Zoe Clark

Regulators Give OK to Enbridge's Plan to Restart Pipeline

Strong Storms Leave Thousands without Power

By using U.S. Census data, Eric Fischer has created a map that shows the racial integration of Detroit.  As Gawker.com explains, "one dot equals 25 people. The dots are then color-coded based on race: White is pink; Black is blue; Hispanic is orange, and Asian is green."   You can find the racial integration of other large U.S. cities here.

Corrections Budget Stalled

A Budget This Week (Maybe)

Legislative leaders in Lansing hope they can finalize the state's budget this week. By law the budget must be balanced by October 1st. It looks, as of now, that there are two issues holding up the budget negotiations: temporary amnesty for delinquent taxpayers and an early retirement proposal for state workers.

A Republican-led House?

With two weeks to go before the October 1st budget deadline, lawmakers are fighting over controversial science funding.  As Michigan Public Radio's Rick Pluta reports, the budget remains in limbo over a deal on stem cell research funding for the state's 15 public universities.

Republican Dr. Robert Steele is challenging Democratic incumbent John Dingell in this year's election. Congressman Dingell represents Michigan's 15th district and is the longest serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Kalamazoo River Clean Up Progressing

According to new data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau, 14% of people in Michigan last year lived in poverty.  As the Detroit News reports that is, "the highest for the state since it hit 14.1 percent in 1994.'' Nationally, in 2009, the poverty rate was 14.3%.  That means 1 in 7 people, or 43.6 million Americans, lived in poverty last year.

The Associated Press reports, 

A Hell-based car club will try to set a world record for the longest procession of hearses.  Just Hearse'N Around will try to set a new Guinness World records mark... Saturday.  Club member Steve Frey says to qualify for the record, each of the expected 50-plus hearses must be driven in procession for just over two miles.

A new poll released yesterday shows Republican Rick Snyder leading Democrat Virg Bernero in the race for Governor.  The EPIC-MRA poll surveyed 600 likely voters.  53% of respondents say they support Snyder, 29% favor Bernero and 15% say they are undecided.  The election is November 2nd.

Foreclosure Numbers Improve

Michigan's jobless rate remained steady from July to August.  The state umployment rate was 13.1%   The nation's August unemployment rate was 9.6%, up from 9.5% in July.  Michigan has the nation's second highest jobless rate.  Nevada has the highest.

Officials at Enbridge Energy are testifying before a House panel this afternoon in DC.  They're being questioned about their pipeline that broke in July near Marshall, MI and leaked more than 800,000 gallons of oil.

Governor Granholm is part of a delegation from the Great Lakes region that is meeting today with officials from the Obama administration. They're meeting in D.C. to discuss how to keep the invasive Asian Carp out of the Great Lakes.

The meeting also includes Governor Ted Strickland of Ohio and John Goss, the White House's newly appointed "Asian Carp Czar."

Officials from the Army Corps of Engineers and other federal agencies will also attend.