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Articles by Mark Pontoni
ELHS Students Enter the Voting World at In-School Registration Event
Over 150 East Lansing High School students were registered or pre-registered to vote at an in-school event held Sept.19, thanks to ELHS social studies teachers and the League of Women Voters of the Lansing Area. The League has been working with teachers at the high school since 2015 in a nonpartisan effort to get young people involved in our democracy. American Government teacher Jeff Lyon helped coordinate the League’s efforts.
Reminder: Senior Surveys Due by End of October
Time is running out to complete the city’s survey on what services East Lansing’s seniors use, and what changes to those services and amenities they would like to see. Responses are due by Wednesday, Oct. 30. The survey is open to all East Lansing residents aged 55 and above. A citizen does not have to be retired to participate in the survey or to take advantage of the various services available to those over 55 years old.
A Century Well Spent: EL Resident Reflects on Life After Celebrating 100th Birthday
When Irv Nichols moved to East Lansing in 1957, people were still riding horses on some of the neighborhood streets. When he reached his 100th birthday on Sept. 20, he acknowledged that a lot has changed in the ensuing 67 years. What he is unlikely to acknowledge is the significant role he played in bringing about some of those changes. Nichols came to East Lansing from Kentucky where he was working for the Tuberculosis Association.
Gallery: Photos From ELHS Homecoming Game
Standing room only at the ELHS Homecoming football game. (Mark Pontoni for ELi)
ELHS Volleyball Team Looks to Continue Strong Start to the Season
One of the great sources of both challenges and rewards in high school coaching is the roster turnover that comes each year. East Lansing High School (ELHS) varsity volleyball head coach Heather Stanley is keenly aware of both as she heads into her ninth year at the helm. A 2006 graduate of ELHS and a four-year player at the University of North Carolina, Stanley is optimistic for her 2024 team.
ELHS Boys Soccer Team Looks to New Goal Scorers to Continue Recent Run of Success
There is an adage in high school sports that “Success breeds success.” As teams accomplish certain goals, more of the student body wants to be part of the program. It is also true that success raises expectations for next season. The East Lansing boys soccer team will put both of those trends to the test in the 2024 season. ELHS has captured a share of three consecutive Capitol Area Activities Conference (CAAC)-Blue soccer championships. Coaches and players are determined to keep that streak going.
ELHS Girls Swim Team Dives Into New Season
What a difference a weekend makes. Just before the Holt Invitational Swim Meet on Saturday, Aug. 24, East Lansing High School swim Coach Madelyn Zink, wasn’t expecting much. In 2023, behind state qualifier Sarah Bergdolt, ELHS won the Holt Invitational. This year, it fell on a SAT testing date, so the expectations were much lower. “We’re going to be down a bunch of swimmers, so this will be a great opportunity to have a competitive practice,” Zink said.
ELHS Boys Tennis Team Looks to Build on Last Season’s Success
Despite losing four key players to graduation in 2023, the East Lansing High School boys tennis team heads into 2024 with great anticipation. Starting his fourth season as the head coach, Cody Cross carries an optimistic air about him as he discusses the upcoming season. “The team chemistry is going to be the best ever, because it’s just a great group of friends, and they know each other very well,” Cross said.
Advance Peace Will Work to Reduce Gun Violence in East Lansing
In the midst of the sometimes tumultuous 2022-23 school year at East Lansing High School, when a couple of small groups of students repeatedly engaged in acts of violence against each other, a gun allegedly fell from a backpack during an altercation after a basketball game. The East Lansing Public Schools (ELPS) community responded with a series of sometimes raucous school board meetings that featured often emotional public comment from students, staff and parents.
See Ya!
Guest Column By Mark Pontoni | Feb. 2, 2019 Back in 2008, I moved to northern Michigan to take a teaching job. Well, actually, I moved to northern Michigan so I could live with my new wife, who had been teaching in Petoskey for several years. The teaching job was a bonus. Now, just over 10 years later, I’m moving back downstate for a different teaching job … and the not-so-new wife is coming with me. As such, after several years, this is my final column in Northern Express.
It’s Not Me. It’s You.
Guest Column By Mark Pontoni | Dec. 29, 2018 Back in February 2015, I wrote a blog post entitled, “Divorcing Friends: It’s not you … it’s me.” In that post, I explained why I had to unfriend some folks on Facebook: It had become unbearable to attempt discussions with people who willingly used false information and consistently invoked inaccurate sources when we debated.
Republicans Deceiving Us (and other ho-hum developments)
Keeping track of issues in a complex society can be an exhausting task. With over 300 million Americans living under the authority of nearly countless levels of government, it is not hard to imagine why many citizens sit out voting…even in those rare places where Republicans aren’t trying to obstruct our rights to get to the polls. Recent actions in Republican controlled states to make it harder to vote are even more obnoxious than the President they are trying to protect.
The Good Ol' Days Delusion
We are now being told that some of us are suffering from something called “cultural anxiety” as a result of our losing our traditional American culture. Good grief. This is nonsense perpetrated by some politicians and pundits eager to find yet another wedge issue they can drive between us. Fox News talker Laura Ingraham is apparently the flag bearer.
Fascinating People
Maya Tisdale The Mighty One A child’s first steps are a time of excitement for parents. For Maya Tisdale, her first steps brought tears to the eyes of those who saw it, both live and online, where it continues to amaze viewers. That’s because Maya’s first steps didn’t take place until she was four years old, following surgery to treat her cerebral palsy. She was born at just 26 weeks, weighing one pound, 11 ounces. “She was a super preemie,” said her mom, Ann Tisdale.
Strap on Your Seat Belts: It’s Hypocrisy Season!
The August 7 Primaries have been completed in Michigan, and except for polling places running out of ballots in heavily Democratic precincts run by Republican clerks, all went relatively well. Our badly broken primary system has survived another run-through, and now we all get to brace ourselves for the most important midterm elections since the Civil War. Democrat or Republican, we all know that in November we will learn a lot about the future of our country.
The Good Bowl
In 1979, Soon Hagerty’s parents and their seven children fled an uncertain future in post-war Vietnam as “boat people” with the dream of finding a safe and promising new life in the United States. They were among the lucky ones who made it, settling in California.
Interlochen’ Off-season is on Fire
At Interlochen, it’s all about balance. “We try to represent all the arts areas, especially those with majors at Interlochen,” said Rory Baker.
LivelyLands Festival Returns for Second Year
Starting a music festival from scratch? Sounds like a lot of work, especially if you wanted it to be a lively event. It was, and now that she’s done it once, Emily Lively has decided to do it again. Just not at her family farm. Instead, LivelyLands 2018 will take place at various locations in and near Empire on the shores of Lake Michigan, with the full day show at the intersection of Benzonia Trail and Beeman Road. “We’ve got a 10-acre lot,” said Lively.
Earth Wind & Fire set for Interlochen debut
Verdine White doesn’t bask in past glories. Despite being the only remaining original member of ’70s and ’80s hitmakers Earth, Wind & Fire, the bassist and vocalist instead looks at the present and to the future. That was clear in a brief phone interview. “You’re living in the past, man,” said White in response to most questions. “I don’t think about it that much.” Maybe he should. The past was very kind to the band, as it provided a large part of the soundtrack of two decades of popular culture.
Coming to a Michigan High School Classroom Near You?
“Identify the individuals whose principles of laws and government institutions informed the American founding documents, including those of Moses, William Blackstone, John Locke, and Charles de Montesquieu.” (Texas Social Studies Standard 113.44.c.1.C) “Examine the reasons the Founding Fathers protected religious freedom in America and guaranteed its free exercise by saying that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," and...
Can #MeToo Break Up the Good Ol’ Boys?
When a society is in the middle of massive social change, it’s very difficult to see exactly what is happening and how far that change will go. Sometimes, we get an obvious event that becomes the symbol of change that we can glom onto, helping us put all this change in context. For example, when Obergefell v. Hodges was decided, suddenly gay marriage was a legal right. But hadn’t the process toward this fundamental right to love whomever we want begun decades earlier?
Pick up, Honey … Please Pick Up
Feb. 15 should have been just another mid-winter doldrums day. It was gray and cold in northern Michigan, and as I pulled into the school parking lot, I should have been thinking the way most teachers think about February days: Just get us some sunshine! But Feb. 15, 2018 wasn’t just another day, and I wasn’t even sure sunshine could cure my funk.
Thanks, Donald! | Opinion | Northern Express
In the past several months, earthshaking accusations of sexual misconduct by men in politics, show business, the media, sports, corporate America, and more have begun to reshape our national social landscape.
Ambition on the Airwaves: Radio Man Ron Jolly
In 1983, an ambitious young man named Ron Jolly walked in the doors of the Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts in Southfield, Mich. That same man has been the 7am-10am host at WTCM in Traverse City for the past 22 years, with just one short break in the middle. He’s also the subject of an incredibly long and storied history that took place between then and now.
Cars, Stars, and History at Sloan*Longway
Can’t decide between a museum, a planetarium, or learning more about Michigan’s automobile industry? No worries – you can enjoy all three at the triple-threat downstate destination that is Sloan*Longway in Flint by Kristi Kates When the Sloan Museum, Longway Planetarium, and the Buick Automotive Gallery joined forces in 2004, the resulting fusion of the three fascinating facilities became what is now known as Sloan*Longway. The result? A mix of science, history, and fun for the whole family.
You Gotta Hand It to Us
Some years ago, when Bruce Springsteen was trying to sort out his life he put out his “Tunnel of Love” album. It was – as I saw it – an autobiographical, gut-wrenching, and very public attempt to deal with his failed marriage, his new love, and what would be coming next. Hidden among the many hits from that album is my favorite song: “Cautious Man.” When I feel especially hopeful about things, I listen to that song. When I feel especially uncertain about things, I listen to that song.
Mackinaw City Popcorn Factory
Popcorn. What do you think when you read that word? A few things that spring to mind might be crunchy, salty, and most likely movies. Or maybe those giant tins of caramel corn that you get from relatives during the holidays. But you’ve probably never had popcorn like this. The Mackinaw City Popcorn Factory specializes in one thing – you guessed it. Popcorn. And they do it in such an unusual way you’ll start adding new adjectives to your description of “popcorn” pretty much immediately.
The Guy Can Actually Write
Journalist, photographer, novelist and, above all, editor extraordinaire Terry McDonell has lived large with some big names. He paddled the Montana backwaters with naturalist Peter Matthiessen (of Snow Leopard fame). He edited and hung out for years with authors like Jim Harrison, Kurt Vonnegut and George Plimpton. Along the way, he also helped usher in the era of New Journalism as an editor at Rolling Stone, Esquire, Outside and The Paris Review.
The (Not So) Nutty Professor
It could be the setup for a corny joke: A former monk, an English professor and an advocate for senior citizens walks into a radio station. It’s a joke that only word geeks attached to a long-running radio show would get. “Words to the Wise” focuses on the foibles of the English language. It is co-hosted by former monk Michael J. Sheehan, who is also an English professor and member of the state Commission on Services to the Aging.
Not for Human Consumption
In June 2014, Natalie, a former clerk at the Traverse City adult entertainment store Fantasies Unlimited, testified before a grand jury in Grand Rapids about the day she quit her job. Natalie said she got a telephone call from someone who screamed at her repeatedly, “What did you sell us?” She said she didn’t understand. The woman identified the product she was calling about.
If the Day Ends in "Y" ...
Brian Confer has had some crazy ideas. There was the one where he turned from his successful gig as a photographer to brewing beer for a living. Then there was the time he enlisted an entire town to tout the virtues of beer. Welcome to the Fourth Annual Frankfort Beer Week.
The Eat List | Features | Northern Express
Please be seated for these abbreviated versions of the restaurant reviews we’ve featured since our last RestauranTour issue. Bon Appetit! Blu Glen Arbor Now in year nine with Blu, Chef Randy Chamberlain said what he sees happening is exactly what he wanted to create from the start: a fine dining restaurant in which the ingredients dictate the menu, not the other way around. And that menu changes daily, depending on what’s available and in season at this quietly elegant fine dining restaurant.
Why Teach? | Opinion | Northern Express
Another school year has come to an end, and parents, students, and teachers all around our state are assessing what we have just been through. Some are already peeking forward toward next year. Graduated seniors are either eager to test whether their efforts and decisions over the past thirteen years will pay off, or they are feeling the angst of realizing that they took short cuts, skated by, and/or had their parents bail them out of every little scrape.
The Only Thing We Have To Fear...
Since my last Northern Express column, I have had the opportunity to think a lot about how people are handling the Trump presidency. I went back and looked at things people were saying before the election, as well as the things they said once the incredible became reality. People who sensed Trump to be the disaster he has in fact become are still largely in a state of shock.
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