Michigan Radio Newsroom

No Hoffa: FBI officials call off search for Teamsters boss

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:13:08 +0000

A search for ex-Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa was called off this afternoon, Joseph Lichterman of Reuters reported.

On Monday, authorities from the FBI began digging in Oakland Township, MI in search of Hoffa's body. Anthony Zerrili, an 85-year-old alleged mobster tipped off the agency, saying that Hoffa had been hit with a shovel and buried alive in a field near Detroit.

Mike Duggan bows out of Detroit mayoral race

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:57:21 +0000

At a press conference early this morning, Mike Duggan announced he is officially withdrawing from Detroit’s mayoral race.

Detroit City councilman Kenyatta quitting on Friday

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:00:24 +0000

DETROIT (AP) - Detroit City Council member Kwame Kenyatta says he quitting Friday.

Kenyatta didn't give a specific reason to radio station WWJ, but he says the council is virtually powerless now that Detroit is being run by an emergency manager.

Kenyatta also has been dealing with health problems that he hasn't publicly discussed in detail. After two terms, he didn't plan to run for re-election this year.

Kenyatta has been critical of Mayor Dave Bing and the state's intervention in Detroit's poor finances. He made headlines in 2008 when he gave up on his foreclosed home, one of a handful of council members who had financial problems.

Detroit council members make about $74,000 a year.

This week in Michigan politics: Medicaid in the Senate, Snyder in Israel, Mike Duggan off the ballot

Jack Lessenberry, Emily Fox and Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:37:37 +0000

This week in Michigan politics, Jack Lessenberry and Emily Fox discuss the state of Medicaid expansion in the Michigan Senate, Governor Snyder's trade mission to Israel, and the political future of Mike Duggan in Detroit.

In this morning's news: Chrysler recall, disaster declaration in MI, Detroit Zoo and DIA saved

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:11:15 +0000

Chrysler waves the white flag

Chrysler is now agreeing to recall some 2.7 million older model Jeeps. At first, Chrysler refused to recall the cars and the company maintains the vehicles are not defective. Safety regulators say 1993 to 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees and 2002-2007 Jeep Liberty Vehicles can catch on fire when they're rear-ended. The design flaw has killed 51 people in fiery crashes.

Michigan counties will receive disaster relief

President Obama has approved a disaster declaration for 16 Michigan counties hard hit by spring floods. The declaration will help communities repair and rebuild roads, bridges and other public infrastructure damaged in the flooding. This does not include assistance for individuals or businesses. State and federal agencies will soon hold briefings across the state to help communities understand and start the application process.

The Detroit Zoo and the DIA are safe

Legislation was signed into law yesterday allowing the Detroit Zoo and the Detroit Institute of Arts to get millions of dollars in tax revenues as promised from the metro region. Several metro cities were skimming some of the revenue generated by multi-county millages voters approved to support the zoo and the museum.

Detroiters cautiously optimistic about Kevyn Orr's plan

Jennifer White and Michigan Radio Newsroom — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:53:22 +0000

Detroit's Emergency Manager, Kevyn Orr, has laid out his plan to restructure Detroit's finances, and he has spread the pain around.

He ended payment on unsecured debt, he is negotiating with creditors to take significantly less than the money they're owed, and he's looking to city employees and retirees to sacrifice financially as well.

The dig continues in hopes of finding Jimmy Hoffa

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:37:33 +0000

Update 6/19:

The search is over, Reuters reported this afternoon. FBI officials left the field in Oakland Township without a body.

Update 4:25 p.m.:

Detroit News reporter Tony Briscoe is tweeting live from the dig.

Judge declares a mistrial in the Aiyana Stanley-Jones case

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:22:25 +0000

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway said today the trial of Detroit Police officer Joseph Weekley ended with a hung jury.

Weekly was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of seven year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones in 2010.

According to Elisha Anderson of the Detroit Free Press, the jurors sent a note to Hathaway earlier today as they deliberated, saying there was no "significant movement." The jury was "stuck."

Solar car team at UM reveals its new car called 'Generation'

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:01:58 +0000

The Solar Car team at the University of Michigan unveiled its newest car today.

The car is called “Generation” and it will represent the U of M team in The World Solar Challenge this fall.

Google and Ford have cars driven by robots, but will cars think for themselves someday?

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:49:13 +0000

Ford Motor Company recently started testing its cars with the help of robots.

The company does robotic testing on vehicles for durability at the Michigan Proving Grounds in Romeo, according to a recent story from MLive.

Michael Wayland reported that Ford has used robots to test drive eight of its vehicles, including several truck models as well as the Fiesta.

In this morning's news: Palisades re-opens, Detroit's water dept., MI attorney general election

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:41:58 +0000

Palisades returns to service

The Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in southwestern Michigan re-opened yesterday after finishing repairs to a tank that leaked slightly radioactive water into Lake Michigan. The plant has had nine shutdowns since September 2011; company spokeswoman Lindsay Rose says the tank has been redesigned to guard against future leaks. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says there was no public health risk from the radioactive release.

Detroit's water department faces restructuring

Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr has big plans to restructure the city’s water department. It would largely keep the same governing structure, with representatives from Detroit and surrounding counties, but the authority would also pay Detroit to lease the department’s assets.

“Orr’s plan suggests that spinning the water department off to an authority would allow it refinance its debt, and borrow more readily for capital improvements,” Michigan Radio’s Sarah Cwiek reports.

MSU law professor running for Michigan attorney general

Michigan State University law professor, Mark Totten, announced yesterday that he is running for Michigan attorney general in 2014. Totten, a Democrat, used to be a federal prosecutor. Democrats will choose their attorney general candidate at a nominating convention next year; no other Democratic candidates have entered the race yet. Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette is expected to seek re-election.

61 percent don't know if they are a danger to their babies

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 21:21:14 +0000

It might be embarrassing, but expecting mothers: it is ok to tell friends and family to be vaccinated before they see your baby.

Pertussis, or Whooping Cough as it is more commonly known, is at the highest level of outbreak in the past 50 years. Ann Arbor specifically, reports a high level of the disease in their schools.

So, why does this put your newborn in danger?

Divers in Lake Michigan today hoping to solve the mystery of a 340-year-old shipwreck

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 21:14:56 +0000

In northern Lake Michigan today explorers are stepping up their effort to find a ship that sank in 1679.

French and American archeologists are on the Lake looking for a ship sailed by the French explorer Robert de La Salle, the Griffin.

So far, the top marine archeologist from France says he thinks they are close to the hull of a ship in northern Lake Michigan. Michel L’Hour says the beam of wood now exposed is likely a bowsprit.

The team excavating the site says the beam is at least 20 feet long and the construction details are typical of colonial ships.

MSU introduces new program to train autism specialists

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:59:10 +0000

For families who have children with autism, finding a specialist to care for their children can mean being put on a long wait list.

Currently, there are about 50 certified behavior analysts in the state of Michigan.

However, there are over 18,000 children with autism.

Cute Michigan baby animals, we dare you to look away

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:59:40 +0000

There were four baby peregrine falcons nesting on the roof of University Hospital at the end of April. The University Record reports this is the third year in a row that two falcons nested on the hospital roof.

A contest was held to name the babies. Today, the people running the University of Michigan's Facebook page announced the winning names:

Maize,
Blue,
Woodson,
and Howard.

The images of the cute falcon babies got us wondering, 'what can be cuter than these things?'

Do "food stamp challenges" help?

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:41:50 +0000

Newark Mayor Corey Booker did it.

In this morning's news: protecting Michigan forests, new farmer's market, visit from Hillary Clinton

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:12:53 +0000

DNR protects Michigan forests

The state Department of Natural Resources says about 750 acres in Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula will be protected, available for public use, and managed as a working forest. The recent announcement of a $1 million Forest Legacy Program grant for the effort is expected to help protect nearly three-quarters of a mile of Thumb Lake frontage. The 750 acres in Charlevoix County will remain in private ownership, the Associated Press reports.

Tire dump transforms into farmer's market

A site once used as a tire dump is now a farmer's market following years of work by a community, the state, and federal officials. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Rural Development provided a $40,000 grant and a $60,000 loan to help finance the project in Mecosta County. The state of Michigan helped cover the cost of tire disposal as well as a trail, fishing pier and other recreational improvements, the Associated Press reports.

Hillary Clinton comes to west Michigan

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to speak to business leaders in western Michigan today. Clinton is the guest of honor at the Economic Club of Grand Rapids' 26th annual dinner. Ready for Hillary, a self-described national grassroots group, is organizing a rally outside the event. The group hopes to encourage Clinton to run for president in 2016, the Detroit Free Press reports.

'A' vs. 'An' is rather simple, unless you're talking unicorns

Michigan Radio Newsroom and Austin Davis — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 12:55:00 +0000

Do you say “a historical event,” or “an historical event?”

On this week’s edition of “That’s What They Say,” Professor Anne Curzan of the University of Michigan and host Rina Miller discuss this confusing speech convention. As Professor Curzan points out, the inclination to use either “a” or “an” depends on the pronunciation of the “h” at the beginning of “historical.”

“Most American English speakers pronounce ‘h,’” says Curzan. “We’re not ‘h-droppers.’ In Britain a lot of the urban varieties of British English drop the ‘h,’ even in words like house you get ouse. But at the beginning of words in American English we tend to pronounce the ‘h’… so we’ll say a history.”

The issue when pronouncing historical, however, is that the stress has moved to the second syllable. This makes for a lighter-sounding “h,” and can change the article of the word.

“For speakers with a lightly pronounced ‘h,’ they will say ‘an historical,’” says Curzan. “It may be seen as a more proper pronunciation.”

Michigan ACLU declares Ann Arbor Public Schools' decision 'unconstitutional'

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 20:17:20 +0000

The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan said that Ann Arbor Public Schools' decision to charge students $100 per semester to take a seventh hour class is illegal, because it violates the State Constitution.

The ACLU's press release cited the Michigan Constitution, which says that "the Legislature shall maintain and support a system of free public elementary and secondary schools as defined by law."

It continued:

In Bond v Ann Arbor School District, the Michigan Supreme Court held that the guarantee of free public education extends to any school district activity that is considered a "necessary element of any school's activity" or an "integral fundamental part of the elementary and secondary education."

With a few changes, Weather Ball will remain in Flint's skyline

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 19:18:55 +0000

For decades, the Weather Ball has been an icon in Flint. It perches atop the Citizens Bank headquarters at 328 S. Saginaw Street.

FirstMerit bought the former Citizens Bank in September 2012.

Today, FirstMerit unveiled its plans to renovate the Weather Ball.

Jeremy Allen of MLive-Flint Journal covered the event: