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.
Many state workers are experiencing increased work load due to budget cuts, and tens of thousands were forced to take unpaid time off over the summer. Now, as conflict over the budget threatens to trigger a state shutdown that would layoff an unknown number of state workers, morale is hitting a new low, The Detroit News reports.
Betty Summerville has about reached her limit.
State cutbacks have increased the Clare County social worker’s caseload from 40 needy elderly and handicapped adults to 300. Six furlough days took money out of her pocket and time away from her clients.
Now, she doesn’t know whether she’ll be working Thursday, or for how long she may be off.
“I’m held to a level of promptness in my job,” said Summerville, 54, of Harrison. “Why isn’t the Legislature? This isn’t a game — it’s people’s lives.”
“It’s havoc. I’ve never seen a state work force that’s become so demoralized,” said Alan Kilar, financial secretary of UAW Local 6000, which represents about 17,000 employees across the state.
The state isn’t saying how many workers would be out of work during a shutdown. On the state’s furlough days this summer, about 37,400 state employees took unpaid days off work.
A shutdown of undetermined length could be devastating to employees’ families. A growing number of workers are the sole breadwinner, Kilar said, as other industries have shed jobs.
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