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.
DETROIT — While the city’s special mayoral vote has been getting the majority of the attention in advance of Tuesday’s election, there’s also a ballot proposal voters will consider, one that would shift the responsibility of reforming the city’s charter to a special nine-member commission. If Detroit voters approve Proposal C, the members of the Charter Revision Commission would serve a three-year term and will be responsible for updating the city charter, which has not seen revisions in more than a decade.
With turnout for Tuesday’s election expected to be low, it’s unclear whether Proposal C has the momentum to secure approval. The proposal’s ballot language is pretty sparse on details.
The proposal reads:
Do you favor a revision of the 1997 Detroit City Charter by a Charter Revision Commission whose members will be nominated at the regular city primary election held on August 4, 2009 and elected at the regular city general election held on November 3, 2009?
If the proposal passes, people who wish to run for the Charter Revision Commission will pull petitions get to their names on the Aug. 4 primary ballot and nine winners will be determined in the Nov. 3 general election.
According to a representative from the Detroit City Clerk’s Office, the changes to the city charter will be determined only by the Charter Revision Commission. The public will not vote on the changes to the charter made by the commission, putting the panel in complete control of the city charter.
The city has not yet determined how the nine newly elected officials would be paid for their service.
The Detroit Free Press, which called the city charter “a horrid mess” in a recent editorial, is urging voters to support Proposal C.
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