Tagged: democrats

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - A hearing is scheduled in Lansing on Wednesday on a package of bills that would prevent some patients from suing doctors for malpractice.

The hearing is 8 a.m. before the state Senate Insurance Committee in Lansing.

Leaders of the 16,000-member Michigan State Medical Society say the Patients First Reform Package closes a legal loophole that allows unnecessary suits to be filed and prevents trial lawyers from artificially inflating awards.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - The Michigan Senate is expected to vote on legislation that would end state-provided health care coverage in retirement for new public school hires and require current employees to pay more toward pensions.

The Wednesday legislative session is the only one scheduled for July. The Senate is expected to take up the bill passed last month by the House.

The bill doesn't contain earlier language that would force new teachers into a 401 (k)-style plan. The measure calls for studying how ending the pensions would affect the state.

The Democratic National Committee will hold a Platform Committee meeting next month in Detroit, a major stop on the road to party's September convention in Charlotte, N.C.

The Democratic Party announced yesterday that the platform committee will meet Aug. 10 through 12. Participants are expected to discuss the party's draft platform, submit amendments and present it to convention delegates at the Charlotte convention.

Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer said the decision to hold the meeting in Detroit highlights Michigan's political importance.

In a statement on the Michigan Democratic Party website, Brewer said,

The Platform Committee has the critical task of drafting and voting on a platform to present to the delegates at the Democratic National Convention in September, and we are honored to host the committee members in Detroit. This distinction shows how important Michigan is to the Democratic Party and to the 2012 election effort. We welcome the elected officials and dignitaries of the committee to Michigan.

The 2012 Republican National Convention will be held in Tampa, Fl. this August.

-Elaine Ezekiel, Michigan Radio Newsroom

You may not have realized this, but the best thing President Obama may have going for him in November is that the Detroit Tigers are having a pretty disappointing season.

That may sound nuts to you, but there is documented evidence of this:  Throughout history, whenever the Tigers have done spectacularly well in an election year, the Republicans almost always win. When they’ve disappointed fans, the Democrats usually triumph.