Tagged: morning news roundup

Feds Coming to Detroit

The Obama administration unveiled a federal program yesterday aimed at helping cities like Detroit revitalize parts of their urban centers. “The Strong Cities, Strong Communities program will target Detroit, Fresno, Memphis, Cleveland, New Orleans, and Chester, Pa… Officials say the program seeks to cut through federal red tape by providing communities with technical assistance to ensure federal and local dollars are spent wisely. Federal representatives will help Detroit Mayor Dave Bing tackle issues he had identified as ‘vital to their economic strategies, including efforts to build on local assets, strengthen regional economies, develop transportation infrastructure, improve job-training programs and support community revitalization,’” Mark Brush reports.

Thousands Still without Power

Utilities companies say about 90,000 homes and businesses remain without electricity a day after severe thunderstorms and strong winds moved across the lower half of the state. The Associated Press reports:

At least 191,000 customers lost power following Monday's storms. CMS Energy Corp. says Tuesday morning about 42,000 of its customers still were without power. DTE Energy Co. tells WDIV-TV and WWJ-AM about 47,000 of its customers remained blacked out… The storms hit as southern Michigan was already seeing a dangerous mix of high temperatures and high humidity.

Services for Ford

About a thousand people will attend a funeral for former First Lady Betty Ford today. The invitation-only service will take place in Palm Desert, California. Tomorrow, Mrs. Fords’ body will be flown to Michigan where a public viewing will take place in the evening at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids. A private service is planned for Thursday in East Grand Rapids.

Many Still Powerless

Crews are still working to restore electricity to about 11,000 homes and businesses across the state after this weekend’s severe thunderstorms. The Associated Press reports:

DTE Energy Co. says Tuesday morning that those without power included about 10,000 in Wayne County and about 1,000 in St. Clair County. DTE says it hopes to restore electrical service to as many as possible by day's end… The storms on Saturday generated 2-inch-wide hail and winds gusting to 64 mph that knocked down trees and power lines and left 125,000 utility customers in the dark.

Teen Driving

A new bill could change driving restrictions for Michigan;s teens. The measure would allow teen drivers on the road between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. if they were driving to and from school activities, such as sporting events. Currently, teens can only drive between those hours if they are commuting to and from work. The bill would also allow a teen to drive between those hours if a parent or legal guardian was in the car with them.

Insurance Reforms for the Fall?

Will Governor Snyder propose sweeping changes to insurance regulations this fall? That’s a question floating around the state Capitol. Laura Weber reports:

The discussion [over insurance reform] began when Snyder recently said that negotiations over repealing Michigan’s motorcycle helmet law should be part of a larger discussion on insurance reform. But, even Republican Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville is unclear on what other proposals the governor many want… Richardville says he has been discussing a repeal of the helmet law with Governor Snyder since the beginning of the year.

Reports: McCotter Ready to Enter 2012 Presidential Race

There are reports out this morning, quoting many unnamed sources, that Republican Congressman Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan is planning on jumping into the 2012 presidential race.  From the Associated Press:

A person familiar with the plans of Michigan Congressman Thaddeus McCotter says the Republican will make a "major announcement" Saturday about whether he will run for president in 2012. A person in contact with the Livonia congressman told The Associated Press yesterday that McCotter will address whether he'll seek the Republican presidential nomination.

Lawmakers Finish Work For the Summer

State lawmakers worked into the evening yesterday, finishing up their work before a two month summer break begins. Lawmakers worked on teacher tenure rules, the House passed another version of a bill that would require many public employees to pay more of their health insurance costs, and the House also approved a measure to regulate hunting ranches as an alternative to new regulations that would outlaw wild boar.

For Sale: Borders

Borders has agreed to sell itself to private investment firm Najafi Cos. for $215 million, according to the Associated Press. “Najafi, which owns the Book-of-the-Month Club, will also assume $220 million in debt. The agreement is tentative and what is known as a ‘stalking horse’ bid for a company under bankruptcy protection. The bid will open an auction for the bookseller and its assets, so a higher bid is possible. A bankruptcy court hearing on the deal is set for July 21,” the Associated Press reports.

Redistricting Maps Head to Governor

The Republican-led state Senate approved new redistricting maps yesterday. They now head to Governor Snyder’s desk for his signature. But, it appears, that’s not the end of the story. There are reports this morning that the maps will likely be challenged in court. Democrats are unhappy with the maps. As the Detroit News explains, “Democrats claimed throughout the review process that wildly irregular districts — especially in Metro Detroit — were engineered to protect Republican incumbents.” Due to a loss of population in the past ten years, Michigan will go from having 15 U.S. Representatives to 14.

Benton Harbor EM: City Budget Will Break Even this Year

Benton Harbor’s Emergency Manager Joe Harris told residents at a town hall meeting yesterday evening that the city will be able to break even this budget year. In fact, Harris says, the city could run a $400,000 surplus for this fiscal year. Lindsey Smith reports that many of the residents appeared to be relived at the news but some remained skeptical. Harris plans to release his complete budget online by the end of the week.

New Rules for Juries

Beginning this fall, people serving on Michigan juries will be allowed to play a more active role in the pursuit of justice, Steve Carmod reports. From Carmody:

The Michigan Supreme Court announced yesterday that it is revising the rules for people serving as jurors. Until now, jurors were generally expected to sit back, watch the proceedings and wait until both sides had wrapped up their arguments before being able to even discuss the case with other members of the jury. But beginning September 1st, jurors will be allowed to take notes, discuss the case and even ask questions. Many other states, including Arizona and Massachusetts, have implemented similar new rules for serving on a jury.  The Michigan Supreme Court has been studying possible changes to juror rules since 2005.

Redistricting Maps One Step Closer to Approval

New Republican-drawn maps for Michigan's congressional and state legislative districts have moved closer to becoming final, reports the Associated Press. “The Republican majority on the Senate Redistricting Committee approved a congressional map Tuesday, sending it to the full Senate for consideration later this week. Meanwhile, the Republican-led Michigan House approved versions of maps that would redraw districts for the state House and Senate. Republicans control the redistricting process with majorities in the Legislature, and Democrats have had little luck altering them since the GOP maps were released June 17. Democrats unveiled their own congressional map Tuesday but were unable to get the Senate committee to adopt it or alter the Republican-drawn map,” the AP explains.

Bing Says No More to Negotiating Budget with City Council

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing says there’s no more reason to negotiate with City Council over the city's next budget. That means he’ll be implementing the Council-approved budget, even though he maintains it will mean devastating cuts. Sarah Cweik reports:

Bing and the Council have been wrestling for months over how much money to cut from next fiscal year’s budget. Council wants to cut $50 million more than Bing. Bing then proposed an amendment to restore $30 million, but Council voted that down Tuesday… Council members insist their budget cuts wouldn’t cause layoffs, and say Bing is using scare tactics to get his way.

The 2012 fiscal year begins July 1st.

Student Test Results Released

Results of the Michigan Merit Exam have been released by the Michigan Department of Education. Jennifer Guerra reports:

All Michigan high school juniors take the test in the spring to see how well-prepared they are for college. The MME tests students in reading, writing, math, science and social studies. Students' math, science and writing scores inched up over last year, but scores in social studies and reading went down. Martin Ackley, a spokesperon for the Department of Education, prefers to look at trends when it comes to test results, not just year-to-year data. He says he is "encouraged" student scores have been trending upward over the past five years, but he says the results "aren't where they need to be overall. We’d like to see them obviously higher than they are now." About 109,000 students took this year’s exam, nearly half of whom tested not proficient in writing and math.

Redistricting Continues

Michigan Democrats plan to introduce their own redistricting map at a state Senate hearing today.  Republicans have already released their maps and pretty much control the redistricting process as they hold majorities in both the state House and Senate. Michigan will go from 15 to 14 U.S. Representatives because of the state’s population loss. A copy of the Democrat's map was obtained by the Associated Press. The map, as the AP notes, would, “pit Republican incumbent Thad McCotter of Livonia against Democratic incumbent Gary Peters of Oakland County's Bloomfield Township and avoid extending a Detroit district up to Pontiac…The GOP map pits Peters against fellow Democratic incumbent Sander Levin.”

Dems to GOP: Restore School Funding

House Democrats are once again calling on Governor Snyder and state GOP lawmakers to restore money cut from public schools. Democratic lawmakers are traveling the state to bring attention to the funding issue. Lindsey Smith reports:

The state will provide K -12 schools about 2 percent less money than last fiscal year. The state public education fund had a surplus this spring. Some of the surplus money from the state’s school aide fund is being used for the first time to fund community colleges and public universities.

Coal Costing the State?

A new report from the Michigan Environmental Council says Michigan’s oldest coal-burning power plants are costing state residents $1.5 billion dollars in health care costs each year, Rebecca Williams reports. From Williams:

The report focuses on the state’s nine oldest coal-burning power plants.  It highlights particle pollution.  This type of pollution comes from power plants and factories as well as car and trucks. James Clift, policy director for the MEC, says these tiny particles are linked to a variety of heart and lung problems, including asthma. DTE Energy owns four of the power plants targeted in the report.  John Austerberry, a spokesperson with DTE, says,“all Detroit Edison power plants meet or exceed federal standards for sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions.  And it’s those constituents that can contribute to the formation of fine particles under certain atmospheric conditions.” The report calls on DTE and Consumers Energy to gradually phase out the oldest coal-burning power plants.

EM Law Faces  Lawsuit:

A group opposed to the state’s new emergency manager law has filed a lawsuit seeking to reverse it, Rick Pluta reports. From Pluta:

The lawsuit says the emergency manager law undermines voters’ rights to choose their elected officials. That’s because the law allows state-appointed emergency managers sweeping powers - including the ability to remove elected officials who don’t cooperate…The lawsuit names Governor Rick Snyder and state Treasurer Andy Dillon as the defendants. The Detroit pension board has also filed a lawsuit challenging the law. Governor Snyder’s office says the law is both constitutional and necessary to help the state’s most financially troubled communities. Benton Harbor, Pontiac, Ecorse and the Detroit school district are currently under the control of emergency managers.

Kalamazoo River Cleanup Continues

Cleanup crews are on the Kalamazoo River this week collecting oil that remains at the bottom of the river from last July’s oil spill. Enbridge Energy, the company that owns the pipeline that leaked the oil says more than 90 percent of the 840,000 gallons of heavy crude have already been cleaned up. About 220 people will be along the river for this week’s cleanup and an Enbridge Energy spokesperson says she expects several more hundred will be on hand in the coming weeks.

Changes to Medical Marijuana Law?

Members of the Michigan legislature are considering several bills that would amend the state’s medical marijuana law. “One bill would create a database of marijuana license holders. Another would ban marijuana dispensaries from operating within 1,000 feet of schools and churches. A third would bar citizens from suing cities that restrict or ban marijuana dispensaries... Michigan passed the Medical Marijuana Act in 2008,” Bridget Bodnar reports.

Budget Complete

Governor Rick Snyder has signed a new state budget into law. The budget is for the fiscal year that begins October 1st. The budget preserves funding for Medicaid health care, but cuts money for schools, universities, and local governments, Rick Pluta reports. “The governor says tough choices were necessary to retire a $1.5 billion deficit. And, he says that was done without accounting tricks and one-time fixes. The governor says the budget will help create a more inviting environment for businesses and young people,” Pluta reports.

Funding Grand Rapids

Elected officials in Grand Rapids adopted a budget for 2012 yesterday. The plan closes a $6 million budget gap in the city’s general fund. Lindsey Smith reports:

Grand Rapids took a couple measures last year to keep their budget out the red. Grand Rapids expects to deal with operating deficits until 2015, when city officials says city government will become financially sustainable again. The long term budget plan eliminates $80 million in operating deficits over the next five years.

Stormy Weather

Authorities say severe thunderstorms yesterday evening produced high winds that damaged two hangars at Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, injuring at least three people, the Associated Press reports. From the AP:

WOOD-TV reports members of the Civil Air Patrol were preparing for natural disaster training when they took cover in one of the hangars on Tuesday night. Winds ripped a door away, sending some of them into the air inside the hangar… The National Weather Service also reports heavy rains. And officials say lightning started a barn fire in Ottawa County's Georgetown Township. The Jackson County sheriff's department received reports of a possible funnel cloud. No tornadoes had been confirmed by the weather service.