Sarah Hulett

Concerns remain over what the Obama administration's proposed budget could mean for the Selfridge Air National Guard base in Macomb County.

Rep. Candice Miller (R-Shelby Twp.) says she's far from satisfied with the Obama administration's latest proposal to mitigate cuts to the Air National Guard. Miller's district includes the Selfridge base. Selfridge stood to lose hundreds of jobs under the Pentagon's original budget proposal for next year.　

After pressure from Congress and governors, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has come out with a proposal that would keep more C-130 aircraft in the National Guard. Panetta says that would restore 2,200 Air Guard jobs across the United States.　

Miller calls the plan "a slap in the face."

"Certainly I think the men and women of the Air National Guard deserve better than to be given more than old airplanes and temporary jobs," Miller said.

Selfridge no longer has C-130s. But it did before a 2005 base realignment. Rep. Sander Levin(D-Royal Oak)  says the development is promising, and that he'll push for basing some of the aircraft at Selfridge again.

A group with plans to build a privately funded light rail line in Detroit says it has the money it needs to construct it, and to run it for ten years. Backers laid out their case in a feasibility study submitted to the federal government.

The M-1 rail line would run along a three-mile stretch of Woodward Avenue in Detroit.

Supporters say it’s an important project – especially at a time when the city of Detroit is cutting back dramatically on its spending.

"We view the M-1 initiative as a real catalyst for economic development along this entire downtown district that is undergoing a bit of a renaissance already, but we think this can even jump-start it.," said M-1 Rail President Matt Cullen.

The project was nearly derailed late last year – after Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and Governor Rick Snyder pulled their support in favor of a rapid bus system. The mayor and governor now say they think both projects should move forward.

If and when a regional transit authority for southeast Michigan gets off the ground, the idea is to hand the system over to that authority.

"Our aspiration to own and operate a rail system long-term," Cullen said. "It’s a group of philanthropists that have put this together."

Construction is expected to begin in early 2013, and be completed in 2015.

Governor Rick Snyder has put Highland Park schools parents on notice that the district is in danger of closing next month.

The warning came in a letter Snyder sent to parents. It says the district’s finances have reached a crisis stage, and that Highland Park might not be able to finish the school year without state intervention.

"We were hearing lots of concerns, lots of frustration" the governor's spokeswoman, Sara Wurfel, said of the letter. "And so we just wanted to make sure we were communicating directly so they could hear from the governor, and he could begin to help answer those questions as best we can at the time."

But Highland Park school board secretary Robert Davis says the letter serves little purpose other than to scare parents, "and in turn may cause some parents to take their kids out of the district, which will further cripple the Highland Park school system."

The district's cumulative deficit is more than $11 million. Two weeks ago, the state had to front the district money to meet payroll.

A state review team has recommended that Governor Snyder appoint an emergency manager to run the district. Governor Snyder is expected to make a final decision once he receives a report from the state Treasury Department from a hearing held last week, at which district officials opposed state intervention.

A lesbian couple from metro Detroit is suing to overturn a state law that prevents same-sex couples from jointly adopting children.

"We're doing anything any parent would do," said April DeBoer, who has adopted a daughter, 2. Her partner Jayne Rowse has adopted two sons, ages 3 and 2. But they are prevented by state law from adopting the children jointly.

"I am not recognized [by the state]," DeBoer said. "I'm a legal stranger to my sons."

The couples' attorneys say the law’s effects on DeBoer's and Rowse's three children are “devastating.”

Detroit residents interested in Mayor Dave Bing’s planning project for the city have a place to go for information. The Detroit Works long-term planning team has just opened a walk-in office in Eastern Market.