News

Military veterans who have a background in engineering or manufacturing can brush up on their skills with free training from a Detroit-area software company.

Siemens Product Lifestyle Management in Livonia is one of 22 locations across the country offering the classes.

A trio of Democratic lawmakers says the state needs to revamp its gun laws. 
 
A law proposed by Rep. Andy Schor, D-Lansing, would expand gun-free zones to include libraries and disallow open carrying of firearms in public buildings.

Another measure introduced by Rep. Vicki Barnett, D-Farmington Hills, would strengthen mental health services by requiring parity with other medical services.

EMU's Board of Regents unanimously approved a two-year contract extension for the university's president, Susan Martin, at a special meeting on Friday.

Last fall, the Board reprimanded Martin for problem drinking, and told her to seek counseling or lose her job.

There was no mention of the issue during the Board meeting, in which Martin was praised for leading Eastern "during a five-year period of significant growth in enrollment, academic success, and major upgrades to campus buildings and the University's infrasture," said Board chair Francine Parker.

Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero says he wants four more years in office. He formally announced his campaign today. 

“I’m telling you folks … Lansing is on the verge,” the partisan crowd groaned, and then laughed, as Virg Bernero joked at his campaign kickoff.

No doubt, public schools in Michigan are struggling.

Around 400 students in the Buena Vista school district in Saginaw have been shut out after the district announced they couldn't make payroll.

And it was revealed yesterday that Pontiac schools are close to running out of money and might have to close their doors early.

Each week, we talk Michigan politics with Susan Demas, political analyst for Michigan Information and Research Service, and Ken Sikkema, former Senate Majority Leader and Senior Policy Fellow at Public Sector Consultants.

This week the Buena Vista School District closed due to a lack of funds. The state took away funding because the district was taking money from the state for a program they were no longer operating.

Teachers in that district offered to work for free, but the district closed anyway. Now, the state says their hands are tied.

"Well this is a big issue. We haven't had a school district close because of lack of funding for 20 years. That was Kalkaska in 1993, which really precipitated the passage of Proposal A, school finance reform. Buena Vista is a small district...and these 400 kids have to be in the classroom. I don't think there is any question about that in anybody's mind. And, the state and local officials are going to have to figure out a way  to get these children back into a classroom immediately," said Sikkema.

Many Detroit fast food workers are on strike today. Workers from restaurants across the city walked off the job at 6 a.m. this morning.

Organizers of the strike expect workers from 60 restaurants to participate. These include McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Subway, Little Caesar’s, Burger King, and Popeye’s.

According to the Associated Press and Detroit pastor, Charles Williams II, workers want $15 an hour, better working conditions, and the right to unionize. The strike’s organizers claim that most fast food workers currently make $7.40 an hour, which is minimum wage in Michigan.

The Detroit News has interviewed workers involved in the strike. Claudette Wilson, Detroit resident and an employee at a Burger King on Eight Mile, said:

"I make $7.40 an hour, the same as when I started working in the fast food industry three years ago. We're the fastest-growing job market in the country with the lowest pay."

You know the old joke, "Doctor, it hurts when I do this?" and the doctor says, "Well, don't do that?"

That's not the case when it comes to arthritis and physical activity.

About two million Michiganders suffer from arthritis. According to state health officials, a sedentary lifestyle can make arthritis worse -- and make you more vulnerable to depression.

"People with arthritis pain do worry about whether those activities will exacerbate pain, and that can be a demotivator for them certainly in getting started," says Annemarie Hodges, who's a public health consultant in the arthritis program at the Michigan Department of Community Health.

How much do you know about Mark Schauer? Well, unless you are from Battle Creek, the answer is: Probably not nearly as much as you are going to know a year and a half from now. That’s because he is going to be the Democrats’ nominee for governor next year. That may surprise you.

Most normal humans aren’t thinking about next year’s elections. They are thinking about finally getting their lawn furniture out now that they are finally convinced it isn’t going to snow anymore.

But the Democrats are thinking about those elections. This has been a terrible last two years for them. They hate much of what Governor Rick Snyder and the Republican legislature has done, most of all, making this a right-to-work state.

They also hate the fact that they are utterly irrelevant in Lansing. The battles going on in state government these days are mainly between the Republican governor and his fellow Republicans who control both houses of the legislature.

Wolf hunt approved

"There will be a wolf hunt in the Upper Peninsula this fall. The state Natural Resources Commission OKed the hunt yesterday," Steve Carmody reports.

Pontiac and Buena Vista schools in financial trouble

"A Michigan report says the Pontiac School District's finances are in bleak shape and the district might not be able to make payroll soon. The district faces a  $37.7 million deficit. Meanwhile, the Buena Vista School District shut down this month after it ran out of money and couldn't pay teachers," the Associated Press reports.

Medicaid expansion proposed in House

"Republicans in the state House have introduced a bill to overhaul and expand Medicaid in Michigan. Among other things, it would limit able-bodied adults to four years in the program," Jake Neher reports.

A state board authorized a wolf hunt in the Upper Peninsula on Thursday.

The decision comes after months of passionate debate.

Carol Smith is one of many people who urged the Natural Resources Commission to reject the proposed wolf hunt in the U.P.

“I really worry about our state’s legacy if we allow wolf hunting,” Smith told the commission.

But there were also people who urged approval of the hunt.  And in the end, the commission voted six to one to authorize it.

A Saginaw area school district that's closed its doors has now asked the state to review its finances.

That's the first step toward a state appointed emergency manager.

But the move does not guarantee the District's 400 students will be back in class anytime soon.

The Buena Vista school board heard from parents and students last night, angry about the abrupt and apparent early end of the school year.

“If we don’t get these kids back in school…we’re going to be the ones who destroyed their lives,” one upset father told the school board.