Michigan Radio

No Hoffa: FBI officials call off search for Teamsters boss

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:13:08 +0000

A search for ex-Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa was called off this afternoon, Joseph Lichterman of Reuters reported.

On Monday, authorities from the FBI began digging in Oakland Township, MI in search of Hoffa's body. Anthony Zerrili, an 85-year-old alleged mobster tipped off the agency, saying that Hoffa had been hit with a shovel and buried alive in a field near Detroit.

Mike Duggan bows out of Detroit mayoral race

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:57:21 +0000

At a press conference early this morning, Mike Duggan announced he is officially withdrawing from Detroit’s mayoral race.

Detroit City councilman Kenyatta quitting on Friday

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:00:24 +0000

DETROIT (AP) - Detroit City Council member Kwame Kenyatta says he quitting Friday.

Kenyatta didn't give a specific reason to radio station WWJ, but he says the council is virtually powerless now that Detroit is being run by an emergency manager.

Kenyatta also has been dealing with health problems that he hasn't publicly discussed in detail. After two terms, he didn't plan to run for re-election this year.

Kenyatta has been critical of Mayor Dave Bing and the state's intervention in Detroit's poor finances. He made headlines in 2008 when he gave up on his foreclosed home, one of a handful of council members who had financial problems.

Detroit council members make about $74,000 a year.

Local government leaders begin 3 day meeting on Great Lakes issues

Steve Carmody — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:53:50 +0000

A three day conference is getting underway in Marquette today, looking at the unique needs of cities on the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.

More than a hundred American and Canadian cities are part of the group organizing the conference.

Dave Ulrich is the executive director of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.

He says this year’s conference is focusing on the effects of climate change on Great Lakes cities, particularly on water levels on the lakes.

Commentary: Are Pensions Sacred?

Jack Lessenberry — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:49:28 +0000

We didn’t have an early spring this year, but it looks like an early summer. I say that because while it is still technically spring, the authorities are already engaged in what has been a late summer Michigan ritual, digging up a field to look for Jimmy Hoffa.

Usually, it strikes me as strange that this case still gets so much attention, but this year we’ve been so overwhelmed with news from Detroit that we probably need a little escape.

This week in Michigan politics: Medicaid in the Senate, Snyder in Israel, Mike Duggan off the ballot

Jack Lessenberry, Emily Fox and Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:37:37 +0000

This week in Michigan politics, Jack Lessenberry and Emily Fox discuss the state of Medicaid expansion in the Michigan Senate, Governor Snyder's trade mission to Israel, and the political future of Mike Duggan in Detroit.

In this morning's news: Chrysler recall, disaster declaration in MI, Detroit Zoo and DIA saved

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:11:15 +0000

Chrysler waves the white flag

Chrysler is now agreeing to recall some 2.7 million older model Jeeps. At first, Chrysler refused to recall the cars and the company maintains the vehicles are not defective. Safety regulators say 1993 to 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees and 2002-2007 Jeep Liberty Vehicles can catch on fire when they're rear-ended. The design flaw has killed 51 people in fiery crashes.

Michigan counties will receive disaster relief

President Obama has approved a disaster declaration for 16 Michigan counties hard hit by spring floods. The declaration will help communities repair and rebuild roads, bridges and other public infrastructure damaged in the flooding. This does not include assistance for individuals or businesses. State and federal agencies will soon hold briefings across the state to help communities understand and start the application process.

The Detroit Zoo and the DIA are safe

Legislation was signed into law yesterday allowing the Detroit Zoo and the Detroit Institute of Arts to get millions of dollars in tax revenues as promised from the metro region. Several metro cities were skimming some of the revenue generated by multi-county millages voters approved to support the zoo and the museum.

Drug shortages are affecting children in the NICU

Jennifer Guerra — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:00:00 +0000

Our State of Opportunity project focuses on kids and what it will take to get them ahead. At the most basic level, that means ensuring children are healthy. But as Michigan Radio’s Jennifer Guerra reports, nationwide drug shortages could threaten even that most basic task.

We called every neonatal intensive care unit in Michigan, and all but one got back us. Each one has experienced or is experiencing a wide variety of drug shortages in the NICU.

President signs disaster declaration for 16 Michigan counties hard hit by spring floods

Steve Carmody — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:55:14 +0000

President Obama has approved a disaster declaration for 16 Michigan counties hard hit by spring floods.

Heavy rains in April and May inundated communities across the state.

The president’s disaster declaration will help communities repair and rebuild roads, bridges and other public infrastructure damaged in the flooding. The disaster declaration does not include assistance for individuals or businesses.

New laws will protect DIA and Detroit Zoo millage funding

Steve Carmody — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:17:07 +0000

The Detroit Zoo and the Detroit Institute of Arts will now get millions of dollars in tax revenues as promised from the metro region.

Several metro cities were capturing some of the revenue generated by multi-county millages voters approved to support the zoo and the museum.

The cities claimed they were allowed to by state law. A Wayne County Circuit Court decision supported that claim.

Annmarie Erickson is the Chief Operating Officer of the art museum. She credits the public’s outcry for the new legislation signed into law today.

To help Michigan's economy, we need to start 'thinking blue'

Stateside Staff — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:06:47 +0000

The term "economy" is used constantly in news stories or opinion pieces about Michigan, its trials and tribulations, its budding recovery.

But John Austin would like to get us all thinking about the "blue economy," the one that is based on the Great Lakes and water-related industry.

John is the director of the Michigan Economic Center, which is affiliated with the Prima Civitas Foundation, and he joined us in the studio today.

Listen to the full interview above.

New book tracks the Midwest economy from boom to bust

Stateside Staff — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:05:18 +0000

If you've grown up in Michigan---or elsewhere in the Midwest, you don't need us to tell you there's been an unbelievable shift in the lifestyle, the economy, the job expectations from, say, your parents' or grandparents' day to what we face in 2013.

Here in the Great Lakes, we've gone from the "Arsenal of Democracy" during World War II to the center of manufacturing, especially of automobiles, to present day, where many of those once-booming factories are empty and rotting away or falling to the wrecker's ball.

Writer Edward McClelland grew up in Lansing, where once upon a time a kid could go from a high school graduation ceremony right into a GM plant, make a great living thanks to contracts won by the UAW, and go right up to retirement. As we all know here in Michigan, those days are gone forever.

Edward McClelland's new book digs into what happened to the industrial midsection of America, including Michigan. It's called "Nothin' But Blue Skies: the Heyday, Hard Times, and Hopes Of America's Industrial Heartland."

Edward McClelland joined us here in the studio.

Listen to the full interview above.

Why do we still care about finding Jimmy Hoffa?

Stateside Staff — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:04:11 +0000

Here we go again.

The backhoe has been working away in a Michigan field surrounded by news trucks, satellite trucks and the breathless attention of local, national, and even overseas reporters.

It's yet another search for Jimmy Hoffa.

Federal agents revived the hunt for the remains of the Teamster president this week, bringing heavy excavation equipment to a field in Oakland Township, north of Detroit.

This time, the tip comes from an aging reputed Mafia captain.

Mr. Hoffa was supposed to be meeting with a New Jersey teamsters boss and a Detroit Mafia boss when he vanished in the summer of 1975 from a Detroit-area restaurant.

So 38 years later, why does anyone still care about where Jimmy Hoffa's body is buried?

Michigan Radio’s political analyst Jack Lessenberry joined us today in the studio.

Listen to the full interview above.

New project helps visually impaired individuals through birdsong

Stateside Staff — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:02:53 +0000

Helping blind children and adults connect with nature: that's Donna Posont’s mission.

She's the director of a group called Opportunities Unlimited for the Blind and one of their projects is called Michigan Birdbrains. The project involves teaching blind individuals how to identify birdcalls, and then taking them out on nature walks to find the birds. Not only does this help participants gain confidence, but it also promotes environmental consciousness.

Donna Posont joined us today to discuss the project further.

Listen to the full interview above.

Diver discovers a 97-year-old message in a bottle

Stateside Staff — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:01:52 +0000

In 2013, if you want to let the world know you're someplace having a good time, you might whip out your smartphone and tweet it or post a check-in or status update on Facebook.

97 years ago, you might write a message, roll it up, tuck it in a bottle and toss it into the St Clair River.

That's what a couple of young Detroiters did when they were having fun one summer's day at Tashmoo. That was a very popular amusement part on Harsen's Island on the northern end of Lake St Clair.

And why do we know about this message in a bottle? Because Dave Leander found the bottle as he was diving in the St Clair River.

Stateside for Tuesday, June 18th, 2013

Stateside Staff — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:59:50 +0000

It wouldn't be summer without a search for Jimmy Hoffa. We spoke with Michigan Radio's Jack Lessenberry about why we're still fascinated by the Hoffa disappearance all these years later.

And, we talked about the huge economic changes to mid-America with the author of the new book, "Nothin' But Blue Skies: the Heyday, Hard Times, and Hopes of America's Industrial Heartland."

And, Donna Posont, the director of Opportunities Unlimited for the Blind, joined us to discuss her group’s new project, Michigan Birdbrains.

Also, a diver found a bottle containing a message from nearly 100 years ago at the bottom of the St. Clair River. He joined us to talk about his discovery.

First on the show, the term “economy” is used constantly in news stories or opinion pieces about Michigan, its trials and tribulations, its budding recovery.

But John Austin would like to get us all thinking about the "blue economy," the one that is based on the Great Lakes and water-related industry.

John is the director of the Michigan Economic Center, which is affiliated with the Prima Civitas Foundation, and he joined us in the studio today.

Study shows Asian carp eggs could survive in tougher conditions than previously thought

Lindsey Smith — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:54:15 +0000

Wildlife managers could have a harder time controlling spawning Asian carp, if they escape into the Lake Michigan from Chicago-area shipping canals. That's according to a report released by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Elizabeth Murphy is a hydrologist with the USGS. She co-authored the study.

Murphy says new data shows fertilized Asian carp eggs can incubate in waterways that are only 16 miles long. That’s a lot less than the 62 miles scientists thought the drifting eggs needed.

Detroiters cautiously optimistic about Kevyn Orr's plan

Jennifer White and Michigan Radio Newsroom — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:53:22 +0000

Detroit's Emergency Manager, Kevyn Orr, has laid out his plan to restructure Detroit's finances, and he has spread the pain around.

He ended payment on unsecured debt, he is negotiating with creditors to take significantly less than the money they're owed, and he's looking to city employees and retirees to sacrifice financially as well.

The dig continues in hopes of finding Jimmy Hoffa

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:37:33 +0000

Update 6/19:

The search is over, Reuters reported this afternoon. FBI officials left the field in Oakland Township without a body.

Update 4:25 p.m.:

Detroit News reporter Tony Briscoe is tweeting live from the dig.

Court decision keeps Mike Duggan off Detroit mayoral ballot

Mark Brush — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:33:12 +0000

A split decision from the state Court of Appeals will keep Detroit mayoral candidate Mike Duggan off the ballot.