I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
A legislative proposal to hold a new Michigan Democratic primary is “half-baked” and “fraught with issues,” Sen. Barack Obama’s Michigan campaign co-chair said Tuesday.
State Sen. Tupac Hunter, D-Detroit, claimed& an “overwhelming majority” of his Democratic colleagues shared his reservations about the proposal, which calls for a state-run, privately funded election to be held on June 3. Such an election would likely cost about $12 million.
“In no particular order: One, what is the legal standing, the legal basis for funding a public election with private resources?” Hunter said. “Two, the legislation does say that in order for the election to move forward, at least $12 million has to be in the treasury. We have no guarantees of where that money is coming from. If we fall short of the amount needed, what do we do, call off the election? That doesn’t make any sense.”
Continued - Hunter said that no action would likely be taken on the measure Tuesday or Wednesday. Thursday is the Legislature’s last day in session before a two-week spring break.
The senator’s comments echoed those of Obama co-chair Sen. Buzz Thomas, D-Detroit, earlier in the day, as reported in The Detroit News. Asked by a reporter about the bill’s health, Thomas said: “I’d say it’s very ill. I think it’s highly unlikely the Legislature will mandate this on local clerks.”
The co-chairs have called for splitting Michigan’s delegations evenly among Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton, who won the Jan. 15 primary after Obama and several other candidates removed their names from the ballot supported the national Democratic Party’s decision to punish the state for moving its primary ahead of its approved date. Clinton kept her name on the ballot, but agreed not to campaign in the state.
The national Democratic Party said it wouldn’t seat Michigan’s delegates at its summer nominating convention. Florida, which also moved its primary early, received the same sanction. But that state this week abandoned its attempts to hold a new primary.
“We fought the good fight, early on pressing the need to have an early primary,” Hunter said. “If we’d kept with our Feb. 5 date, we would have been sitting pretty.”
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