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.
Triangle Foundation — the Detroit-based anti-violence and policy organization for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders — released its annual hate crimes report today. The report shows that in 2007, crimes and discrimination against the LGBT community and those with HIV had increased substantially over the last year. The report showed a 133 percent increase in crimes and discrimination reported in Michigan over 2006 statistics. In real numbers, Michigan reported 226 incidents in 2007, up from 97 reported incidents in 2006.
“I am saddened but not surprised by these numbers,” said Melissa Pope, director of Victim Services at Triangle Foundation. “Hundreds of Michigan LGBT people are abused emotionally, physically and financially because of who they are. One person suffers anti-LGBT discrimination in Michigan every 29 hours and, of those individuals, one person suffers anti-LGBT violence, vandalism or harassment every 39 hours. It is my hope that this report will raise awareness to the treatment of LGBT persons in this state.”
One victim of discrimination, Angie Potter, told her story to Michigan Messenger last fall.
“I was shocked to find out that the attack on me was not a hate crime in Michigan,” said Potter, who was assaulted because of her sexual orientation while staying in a Michigan hotel. “I looked for help but I was met with more disrespect. It wasn’t until Triangle had a protest in front of the hotel that justice started to be served.”
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