Top Stories

The Michigan Messenger going forward

By Staff Report | 11.16.11

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 [...]

Colorado-based abstinence program provided false and misleading information to Michigan students

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By Todd A. Heywood | 11.16.11

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.

Class action lawsuit filed against MERS over unpaid taxes

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By Todd A. Heywood | 11.15.11

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.

Schuette fights important mercury regulations

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By Eartha Jane Melzer | 11.14.11

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.

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Benton Harbor emergency manager strips power from all elected officials

By Todd A. Heywood | 04.15.11 | 6:05 pm

The Emergency Financial Manager of the city of Benton Harbor has issued an order stripping all city boards and commissions of all their authority to take any action.

The order, signed Thursday, limits the actions available to such bodies to calling a meeting to order, approving the minutes of meetings and adjourning a meeting. The bodies are prohibited under the act from taking any other action without the express authority of the Emergency Financial Manager, Joseph Harris.

Actions such as Harris’ are explicitly allowed under a newly approved law which granted sweeping new powers to emergency financial managers. That legislation had drawn large protests, including attempts by some protesters to take over the state capitol building. The sit-in resulted in numerous arrests.

Harris’ move comes as Detroit Public Schools’ emergency financial manager Robert Bobb announced that he would use powers granted to him under the act to change union contracts.

Watch for more from Michigan Messenger’s Eartha Jane Melzer.

Harris’ order is below.

Joe Harris Orders _5

Comments

  • http://www.facebook.com/bobeekay.clark Bobee-Kay Clark

    Folks, this is fascism. It just is. This will happen in other towns, cities, and states. A small government is a government with concentrated power. The budget “crisis” is just an excuse to end our democratic republic. Don’t be hoodwinked into thinking this is just another fight between elephants and donkeys. Fight, fight, fight fascism. It will kill us.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_YCKNEUFJTNPQ3BYBDTDTSXO5SY David

    View the history books of michigan and the failed city’s of america and you will find that the democrates ran them, not the republicans…. when did america become a team sport? we the people have the power to dismiss these pricks from office yearly, but don’t, why? as a race its easier to type crap than act…..

  • Anonymous

    I don’t understand why some federal agency or someone isn’t doing something about this. This is still America and we still live in a Democatic society – at least up until now. How can one man dump all elected officials and take over a city government without anyone stopping him? Sounds like Nazi Germany to me

  • Anonymous

    Having lived down there,something needed to be done, are they handling it the right way, no, yet the system is way broken down there. Everyone in there system needed to be fired, replaced, or recalled at every level, but the placement of an individual that has close connection to the governors office is absurd. Plus unless you fire every police officer, start from scratch, the corruption in the streets will continue. Now Gov. Snyder is going to be dumb enough to go be the grand Marshall in the Blossomtime Parade (big deal in Benton Harbor) and stick his head out to the people who’s town he just took over. Not wise choice in my book…Do some diggin people, look into the rst of the list of potential cities,townships, and villages the Gov. is lookin into invading next,The list might surprise you, maybe your hometown is on there, is any city safe from the wrath of Gov. Snyder, p.s. he can sell the rights to your city to a major corporation for them to run…