News

A woman from Monroe, Michigan made news last week when she sold her hand written letter from President Barack Obama for $7,000.

Governor-elect Rick Snyder has begun to appoint his new administration in Lansing and there are some familiar faces among the new appointees. Snyder chose current Democratic Speaker of the House, Andy Dillon, to be the state's new Treasurer. Snyder also appointed Dick Posthumus, former lieutenant governor under John Engler, to be his senior advisor.

General Motors announced this morning that it made $2 billion in the third quarter.  The Associated Press reports:

The profit was fueled by GM's international operations and strong revenue from newly introduced car and crossover models in North America.

The automaker's actual revenue rose 36% to a little more than $34 billion.  This was the third-straight quarter in which GM was profitable.

Lawmakers at the state Capitol continued to choose legislative leaders yesterday. In the Senate: Republican state Senator Randy Richardville of Monroe was elected as the next Senate Majority Leader.

New Leaders in Lansing

Kathy Barks Hoffman, of the Associated Press, has a great piece in the South Bend Tribune that takes a look at what went wrong for Democrats in the state before Election Day.  She writes:

Michigan Democrats started 2010 with their main candidate for governor withdrawing from the race, donors feeling the pinch of the poor economy and the drag of Gov. Jennifer Granholm's unpopularity hanging around their necks.

On November 2nd, Republicans won the Governor's office and the races for Attorney General and Secretary of State.  The GOP also widened their majority in the state Senate and won control of the state House of Representatives from the Democrats.

Hoffman notes that Democratic voters did not turn out to the polls like they did in the 2006 gubernatorial election.  She sites data from political strategist Ed Sarpolus that shows 300,000 fewer Democrats voted compared to four years ago.

Hoffman cites other reasons for the Democrat's loses:

• Independent voters swung toward the GOP
• Democrats didn't know very much about their candidates
• Democratic candidate for governor Virg Bernro couldn't match Republican candidate (and now governor-elect) Rick Snyder's fundraising
  

Wayne County will soon be home to a new Children's Advocacy Center for victims of abuse and neglect. Right now, the county is one of the few in Michigan that doesn't have a center like this.

You can find a list of the Child Advocacy Center's in the state here.

Wayne County does not have one, central place children can go to get help if they've suffered abuse or neglect.

Amind a continuing strike by its musicians, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra has canceled concerts through November 28th.  The Associated Press reports:

Andrew Shirvell Fired

Officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency briefed people at a meeting last night in Battle Creek about the continuing clean-up of the Kalamazoo River oil spill.  EPA officials say they've finished cleaning up 50 sites in the river. 

Governor-elect Rick Snyder announced this morning in Ann Arbor that he has picked Democrat Andy Dillon to be state treasurer.  Dillon is currently the Speaker in the Michigan House of Representatives.  Interestingly enough, Dillon lost the Democratic bid to be Michigan's next governor to his primary opponent Virg Bernero.  Bernero went on to lose the general election on November 2nd to Snyder.

Chrysler says it narrowed its losses in the 3rd quarter of this year. The automaker reported a net loss of $84 million from July through September. That’s less than half of its $172 million loss in the second quarter. The automaker says this was the third quarter in a row of better-than-expected financial results.

Snyder Filling Positions in New Administration

Update 8:34 AM:

The Associated Press is reporting Govenror-elect Rick Snyder has chosen House Speaker Andy Dillon to be the state's next treasurer.  Former Lt. Gov Dick Posthumus will be his legislative affairs advisor.

7:16 AM:

Three female artists have spent two years road-tripping around the small, often rural towns between Toledo and Detroit. They've talked to anyone they met.

Martine MacDonald is one of the artists. She says, “People have a deep connection to the area in which they live and work."  She also says the people they've met have been incredibly open and willing to share their stories with the artists.

The art exhibit is called “Toledo to Detroit: A Curious Journey on the Old Indian Trail." It’s at the Biddle Gallery in Wyandotte until November 13th. 

Acclaimed American mezzo-soprano and soprano Shirley Verrett has died at age 79, in Ann Arbor.  New Orleans-born Verrett was one of the top black opera singers of the 1970s and 1980s. She taught at the University of Michigan.

Here's a great excerpt from a speech she once gave to her students:

In 2008, the state estimates there were a little more than 86,000 people without a home. Half of them were families.

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra musicians have been on strike for a full month. Concerts have been canceled through this weekend. But now comes word that both sides have agreed to enter informal talks to try to end the work stoppage.

Here's the latest proposal that was on the table to deal with a $9 million budget gap:

Musicians proposed a temporary 22 percent pay cut.

It appears that Republican state Senator Randy Richardville, who represents Michigan's 17th Senate District, will be the state's next Senate Majority Leader.  On it's Facebook page, the Gongwer News Service says, "Richardville is assured election... as incoming Senator John Pross will drop out of the race."  

It's that time of year again... time to turn back the clocks.  We'll gain an hour this Sunday, November 7th when we change back to Standard Time at 2 a.m.  Dayight Saving Time officially returns on the second Sunday in March when we jump forward an hour.