My 3-1-3 cred was conferred at birth, when I was born at the old Wayne County General Hospital. I grew up Up North, in East Jordan, Charlevoix County -- the city that probably made your manhole covers, fire hydrants and storm drains. I worked at newspapers in Bellaire, Petoskey and Traverse City before joining Gannett and spending seven years at The Desert Sun in Palm Springs, Calif. There I won three Best of Gannett awards for Public Service and First Amendment. The opportunity to come home to Michigan and work at the Free Press was impossible to pass up (though my wife, plucked from our swimming pool in Southern California, might disagree). I now cover the Great Lakes, urban pollution and other environmental issues challenging this beautiful state.