Liferides will be available New Years Eve to help revelers celebrate safely. Joanna Wilbee Amis at OSF HealthCare St. Francis Hospital and Medical Group says rides will be available for free from 7 p.m. Saturday until 4 a.m. Sunday.

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Restrictions have been reimposed at OSF HealthCare St. Francis Hospital and Medical Group as the area is seeing an increase in upper respiratory illnesses. Communication Coordinator Joanna Wilbee Amis says it is being called the “triple-demic.”

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Delta County Administrator Emily DeSalvo says the county needs to do what it can to support the development of local housing in the area. It’s an issue that local officials have identified as a need but will now become more of a priority with a proposed expansion at the Escanaba Paper Mill.

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Weather is affecting travel and deliveries heading into the Christmas weekend. Among closures today because of the snow include the buildings at Bay College and St. Vincent de Paul store and service center in Escanaba.

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Delta County Administrator Emily DeSalvo says the proposed expansion at the Escanaba Paper Mill is good news for the county, local businesses and workers at the mill. The county board, as well as Escanaba and Wells Townships, approved a tax break for the company by asking the state to approve a Forest Products Processing Renaissance Zone. It will amount to $29.4 million over 15 years which DeSalvo says the county will gain in other ways with the development.

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Union officials say they are excited about the possibility of a major expansion at the Escanaba Paper Mill. Billerud is planning a $1 billion upgrade and conversion of the mill to produce paperboard. Michelle Labadie, chief steward for Teamesters Local 406, told the Escanaba Township board yesterday that the community needs to hear how important this is for the Upper Peninsula.

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The Wells Township board has approved a resolution in support of a Forest Products Processing Renaissance Zone at the Escanaba Paper Mill. The move creates a property tax break for Billerud on a proposed $1 billion investment at the mill. Wells Township Supervisor Bob Stasewich says the conversion of the mill to paperboard is going to change the area.

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The Escanaba City Council says it is appreciating the communication set by interim city manager Jim McNeil. McNeil says he is providing a weekly update on what is happening in the city to council members to keep them informed.

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The Escanaba City Council talked about the possibility of hiring city assessor and interim city manager Jim McNeil as the new city manager. Councilmember Tyler Dubord says he is reluctant to spend money on a manager search when McNeil is a good candidate.

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Delta County Prosecutor Lauren Wickman is predicting traffic problems on North Lincoln Road if three marijuana businesses open within a short distance of each other in Escanaba. Along with the potential of drivers in the area being intoxicated, Wickman says the dispensaries have the potential of backing up traffic.

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A 15-year tax break has been approved by the Michigan Strategic Fund for a planned conversion of the Escanaba Paper Mill by the plant’s new owner Billerud from paper to paperboard used in packaging. The Forest Products Processing Renaissance Zone incentive is worth $29.4 million and would support a $1 billion investment in the mill. Billerud deputy president Kevin Kuznicki said the project will change the future of the mill from a declining to a growing market in North America.

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The Escanaba Planning Commission last week approved two plans for marijuana businesses in Escanaba on North Lincoln Road. The first was for a special land use permit for a Higher Love recreational marijuana provision center and retail establishment at 421 North Lincoln Road, the former Staples building.

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The two buildings at the Delta Schoolcraft Intermediate School District are undergoing a Risk and Safety Assessment this week by a company called Secure Education Consultants. ISD Superintendent Doug Leisenring says it is a process that will be done at all area schools.

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A deal to allocate $200 million for a yet-to-be-announced paper mill in Delta County fell apart at the last minute in a lame duck session of the state legislature this week.

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Building permit fees have been adjusted in Delta County to be more like those in surrounding counties in the U.P. Delta County Administrator Emily DeSalvo says Delta County’s fees were much lower than Marquette and Menominee Counties. She also says they tried to simplify the process.

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The Delta County Board of Commissioners reversed its decision to end its zoning services to several townships in the county. The concern has been over cost.

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The majority of jobs in Delta County are retail according to statistics from the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget. A close second is manufacturing. Health Care and Social Assistance are third.

Ed Legault, Delta County Economic Development Alliance director, says there are a lot of manufacturing jobs in Delta County compared to other counties in the Upper Peninsula. There are also a lot of small businesses.

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Members of the Escanaba City Council talked about the significance of the lakeshore development projects planned for the former Delta County jail and chamber of commerce sites with the third and final purchase agreement Thursday. Escanaba Mayor Mark Ammel says he had been anxious through the process but is now excited about what the development might mean.

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The Escanaba City Council approved a sale agreement with Swanee Incorporated for property that includes the former chamber of commerce building. The North Shore Flats housing and commercial development project is part of the former Delta County jail redevelopment project on Escanaba’s lakeshore.

Interim City Manager Jim McNeil says it is the third and final agreement for the project. He says once the sale is complete, that will end the city’s involvement in the project.

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Unemployment remained unchanged in the Upper Peninsula in October at 4.3 percent however the workforce in the U.P. shrunk by 2,600 over the month. The number of employed workers dropped 2,400 from September but is 1,500 higher than a year ago when unemployment was 3.9 percent.

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