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. Mark Schauer (D-Battle Creek) and Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.), the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, have written several letters accusing Enbridge, owners of the pipeline that leaked a million gallons of oil into the Kalamazoo River in late July, of violating the legal rights of local residents who went to the company for help with medical problems.
In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, the legislators request an investigation into whether the company “coerced individuals under duress as a result of the recent pipeline oil spill in Marshall, Michigan, to sign releases of settlement and authorizations for release of medical records.”
The letter says that Oberstar’s committee has uncovered documents that show that Enbridge has been asking people to sign a form releasing the company from any legal culpability for damage done by the oil spill in exchange for giving them air purifiers and other equipment to help with the aftermath of the spill.
Additionally, the letter says that Enbridge has been having residents who call a company hotline seeking help with health problems resulting from the spill sign a form releasing their medical history, which they say violates federal medical privacy laws.
Similar letters were sent to Enbridge executives and to the Department of Health and Human Services. The company has not yet responded to inquiries on the matter.
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