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.
A Missoula County, Montana court has blocked the state Department of Transportation from issuing permits to an oil company that wants to move oversized tar sands mining equipment over state roads.
Imperial Oil proposed to move 207 large pieces of Korean-made equipment to Alberta, Canada via Montana roads. Local officials and environmental groups fought the project by arguing that the state had not adequately considered the potential environmental impact of modifying highways to accommodate the oversized loads.
In an order issued yesterday District Court Judge Ray J. Dayton agreed that the state’s review of the proposed shipment was incomplete and granted a preliminary injunction on permits for the project.
Tar sands development is becoming increasingly contentious in Montana.
A spill from Exxon Mobil’s Silvertip pipeline, which carries tar sands, fouled the Yellowstone River this month and state officials are struggling to assess and respond to the damage.
On the national level, the U.S. Dept. of State is considering a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline which would move 700,000 gallons of tar sands crude through Montana each day.
The National Wildlife Federation hailed Dayton’s order as a victory that slows the rush to develop tar sands.
“I’m elated that for now, the big rigs aren’t rolling,“ NWF attorney Tom France said. “Tar sands pose a threat to Montana and we need to think very carefully about the risks before hitting the throttle.”
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