Focus West Michigan
Focus West Michigan for 7-12-24
Today on Focus West Michigan, the GRPD and other local safety agencies took part in mental health first aid training this week. Two local communities received grant money for public recreation spaces, a preview of this weekend's new films, and more state and West Michigan news. For WGVU, I'm Joe Bilecki. Today is Friday, July 12, 2024. Focus West Michigan is brought to you by listeners like you. To support this show and everything we do, visit WGVUNews.org and click the donate button. The GRPD Department, along with several other local public safety agencies, took part in mental health first aid training this week. WGVU's David Limbaugh attended the session put on by Hope Network. So it's a really awesome evidence-based training where individuals learn the warning signs of different mental health disorders and how to identify what those are and how to refer those individuals to the professionals in the community. Casey Pickert is the behavioral health grants project director at Hope Network. She says the mental health training the GRPD's police department is receiving not only benefits the public, it also helps the officers. It's super important because about 90% of law enforcement professionals actually identify stigma as a barrier to themselves seeking care. Statistics show higher rates of mental health challenges among public safety professionals compared to the general population. Both issues such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, general anxiety, and suicidal thoughts being prevalent in these roles. GRPD officer Ray Erickson said he appreciated the opportunity to learn more about these mental health issues. I think anybody in the general public police officer or not should be aware that these are disorders that people don't control they don't ask for and it's a real relevant issue for people in general. Approximately 30 participants from the GRPD and other local public safety agencies took part in the training. I'm David Limbaugh. Two West Michigan communities made the list for grant money to develop healthy spaces in under-resourced communities. WGVU's Dean Morrison reports. 29 Michigan communities whose economic opportunities and public health were hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic are now benefiting from more than $24 million in Spark's grants. It's a partnership of the state's Department of Natural Resources and the Council of Michigan Foundations. The program gives priority funding to areas that lack public recreation spaces, have a high proportion of households that are struggling financially, and a high number of residents with physical and mental health disparities. The idea is to expand access to recreation projects in areas where there's been little or no previous parks and rec investment and to engage a diverse group of community residents in all aspects of those projects. The City of Muskegon Heights received nearly a million dollars for the Rowan Park redevelopment and splash pad project. The City of White Cloud in Nuego County received more than $860,000 for Smith Park improvements through the Fremont Area Community Foundation. The aim is to remove barriers not only in funding to develop these projects, but also in support services to maintain them. I'm Dee Morris. Come August, Grand Rapids City residents will need to be aware of new parking hours and enforcement. As WGVU's Jennifer Moss reports, city officials want you to familiarize yourself with a new parking meter hours. The City of Grand Rapids Mobile GR Department announced Thursday that it's extending the enforcement hours for paid on-street parking meters. Starting August 1, Mobile GR will extend the hours of enforcement by one hour, changing from the current 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. to an 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. schedule. Mobile GR will still enforce all parking meters Monday through Friday unless otherwise noted. The City Commission approved the new hours as part of its adoption of the fiscal year 25 budget. Jennifer Casper is the assistant director for Mobile GR. She says it will bring in more funds without actually raising rates. So instead of actually raising the cost for parking on the street, this was an opportunity for us to fill the gap a little bit with our revenue by increasing that additional hour of enforcement and keeping the costs the same. Casper says the new hours could catch some residents off guard, but as the decision to make the change and extend the enforcement hours came after feedback from residents, local businesses and more. She says hours of enforcement will be posted to notify drivers of the updated enforcement schedule whether via app or pay station. The City of Grand Rapids has also implemented other parking rate increases as part of the budget. You can find more information at granddrapidsmi.gov and just go to the Mobile GR page. I'm Jennifer Moss. The chair of the Kent County Board of Commissioners calls Administrator Al Vanderberg an incredible asset and WGVU, Phil Lawson, reports that commissioners are renewing his contract for two more years. I'd like to thank the Board of Commissioners for your support of my contract. Not ready to retire. Al Vanderberg has been the Kent County Administrator since 2021. Commissioner Carol Hennessy thinks they were fortunate to get him. That is a very tough area to find a good competent person for and we certainly found that with Al Vanderberg. 19 of the 21 commissioners, including Emily Brievey, voted to renew Vanderberg. He's got many great ideas and I always think Al's interest is in serving Kent County in the best way possible. Commissioners Katie DeBore and Matt Kalman voted against renewing Vanderberg, although neither said why. Be voting against this, but kind of the reasons are really a lengthy and nuanced conversation. Currently, Vanderberg has paid $265,000 a year. I'm at an interesting point in my life because I'm working because I want to and I'm working for Kent County because I love my job. He's now under contract with Kent County until the end of August 2026. I work God willing and commission willing to the end of my career here. I am committed to this county and a lot of the great things that we are working on. The Muskegon City Planning Commission has approved the latest proposal for a plan to redevelop a former factory located near the Lakeshore, WGVU's Dean Morrison, reports. Renovation of the former Shaw Walker Furniture Company property near Muskegon Lake stalled when the previous owner didn't finish, leaving what the new developer calls an eyesore at the site of Watermark Lofts, an event center and the Coffee Factory restaurant. Thursday, the Muskegon City Planning Commission voted in favor of updated plans for the property at 930 Washington Avenue, acquired by Parkland Properties in 2022. Those plans include building or renovating more than 600 housing units, a restaurant and retail space, recreation area, and covered parking. President of Parkland Investments, John Rooks, described the impact of the project for the area. It's 730,000 square feet, so it's a monster. It's going to do two things. It's going to fix a huge eyesore in town at your entrance to your community and it directs it and it's going to help solve the housing crisis. There's more units in this single building that will be developed than have been developed downtown in the last 30 years combined. Every proposal now goes to the Muskegon City Commission for consideration. I'm Dee Morrison. Fifteen Lakeshore-based arts and culture nonprofit organizations are benefiting from a strategic planning program designed by the DeVos Institute of Arts Management. WGVU's David Limba has more on how these organizations benefit. Stable Economic Revenue Plan, which we're thrilled about, excited about. Jill Verstag is president and CEO of Evergreen Commons, a Holland-based wellness center for senior citizens. She explains how the DeVos Institute of Arts Management program benefits Lakeshore-based organizations. A high-class, high-level team development and finding the right people for the right seats. The two-year program is free to arts and culture-based organizations and coaches, participants and strategic planning, fundraising, marketing, and board development. Other organizations who took part in the program include the Zealand Historical Society and Holland's Infinity Orchestra. Nonprofit leaders Dick and Betsy DeVos attended the final session and say this training is one of the best ways they can assist organizations develop within the communities they serve. These are the sorts of just operational characteristics that will make these organizations better, perform better for our communities, make them more compelling in the work that they do, and we think make them more sustainable long-term. That's why they'll be able to be parts of our community for years to come. We thought this would be a really good and helpful way to help them become better at what they do. The DeVos Institute for Arts Management expects to hold more programs in the future. I'm David Limbaugh. President Joe Biden headed to Detroit today to rally supporters and address growing fears that he is not up to the job of running for re-election. The presumptive but still not official nominee is trying to shift the narrative as calls grow for him to step aside in favor of a younger candidate. Rick Pluto brings us his political postcard from a critical swing state. Vibing and wishcasting seem to be the trending verbs of this week in national politics. That says some Democrats went into near panic mode and projected possibilities of a new dream ticket. 90-year-old Tom Brush just wants the drama in the Democratic Party to call, and he does not see that happening with the status quo. It's a sad moment, and I was hoping that the president would realize that he really has some problems. Starting on his front porch in Ann Arbor, Brush says at his age he gets that people slow down, and the retired attorney says he thinks it's time for Biden to stand at. "If you are not being able to function at the top, you really ought to give yourself a break and give the country a break and just step aside." It's not a surprise that Brush likes the idea of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer as the stand-in nominee. These twice won the state by double digits, and two years ago led a Democratic ticket that also captured full control of the state legislature for the first time in 40 years. Whitmer still publicly brushes off the idea of running this year, but acknowledges Biden has some work to do to restore confidence and his ability to wage a campaign. "I think Joe Biden needs to be Joe Biden, and showing up and connecting with people, that is who he is, that's what he loves to do." Senator Whitmer is a National Biden campaign co-chair. She will not be with the president in Detroit. She's heading to the Sun Valley Conference in Idaho, an event that attracts big tech and entertainment figures. Washington County Democratic Chair Theresa Reid will be heading to Chicago next month as a Democratic National Convention delegate committed to Biden. "If he decides to run, we are completely behind him. Of course we worry. We worry about everybody's terrified." Janet Kennan is a member of the Washington A Democratic Party Executive Committee and a volunteer organizer. "You need a prize fighter." "Yes." "You need somebody who's out there and just lands the punches." "That's a great way to put it." "I hope the surrogates are going to be able to do that, because that one is one we don't see President Biden doing." "The race is really just wildly in flux for the presidential race in Michigan. We don't quite know where it's going to go, because we've never been in this situation." Richard Shuba is a Midwest-based pollster who's been running tracking surveys. He says Michigan is unusual in an already unusual environment. Not only is this a rematch between a current and former president, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is also on the ballot. Kennedy was nominated by the Natural Law Party. "From what I can tell, Kennedy specifically is impacting Donald Trump amongst leaning Republican voters. And it's keeping Joe Biden at least in the race, at least competitive in Michigan right now." But Shuba says his polls mostly show that here in Michigan voters want something different than the choices they've been given. I'm Rick Pluda in Ann Arbor. A new season of mutually inclusive is right around the corner. Join WGBU PBS hosts Kylie Ambu and Jennifer Moss this fall, as they partner with West Michiganders to highlight our diverse communities and tackle some of the biggest issues facing West Michigan today, from the housing crisis to race relations, dive into diverse cultures, experience new narratives, and gain fresh perspectives, only on mutually inclusive stories that connect us. Fly Me to the Moon is in theaters during Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, a romantic comedy about the NASA moon landing. Long Legs is a serial killer mystery with Nicholas Cage, and The Lion King is back in theaters for its 30th anniversary. All this and more from WGBU's Scott Vanderworff and Eric Kuiper from Studio C. From Studio C. And that's Fly Me to the Moon starring Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson and what looks like a period, maybe a nostalgia piece? Yeah, well, we love nostalgia, right? And there's something really romantic about that time in American history where the space race is going on and this great achievement is being reached for, right? I mean, there's something kind of romantic just in American history about the moon landing, but there's also, you know, my great grandmother, I'm pretty sure, went to her grave convinced the whole thing was a hoax, you know? And so they actually, I don't know that this movie's not taking a position per se on that, but I think it's sort of in the ether. So Scarlett Johansson's character is a marketing executive, and Channing Tatum is playing this like NASA official, you know, and they're preparing for the Apollo 11 moon landing. So even in that, and like this coming together of like, what's the marketing spin and what's the science of all of this, right, like they're having fun in almost like a satirical way about this whole period. But then you got these two great, you know, you got these two great actors Scarlett Johansson is a ton of fun and Channing Tatum, I feel like it's just, I think he just keeps getting better as an actor, like he's more and more fun to watch all the time. But this is tongue in cheek, this is not actually a conspiracy film. No, it's not a conspiracy film, it is tongue in cheek, they're not, this is not hard history, it's not a documentary, you know, this whole angle just seems odd to me. Well, that's why you haven't seen a trailer for it, I don't know, it's, you know, it's tracking to do 17, 20 million at the box office. It will get there probably off the sheer draw of the two leads who I've heard are great in it. So yeah, it's, I think it's just sort of like a fun context to put the two of them in. I don't think it's like a super steamy romance or anything. But it is just, yeah, I mean, it is a romantic comedy in that I think it, they're having fun with this whole idea of, of what really happened, and then maybe drawing some parallels to this relationship. So, you know, a fun little break. I mean, this is a, this is a week where, you know, we're just coming off of Despicable Me 4 opening up just before the holiday, Inside Out 2 is still rolling, it now has surpassed the Incredibles 2 as the highest grossing Pixar film of all time. So the box office has really been rolling, Despicable Me 4 over did its, overshot its projections as well. And things are, you know, things are really rolling, a little bit of a down week here as far as big titles, next week twisters, and then, you know, the granddaddy of the summer movies is the week after that with Deadpool and Wolverine. So we're in a little bit of a, I'm not going to call it a lull, but this isn't the biggest movie of the year by a long shot. Also a horror mystery long legs with Nicholas Cage. Yeah, so this, so here's what's really fun about this. So McKeeam and Raul plays the female lead. So, and they're actually using this in the marketing. The something that happened on set. They're using to market how scary this movie is, which, you know, you and I have talked almost ad nauseum of how much, you know, I'm not a big horror movie fan, I do not run to the theater. This is peaking my interest. So okay, it's a serial killer movie. Nicholas Cage plays the serial killer long legs, and I believe she's the FBI agent that is, you know, trying to solve these, these killings. So when on set, she, Monroe encounters Nicholas Cage in costume as long legs for the first time. My understanding is they had a heart rate monitor on her, and she, her normal resting heart rate is somewhere in, you know, the mid to high 70s. She shot through the roof, and they actually have the data on this, like it just like, she would, she just absolutely was petrified. I mean, we're talking about an actress who knew this was coming, right? She's read the next page, and apparently Nicholas Cage is so scary looking in the way he embodies this character that she, her, her heart rate shot through the roof. So that, they've actually been leveraging that to sell this film of like, hey, this is an absolute, you know, just white knuckle, scary villain movie. And you know, Nicholas Cage, I mean, if he's going to do it, you, I mean, don't you kind of want to see what's going to happen? So this is tracking well then. Well, it'll be, it won't be a huge film, you know, again, 15 million, 10, 15, 20 million. I mean, it's, it's an, it's much more of an indie horror film than, you know, this is coming from, I think this is being distributed by neon. So it's a smaller, it's a smaller distributor, not one of the, you know, not one of the big three or four, which is usually where a Nicholas Cage shines in these types of movies. Yeah. And I mean, some of the best horror films, well, I mean, if you go back the last several years, I would say 824, put them out, 824, it's quickly not becoming the small little indie, you know, independent distributor that it once was. But that's where it got, you know, some of it's start was the witch and, you know, some films like that were like, they really were grabbing these, these really, really great films. Or if you even think of like the Babadook, I mean, these, these ones that just capture people's imagination, they're not coming from universal or Sony or certainly Disney, but some of the, some of the mainstays. So we have the 30th anniversary rerelease of the Lion King, speaking of Disney. Yeah, 30, 30 years, you know, that dates you, doesn't it? I mean, that movie came out a long time ago, but yeah, this is the original animated version. So not the John Favreau kind of live action version. So yeah, they're putting this back on screen 30 years and it's a nice little precursor to sort of the, you know, not actually live action, but looks more like live action Mufasa that comes out later this year. But yeah, I mean, this is, you know, speaking of highest grossing Disney films of all time, I mean, Lion King is certainly, if you're going to make a mountain rush more of, you know, Disney animated movies, well, Simba or Mufasa, one of their heads should probably be on the mount. So, and then also it was a big Broadway musical for a decade plus as well. Yeah. Oh, absolutely. I saw that show and it, you know, that, the embodiment of it on Broadway was quite frankly as compelling in my experience, if not more, than it was on screen. They just did an incredible job. So yeah, I mean, this thing is part of the cultural fabric and has been now for, I guess, 30 years, believe it or not. Can you mention Despicable Me 4? It's number one at the box office, followed by Inside Out 2 and then a quiet place. Day 1 is third. And then we were talking about what's coming up. It's interesting to me that they're holding off on Deadpool and Wolverine towards the end of July. It's kind of like the last big, I mean, there's not going to be anything really huge in August, is there? August is a little slower. So, you know, but Deadpool, Wolverine, the tracking on that just keeps going up. I mean, we're now flirting with the possibility of it opening to $200 million. So sort of like an anticipation game, is that with how they're playing it? You know, I think so. This one, you know, it was going to release earlier in the year and then it got pushed back. I mean, we're still dealing with, you know, the lingering tentacles of the writers and actors strike that really reshuffled the release schedule over the past year. So that we're getting to the tail end of that. We're coming through this summer that's kind of now in the past, which is a good thing. So yeah, this will be the big one. August has some solid releases, but nothing in the, you know, $100 to $200 million range. But there's some fun stuff, you know, you get to, you know, you get to September, which is often not a big release time. The first week in September is when Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice comes out with Michael Keaton in the lead role again in all the original cast and, you know, Tim Burton's behind, you know, the camera again, they're doing the practical effects that they did with the first one. I mean, it looks fantastic and the energy around that is really big. So well, August will be a little bit of a dip, September sometimes is a real trough and it doesn't look like that's going to be the case this year. So some, some great stuff coming to the, coming to the movies. All right. Well, thanks for joining us. All right. See you at the movies. This has been Focus West Michigan from WGVU for Friday, July 12, 2024. I'm Joe Bilecki. Our audio operations manager is Rick Beerling and our news and public affairs director is Patrick Center. We'll be back with more news and events in West Michigan on Monday, wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening. [Music], thanks for joining us. [Music] (gentle music)