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 director of Michigan’s Economic Recovery office said this week that the state does not have the capacity to post comprehensive information about how it spends federal stimulus money on its American Recovery and Reinvestment Act website. The comments by Economic Recovery Office Director Leslee Fritz were in response to a recent report by the Washington, D.C.-based Good Jobs First that criticized Michigan and other states for failing to use the Internet to effectively disclosure Recovery Act spending.
LANSING — Facing shortfalls in the budget for summer road maintenance, the Michigan Department of Transportation is experimenting this year with spraying growth retardant chemicals along state-controlled highways in the hopes of reducing the need to mow roadside vegetation. But the little-known pilot project has raised concerns about potential groundwater contamination and possible health effects.
The Michigan Department of Transportation won’t be doing as much grass mowing along state highways this year, the Detroit News reports. The plan is aimed at saving $30 million by scaling back mowing along 9,600 miles of state roads, and though some complain that the extra roadside vegetation is an eyesore, others point out that [...]
The plan has been laid-out, governors throughout the region have signed-on to it and the money is now available. All that needs to happen now is a political engine to move the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative forward. And even though he might be new to Washington, D.C., U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer might be one of the engineers that helps make high speed rail in Michigan — long talked about but never adequately funded — a reality.
Our article about Michigan lagging behind other states in getting road projects paid for by the federal stimulus package has been updated with new quotes from a Michigan Department of Transportation spokesman that explain why so few projects have been approved for funding to this point.
Last week, a plan to widen Interstate 94 going through the Kalamazoo area was the 2,000th transportation project approved under the federal stimulus package passed earlier this year. The fact that there were 1,999 projects ahead of it shows that Michigan has been slow to get stimulus money pushed through the local and federal approval process.
In case you’ve been wondering how economic stimulus is getting off the ground in Michigan, here’s a partially constructed timeline reflecting the start of the economic stimulus process with a focus on Lansing: Oct. 30, 2009 — Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) sends an Urgent Legislative Alert informing county road commissions across the state of [...]
A memo sent at 4:58 p.m. on Jan. 20 from the office of Tim Hughes, Director Legislative Affairs Division for Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, shows the state started asking for economic stimulus projects from local governments via state legislators on that date. The Michigan Messenger ran a report earlier the same day noting the governor’s [...]
As President Obama’s economic stimulus bill gains momentum in Washington, one Michigan lawmaker is scrambling to get help for his constituents. State Rep. Wayne Schmidt of Traverse City said he is looking hard for “shovel-ready” projects that could qualify for funding.
Liz Boyd, spokesperson for Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, told Michigan Messenger Wednesday that the state does not have a list of public works projects ready for federal stimulus money.
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