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Opinion

 

So this is Grand Rapids

Submitted 12-12-2011 under OPINION

As I prepared to move to Grand Rapids a few months ago, I had little idea what to expect. While it’s true that I’d spent most of my life living in Michigan (Metro Detroit and then Ann Arbor), in the past few years I’d explored both...

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"All.I.Can.:" A ski film with a message

Submitted 12-08-2011 under OPINION

A ski film that is looking to make change.   On December 10th Sherpas Cinema makes a stop in Grand Rapids at the Wealthy Theatre to present All.I.Can. as part of its national tour. All.I.Can. is an extreme ski film of spectacular...

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Unemployment Action Day comes to Grand Rapids

Submitted 12-07-2011 under OPINION

"I don't think that it's the right solution to extend unemployment benefits. We have to deal with the cause of the problem and not the symptoms." – Justin Amash to Grand Rapids Press, Election Day 2010  In late December...

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Reserve: the best restaurant you've been neglecting

Submitted 12-02-2011 under OPINION

I am still mourning the loss of Grand Rapids’ restaurants Bloom and Corez. For just over a year I’ve been stuck somewhere between the anger and bargaining stages, waiting, praying, drooling (more than usual) for a meal and ambiance of...

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Who's engaging the community?

Submitted 11-29-2011 under OPINION

I was an arts junkie in high school. With the plays, musicals, choir, private voice lessons, and creative writing, I had found my place in the high school world. I felt pretty excited and fulfilled my freshman year. When sophomore year came around...

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Aging well: Westminster Presbyterian Church celebrates 150th birthday

Submitted 11-28-2011 under OPINION

Reports of its birth vary: Either Westminster Presbyterian Church began with 10 members--or with 25; with a minister who was paid $500--or $1000; as a group that became Presbyterian because of views that were broader than the others in the...

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Stacey Clack Photography: Behind the lens

Submitted 11-28-2011 under OPINION

Our society is opening doors for entrepreneurs to accomplish most anything they set their minds to. With technology and social media advances serving as the floodgates for this sea of idealistic innovation, women of Grand Rapids are...

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First ever Sass Fest celebrates doing it together

Submitted 11-28-2011 under OPINION

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Sass Fest. It was promoted as "an event celebrating doing it together: music, workshops, movies, zines, handmade goods," a veritable bucket load of stuff proposed and organized predominantly by...

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Locally owned or chain restaurants: Does it really matter?

Submitted 11-23-2011 under OPINION

A hot new chain restaurant opens up in town. Some are excited. Others are dismayed and prefer to only dine at locally-owned restaurants. Does it really matter? According to Melissa English, Administrative Coordinator at Local First, yes, yes it does...

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Who was crowned the king of "Found?"

Submitted 11-22-2011 under OPINION

So, what’s better: a "found" letter describing the “dopest fish ever” in Grand Rapids or a "found" exercise VHS circa 1980-something featuring Angela Lansbury in a bathtub reflecting on post-menopausal sex? You...

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