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.
More good news from the auto industry as Ford announced 2nd quarter profits of $2.6 billion, higher than analysts had expected. The Detroit News reports that industry analysts had expected a profit of 40 cents per share; the final number was 68 cents per share, much higher than predicted. The company has almost $4.7 billion [...]
It’s often touted as the best hope to resurrect manufacturing in Michigan — large-scale production and assembly of lithium ion battery packs for the hybrid or pure electric vehicles of the future. According to news from the state Capitol, lawmakers in Lansing want to dangle the carrot of tax credits in front of a several [...]
Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense under John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson and the chief architect of the Vietnam War, died early this morning at his home in Washington D.C.. He was 93 years old. The Washington Post obituary notes that while everyone associates his name with the Vietnam War, fewer people remember his role [...]
Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced $5.9 billion in federal loans to Ford over the next two years to help them develop and build more environmentally friendly cars, a good deal of which will take place at Michigan facilities. A press release from the Department of Energy spelled out the goals and benefits of the [...]
Ford will be the first American automaker to receive what will likely be billions of dollars in loans from the Department of Energy to help them develop and build more environmentally friendly vehicles. MLive reports:
Even with the threat of bankruptcy hanging over the head of the entire automotive industry, GM and Ford saw their May sales fall by a smaller margin than in previous months while their main competitors, Honda and Toyota, fell more significantly. Automotive News reports the figures.
Ford announced its 1st quarter losses on Thursday and the numbers were a bit better than expected. The company had a net loss of $1.4 billion but burned through $3.7 billion in cash reserves. But that news isn’t as bad as it sounds under the circumstances. Automotive News reports:
The Detroit Free Press reports on new data that shows that those customers shopping for cars are turning more and more away from GM and Chrysler and toward Ford, largely because Ford has not accepted federal bailout funds and is thus viewed as a more stable company that is likely to be around in the [...]
General Motors and Chrysler convinced the Treasury Department to issue $3.5 billion in aid to auto suppliers that are connected to the two companies. GM will oversee $2 billion and Chrsyler $1.5 billion of the aid. The money is aimed at stabilizing suppliers who are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy — just as GM [...]
Moody’s Corporate Finance has issued a report saying that Chrysler is very likely to have to declare bankruptcy in the wake of new demands for restructuring concessions from the Obama administration, while GM is a bit less likely to do so. The Free Press reports:
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