless you could have somehow dramatically boosted it in GR without boosting it in the surrounding cities. For the past couple of Rapid millage requests, each has gotten less support than the one prior. It seems that the only mass transit project (assuming it requires an increase in taxes) that will pass is one that would require votes from only GR/EGR. The votes in GR/EGR might be enough where you could possibly include Kentwood and still come out with a majority. But once you throw in Wyoming and Walker, it's over.
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The rail project we talked about would be less expensive than the BRT, using several other similar commuter rail systems for benchmarks (Austin TX, Nashville TN and Ottawa ON). And it might possibly be able to travel faster and have fewer interruptions (cars turning into driveways, etc.), and it could conceivably go right to the ITP Central Station.
If it would indeed be less expensive, that sounds great and it should be considered if it hasn't already. The question is whether the same federal and state funds could be obtained for this project. Otherwise, you would have to ask for a substantially larger millage increase for the cities affected.
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And where do you think the federal money is coming from? The federal money tree? Oh that's right, I forgot, they just print it and add it to the federal debt.
My argument had nothing to do with whether federal or state deficit should be increased to support this project. It had to do with people using the recession as an argument against this project. If you believe this project is not worthy of federal and state funding, then it still won't be worthy when the economy is better.
But as far as the project goes in terms of cost to the people voting, it's a pretty darn good deal when you know that most of the cost will be borne by people outside of the region. And like I said before, if that fed/state money doesn't go to this project, it will go to another project outside of the region.
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This whole 1$ a month is ADDED onto all the other X$ a month millages that we were told wouldn't amount to much.
The difference with this one is that the federal and state gov is chipping in a combined $40 million against the $3.3 million raised by the millage increase. For a local resident, that's extra money you won't see in other typical millage increases. If it's voted down, that federal and state taxpayer money's going to go to some other project that will have no impact on the people voting on this millage increase.
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If the Silver Line millage doesn't pass, I don't see how a rail project which would require a larger millage increase would.
The loudest opponents seem to be using the recession as cover, plain and simple. If the economy was great, they'd still be against this same project. For $1/month, you should be arguing based on the merits of the project. Maybe you're against it because the route sucks, or that it doesn't make sense to eliminate a lane for car traffic on Division Ave. during rush hour. Maybe you don't think it's going to spur significant economic development. I've no problem with these arguments. But people who are saying we shouldn't fork out $1/month because times are tough are not votes I would count on when times are good.
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As long as the BRT is implemented with the dedicated lane with traffic signal priority for virtually the entire route, I don't have a strong opinion compared to LRT. It becomes a problem when you compromise on those aspects and it starts looking more like a typical bus.
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Aside from consumer electronics, I've found independent stores to be surprisingly competitive on price. My dishwasher, microwave and lawn mower were all purchased from independents after price shopping against places like Home Depot, Lowes, Sears, Best Buy, etc. One thing the national chains can offer that's rarely matched is the financing offer. For people who would need to carry debt, 0% financing for 12/18/24 months represents a substantial savings.
Also, another factor that makes national chains appear to have better pricing is that they offer unestablished or off brands. Granted, there are many examples where an off brand offers a quality product, but I feel it's a more of a crap shoot especially for reliability. Or they might offer an exclusive model of a major brand with some features left out compared to the standard model. That allows them to price the exclusive model lower.
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I won't miss Circuit City all that much. Circuit City was more expensive than Best Buy. Additionally, Circuit City left a sour taste in my mouth with their stupid and thankfully defunct Divx Disc format they came up with several years ago. Paying to see a movie stored on a disk I already own. That's just a dumb rip off which consumers easily saw though. Well I feel sorry for the 38,000 folks that will loose their jobs because of this though.
Several years ago for Divx? Try a decade! Time flies, doesn't it?
I liked Circuit City better than Best Buy, although I'm not sure why. I don't think Best Buy's prices were much better than CC's, if at all. I know that I always go to Best Buy as a last resort. Unfortunately, Circuit City dying means one less choice, which is not good when it leaves you with the likes of Best Buy and ABC Warehouse (which I never visit).
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Wonder if it will have a similar look as depicted in the drawings for the one being built at Knapp's Crossing.
Personally, I'm looking forward to it. The specific location they're looking at seems to be on the small side to me. Can you put a 50000 sq. ft. supermarket on 6 acres and have sufficient parking?
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looking at the long term is nice and all but when you are short on money now you need to get land being taxed higher. As for the Health Village PUD the KFC is not even being built in that land. Its the simple fact that only restraunts will be able to fill that land or banks where kfc is being built at. The simple fact is the planning commission messed up the zoning where it should have been zoned diffrently than what it was. Right now there is very little land that is available for those style bussinesses in that area. So with the metro PUD it limits what could be put there. Could KFC buy land in the metro village, yes but i do not know if there is any land left that could be developed for them.
There are only two undeveloped properties left in that area (SW corner of Byron and 56th/Gezon), so they got a pretty good result with the zoning they put in place. If drive-through restaurants would have been allowed from the start, there would have been at least four fast food restaurants built in that area. Now it looks like there's going to be just two. So their planning did already achieve a better result, and I think they could have gotten something like a Qdoba and another sit down restaurant with a little more time.
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Because the planning commission has its head up its behind to put it bluntley. The council is more or less telling the commission to start working with the developers and get things accepted instead of black balling everything. Its quite hurtful to see companies try to get in wyoming and other areas and get turned flat down without any means of discussion. The planning commission I think is not acting in the best means of the city. It kinda of reminds of the Gaines first group from a few years ago. That group had no standing IMHO considering the facts. In anycase I think the council is also looking at the bottomline. They need tax money and having the city completely built out allows more money into the city considering the state keeps on slashing the budget.
You're being way too harsh on the planning commission. They're looking long term and all they're doing is following the land use plan that they developed and that the city council agreed to. The city council certainly is not smelling like roses to me. For example, there's a developer looking to develop high density apartments around 52nd and Wilson, and which would require a rezoning. Naturally the PC recommended against, and the city council had decided to overrule. But then Granger complains that approving the rezoning would give that developer an unfair advantage, and all of the sudden the council starts becoming cautious and backtracking.
As far as Metro Health Villiage goes, that's a unique development for Wyoming and I think the planning commission is being perfectly reasonable in enforcing the special zoning they came up for that development.
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The city council has really been going against the planning commission's recommendations this year. And it's not going to be on the north side. It's on the south side of 56th, next to the CVS and bordering the apartment properties. That's why they mentioned the fence/wall requirements on the property line facing the apartments. If it was on the north side, it would be across the street from Bayberry Farms. Now that the KFC is going to be allowed, there's a good chance there's going to be a McDonald's put up on the other vacant property along Byron Center.
Another development is that Spartan's interested in building a D&W in Metro Health Village. But they wanted the zoning amended to allow a gas station with it and it looks like the city council is going to support that, also against the planning commission's recommendation.
Finally, the ITT building looks like it's almost complete. They got that built pretty quickly.
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Sorry if this has been asked before. I'm thinking about going to see Wicked at Wharton Center, but I've never been there before. Are the best seats simply the ones closest to the stage, or are some of the rows too close?
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Yeah, I'm not sure why Metro would want to frame it in terms of not having to travel downtown. This is not Chicago or Detroit. I live a mile away from Metro, but I can still get to Spectrum in under 20 minutes.
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Looks like the University of Michigan Health System is going to partner with Metro Health for radiation oncology services at Metro's cancer center
GR Press: Metro, U-M partnership brings new competition for cancer patients
Also, there's going to be a weekly (Thursday 9am-1pm) farmers' market in the village green portion starting next week.
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Just read this:
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the percentage of commuters who use public transportation in Los Angeles County is 7% (10% within the borders of the city of Los Angeles), far lower than in other major American cities: 30% of San Franciscan workers use transit, 25% within Chicago, and 54% in New York City.
I'm not surprised about LA. I think I remember reading the claim that there are more registered cars in LA than people. People are used to spending a lot of time driving there. I remember being a bit flustered the first time I drove there, with the amount of traffic and how close the cars would be to each other despite going at a relatively high speed. Also, there are some stretches of freeway where they added a couple of lanes without widening it, so the lanes were much more narrow than what I was used to. But the people there are just used to it all, and they are very comfortable driving under those conditions. Now that I've been there more, I do enjoy driving there. It's just great when you have six lanes of freeway to maneuver and no potholes.
Public transportation there sucks, but a lot of that is due to how spread out the metro area is.
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Maybe I'm missing something, but why is Wyoming so keen on keeping fast food out of this corridor? They allowed a huge medical office park across the street, right off the expressway. This is not exactly an urban area, and as much as they would like to think, Byron Center Ave. isn't going to be a walking street. It's getting ready to become one of the major suburban roads in the metro. There's going to be a lot of traffic in this area, and restaurants are going to be in demand once Metro Village is complete. I understand there are residential subdivisions nearby, and a fast food would go against the zoning of that area, but I really would expect them to change that fairly soon. Am I missing something?
There's basically only two or three parcels that are vacant outside of all of the ones in MHV itself. So there's no pressure for Wyoming to rezone those for accommodating fast food restaurants, if they think something better is going to come along. Also, the KFC site in particular is the one that where increased traffic could cause problems.
As for the ones in the village itself, a fast food restaurant goes against the whole concept of a health village. And they are looking for around 8 or so restaurants to locate in the village. But none of them I think will be fast food drive through.
Fast food and gas stations could always go on the south side of M-6. That's up to Byron Township.
Grand Rapids Airport (GRR) News and Developments
in Grand Rapids
Posted
Historically that may have been true, but I think things have improved greatly in recent years. I always do a comparison with South Bend, Kalamazoo and Lansing whenever I book travel and have not found cheaper options. Maybe 5+ years ago I could find a cheaper fare from one of those, but it was very rarely worth the inconvenience. For the tickets I booked to Orange County airport, the GRR fares were certainly competitive (and I believe they were the best).