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.
The Emergency Manager in Ecorse has moved most of the city’s firefighters into part-time positions and privatized ambulance services.
Though it happened last month, Emergency Manager Joyce Parker’s move to slash the number of full-time firefighters from 14 to 6 has received
little coverage.
In a June 30 letter to the Ecorse Fire Fighters Union Local 684 Parker wrote:
As I pointed out to you previously, there are no more loans from the State. We have to live on the dollars that are being received by the City. … There are simply not enough dollars around without the State providing assistance to deliver the services under the present cost structure and delivery model. It has to change and it will.
Eclectablog writes:
So, what are Ecorse citizens able to do to fight back against this? The short answer is: NOTHING. As with all Emergency Managers in Michigan, Joyce Parker answers only to Governor Snyder and his staff. The residents of Ecorse did not vote for her and, though they are paying her wages with their tax dollars, they have no way to respond or hold her accountable for what is happening in their city. They cannot recall her. They cannot vote her out of office during the next election. They are completely powerless in the face of an Emergency Manager whose goal is to balance the books, even at the expense of public safety.
A statewide coaltion, is collecting signatures for a referendum on the law that allows Emergency Managers to be put in charge of local communities.
Do you know where to vote on Election Day? Do you know what to bring with you? Get comprehensive voter information for your state here.
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