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.
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Brighton) has joined with his Republican colleagues in the U.S. Congress to reject participating in earmarks. Earmarks are a traditional way for Congress to target federal cash to local districts, and have been very controversial because some of the cash has gone to donors and are seen as political paybacks.
The Lansing State Journal reports:
“I have decided to suspend earmark requests for one year until this system can be reformed to better ensure hard-earned taxpayer dollars are not wasted on pet projects,” Rogers said.
The Journal reports Rogers got $25.7 million in earmarks for the district last year including cash for Ingham Regional Medical Center for energy upgrades, Sparrow Hospital to create an electronic medical records system and money for research at Michigan State University.
Meanwhile, Rep. Mark Schauer (D-Battle Creek) says Rogers’ action is a stunt:
“Earmarks skyrocketed under a Republican majority, and they did nothing to curb earmark abuse by their own members,” Schauer said. “While the opposition is busy trying to score cheap political points, I’m going to keep fighting for Michigan jobs.”
The Journal reports Schauer has gotten cash for the Air National Guard, the Army National Guard and Lansing’s Board of Water and Light.
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