If you were a teen in the ’90s, you probably remember cruising downtown Port Huron just about every weekend in the summer. Groups of young people and car lovers would pile into their vehicles and flood the streets listening to their radios, enjoying a summer night in the city, and maybe even participating in a little car-to-car flirtation. Those days may be making a comeback.

As COVID-19 mitigation continues to force social distancing, people are craving something to get them out of their houses safely. Drive-by birthday parties, spontaneous parades to encourage frontline workers, and Operation Transformation’s drive-in community prayer service demonstrate that one of the places people feel safest is inside their own vehicles.

Currently, there is a huge push for drive in theaters to reopen, and musicians in Denmark have even held outdoor concerts to an audience of neatly spaced cars in a giant parking lot. Locally, Luke and Sindy Marion, owners of several downtown businesses, have initiated a car parade downtown to celebrate Mother’s Day.

This Sunday, from 2-3 PM, the downtown business district would love to help you reminisce about those days cruising up and down Main Street or experience it for the first time. Vehicles should meet at Vantage Point to line up, and participants are asked to stay in their vehicles at all times.

With all the negative effects resulting from the COVID-19 virus, it’s important to relish the positive when it shows up. Even if you can’t make it this Sunday, with low prices at the gas pump, sunny days in the forecast, and a community that’s longing for safe socialization, we hope you’ll get a chance to hop in the car, turn on your radios, and cruise down memory lane.

More details about the Mother’s Day Car Parade can be found <HERE>.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

Republican Congressman Paul Mitchell is suing Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in federal court, claiming many of her recent actions violate the Constitution. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.

Mitchell’s lawsuit challenges the Governor’s declaration of a State of Emergency without legislative approval, and her use of executive orders. The lawsuit also names Michigan Health Department director Robert Gordon as a defendant for issuing an emergency order under the public health code requiring everyone in Michigan to comply with the Governor’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” executive order and for issuing the rule establishing a $1,000 fine for violating that order.

Governor Whitmer has cited a 1946 state law that she says gives the governor sole authority to decide when an emergency has ended. Republicans in the legislature cite a 1975 law limiting a governor’s emergency declaration to 28 days without legislative approval. The “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order is now in place until May 15th.  The Legislature has passed a resolution allowing legislative leaders to sue the Governor in state court over her use of emergency powers.

Reporting for WGRT – Marty Doorn

Beginning Wednesday, May 6, 2020 the City of Port Huron will complete improvements to 13th Street between Water Street and Lapeer Avenue.

Improvements already finished included new concrete curb and gutter, sidewalks and drive approaches and water main replacement. This work will complete the asphalt paving. This project is partially funded with a federal grant and the voter approved street millage funds. 

13th Street will be closed to thru traffic until approximately the last week in May. 

Whatever you think of the way the government has handled the pandemic, there is no doubt that many small businesses have been financially  devastated. Small business has been under pressure for decades.

First, the advent of the mall and the big box stores shuttered many downtowns, which were often the center of the small business community. People old enough can remember the massive sidewalk sales in downtown Port Huron. The demise of that event alone demonstrates the impact of malls and big box stores on small business.

Then came Amazon! As if it were not hard enough already, online shopping took off like a rocket. However, in the next few years,  something amazing started happening. Malls began to lose their appeal and downtowns began to flourish again.  \

Thanks to the hard work and vision of people like the Witt’s and Larry Jones, downtown Port Huron started to come alive. Next came a second wave of revitalization led by Sperry’s Movie House, CityFlats Hotel, SC4’s college dorms ,and a new SC4 Field House. Downtown Port Huron was on a roll!

Then came the coronavirus. Businesses closed up, and people disappeared from the sidewalks.  So where does that leave us? What is our local business recovery plan? Businesses and residents finally need to get serious about shopping and doing business locally. We all talk about it, but the truth is, we don’t always practice what we preach.

Will we recover? How fast will we recover? Part of the answer lies in how we spend the money in our own pocket books and how much we start shopping in our own community!

Reporting for WGRT – Marty Doorn

State Fire Marshal Kevin Sehlmeyer urges Michiganders to take a proactive approach towards home fire safety as they spend more time at home. Since January 1, 2020, 55 people have died as a result of a residential fire in Michigan, with 15 in the month of April alone. There has been a 41 percent increase in the number of fire fatalities compared to this time last year.

In 9 of the 15 fatal fires in April, the fires were burning in an area where the occupants could not use the front door to escape, and only three of the fires in April had working smoke alarms.  “Every family needs to talk about what would happen if a fire in their home prevented them from using the front or back door,” said Sehlmeyer.

Here are some tips from the fire marshal:

• Consider how you would escape from every room of your home.
• Consider purchasing an escape ladder to exit through a second story window.
• If a smoke alarm sounds ,everyone needs to exit the home as quickly as possible and meet at a pre-designated meeting spot away from the house.
• Only call 911 after you have exited the home.

Reporting for WGRT – Marty Doorn

Michigan Native American tribes own a total of 26 casinos. So far, they have followed the Governor’s executive order that requires casinos to close until the end of May. However, that is about to change.

The Island Resort and Casino in the Upper Peninsula has announced it plans to reopen on Wednesday, May 6th. In a statement, the tribal leader said, “We are excited to see you here at the Island Resort & Casino! As always, we strive to provide superior service and quality entertainment for our guests. To do this in the safest manner, while keeping the health of our guests and employees the number one priority, we have outlined these guidelines and expectations to ensure a healthy return.”

According to their website, each entrance will be equipped with a staff member who will check the temperature of both employees and customers. Anyone who registers a temperature over 100 degrees will be refused entry. The casino will have face masks to hand out to guests if they want to wear one, but that is not a requirement of entry.

The resort is locates 20 miles west of Escanaba in the south-central UP.  It is owned and operated by the Hannahville Indian Community. The tribal leaders say they will soon announce reopening dates for their on-site hotel and golf course.

Reporting for WGRT – Marty Doorn