saginaw

Across the state Michiganders are taking part in projects to mark Earth Day, and not all of them are taking place far away from the state’s urban centers.

In Saginaw, dozens of volunteers are spending the day cleaning up vacant lots. It’s part of a larger program to put in plants that attract pollinating insects and wildlife across the city.  

Zachary Branigan is the executive director of the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy.

He says there’s a wildlife corridor that goes right through the city of Saginaw and Bay City, up and down the Saginaw Valley. 

Saginaw County Prosecutor John McColgan Jr. assigned the investigation of sexual abuse involving officials in the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw to a special team that will work with Saginaw and Tittabawassee police and the Michigan State Police, as well as state and federal agencies. The move follows sexual assault charges against Rev. Robert DeLand, Jr. filed last month.

The former CEO of Valley State Credit Union in Saginaw has pleaded guilty to 13 felonies. Stanley Hayes was charged after he stole $710,000 from the credit union.

The 45-year-old Hayes was the credit union's CEO from 2005 until he was fired in 2016. While he was CEO, credit union funds were used to conceal financial strain the bank was facing as well as personal expenses such as insurance and property taxes.

President Obama commuted DeMarlon Thomas’ prison sentence last year.

Last night, he was murdered in Saginaw.

DeMarlon Thomas was allegedly connected to Saginaw’s Sunny Side Gang.  

He was convicted of distributing cocaine in 2008 and sentenced to 19 years. His sentence was commuted in November. Thomas was scheduled to walk free in March. 

Business leaders in the Saginaw-Midland-Bay City region hope entrepreneurs will fill the employment gap left by layoffs by major local employers.

Violent crime dropped in three Michigan cities known for their problems with violence.

Detroit, Flint, and Saginaw have long been ranked high on the FBI’s violent crime list.

But new stats released this week showed violent crime dropped by double-digits in all three cities. From 2014 to 2015, violent crime declined in Detroit (13%), Flint (14.3%) and Saginaw (18.1%).

All three cities have been part of a special Michigan State Police program targeting high-crime areas with stepped-up law enforcement and community engagement.

Michigan State University professors and neighborhood volunteers have come up with a design for a major overhaul of the old Saginaw County fairgrounds. 

The 54-acre site on Saginaw’s south side have sat decaying for more than a decade.

Warren Rauhe is with the Michigan State University School of Planning, Design and Construction. He says it may not look like it, but the fairgrounds site is a “gem.”

Nexteer workers are back on the job.

Less than 24 hours after members of UAW local 699 walked out of the Buena Vista plant, the strike is over. 

The union announced on its Facebook page Tuesday night that it has reached a tentative contract with the auto parts supplier.

A Saginaw neighborhood group is finding a new use for the site of a former county fairground.

It’s been more than a decade since people sat in the decaying grandstand on the 54 acre Saginaw County fairgrounds. 

The Flint police department is looking for 100 volunteers to help patrol city neighborhoods during Halloween.

The holiday falls on a Saturday this year. 

Police Chief James Tolbert says the volunteers can help police by reporting suspicious activity.

Three of the top five most-violent cities in America are in Michigan, according to new FBI statistics released Monday.

At 13 bars popular with local college students in Saginaw, bartenders are handing out sexual assault awareness messages along with the drinks.

The Saginaw County Sexual Violence Prevention Team and other groups have printed hundreds of bar coasters with sexual assault awareness messages in the form of popular songs with their lyrics slightly altered.

A small group of people gathered outside the Saginaw Children’s Zoo Monday to protest the removal of a carousel horse painted with the Confederate flag.

“They want their right to freedom of speech,” said a man, wearing a ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ t-shirt, who declined to give his name. “We want our right to freedom of speech”

Making art in the open air has been on display this week in and around Saginaw.

More than 50 artists have been busy sitting in parks and along busy roads painting street scenes, lake shores and quiet parks in several mid-Michigan counties.   

It’s all part of the Great Lakes Bay En Plein Air festival.

Like many Michigan cities, Saginaw has been struggling to deal with blight and crime. At least in Saginaw, the struggle appears to be paying off.

A study released today finds major crimes (arson, aggravated assault, criminal sexual conduct, homicide, robbery, burglary, larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft) decreased 54% between 2005 and 2014. The number is expected to be lower this year. 

The Saginaw fire department faces deep cuts in a proposed budget going before the city council Monday night.

The budget calls for laying off 13 firefighters, reducing the department from 51 to 38 officers. Two of Saginaw’s four fire stations would also close.

An expiring federal grant is the reason for the cuts. 

Saginaw city council is targeting landlords for their tenants’ bad behavior. Proponents say the new local law adopted Monday night will improve neighborhoods.

Under the change, landlords would pay a fine if they don’t work to evict tenants with multiple complaints. The complaints could range from noise violations to alleged illegal activity. The ordinance says the tenant doesn’t need to be convicted of a crime to be considered a “quality of life” violation.

Saginaw High School students cheered last night.

They didn’t win the big game.   District leaders decided not to close their school.

Saginaw’s two high schools are well under capacity and struggling academically. 

Interim School Superintendent Kelly Peatross wanted the Saginaw School Board to agree to consolidate the two schools (Saginaw and Arthur Hill) into one. 

The Saginaw school district could soon be out of debt. And it can thank the defunct Buena Vista School District. 

The school board voted tonight to accept a $5 million offer for the old Buena Vista High School from an educational services company.  

Opposition to merging Saginaw’s two public high schools appears to be turning to resignation.

A year ago, dozens of people angrily criticized closing either Saginaw or Arthur Hill high school. A public hearing last night was more muted.

Saginaw school officials face big decisions about some of the district’s buildings this week. Wednesday, the Saginaw School Board may vote to sell the old Buena Vista high school to an out of state education company.   The sale would net about five million dollars.

ALBEE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - Former three-term Democratic Michigan U.S. Rep. Don Albosta has died. He was 89.

C.M. Humpula Funeral Home says Albosta died Thursday. 

The Saginaw-born Albosta served in the U.S. Navy in World War II and was a farmer. He was elected to the Saginaw County Commission and Michigan House before serving in Congress in 1979-1984.

Albosta lost his re-election bid to Republican Bill Schuette in 1984.

The future of Saginaw’s Children’s Zoo may be decided tomorrow.

Saginaw County voters are deciding if they want to raise their property taxes by a small amount to support the zoo.

The Children’s Zoo has a little bit of everything, from monkeys and kangaroos to butterflies and reptiles.  In all, about 150 animals call the 85-year-old zoo home.

But what the zoo does not have a lot of is money.

LANSING – Michigan is helping provide lower interest rates to first-time homebuyers in eight cities.

About 300 individual or families in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Flint, Pontiac, Saginaw, Battle Creek, Benton Harbor, and Jackson can take advantage of a program announced Friday.

First-time homebuyers who meet eligibility requirements can get a 3.125% mortgage interest rate without down payment assistance. If they need help with their down payment, the interest rate is 3.625%.

Gov. Rick Snyder says he wants to increase home sales in five cities hit hard by blight and three other cities needing a boost.

Michigan State Housing Development Authority Executive Director Scott Woosley says most of Michigan's real estate market has bounced back, but some areas are still experiencing significant sales declines.

Saginaw is putting off a decision about whether to have a citywide ban on discrimination based 

on sexual orientation or gender identity.  

The Saginaw Council chambers were packed to capacity, according to the Associated Press. 

But the council voted not to make a decision just yet. A few members said they wanted time to talk with the city's business and religious community.

But Councilwoman Annie Boensch says she thinks churches will support it, once they understand they're exempted from the ban.