Today: A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2 pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 64. South wind around 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

After several years of constant construction, work is almost complete on Washington Avenue. On Friday morning, construction contractors came and paved the third and final block of the downtown street, and all three blocks are slated to be open to traffic today. Originally scheduled to take place on Wednesday morning, inclement weather forced crews to come back on Friday. "I guess this means that the Memorial Day parade can come right down the new street,' Grand Haven Special Projects Manager Julie Beaton said.

The state said seasonally unadjusted unemployment rates in all regions of Michigan dropped in April as seasonal hiring picked up. The figures released Thursday by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget show jobless rates down in all 17 major regional labor markets compared to March. Total employment levels increased moderately in most regions, and labor force levels declined in all areas. Statewide, the unadjusted jobless rate in April was 10.1 percent, down from 11 percent in March.

The SS Badger car ferry is off and running for another season on Lake Michigan. The ferry's owners said it's the only coal-fired steamship in operation in the United States. But that might have to change in the near future if the ship wants to continue to operate between Ludington and Manitowoc, Wis. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations could ban the Badger from dumping coal ash in Lake Michigan at the end of next year. The ship dumps the ash waste during its trips across the lake.

Giving back comes "naturally' to Betty Kinney. "When they ask for volunteers, you just kind of go, ‘No one's raising their hand,'' Kinney said. "You go, ‘OK, I'll do it.' That's what you do.' Kinney, a Fruitport community member for about 30 years, is this year's Old Fashioned Days queen. She was nominated for the title for her involvement with the community through the school board, her church and many community service organizations.

Charles Jacobs pleaded to the Grand Haven Township Board on Monday that a street light is needed at the corner of Rich Street and 152nd Avenue for safety reasons. "The crime is bad, the speeding is bad,' said Jacobs, who has lived in his house on 152nd Avenue for 40 years. "My home is for sale because the paradise is gone.' The Grand Haven Township man is one of five property owners in that area who signed a petition for a street light special assessment district.

The Hope Summer Repertory Theatre's 40th season will be full of music, comedy, laughter, life lessons and sentimentality. The season begins June 17 and runs through Aug. 13 at three Holland locations: DeWitt Theatre, the Knickerbocker Theatre and the HSRT Studio Theatre.