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.
(photo: courtesy of Detroit News)
They perished in a house fire that destroyed five homes last week, including the $300-per-month rental home where the family had been living since Oct. 9. The children’s mother, Katie, lost the family home to foreclosure and struggled to keep the family off the streets and put a roof over her children’s heads.
Any roof.
Instead of a radiator, there was a space heater. Instead of a stove, a hot plate. Instead of a bathroom, a bucket.
This was the two-story house on Waverly into which Katie Dale and her three children moved two weeks ago. It was the best she could do after being evicted from another home for failing to pay property taxes.
…
With a spate of foreclosures and rising heating costs, officials are worried that other Metro Detroit residents could face danger as they turn to space heaters and other methods to keep warm this winter.
“Times just aren’t so good in the inner city right now,” said state Rep. Bert Johnson, whose district includes Highland Park. “We have to ask people who are living without heat or lights to make it public.”
Highland Park is at special risk because the city has been in state receivership since 2002, and no longer has inspectors to certify the safety of rental homes.
Michigan has noted a marked decline in foreclosures, with ‘only’ 10,553 properties reporting foreclosure filings in September. This could signal good news on the horizon for Michigan, yet it is far too late for thousands, and certainly too late for Orlando, Zeryha and Melvin, as well as their great-aunt, Josephine. When I see the foreclosure signs that now spot the region, it’s the faces of those darling children with wide, sparkling eyes that I see.
Banks are getting government assistance; insurance companies and their executives are still getting their big bonuses. When will those who need help most see some relief? The weather is only getting colder.
The Detroit News offers these help-line contacts for those in need of utility assistance:
Heating aid
Need help paying utilities? Contact your energy provider first to see if you can arrange a payment plan for the winter:
* DTE Energy: 1-800-477-4747
* Consumers Energy: 1-800-477-5050
* SEMCO Energy Gas: 1-800-624-2019
* Low-income residents seeking energy assistance funds should contact their local Michigan Department of Human Services office or call the DHS Energy Hotline at 1-800-292-5650.
* The Heat and Warmth Fund provides payment assistance mostly to low-income residents who have received notice or have had their utilities cut off. Contact THAW at 1-800-866-8429
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