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.
LANSING — Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced this morning she has appointed a financial review team to scour the finance records of the troubled city of Ecorse, one of Detroit’s Downriver suburbs. The step could lead to the appointment of a financial manager for the city, in short a state take over of the city’s finances and operations.
In March, a review by the Treasury Department found a serious financial problem exists in the city. Among the issues, the city is $8 million in debt and owes its own school district $1.7 million in tax payments.
The review team includes Steven Bieda, former state representative; James DeSana, councilman, city of Wyandotte; Frederick Headen, director of the Treasury Department’s Local Government Services Bureau; Robert J. Kleine, state treasurer; John McNally, attorney at law; Thomas McTavish, Michigan auditor general; and Gregory Pitoniak, former mayor of Taylor.
The team will review the financial situation of the city and determine one of three situations exists: a serious financial problem does not exist; a serious financial problem exists, but a consent agreement containing a plan to resolve the problem has been adopted; or, a local government financial emergency exists, because no satisfactory plan exists to resolve the serious financial problem.
The city was taken over in 1986 for similar financial issues, the Detroit Free Press reports.
Ecorse Mayor Herbert Worthy has this (albeit paraphrased) to say to the Free Press:
…the deficit and the continuing downturn in the economy are the main factors behind the city’s financial woes and that layoffs and other measures may be necessary.
Three other Michigan cities are currently under state control: Highland Park and Pontiac in the Detroit area and Three Oaks in Southwest Michigan.
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