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.
On Sept. 24, Melody Barnes, a chief domestic policy adviser for Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, was in Lansing to host a town hall discussion about urban renewal and how Obama’s plans would impact Michigan’s city centers. Following the town hall, Michigan Messenger got a chance to talk with Barnes one on one.
Key to Obama’s plans for urban reinvestment, she said, was partnering with new businesses, and providing tax breaks for businesses looking to relocate to urban cores. This led to the question of how the expanding incidence of HIV cases in city centers might affect Obama’s urban renewal plans.
Recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate a significant trend of new infections among African-American males under age 25, a key age group for working on urban renewal programs.
Barnes agreed the epidemic was a serious challenge.
“Barack sees an urban agenda that tries to help people with [the] disease have access to health care,” Barnes said. “He recognizes a larger hole in that strong families make up strong communities, and if you are sick and struggling, you are not going to have a strong family.”
Barnes said Obama has also been vocal about HIV testing and about challenging the African-American community to address the HIV epidemic.
“This is a matter of life and death,” Barnes said.
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