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.
Michigan teenagers continue to become infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, at an alarming rate, Michigan health officials say.
From a press release from the Michigan Department of Community Health in advance of Tuesday’s World AIDS Day events:
The rate of new diagnoses among 13 to 19 year olds in Michigan more than doubled between 2003 and 2007 (from 3.2 to 7.3 cases per 100,000). The rate among those aged 20 to 24 years old at diagnosis was level following three previous years of increases. Of the 13 to 19 year olds diagnosed with HIV/AIDS between 2003 and 2007, 85 percent are African American and almost two thirds (62 percent) are African-American males having sex with males.
That trend is mirrored by nationally, the MDCH says.
More from the release:
“We cannot afford to become complacent with HIV and AIDS in Michigan,” said MDCH Director Janet Olszewski. “Because of the availability of medicines to treat this illness, many individuals believe AIDS is something of the past, but it is still a public health threat that we need to double our efforts to eliminate. In particular, we need to increase prevention efforts among youth and specifically tailor these programs to those at highest risk.”
Of course this underlines the HIV situation in Detroit that incoming Detroit City Council President Charles Pugh called an “emergency” and a “crisis” in November.
Pugh told Michigan Messenger Detroit had to do more, and that sentiment was echoed in the MDCH press release:
“This data make us painfully aware of the impact of HIV/AIDS on our youth and our community as a whole,” said Andrea Roberson, Detroit Department of Health and Wellness Promotion (DHWP) HIV/AIDS Programs Director.. “If we hope to positively impact the present and future generations, we must develop innovative strategies, for example using social networks, to decrease stigma while updating our prevention education services to better reach our youth. We have established partnerships with our school system and youth agencies.”
And state officials are moving to counter this trend. The state’s three year comprehensive prevention strategy has been finalized, and it specifically calls for a focus on African-American men who have sex with men populations as a prevention focus. Michigan Messenger obtained the 37-page strategy document Monday, and it can be read here.
State documents show (PDF) that as of October 2009, 14,187 people have been diagnosed with HIV, or AIDS, and the state estimates a total of 18,200 people in the state may be infected with the virus.
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