The Michigan Messenger

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The Michigan Messenger going forward

By Staff Report | 11.16.11

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 [...]

Colorado-based abstinence program provided false and misleading information to Michigan students

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By Todd A. Heywood | 11.16.11

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.

Class action lawsuit filed against MERS over unpaid taxes

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By Todd A. Heywood | 11.15.11

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.

Schuette fights important mercury regulations

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By Eartha Jane Melzer | 11.14.11

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.

Posts Tagged Huron Mountain Club

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Groups make last-ditch legal effort to block Kennecott mine

By Eartha Jane Melzer | 09.02.11 | 1:06 pm

Opponents of a nickel and copper mine that is slated to begin blasting this month have asked a judge to issue an injunction on drilling while she considers an appeal of permits granted for the project.

DNRE reassurances on Kennecott mine fail to convince environmentalists, skeptics

By Eartha Jane Melzer | 07.26.10 | 8:13 am

The first mine to be permitted under Michigan’s non-ferrous metallic mining law — the Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company nickel sulfide mine west of Marquette — continues to draw concerns and criticism.

What does Kennecott’s UP mine have in common with BP’s Deepwater Horizon?

By Eartha Jane Melzer | 06.07.10 | 4:59 pm

According to Andy Buchsbaum of the National Wildlife Federation Kennecott’s planned Upper Peninsula nickel sulfide mine, like BP’s Gulf oil wells, is a high risk underground extraction operation characterized by inappropriately cozy relations with regulators. In a blog post titled Coming soon: Michigan’s version of the BP disaster Buchsbaum writes that acid mine drainage is [...]

Controversial Kennecott mine permits OK’d at 11th hour

By Eartha Jane Melzer | 01.15.10 | 11:08 am

Two days before the DEQ ceases to exist and a week after its director stepped down, DEQ moved to wrap up a long standing fight over permits for a planned nickel sulfide mine by concluding that only buildings may be considered “places of worship.”

Mine opponents take public trust case to appeals court

By Eartha Jane Melzer | 08.24.09 | 10:23 am

Opponents of a nickel sulfide mine planned by Rio Tinto Corp.’s Kennecott Eagle Minerals Co. for public land on the Yellow Dog Plain near Lake Superior are seeking a chance to argue a fundamental point — that by issuing permits for the mine and leasing 120 acres of public land to the company, the state has failed in its job to steward natural resources in the public interest.

Court will consider whether state violated public trust by leasing land to mining company

By Eartha Jane Melzer | 04.21.09 | 2:12 pm

Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Paula Manderfield has agreed to hear arguments about whether the state violated its public trust responsibility when the Department of Natural Resources agreed to lease 120 acres near Lake Superior to the Kennecott Eagle Minerals Co. for mining activities.

Kennecott mine air permit upheld

By Eartha Jane Melzer | 11.15.08 | 2:37 pm

AP reports that an Ingham County judge has ruled that the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality acted properly in granting an air permit for the Kennecott Eagle Minerals Co.’s planned nickel sulfide mine near Marquette.

Global economic shakeup causes mining company to reconsider plans in U.P.

By Eartha Jane Melzer | 10.15.08 | 1:45 pm

Rio Tinto (LON:RIO), the global mining corporation fighting to build a nickel and copper mine in the Upper Peninsula near Marquette, is now reviewing its expansion plans in light of upheavals in global markets, according to a report published today on MetalBulletin.com.