jackson

Closings of Michigan airport control towers delayed

The Associated Press — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 19:49:00 +0000

DETROIT (AP) - The closings of three air traffic control towers in Michigan are among 149 nationwide that will be delayed.

The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it needs more time to deal with legal challenges to the closures announced because of government-wide spending cuts.

The planned tower shutdowns include those at W.K. Kellogg Airport in Battle Creek, Coleman A. Young in Detroit and Sawyer International in Marquette County's Sands Township.

Medical marijuana patients say they can't wait for new rules to be written in Michigan

Steve Carmody — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 21:01:36 +0000

More than a hundred medical marijuana patients and their supporters turned out for a rally in Jackson today. They’re concerned that legal wrangling is getting in the way of patient care.

A month ago, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that medical marijuana dispensaries are illegal.

The court's decision came in a case out of Mt. Pleasant.

Commuter rail cars to be tested between Pontiac and Jackson

Sarah Cwiek — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 19:02:06 +0000

Some refurbished commuter rail cars will start test runs in southeast Michigan today.

The stainless steel, bi-level cars will run on tracks between Pontiac and Jackson.

State officials hope the cars will eventually be used for separate commuter rail lines connecting Detroit and Ann Arbor, and Ann Arbor and Livingston County.

Janet Foran is with the Michigan Department of Transportation.

Jackson tearing down derelict homes

Steve Carmody — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 02:02:51 +0000

The city of Jackson is accelerating its home demolition program.

The city has torn down 31 homes during the past seven months.

Jackson mayor Martin Griffin says he's got the resources to do more, at a faster pace.

Vibrant cities adviser draws on DNR experience

The Associated Press — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 23:19:36 +0000

DETROIT (AP) - Gov. Rick Snyder's point man on the administration's vibrant cities initiative knows there's not a lot of spare money to invest in recreation and green space in Michigan cities.

But Rodney Stokes, the former leader of the state's Department of Natural Resources, sees a growing desire to expand urban trails, reclaim riverfronts for recreational use and offer outdoor activities. He's helped do that in Detroit, and sees potential elsewhere.

Jackson's Hot Air Jubilee will take off as scheduled this month

Steve Carmody — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 20:00:46 +0000

Jackson’s Hot Air Jubilee will go on as planned this month.

The city council approved the hot air balloon festival’s permits today.

Jackson's Cascades Falls is in need of repairs

Steve Carmody — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 05:01:01 +0000

Twenty thousand people are expected to attend the city of Jackson’s annual Fourth of July fireworks show at the Cascades Falls tonight.

The man-made Cascades Falls fountains have been a tourist attraction for 80 years. But a recent report says the fountains are in serious need of repair.

Allegiance soon to be Jackson's first teaching hospital

Tracy Samilton — Tue, 15 May 2012 22:21:47 +0000

The city of Jackson is getting its first teaching hospital.

Allegiance Hospital will soon start accepting medical students and residents to train them for their future practices.

Dr. John Lake is Allegiance's Program Director for Family Medicine.

He says the hospital's start up costs could run into the millions of dollars - but it will be worth it, because being a teaching hospital keeps instructing physicians "on their game," and having residents improves patient care.

"There will be time to spend with patients to explain a lot of things to them," says Lake, "And I think (in) more of a depth than we would normally have time for because (the residents) will be there 24/7."

Lake thinks having a teaching hospital will also be good for Jackson, providing a spark to the local economy.

He says about 20% of doctors end up practicing where they do their residency.

India-based IT company bringing jobs to Jackson

Steve Carmody — Fri, 11 May 2012 20:49:01 +0000

The city of Jackson’s economy is getting a big boost.

An India-based IT company announced today it will expand its operation in the mid-Michigan city.

HCL Technologies LLC is a global IT services company with 90 thousand employees. The training and development hub its opening in Jackson will create several hundred jobs during the next few years.

Rajeev Sawhney is a vice president with HCL. He says the training center should employ 300 people within the next two years.

"And possibly 500 people given that most of our Midwest clients have shown a lot of interest in wanting to avail of the facilities that will come out of this center in Jackson," says Sawhney.

HCL is partnering with Jackson-based Consumer Energy, which will allow the utility’s employees to receive advanced technology training.

The hundreds of new jobs will be welcome in Jackson, which like many Michigan cities has seen a long decline in job opportunities.

Prison-themed gift shop to open near the old Jackson State Prison

Jennifer Guerra — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 21:13:37 +0000

The city of Jackson is capitalizing on its long history as the site of a state prison.

In addition to guided prison tours, visitors can now buy prison-related items at the city’s new prison gift shop.

When the Jackson State Prison closed in 2007, it was turned into a live-work space for artists known as the Armory Arts Village. One of the women who lives there, Judy Gail Krasnow, gives guided tours of the historic prison.

She says lots of tourists asked about a gift shop, which didn’t exist. So she created one in the Art 634 building across from the old prison, and built it to look like an old prison cell. Krasnow says the Old Prison Gift Shop was "modeled after the cells at the first prison, which had brick walls, and the doors were those thick, iron bars."

Krasnow plans to sell art made by current and former prisoners through the University of Michigan's Prison Creative Arts Project (PCAP).

Michigan's falling unemployment rate not isolated to any part of the state

Steve Carmody — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 19:06:49 +0000

There’s new information showing Michigan’s drop in unemployment is spread out across most of the state.

Last week, the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget reported that the state’s unemployment rate had fallen to 8.8 percent. The last time the state’s jobless rate was below 9 percent was September of 2008.

New data from the state shows the decline was spread widely through Michigan.

Some local elected officials want to add sexual orientation to Michigan's civil rights law

Steve Carmody — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:54:17 +0000

A battle over gay and lesbian legal protections is heating up.

Sixty-five local elected officials have signed a letter supporting a bill that would add sexual orientation to the state civil rights act.

Derek Dobies is a city councilman in Jackson. He says this is an economic issue for Michigan.

“Given Michigan’s brain drain," says Dobies, "we need to do everything that we can…both at the local level and at the state level that’s within our power…to put a welcome sign on Michigan.”

Jon Hoadley is the director of the Unity Michigan Coalition. He says its important to have the support of local leaders in this statewide fight.

“We have elected officials in Grand Rapids…Kalamazoo and Jackson," says Hoadley, "cities big and small across the state saying ‘we think that non-discrimination protections are good for us and they’re good for Michigan’.”

Eighteen cities in Michigan have local ordinances against discrimination against gays and lesbians.

There is a bill in the state House to nullify those local ordinances.

Jackson judge removed for misconduct

Steve Carmody — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:46:23 +0000

The Michigan Supreme Court has removed a Jackson judge from the bench for misconduct, which included dismissing his own traffic tickets.

District Judge James Justin has been on suspension with pay since July of 2010. The judge had been under investigation for ‘fixing’ numerous traffic tickets issued to himself, his wife and members of his staff.

Judge Justin was also accused of dismissing cases without conducting court hearings. The Judicial Tenure Commission recommended last fall to remove Justin.

In its order removing Justin from the bench, the Michigan Supreme Court found the judge routinely “failed to follow the law, apparently believing that it simply did not apply to him.”

The judge’s attorney admits his client did wrong, but added that he deserved only an unpaid suspension. Justin has been on the bench since 1976.

Jackson launches home demolition program

Sarah Hulett — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:00:00 +0000

The city of Jackson is looking to get more aggressive with home demolitions. Officials razed two houses to kick off its Neighborhood Stabilization Program today.

Jackson Mayor Marty Griffin says as many as 600 homes in the city appear to be vacant.

"Most of these houses need more than $100,000 in repair," Griffin said. "And for a private person to step up to the plate and put that kind of money into a house that they’re going to be able to sell for $30,000 is just not going to happen."

Postal workers vow to fight planned closings

Steve Carmody — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 19:12:09 +0000

Postal workers plan to fight a proposal to close mail processing centers in Michigan.

Postal Service officials confirmed this week they plan to move forward with closing more than 200 processing centers nationwide next year. That includes facilities in a half dozen Michigan cities, including Lansing, Jackson and Kalamazoo.