Tonight's the night! ArtPrize winners to be announced

Kate Wells — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 21:18:39 +0000

Start practicing your drum rolls, people.

It's ArtPrize's big night, with some $560,ooo ready to be handed out to the winners in downtown Grand Rapids this evening.

With voting closed as of midnight today, let's go over the rules one last time: the public votes for one set of winners, and a jury selects their own favorites. Organizers are hoping there'll be some overlap, as they're trying to keep the more avant-garde artists involved in ArtPrize, and not just the big crowd-pleasers.

Stateside: Patricia Polacco's new book, 'Bully'

Stateside Staff — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 17:35:35 +0000

Bullying, according to Michigan author Patricia Polacco, now follows children home.

Told through the eyes of Lyla Dean, Polacco’s new book Bully investigates the contemporary world of cliques and online bullying.

Because of social networking sites like Facebook, children are no longer able to evade bullying outside of school.

“Before, it was bad enough that you had to go to school and be teased. But at least you had the safety of your own home. Now with computers, they reach you at home,” says Polacco.

U.S. 127 closed in both directions after semi accident

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 16:36:20 +0000

Both directions of U.S. 127 traffic near Mason will be closed for the rest of today after a semi crash.

The Lansing State Journal reports the highway was first closed early this morning after a northbound semi carrying 10,300 gallons of a liquid asphalt overturned, spilling its load just south of Kipp Road.

In this morning's Michigan news headlines...

Zoe Clark — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 11:05:11 +0000

Casino Ballot Proposal

Opponents of a ballot proposal to allow 8 new casinos in Michigan are celebrating. The state appeals court ruled that the ballot proposal goes against Michigan’s constitution. Lindsey Smith reports:

A group of current casino owners said the ballot question is illegal because it isn't clear what laws it would change. So the opponents challenged it in court. "The current constitution say that if you’re going to make changes to an act or something in the constitution you have to identify for the voters what you’re changing. They did that nowhere in the proposal,” said John Truscott, spokesman for the group. Michigan’s Court of Appeals agreed. The court said the ballot initiative would change the Michigan Gaming Control and Revenue Act if voters passed it. Supporters say they will appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court.

DPS Finances

A Wayne County judge has issued a mixed ruling in a case that pits the Detroit Public Schools’ emergency manager against the district’s elected school board. “Since the emergency manager law was suspended last week, some elected officials have tried to reverse decisions made by emergency managers. That’s the case in the Detroit Public Schools, where the elected school board has moved to un-do some actions of emergency manager Roy Roberts. Roberts sued to stop that, and Judge Stephen Murphy has ruled those decisions remain in effect—for now. Murphy also ruled that Roberts is still charge of the district’s finances, but the board has control over academics,” Sarah Cwiek reports.

Tree Health

Two popular tree species are under attack in Michigan and now, state foresters are hoping to harvest some healthy trees before they’re killed off. “Forests throughout Michigan are undergoing big changes as millions of beech and ash trees are killed by pests and disease. Beech Bark Disease and the Emerald Ash Borer first arrived in Michigan around twelve years ago. Both problems continue to spread, but many forests still have healthy trees in them. Foresters from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Michigan Tech are taking a closer look at more than 30,000 acres of state forest land. The DNR says the goal is not to remove all beech or ash trees in these forests, but to thin them to a healthier level,” Mark Brush reports.

In this morning's Michigan news headlines...

Zoe Clark — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 12:21:00 +0000

Detroit Finances

Detroit’s Financial Advisory Board met for the fourth time yesterday.The nine-member board has significant powers over the city’s budget under Detroit’s consent agreement with the state. Sarah Cwiek reports:

City officials told the board that the sweeping restructuring of city operations is largely going ahead as planned. The first major step—a 10-percent pay cut for nearly all city union employees—will go into effect within days. But Detroit City Council member Gary Brown warned that a Council fiscal analysis shows the city still running a significant deficit. Brown says the Council wants to address that debt through budget amendments as soon as possible. Detroit’s Chief Financial Officer, Jack Martin, says Mayor Bing’s office plans to submit budget amendments to Council by the end of September.

Palisades Update

Workers at the Palisades nuclear plant have found the source of a leak that caused the plant to shut down over the weekend. “The leak is inside the building that holds the nuclear reactor. The heat generated by the reactor is restrained in part by 45 control rods. A Palisades spokesman says the source of the leak is at least one of those control rods, which they will replace. He says they don’t know why the rod is leaking. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has sent a special inspector to oversee the repairs. It’s unclear how long they will take,” Lindsey Smith reports.

MI Fireworks

An ad hoc state House workgroup will review Michigan’s new fireworks law and could recommend some changes. “The law allows licensed retailers to sell high-powered fireworks.The law also forbids local governments from banning fireworks on the day before, the day of, and the day after a national holiday. State Representative Harold Haugh is the author of the law and co-chairs the workgroup. Haugh says he’s open to tweaks in the law, but considers it a success, by and large. At least one state lawmaker has called for allowing local governments to ban selling or shooting high-powered fireworks," Rick Pluta reports.