Category Archives: Progress

Detroit was mentioned this week by Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber as one of four cities that have advanced their efforts over the summer to secure an expansion team.

His comments came during a webcast news conference before the MLS All-Star Game in Chicago on Wednesday.

The league, which is in final talks to add Miami as a market, plans to expand to four more cities in coming years, and Detroit is one of 12 cities that are part of the formal expansion bid process.

Garber said had specific praise for the efforts by Detroit, Cincinnati, Sacramento and Nashville.

Locally, billionaires Dan Gilbert and Tom Gores are jointly seeking the Detroit team, and made progress in securing their preferred location the unfinished downtown jail site when Wayne County announced on July 31 that it intends to work with them on a deal instead of finishing the justice facility.

"Detroit just got one step closer to having access to the jail site," Garber said. "That got a lot of energy and attention in Detroit."

The league has told Crain's that it has monitored the success high-profile soccer events in the market, including the recent International Champions Cup match that drew 36,000 fans last month, crowds of more than 100,000 at Michigan Stadium for ICC matches, and the ongoing crowds of 5,000-plus for semi-pro Detroit City FC in Hamtramck.

MLS intends to award two expansion teams during its league meeting in December, then two more some time after that.

"We'll conduct lots of meetings and have got an enormous amount of work over the next couple of months to get to the final two," Garber said.

The other cities with formal expansion bids, which had to be submitted by Jan. 31, are St. Louis, Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg, San Antonio, Raleigh, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Phoenix and San Diego.

Ultimately, MLS will have 28 teams. Los Angeles FC begins play next year as the 23rd club and the unnamed Miami team launches for the 2019 season. After that, the next two expansion teams are expected to begin play in 2020. It's unclear when the final two expansion clubs would formally launch.

The expansion teams awarded in December will pay $150 million each to join the league. A fee for the final two clubs hasn't been formally announced.

New MLS owners aren't buying franchises. Instead, MLS is a single-entity business, meaning all teams are owned by the league and all players are its employees rather than employed by the club. MLS pays the players. Team "owners" pay an investment fee to MLS for the right to operate a team in a geographic area. They become league shareholders rather than franchise owners in a league that has publicly acknowledged it remains unprofitable.

Teams keep their own books and budgets.

Gilbert and Gores unveiled a $1 billion plan in April 2016 to build a 22,000-25,000-seat soccer-specific stadium on the jail site, and the project would include towers for residential, retail, and office use.

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MLS: Detroit among 4 cities to make progress on expansion team efforts - Crain's Detroit Business

BOURBONNAIS Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is entering his third year with the Bears. Only two maybe three of his starters can say the same.

Theres a limit to the Bears sense of continuity entering a must-win season, but Fangio is hoping last season provided, at least for a while, a sense of momentum.

I thought for the most part we played hard, hung in there tough under adverse situations and were really, in some ways although the record sucked making progress, Fangio said Friday at Olivet Nazrene University. But then the last three games ... the dam broke on us.

The Bears allowed 109 points in those three games and lost by a combined 51 points.

Thanks to the team signing two new starting cornerbacks and at least one safety in the offseason, Fangio has reason for optimism though he wont say it.

When youre coming off 3-13, you dont have the right to predict anything, he said.

That includes his future.

Fangio is heading into the final year of the three-year contract he signed shortly after coach John Fox was hired. He said hes not worried about his life beyond this season.

Obviously, every year has an effect on what happens, good or bad, he said. Im just hopeful someone will want me next year, thats all.

Including the Bears?

Oh, yeah, oh, yeah. For sure. Oh, yeah, he said. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. For sure. Im not looking to go anywhere.

Fangios continued presence thats six straight yeahs, for those keeping score would be a boon for the Bears. He has had a tremendous influence on Leonard Floyd, the Bears first-round pick from a year ago, who could be a Pro Bowl edge rusher as soon as this season.

Willie Young and Lamarr Houston each transitioned from defensive end during Fangios first year and are happy to see him taking a more hands-on approach with the position group he knows best, outside linebacker.

When you have the guy who invented all of this giving you that information, its simplified, but its clearer, Young said. And that makes a big difference when you have a guy like myself transitioning from a 4-3.

Fangio said his outside linebacker focus hell work alongside first-year coach Brandon Staley, the position coach is nothing new. Before becoming a pro coordinator, he coached the Dome Patrol, the notorious Saints linebacker corps that sent four players to the Pro Bowl in 1992.

His secret: explaining to the players why theyre asked to do certain things.

I just like having it hands-on and hearing it come from my mouth, he said. They hear the whys and the reasons for everything we do.

Fangio said the Bears got a little spike in talent but know they need difference-makers. Hes not sure what to expect from Pernell McPhee, who started training camp on the physically unable-to-perform list and had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.

Floyds main candidates to pop: Floyd, defensive linemen Eddie Goldman and Akiem Hicks and, he hopes, either cornerback Prince Amukamara or Marcus Cooper. If half of those players hit, the defense will be improved.

We stress knowing what to do, do it the right way, and play as hard as you can, he said. If were talented enough, well have good results, and thats it.

Follow me on Twitter@patrickfinley.

Email: pfinley@suntimes.com

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Firefighters appear to have made progress on one of two wildfires burning in Skagit County.

The Burnout Road Fire on Chuckanut Mountain and the Suiattle Fire northeast of Darrington are burning a total of about 263 acres, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.

According to an update from Natural Resources, firefighters benefited from an increase in humidity and calmer winds to make significant progress late Thursday and early Friday in fighting the Burnout Road Fire.

The first thing is to knock down the flames, and weve done that, said Michael Krueger, spokesman for the Natural Resources incident management team.

Whats left, he said, are coals and embers. Crews now need to move in from the perimeter and comb the embers to make sure they dont spread.

Its called mop-up, Krueger said. Its tiring, its dirty, its tedious.

The fire, which is about 6 miles southwest of the trailhead for South Lost Lake Trail in Larrabee State Park, is now 60 percent contained, according to a Natural Resources update Friday morning.

That means firefighters are preventing the fire from spreading along 60 percent of its perimeter. The amount contained is up from 50 percent Thursday afternoon.

The fire size is estimated at 63 acres the same as Thursday and about 154 firefighters are working on the fire.

The Suiattle Fire, which was discovered July 30 about 9 miles northeast of Darrington, was more active late Thursday than it had been the previous two days, according to an update from Natural Resources.

Heat and difficult terrain continue to make it difficult for crews to attack the fire directly, which is now listed at 200 acres and 15 percent contained.

Though the size of the fire increased by 20 acres since Thursday afternoon, containment increased from 10 to 15 percent.

Fire crews, equipped with bulldozers, will continue to shore up containment lines and to mop up and remove brush as they go.

The causes of both fires are under investigation, according to Natural Resources.

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Progress made on Burnout Road Fire, while Suiattle Fire still burns - goskagit.com

The Duval County School District has 118 teacher positions to fill... just over a week before school starts.

Jason Rantala, WTLV 7:21 PM. EDT August 04, 2017

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Duval County School District has 174 positions to fill just over a week before school starts.

Duval County teachers jammed inside the Teacher Supply Depot Friday morning, the first of the monthly events meant to give teachers free supplies they need during the school year.

While Public School Number Ten, the home of the free supply giveaway, was packed to the brim, staffing at the district itself is not.

"We have a hard time keeping teachers," saidWolfson biology teacher Rashara Dubose.

Dubose is one of several educators who told First Coast News the district, as a whole, needs more teachers.

"We have teachers, we just don't have nearly enough, so sometimes it's a struggle with class sizes and things of that nature," Dubose said.

S.A. Hull Elementary teacher Markecha Bibbins agrees.

"That does have an impact on the schools, especially the kids, because there's no teachers to teach them," Bibbins said.

According to Duval Schools, 118 of those 174 openings are from teachers who were fired for either not pursuing a teaching certificate this year or for not completing it. This year's number is an improvement over last year at this time, when openings within the district of more than 8,000 teachers was more than twice as high, at 316.

A Duval Schools spokesperson said the district is working actively with school principals to fill the vacancies. Right now, positions are 98 percent filled.

Compared to Duval, St. Johns County Schools has 61 vacancies and roughly 2,500 teachers.

While Dubose would like to see more teachers, she recognizes the work the district's made to hire.

"Class sizes have gone down. I've seen a lot of administration go out and work to go find teachers that are certified and able to work with students," Dubose said.

2017 WTLV-TV

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Duval teachers: Hiring shortage remains, despite progress - First Coast News

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts text messaged Clayton Kershaw on Thursday asking for an update on the left-handers rehabilitation from a lower back strain.

Roberts was waiting to hear back when he met with the media before his team faced the Atlanta Braves in a series finale at SunTrust Park. Even so, Roberts reported only progress for Kershaw, who he said was pushing to throw off a mound soon.

Hes more on the aggressive side, which is no surprise to any of us, Roberts said. Were trying to temper that, a little bit.

When you hear Clayton wanting to do more, and be more aggressive, thats a good thing.

Kershaw injured his back during a game at Dodger Stadium on July 23. The team has not announced a timetable for his return, although the initial prognosis was a four-to-six week absence. An examination of his back showed no damage to the disk he herniated last summer, the team has said.

The Dodgers do not want Kershaw to rush back and risk re-injury, as he did while trying to come back in 2016. Roberts said the team had not set a date for Kershaw to pitch off a mound again. Kershaw started to play catch only five days after the initial injury. He is expected to meet the team on Tuesday in Phoenix.

Im sure Ill know more in the next day or two, Roberts said. But the good thing is he feels physically that he can do more.

Cingrani arrives

After the Dodgers acquired left-handed reliever Tony Cingrani from Cincinnati on Monday, general manager Farhan Zaidi mentioned how Cingrani would benefit from altering his approach. Cingrani had posted a 5.40 earned-run average for the Reds, despite striking out 24.2% of the batters he faced.

In informal conversations before Thursday, when Cingrani was activated, Dodgers officials relayed their hope that Cingrani would use his slider more. He had thrown his fastball 88.4% of the time this season, according to FanGraphs. The slider clocked in at 2.4%.

Im very open to most things, Cingrani said. Im not, like, set in my ways by any means. I definitely am hardheaded, but when the point is smart and brought up to you in a convincing way, and youre like Yep, that works, and it sounds right, you cant disregard that. Youve got to take it.

McCarthy slowed

Brandon McCarthy has not pitched for the Dodgers since July 20. On the 10-day disabled list because of blisters on his right hand, McCarthy will try to synchronize the upper and lower halves of his delivery, Roberts said.

McCarthy experienced mechanical glitches during his last four starts and struggled to command his pitches.

In talking to our medical staff, physically hes not synced up, Roberts said. And he feels that theres still some things mechanically, and physically, that he needs to work through to give himself the best chance to have success in a major-league game.

There is no timetable for his return, Roberts said.

Short hops

To make room on the 40-man roster for Cingrani, the Dodgers optioned pitcher Brock Stewart to triple-A Oklahoma City. Adrian Gonzalez was expected to begin a rehab assignment with Oklahoma City on either Thursday or Friday. Roberts was not interested in discussing President Donald Trumps nomination of former Dodgers co-owner Jamie McCourt as the ambassador to France. Yu Darvish took a flight to New York on Thursday afternoon. He will make his Dodgers debut there on Friday against the Mets.

andy.mccullough@latimes.com

Twitter: @McCulloughTimes

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Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw making progress, pushing to pitch again soon - Los Angeles Times

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- When Christian Hackenberg receives a playcall from the sideline, it could sound something like this:

"Blast to Joker right 'X' motion 372 'R' Slant spacing."

It's a base pass play in Jon Gruden's version of the West Coast offense, known for its complicated verbiage. He taught the system years ago to New York Jets offensive coordinator John Morton, who introduced it to the team in April.

Hello, crash course.

Veteran quarterbacks say it takes years to master the West Coast offense. Some have complained, claiming it takes too long to receive the play and relay it to the huddle. The Jets are hoping Hackenberg -- in his fourth offensive system in the past five years -- can learn it well enough to play this season.

Mentally, it's an enormous challenge, particularly since Morton hasn't streamlined it. He's installing the system in its original form, which means a giant playbook and a lot of memorization.

"You have to keep getting reps at it, hearing it, saying and spitting it back out," Hackenberg said.

The well-traveled Josh McCown, 38, who has played in just about every system known to man, said the West Coast offense is "like learning a new language." He said the average playcall is 10 to 12 words, which means they're longer than some of Todd Bowles' news conference answers. Every word and every number has a specific meaning, covering the formation, motions/shifts and pass-protection schemes. Mess up one syllable, and you ruin the entire play.

The Jets' quarterbacks -- McCown, Hackenberg and Bryce Petty -- drill each other on the verbiage. Not only do they want to memorize the playcalls, but their goal is to repeat them with conviction.

"[You] want to rattle that out smoothly, where the guys in the huddle believe in what were talking about," McCown said.

League insiders think McCown has the edge in the Jets' quarterback competition, in large part, because of his background in this offense. He has played in variations of the West Coast offense, which is a new world for Hackenberg and Petty.

Former NFL quarterback Jim Miller has a unique perspective because he played under Gruden (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and former Jets coordinator Chan Gailey (Pittsburgh Steelers). Miller said there's little similarity between the two systems, one of the reasons why he favors McCown in the competition.

"I think it will be McCown, I really believe that," said Miller, who co-hosts a SiriusXM NFL radio show with Pat Kirwan. "He gives them their best chance to win. He knows that offense, inside and out. Let the young guys learn from him."

Miller, who visited the Jets this week on his training-camp tour, was kind enough to give a detailed breakdown of the playcall: Blast to Joker right "X" motion 372 "R" Slant spacing. If you like Xs and Os, you'll enjoy this.

Blast: The type of shift.

Joker right: The final formation after the shift. In this case, a running back shifts out of the backfield and splits out wide right.

X motion: The X receiver motions across the formation from weak to strong.

372: This is the protection. Gruden called it Jet 2 (right) or Jet 3 (left). Miller used a numerical code. It's 372 because the play requires a three-step drop by the quarterback and "72" is the protection, with the line sliding toward the weakside linebacker. The line is responsible for the four-man line, plus the Will linebacker -- a 5-on-5 situation.

R Slant: After shifting, the running back runs a slant route.

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How the play unfolds: The remaining running back reads the middle linebacker and strongside linebacker. If they both rush, the quarterback is a blocker short and must throw quickly to his best matchup. The tight end runs a five-yard hook. The X receiver, after motioning across the formation, runs a flat route. The Z receiver hooks at five yards.

Mind you, this is only one play. There are hundreds in Morton's playbook, and each one has variations because of different formations. This is a small sample of what's spinning in Hackenberg's brain when he steps into the huddle, and he must convince 10 other players he knows what he's doing.

"You want to convey that, 'Hey, I'm in control of this ship and I understand what's going on,'" Miller said. "That's command, that's huddle presence, that's conviction. Make those players believe in you."

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Will Jets' complex offense slow Christian Hackenberg's progress? - ESPN (blog)

The FC crew discuss Riyad Mahrez's performance at Leicester last season and weigh in on a potential move to Roma.

Roma sporting director Monchi has said there has been no further movement in the club's attempts to sign Leicester playmaker Riyad Mahrez.

The Giallorossi are the only club to have made a bid for Algeria international Mahrez, who submitted a transfer request earlier this summer.

Leicester manager Craig Shakespeare has said the 26-year-old would prefer to stay in England, and Monchi told a news conference: "The situation with Mahrez has not changed.

"I would like to say a couple of things, though. A club like Roma, who can boast the calibre of players like [Lorenzo] Pellegrini, [Kevin] Strootman, [Radja] Nainggolan, [Edin] Dzeko, [Federico] Fazio or [Aleksandar] Kolarov, cannot think that their overall performance is going to depend on the arrival of just one specific right-winger.

"The guarantee comes from the route you are on and the group you have.

"The second message I wanted to give is that I don't know if Mahrez or somebody else will come but, whoever arrives, he will be a big player who is able to add quality to an already magnificent squad."

He said Roma would "prefer a left-footer, but it is the player's profile which counts," adding: "For the way the team play -- where the wide players tend to come inside -- a left-footer would be better, but it could also be a right-footer with natural tendencies to come inside.

"All the names that have been mentioned are interesting players and potential Roma targets, but the important thing is that I keep a certain degree of discretion in my work so I don't create confusion."

The sporting director also gave details of the players he expected to leave before the close of the window, saying: "We are looking for solutions for [Norbert] Gyomber, [William] Vainqueur, [Leandro] Castan and [Juan] Iturbe.

"We are close to a solution in some cases, whereas we are quite far away in others -- but there is still a month left."

Ben Gladwell reports on Serie A, the Italian national team and the Bundesliga for ESPN FC, UEFA and the Press Association. @UEFAcomBenG.

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No Roma progress in bid to sign Leicester City's Riyad Mahrez - Monchi - ESPN FC

The Pilgrim Progress will take place on Fridays through August and on Thanksgiving Day.

The Pilgrim Progress will take place at 6 p.m. on Fridays, Aug. 4, 11, 18 and 25 and at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 23.

This reenactment of the Pilgrims Sabbath procession to worship begins at the Mayflower Society House. Costumed participants, many of whom are from Plymouth and the surrounding communities, as well as visitors to the area, represent the 51 survivors of the first harsh winter of 1621. They will assemble to the beat of a drum. The Progress will proceed along the waterfront, up Leyden Street to the site of the first fort meetinghouse on Burial Hill, where the Pilgrims met for worship. The Psalms sung are taken from The Book of Psalms by Henry Ainsworth, which was used by the Pilgrims in Holland and in Plymouth.

The passages read by Elder Brewster are usually from Governor Bradfords Of Plymouth Plantation or other Pilgrim sources. After the brief worship service, the march will continue through town on Main Street, ending at the Mayflower Society House on North Street.

Plymouth Rock Foundation and The General Society of Mayflower Descendants sponsor Pilgrim Progress. The event is also funded in part by the Town of Plymouth Promotions Fund.

For more information contact pilgrimprogress1620@gmail.com.

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Pilgrim Progress, Fridays in August - Wicked Local Plymouth

With about a month left in the traditional summer season, road construction crews have completed or made significant progress on a number of projects throughout Emmet and Charlevoix counties. The following is a look at where those long-term projects stand and what is yet to come.

Michigan Department of Transportation

The Michigan Department of Transportation has already completed a few significant projects in repaving a section of M-119 east of Harbor Springs and overhaul work on Memorial Bridge in Charlevoix this past spring. However, there is one bigger project that still has several weeks to go, and one more that will be starting just after Labor Day.

U.S. 31 north of Pellston: Since early April, crews have been working on a major reconstruction project on a 4.2-mile stretch of U.S. 31 between Douglas Lake Road on the north side of Pellston to Levering Road. The $5 million project includes realigning a curve south of Ball Road, excavating several feet of unstable subsurface soils, other roadbed stabilization work and culvert replacement.

Portions of the project have required a detour around the affected area.

Michigan Department of Transportation spokesman James Lake said this week that the project remains on track for its originally estimated completion date in late October.

Were still on schedule, having wrapped up the northern and southern sections of this project, and moving on to the middle section where were replacing some culverts. We just started work on the last large box culvert, then well move on to some remaining road base work and then initial paving. By the end of the month we plan to lift the detour and maintain traffic with a single-lane closure under flag control for the remainder of the project, scheduled to be complete by the end of October, Lake said.

U.S. 131 in southern Emmet County: An earlier announced project to resurface a 4.2-mile section of U.S. 131 from Lears Road to Bear River Road is still expected to begin shortly after Labor Day.

Lake said the $970,000 project will involve grinding off and replacing the top layer of asphalt. The project will require single-lane closures and is expected to be completed by Oct. 20.

M-75 North in Charlevoix County: Earlier this summer Michigan Department of Transportation crews spent about two weeks doing maintenance work on M-75 North between Boyne City and the village of Walloon Lake. The work left some area motorists puzzled about the project and concerned about the plan for the road section going forward.

Lake explained that the maintenance work done is known as durapatching which is a hybrid of crack sealing and chip sealing. He said the process is primarily aimed at sealing the roadway and filling in some cracking and potholes.

Lake further explained: Its more durable than cold asphalt patching, but it is built up slightly higher than the surrounding roadway, as we need to taper it to the sound pavement. Thats the reason it feels somewhat bumpy to drivers. This is work done by an MDOT maintenance crew that performs this type of work all over Northern Michigan. Its just intended to keep the road held together for a few more years when we return with a resurfacing project on this stretch currently slated for 2019.

Petoskey

Emmet Street: The most significant street and infrastructure project in the city of Petoskey this year has been taking place for about the past two months on a three-block section of Emmet Street between Washington and State streets. The project involves complete replacement of water, sewer and storm sewer, infrastructure, placing electrical and cable lines underground, street and sidewalk reconstruction, and streetscaping. Around the Fourth of July crews finished work on most of the southern portion of the project and began work on the northern half.

On Wednesday, city public works director Mike Robbins said as of today, Friday, crews are expected to wrap up the majority of the underground infrastructure work involved. He said next week crews will start placing gravel and bringing the street up to grade. After that concrete crews will move in and begin pouring curbs and sidewalks.

He said weather permitting, crews could begin paving the first course on the north section by the end of the month. He said the project is still on track to be completely wrapped up by mid-September.

Gas line work: Although not a city project, Robbins also highlighted an ongoing a DTE Energy natural gas pipeline extension project that will have some impact on neighborhood traffic in the coming weeks.

Robbins said on Wednesday crews began working on Kalamazoo Avenue. They will then move down Grove Street to Waukazoo, and then eventually from Waukazoo to Beach Street. Robbins said the city has asked the crews to limit traffic restrictions related to the work to one block at a time to keep traffic impacts to a minimum.

Emmet County

Emmet County Road Commission Engineer-Manager Brian Gutowski said the road commission is having a record year for township-funded road projects with more than $3 million in work taking place.

Ongoing Emmet County Road Commission projects include:

Atkins Road from Cedar Valley Road eastward for approximately 0.65 mile in Bear Creek Township. This is a reconstruction of the road. The road has temporary closures. The project is expected to be completed sometime next week. This is a township-funded project.

Mackinaw Highway from U.S. 31 to Trails End Road for 2.2 miles in Wawatam Township. This is a total reconstruction and also has temporary closures. This project just started on Monday of this week. The work is expected to be completed by Sept. 15. This project is funded through the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians with Federal Highway Administration - Bureau of Indian Affairs funds.

Osborne Road from State Road westward for 1 mile in Readmond Township. The road is a gravel road and is being widened in preparation for future paving. This is a township-funded project and is expected to be completed toward the end of September.

Asphalt wedging on various roads in Carp Lake Township, Bliss Township, Cross Village Township, Center Township and McKinley Township. These are township-funded projects.

Projects still to be started this year are as follows:

Townline Road from Middle Village Road then south for 0.91 mile in Friendship Township. This is an asphalt overlay project and funded by the township.

Beacon Hill Road from Stutsmanville Road then south for 0.09 mile in Friendship Township. This is an asphalt overlay project and funded by the township.

Channel Road from Pickerel Lake Road to the Minnehaha Creek for 1 mile in Springvale Township. This is a reconstruction project and funded by the township. There will be lane closures during the project. The work is expected to begin before the end of August and be completed by the end of September.

Maxwell Road over Minnehaha Creek for culvert replacement. Crews will be replacing 2 3-foot culverts and installing a 14-foot culvert. This project is slated to begin the week of Aug. 14 and be completed by Aug. 24. This section of road will be closed during the project which is being funded through the Tip of the Mitt watershed with U.S. Fish and Wildlife and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation funds to improve fish passage in the creek.

Charlevoix County

The most notable project for the Charlevoix County Road Commission is one that wasnt planned. On May 6 a many-decades-old culvert on Shadow Trail collapsed as a vehicle drove over it and that road has been closed ever since. Last week, after many weeks of delays, crews began work to replace the culvert.

Road commission engineer Jim Vanek said work is progressing with crews driving sheet piling in to prepare for putting the new culvert in place. He said if the weather cooperates, crews are hoping to have the road back open before Labor Day. He said the weather can have a significant impact on the work because even a small amount of rain can raise the level of Fineout Creek. He noted that the rain that fell on the area early Wednesday raised the water level about a foot when crews arrived later in the morning.

Anderson Road: Vanek said work is expected to begin in the next two to three weeks on a project along boundary between Boyne City and Wilson Township. The project will involve reconstructing a 0.53-mile section of Anderson Road from Marshall Road nearly to Day Road.

The work will include reconstructing the road using a process known as crush and shape, in which the existing pavement is pulverized and used as the roadbed for the new pavement, removal of some poor subgrade soils and installing about 1,200 feet of storm sewer lines on each side of the road.

The contract calls for the project to be completed by Sept. 22.

Vanes said a few other smaller projects are also still on the schedule for yet this construction season. Perhaps the most notable will be a project to replace a culvert on Horton Bay Road in Bay Township right at the Lavender Hill Farm location.

The project is expected to start in mid-September and take about two weeks to complete. The road will be closed and traffic will be detoured to Pincherry and Church roads while the work is taking place.

Other upcoming project include repaving the Sumner Road entrance to Villa De Charlevoix, which is expected to start Sept. 8; a small paving job in the Springbrook Hill subdivision in Melrose Township; and some paving work on residential streets on the north side of U.S. 31 in Bay Shore, expected to take place in the next few weeks.

Charlevoix

Just this week The Charlevoix City Council approved a street resurfacing contract.

All of the work will involve pulverizing the existing asphalt, regrading the road and compacting that material, and then laying two, 1.5-inch layers of asphalt for a total of 3 inches of asphalt.

The work will take place on portions of Stover, Lake, Newman, Auld, Oak, Elm, Prospect, Burns, West Dixon, Coast Guard Drive, and two small sections of May Street.

These roads and/or sections of city roads were chosen due to their degraded condition and the amount of time and money the city has spent spent filling potholes and other repairs, city manager Mark Heydlauff said.

Boyne City

Boyne City officials took care of several road resurfacing projects earlier this summer. Those projects have all been completed and no other significant street projects are planned this year, city street superintendent Andy Kovolski said.

East Jordan

East Jordan City Administrator Tom Cannon said the city had no major street projects on the docket this year. He said a few minor projects will probably take place yet this year on some residential streets.

Harbor Springs

Harbor Springs City Manager Tom Richards said the city had no street projects planned this year. The only work taking place yet this year is some guard rail replacement on Pennsylvania Avenue and replacing a failing retaining wall near the intersection of Third and Judd streets. Work on the retaining wall project is expected to begin in September.

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Work in progress - Petoskey News-Review

As a casualty of extreme weather conditions, dead fish began to appear on the surface of Lake Elsinore and wash up on shore Thursday, Aug. 3, city officials said.

City employees deployed to beaches and on the water to collect and dispose of the carcasses as quickly as possible, City Manager Grant Yates said.

He described the dying fish as 98 percent shad minnows and carp. The cleanup activity is expected to continue Friday.

Yates said the fish kill was relatively minor compared to some of the episodes in previous years when large numbers of bass and other sport fish were affected.

The incident in progress now is similar to what happened in August 2015 when a die-off occurred during a series of days when temperatures reached well over 100 degrees.

Officials say the health of Southern Californias largest natural, freshwater lake remains fragile because of ongoing high heat and algae blooms. Lake overseers believe a sudden drop this week in the lakes oxygen levels resulting from heat, overcast skies and a thunder storm sparked the die-off.

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Fish die-off in progress at Lake Elsinore - Press-Enterprise