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.
GM’s bankruptcy created confusion over who would pay for cleanup at 90 contaminated sites around the country, including 47 here in Michigan. Yesterday the White House announced that it would address this problem by creating an $800 million trust fund to be used for environmental cleanup and demolition at the sites.
Speaking from a conference of automotive communities in Washington DC yesterday afternoon Gov. Jennifer Granholm praised the development as one that could kick start rehabilitation of large abandoned industrial areas in Flint, Pontiac, Saginaw, Bay City and Lansing.
“We believe there is enough to take care of remediation and cap exposure for the future,” she said, adding that Michigan would not be able to clean up the sites without federal assistance.
The money for the trust fund is to come from GM’s bankruptcy proceedings.
Granholm said that she expects the cleanup funds to begin flowing to Michigan this year and she said that communities that have identified parties interested in developing sites will likely be given priority for funding.
The Detroit News is reporting that Buick City in Flint will be the first project funded through the program because EPA has already approved a cleanup plan for that site.
“The city of Flint was built around the central General Motors sites, but they’ve been in the deep freeze through GM’s financial challenges,” Flint Mayor Dayne Walling said in an interview.
He said the EPA approval and federal funds are “like the freezer door has been opened.”
The EPA has approved a cleanup budget of $5 million to $7 million for a 452-acre southern section of the site, with preliminary work expected to start in the coming weeks, according to an advance copy of the announcement obtained by The News.
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