News

Say 'goodbye' to Spring. For now, at least. After unseasonably warm temperatures last week, winter weather has returned. As the Associated Press reports:

A winter storm that blew through the upper Midwest over the long Presidents Day weekend has dumped a hand bag of snow, sleet and ice on Michigan, canceling flights, closing schools and making driving treacherous for early morning commuters.

The National Weather service in White Lake Township says by Monday morning six to 10 inches of snow fell on southern Michigan since the storm began Sunday afternoon.

Officials were urging people to stay off the roads if possible, rather than risk driving on icy roads or through wind-driven snow.

Hundreds of flights were canceled at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. AAA Michigan spokeswoman Nancy Cain tells The Detroit News that by early Sunday evening, about 1,900 requests for assistance in spinouts and minor accidents had been taken.

Kalamazoo Public Schools and Flint Public Schools are closed today. The U-M Dearborn campus is closed as well.

Senior aides to Governor Rick Snyder say they don’t expect the massive budget protests in Wisconsin will spread to Michigan. Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley says Governor Snyder’s style is less combative than that of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Calley also says he expects most critics of the Snyder budget will be persuaded to change their minds. He says that’s because tough choices this year will avert the need for more cuts in the future.

“Number one, we’re not going to kick the can down the road. Number two, we’re not going to employ one-time gimmicks and quick fixes and those sorts of things. We’re actually going to fix it so that, take a look at Year Two – this actually does solve the problem so going forth, we can actually spend more time on, where do we go from here? How do we work and grow together?"

Nevertheless, some public employee and retiree groups are trying to organize a protest march on Lansing this week. They oppose a demand for public employees to pay more of their health care costs, and a proposed end to the tax exemption on pension income. Governor Snyder presented his budget proposal to state lawmakers last Thursday.

Musicians of the Detroit Symphony orchestra have rejected management’s latest contract offer.  

The musicians' union says while salary cuts had been agreed upon, other issues, including employee health care deductibles were unacceptable.

Spokesman Greg Bowens says management's offer called for an 800 percent increase in their deductible.

DSO president and CEO Ann Parsons says most people have been affected by changes in health care costs.

Striking Detroit Symphony Orchestra musicians have voted to reject what management has called its final labor contract offer.

The announcement Saturday by the musicians dashes hope for a quicker end to the more than four-month, contentious walkout.

The symphony has responded by saying it has released artists and conductors from their contracts and suspended all remaining orchestral concerts through the end of the season in June.

Wayne State University will offer certificate programs in advanced energy storage. Courses will focus on things like electric vehicle batteries, and updating the electric grid to handle electric vehicle charging.

Jay Baron is the president of the Center for Automotive Research. He says the car industry is clamoring for engineers with those skills:

"When you speak to any of the auto companies, they will tell you: if you’ve got a field of study that has the term 'battery' or 'energy storage' in it, you’ve piqued the interest. My daughter is looking for a job, and I’ve told her if there’s any way she can get 'battery' into the title of her degree, she’d do much better."

Baron says several universities are retooling their engineering programs to incorporate more battery-related course offerings.

But he says there are lingering questions about the long-term viability of the electric vehicle market.

Michigan now has its first-ever statewide advocacy group devoted to black-owned businesses.

The Michigan Black Chamber of Commerce will introduce its leaders and goals at a press conference in Detroit Monday.

Ken Harris is the group’s president and CEO. He says the number of black-owned businesses in Michigan is growing at three times the national rate:

"We want to identify emerging markets that we’re successful in currently, and then more importantly we want to move into areas where we’re not participating."

Harris says the organization will also lobby in Lansing and Washington DC, and there are plans for local branches in several Michigan cities. The group plans a convention in Detroit in June.

The Lansing library system has been granted a temporary restraining order to keep people from bringing weapons into its facilities.

The Capital Area District Library says about two months ago, people began coming into the library openly carrying guns. They claimed to have the right to do that under Michigan’s Firearms and Ammunitions Act.

Gary Bender is the library’s attorney.

He says the library is exempt from that law because it is not a local unit of government and is allowed to ban weapons at its locations.

A Michigan lawmaker broke away from his party this week when he voted against an amendment to eliminate a military jet engine program.

A different version of the engine for the F-35 stealth fighter would have assured a backup in case of a breakdown of the original engine,or for different kinds of missions.

But Pentagon officials, the Obama administration and the Tea Party said they didn’t want the program.

Cutting it would save about three billion dollars.

U.S. Rep.  Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, says he voted to keep it for other reasons.

The company handling the liquidation sales at some 200 Borders Books stores announced today the sales will begin Saturday.   Hilco Merchant Resources of Chicago issued a press release saying the liquidation will begin with 20 to 40% on all merchandize with some exceptions. Over $350 million of inventory including books, magazines, music and movie media, calendars, posters and more will be liquidated.  

Governor Rick Snyder has asked the Legislature to reverse an employment panel’s decision to allow un-married state workers to claim their live-in partners on their benefits.  

The governor’s letter gives the Legislature 60 days to overturn the state Civil Service Commission’s decision. Reversing the independent Civil Service Commission will require two-thirds majorities in the House and the Senate. Both are controlled by Republicans, but getting to the necessary super-majorities is not guaranteed.  

The state Senate approved a measure this week that would allow local governments to once again prohibit Sunday morning liquor sales. 

The measure would allow local governments to opt out of the Sunday morning liquor law approved by the Legislature late last year. Lawmakers who sponsored the new measure say the opt-out was always supposed to be included in the original package, but was accidentally left out because it was slapped together and approved during hasty lame-duck negotiations. 

Governor Rick Snyder wants to cut state funding for K-12 schools by about four percent, or roughly $470 per student.

School districts across the state are now combing through their budgets to see where those cuts could be made.

Tom Goulding is deputy superintendent for West Bloomfield public schools. He says the proposed cuts, which amount to $3.2 million for Goulding's district, don't come as a complete surprise, but they're still "problematic" just the same:

"For example, that type of a cut, if you looked at certain departments or services, could wipe out our K-12 transportation system; not that it would, but the dollars are equivalent to that. Or, based on our total payroll to make up the $3.2 million, it would mean approximately an 8.5% pay cut for each employee working for our school district."

Goulding says neither of those options would go over well in his district.

Governor Rick Snyder (and Budget Director John Nixon) presented the 2011 budget to a joint session of the Michigan legislature yesterday.

Michigan Radio's Jennifer White hosted a call-in show, “Funding Our State,” to take a look at the state of the state’s budget, which is currently facing a 1.8 billion dollar budget deficit for the new fiscal year that begins October 1st.

To find out what this budget means for educators, for finances, for business, and for you, click the link below.

The Changing Gears special program "Power and Performance" examines the roles of leadership and the economic fortunes of three Midwestern cities: Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit.

Can a strong mayor change a city by sheer will? Is quiet determination a better course of action? What difference has the quality of leadership made across the Great Lakes?

The show, hosted by Mike McIntyre, takes a look at how these cities are adapting to face new issues and also examine what problems they have that resist easy solutions.

Michiganders might get a glimpse of nature's greatest light show tonight and tomorrow.   Recent solar flares are expected to create a spectacular aurora borealis. 

The weather forecast tonight calls for potentially ideal conditions with clear skies (though with temperatures falling through the 20's you might want to bundle up).  There's a chance for more clouds Saturday night ( It should also be colder).   Don't miss your chance to see the "Dance of the Spirits".