Using Social Media for Local News

It seems to me that most social media coverage of politics and current events has a national and international focus. Instead, it should be better used for coverage of local and community news. For example, see the posts below that I shared on Facebook and Twitter tonight (9/19/16).

Congrats to @Paulmccown, newly-appointed @CityTroyMI Councilmember. #TroyMI

— Dave Lambert (@DLambertsOnline) September 20, 2016

How soon will you read about this in the local news? Probably not until this coming Thursday (9/22/16) in the Troy Times. You sure won't see it on TV or read about it in one of the major daily newspapers.

Our Norway Trip in August 2016

If you follow me on one or more of my social network channels (Facebook, Twitter or Instagram), you probably know that Mary Ellyn and I returned from a trip of a lifetime to Norway approximately 3 weeks ago. Now, that would be special in and of itself. What made it more special is that we made the trip with Mary Ellyn's parents, brothers, sisters and their spouses.

Why Norway? Mary Ellyn can trace some of her ancestors back to Norway. In fact, Mary Ellyn's great grandmother and great grandfather were born in Norway.

During our trip, we visited:

• The King Carl Johan statue in the Palace Square in Oslo. The statue was designed by sculptor Brynjulf Bergslien who is one of Mary Ellyn's ancestors.

• Vangskyrkja church in Voss. Mary Ellyn's great grandmother was baptized here.

• The Nils Bergslien art gallery in Eidfjord. Nils Bergslien is also one of Mary Ellyn's ancestors.

I think it's great that Mary Ellyn's family has an identifiable connection to their Norwegian ancestors (I have no idea where my family roots are located.). Much of the credit for finding these locations goes to her Uncle Orville who did extensive research on the family's Norwegian "roots."

Below is a very small sample of the photos we took at the locations mentioned above.

Troy Zoning Board of Appeals - August 2016 Meeting Recap

City staff has posted the video recording of the 8/16/16 Troy Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) meeting to YouTube. At the bottom of this post is the video.

Click here to download the entire Agenda Packet from the August 16th meeting.

There was only one item on the agenda:

• A variance for 1204 Rothwell (to construct a pergola at the rear of the house). The ZBA voted to approve the variance. I voted "yes" on the motion to approve the variance.