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.
An investigation by City Pulse has found elevated levels of arsenic in run-off from a site where the Lansing Board of Water & Light is storing coal ash near Grand River.
A sample taken from soil that had breached a broken silt fence at the facility after a heavy rain in Sept. showed arsenic at more than twice the maximum normal level.
Stephen Boyd, a professor of crop and soil sciences at MSU, analyzed the soil test results that MSU Extension sent to A&L Great Lakes Laboratories in Indiana at City Pulse’s request.
Boyd said the “normal” range for arsenic in soil is between one and 50 parts per million (ppm), while for mercury it’s between .03 and .6 ppm. Those are figures from about six different academic sources, he added.
The results showed arsenic at 119 ppm and mercury just below .59 ppm.
“Those two definitely seem to be elevated relative to values found in typical soil, ” Boyd said.
Lansing’s BWL is in the process of moving 450,000 cubic yards of coal ash from the Comfort St. location to a landfill operated by Granger. The excavation is expected to extend into next fall.
In view of the elevated arsenic level detected outside the ash storage site, City Pulse is questioning whether the two foot high silt fences that surround the property are enough to contain the ash in the event of a heavy rainfall.
Next spring and summer will be a test for BWL’s preventive measures. As the excavation moves from the east side of the property to the west (where the sample was taken), the land topography falls off toward the river. Excavating the land makes it easier for soil to travel, especially during rainstorms.
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