The long-standing feud between the brothers-Van Halen and their lead singer, well, ANY lead singer, pre-date the internet, compact discs and hybrid vehicles. So what does Van Halen have to offer to the 21st century? 

This past week, I went to Willard Library to pick up a children’s book “A Ball For Daisy” by Chris Raschka.

With their breakthrough LP "Pyromania", Def Leppard converted overly pop-friendly American radio into a haven for guitar distortion, booming bass and high adrenaline melodies. By no stretch of the imagination was Def Leppard first in making hard rock, but they were arguably the best during the 1980's. 

Battle Creek Central’s boys and girls basketball teams entered tonight’s game with revenge on their minds. Back on December 9 in Marshall, both the Bearcats and the Ladycats were soundly defeated by the Marshall Redhawks. The girls lost 39-59 while the boys lost 53-74.

On Tuesday, January 24th, students in the cafeteria at Kellogg Community College (KCC) were asked to get involved in shaping the Omnibus Farm Bill now under development in Washington DC. Provisions of the bill run for 5 years and 2012 is a renewal year. Michigan voters enjoy an elevated roll in the process because our Senator, Debbie Stabenow (D), chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee. “As Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Senator Stabenow has the opportunity to stand up for small farmers, consumers and the environment by supporting a “Fairer” Farm Bill,” said Alistair Hall, Field Organizer with Food & Water Watch, which organized the event.

Knowing I was a teen in the 80's, it wouldn't surprise anyone who peered into my parked car to see a pile of CDs in the front seat of such bands as "Whitesnake", "Def Leppard", "Journey" or "The Cars". What MAY surprise that curious peeper is that these CDs are not your typical collection of "oldies". They are in fact, NEW albums by some of the greatest bands of the spandex, big hair, pop-music decade.

A robotics program has been started in the Harper Creek schools and will hopefully spread to other Battle Creek area school districts.

The 2011 Battle Creek Central Holiday Tournament is in the books. But rather than write a traditional story about the three games from last night, I decided to do an audio podcast with highlights from each game, my MVP of the tournament, and the play of the tournament. Hope you enjoy!

High school basketball fans were treated to a belated Christmas present on Tuesday night as Battle Creek Central hosted it’s annual Holiday Tournament at the Battle Creek Central Fieldhouse. Teams from Albion, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Lansing, and Warren made the trip to the Cereal City for the holiday tradition that dates back to the late 1980s.

Bill Leroy may be new to The Revolution Rink staff, as the Ice Events Manager, but he’s no stranger to amateur hockey enthusiasts in the Battle Creek-Kalamazoo area. He is well known for his postings at both Wings Stadium and Twin Stars Arena in Kalamazoo and he’s been known to lace them up and jump in the game as time allows and the need arises. You might say he’s a player’s manager and that’s exactly why the General Manager Richard Keys has brought him to Battle Creek; to turn things around at the Rink.

“Is there an “Occupy” movement in Battle Creek” I asked myself?  A search on the internet turned up a Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-Battle-Creek/178295168922780) revealing that not only was there such an organization, it was to meet at the downtown Brownstone Café on Saturday morning.  

The Devils came down to Central, they were looking for a game to steal.

And they did just that.

After opening up the season with three straight road games, the Battle Creek Central Bearcats finally get to play basketball in front of a friendly crowd.

It may be hard to extrapolate from a New York Times op-ed piece on the state of the “ex-burgs” to major metropolitan areas of the country, and the housing stock in Battle Creek, but a recent walk through the Northside had me doing just that. In walking along streets like Orchard, Guest, Sherman, Elizabeth, Laurel, and Garrison I am struck by the sense of permanence those Tudors, Colonials, and Federalists convey. They still look exactly the same as they did 10, 20, or 30 years ago. The lawns are still as well maintained, the walkways are still bricked in painstaking herringbone patterns, the porches (yes porches, do you remember those?) are painted and screened with attention to historically appropriate detail. If one didn’t know better, one might think that these homes have been occupied by the same families for decades; but that is not the case. Having lived in two of these houses over the past 30 odd years I know that, except in very few instances, entirely new generations of families are enjoying the same vistas as those that my young family did; and that makes me feel good.

If you were at Prairieview Elementary School on Tuesday night, the aroma of chicken stir fry and risotto could be smelled emanating from the cafeteria. But this wasn’t preparation of the following day’s lunch, it was all part of a cooking demonstration.

If The First Congregational church kitchen is indeed not already God’s kitchen it certainly serves the “God’s Kitchen” charitable organization as such Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays beginning at 2 PM. That’s the when 8 to 15 volunteers gather to begin preparing 300 meals to be served at the First Baptist Church, 80 E Michigan Ave., Battle Creek, Monday through Friday between  4:30 and 7:00 PM in the Fellowship Hall (rear entrance). On Monday and Wednesdays the meals are prepared in First Baptist’s kitchen.

What A Do Theatre is wrapping up construction at their new location just in time for their first production of the season.

The Community House at 104 Calhoun St was this month’s site for the regularly scheduled meeting of the Good Food Battle Creek (GFBC) coalition. The site, sometimes referred to as “The Hive”, was indeed abuzz with a broad spectrum of participants to include the Kellogg Foundation, Calhoun County Conservation, Bronson Hospital Food Management, The Battle Creek Public Schools (BCPS), The Food and Water Watch, Environmental Health, The Clean Waters Project, Spout Urban Farms, Michigan State University (MSU), CS Mott Group for Sustainable Agriculture, and a regional farmer representing local food production.  The group was creating answers to issues, seemingly drawn from the headlines of the day, from a uniquely Battle Creek perspective; food production and distribution.

All of the Vet to Vet groups are run for Veterans by Veterans. They dedicate themselves to helping fellow Veterans in their time of need, leaving no Veteran behind. They seek to reach out to fellow Veterans whenever possible. “As Veterans, we are here to teach, to learn, and to help ourselves and others on the road to recovery,” added Howard.” 

A mostly unstructured painting class is helping a group of students with various levels of artistic experience get in touch with their creative side.

A lot of things have changed in Battle Creek over the last 50 or so years; downtown theaters and department stores, Eaton and Clark Equipment, and tours of Post just to name a few. For most of us these changes happen gradually enough so that they go by without much notice. It is only in moments of nostalgia that we contemplate the magnitude of their loss and are saddened. But if on returning to Battle Creek on a Sunday morning, after years of absence, and in passing the corner of Van Buren and Capital, you might come to believe that the touchstones of your past were still in place in old Battle Creek.