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.
Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW) has agreed to pay $10,000 so the state of Michigan can post updated fish consumption advisory signs along the chemically contaminated Tittabawassee and Saginaw rivers, warnings that the Midland-based company has balked at paying for previously.
Michigan Department of Community Health toxicologist Kory Groetsch said that around 120 signs will be posted at spots where people are known to fish, with installation expected to begin in August.
Earlier this summer, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality officials warned that people who fish the area are inadequately warned about the dangers of consuming the fish, a problem documented by Michigan Messenger.
Dow, which sponsors local fishing competitions in the contaminated watershed, had agreed to pay for the signs as part of its operating license but did not fully fund the project.
DEQ officials said that too few signs are posted along the rivers and the advisories on these signs do not reflect the current, highly restrictive fish consumption advisories for the area.
Health officials advise that people limit their consumption of fish from the rivers downstream of Midland because the fish are contaminated with PCBs, dioxin and mercury. They warn that no one should eat any carp, catfish or white bass from this area and that consumption of other species should be severely limited.
The complete advisory is available online.
The progress in negotiations over the signs comes after a June announcement by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials that the agency would hold Dow responsible for funding the fishing advisories.
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