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.
Sean Morrison, director of the Center for Stem Cell Biology at the University of Michigan and one of the foremost experts on stem cell research, is leaving U of M for Texas — and he had some serious criticism for the Michigan legislature before he left.
Since news broke of his pending departure to lead a new pediatric research initiative at University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, he’s accused the state Legislature and faith-based groups of harassing stem cell researchers — threatening Michigan’s potential for stem cell research and a thriving life sciences industry.
“There are a small number of faith-based special interest groups that are attacking relentlessly. Relentlessly looking for ways to block these forms of medical research most people in the country feel should be supported,” he said. “They’re well-enough organized and sophisticated and have deep-enough pockets. What that means is we are constantly under attack.” …
“Michigan needs to decide whether it wants to compete in the life sciences or not,” he said. “If it doesn’t, fine. U-M will do the best it can without any help from the Legislature.
“You don’t compete by looking for ways to put stem cell biologists in jail.”
Though voters overwhelmingly passed a referendum to legalize the creation of new stem cell lines in the state of Michigan, something previously punishable by up to 10 years in prison, conservatives in the state legislature have attempted to weaken that law by statute ever since.
Their latest try is a provision in the budget requiring all universities to send a report on their stem cell activities to the legislature, something that even Gov. Rick Snyder’s legal counsel says is unconstitutional.
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