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.
A new study of Detroit’s neighborhoods by the Detroit Data Collaborative finds that more than one third of all the nearly 350,000 parcels in the city are either vacant lots or abandoned buildings. But there was some good news in the survey, as the Detroit Free Press reports:
But the survey also found surprisingly upbeat results in Detroit’s most vital districts. The survey found that more than 90% of the city’s occupied residential units are in good or fair condition — results that could lay the foundation for efforts to strengthen individual neighborhoods.
If nothing else, the survey promises to plug some giant holes in the city’s understanding of itself. Detroit planners now have an accurate mapping of vacancy as well as precise data on the condition of individual residential parcels. Those should prove crucial for planning everything from private investment to government aid.
This is the time for a well-funded land bank and city planners to use that data to shrink the city of Detroit, consolidating neighborhoods and returning some of that land to nature — and turning much of it into urban gardens.
Do you know where to vote on Election Day? Do you know what to bring with you? Get comprehensive voter information for your state here.
Sign up for our email newsletter