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Wednesday Morning State News Summary Wed, 26 Mar 2008 7:05:38 (Detroit-Kilpatrick Arraigned) Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Was Arraigned Tuesday In Detroit. He Stood Mute Before Magistrate Steve Lockhart In 36th District Court. A Not Guilty Plea Was Entered On His Behalf. The Mayor Is Charged With Perjury, Conspiracy, Obstruction Of Justice And Other Felony Counts Stemming From The Text-Message Scandal Involving His Former Chief Of Staff, Christine Beatty. The Mayor Was Released On A 75-Thousand Dollar Personal Bond. The Prosecution Did Not Contest The Bond. Beatty Was Also Arraigned Yestrday On A Variety Of Charges. Kilpatrick Was Told By Judge Lockhart That He Is Allowed To Travel Anywhere In The U-S Without Formal Permission, But He Must Notify The Court Ahead Of Time If He Does Leave The State. (Granholm-Democratic Race) Governor Jennifer Granholm Has Expressed Concern About The Race Between U.S. Senators Hillary Clinton And Barack Obama For The Democratic Presidential Nomination. The Governor Says She Fears That The Focus On Race May Be Dividing The Party. Granholm Believes That In The End Democrats Will Be United Come The November Election But The Discussion That Is So Focused On What She Calls "Raw Wounds" Is Very Hurtful. The Governor Says There's Been A Lot Of, Quote, "Harsh Words Uttered," And She Wants Them To Stop. (Capitol-Higher Ed Spending) Each Of Michigan's 15 Public Universities Would Get A Three-Percent Funding Increase Under A Spending Plan That Passed The State Senate Yesterday (Tuesday). The Across-The-Board Increase Differs From The One Proposed By Governor Jennifer Granholm. The Governor Wants To Base The Increase On Factors Such As How Much Research Is Done And How Many Students Graduate. Under That Formula, Some Schools Would Receive An Increase Of More Than Six-Percent While Others Would See Just Over Two Percent More. Although Republicans Control The Senate, The University Spending Bill Was Approved On A Near Unanimous 37 To 1 Vote. It Now Goes To The Democrat-Controlled House Which Is Expected To Take Up The Measure Next Month. (Capitol-Health Budget) The State Senate Tuesday, Voting Along Party Lines, Approved A Twelve And One-Half (B) Billion Dollar Public Health Budget For 2008-2009. The Bill Now Goes To The House. Democrats Opposed The Measure, Citing The Fact That The Healthy Michigan Fund Was Cut In Half, Saving The State Nearly Eleven (M) Million Dollars. Democrats Also Said There Were Other Areas Of The Budget Where It Falls Short Of Promoting Good Public Health, Including Language That Cuts 19-And 20-Year Olds From Medicaid. That Effects 18 Thousand Michiganians, But Saves Taxpayers More Than 14 (M) Million Dollars. Republican Sponsors Note That The Budget Represents A Spending Increase Of Almost A Half (B) Billion Dollars. The Proposal Is Four (M) Million Dollars Below What The Governor Asked For. (Mi-Prisoner Healthcare) Michigan Corrections Are Failing To Provide Timely Healthcare To Chronically Ill Prisoners According To A Recent Audit. The Report Released Today (Wednesday) By The State Auditor General Says Michigan's Department Of Corrections (Doc) Has Not Provided Chronic Medical Care To Half Of The Patients That Required It. The Audit Also Shows The Department Failed To Provide Chronic Care In A Timely Manner, Averaging More Than 230 Days Between Visits. Policy Says That Even The Healthiest Prisoners With Chronic Conditions Should Go No Longer Than Six Months Without A Check-Up. The D-O-C Says It Has Appointed A Special Team To Evaluate How To Improve Service Delivery. (Mi-Discrimination Poll) Most Michigan Residents Say They Still See Racial And Gender Discrimination According To A New Poll. The Survey, Conducted By Mitchell Research And Communications, Found That 68-Percent Of Whites And 77-Percent Of Blacks Still See Racial Discrimination In Michigan Society. 58-Percent Of Men Said They Still See Gender Discrimination And 70-Percent Of Woman Said The Same. When Asked Whether They Experienced Racial Discrimination, 79-Percent Of Blacks Said They Had, Compared To Only 23-Percent Among Whites. On Gender Discrimination, 47-Percent Of Woman Said They Experienced It, Compared To 22-Percent Of Men. The Survey Of 502 Registered Voters Was Conducted March 10th To The 12th. It Has A Margin Of Error Of Four-Point-Three-Eight Percent. (Detroit-More Text Messages) Prosecutors Says Newly Revealed Text Messages Show Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Lied When He Said Gary Brown Was Not Fired From The Detroit Police Department, But Was Unappointed. The Text Sent From Mayor Kilpatrick's Skytel Device Says "We Must Answer The Question, Why Was Gary Brown Fired? It Will Be Asked. I Just Need Short Power Answer. I Just Need A Good Answer, Whatever It Might Be." During The Last Summer's Whistleblower Lawsuit Against The Mayor And Detroit, Kilpatrick Testified That Brown Was Not Fired. The Mayor Is Charged With Eight Felony Counts Including Multiple Perjury Charges. (Metro Source) (Um-Grad Assistants Strike) The Strike By Graduate Student Instructors At The University Of Michigan Has Put A Halt To Two Construction Projects. The Graduate Employees Organization Have Set Up Picket Lines At Michigan Stadium And The Business School In Their Effort To Secure Better Wages And Health Care. The Students Want A Nine-Percent Wage Increase To Bring Their Pay Up To The Average Cost Of Attendance. They Claim That The University Only Offered A Three-Percent Increase. The 'Ann Arbor News' Reports The Union Representing One-Thousand-700 Instructors And Staff Assistants Also Planned To Picket Classroom Buildings And Vowed Not To Teach. Some Students With Grad Student Teachers Had Classes Cancelled Tuesday, While Others Were Unaffected. No New Bargaining Sessions Have Been Scheduled. (Help From: Metro Source) (Detroit-American Axle Executive Raises) Top Executives Of Auto Parts Supplier American Axle Are All Getting Pay Raises While A United Auto Workers Strike Against The Company Rolls Into Another Month. Company Ceo Dick Dauch (Dow-Sch) Collected Over Seven-Million-Dollars Last Year When The Company Turned A Profit, Including Over Five-Million Dollars In Stock Awards. Dauch's Base Salary Increased Nearly Ten Percent, To One-Point-47-Million Dollars In 2007. Striking Workers Say In Light Of The News Of The Raises, They Will Stand Firm On Picket Lines. Negotiations Continued Monday With No Apparent Progress. (Metro Source) (Muskegon-Turtle Fence Damage) It's Been A Rough Winter For A 318-Thousand Dollar Fence Designed To Keep Turtles From Crossing Us-31 In Muskegon. Cars Sliding Off The Snowy, Icy Road Have Knocked Seven Holes In The Barrier, Which The Michigan Department Of Transportation Says Will Cost About 28-Hundred Dollars To Fix. The Chain-Link Fence Extends Nearly Two Miles Along Both Sides Of Us-31 Near The River Flats In Muskegon. Republican Congressman Pete Hoekstra (Hook-Strah) Has Called The Project A Waste Of Taxpayer Money. Supporters Say It's Needed, Claiming That Stretch Of Us-31 Is One Of The Deadliest Highways In The Country For The Migrating Turtles. (Alan Neushwander, Wkla, Ludington) (Saginaw Co-Zilwaukee Bridge Work Halted) The Northbound Lanes Of The Zilwaukee Bridge Will Remain Closed Much Longer Than Expected. A Major Complication Brought The Upgrade Work To A Halt. The Michigan Department Of Transportation Was In The Process Of Replacing Large Bearings In The Bridge When They Encountered Concrete And Steel Reinforcements Within The Beams They Had Not Expected Based On The Bridge Construction Documents. The Northbound Lanes Were To Reopen Soon And Work Would Have Started On The Southbound Lanes. Now M-Dot Says The Northbound Lanes Will Be Closed Another Nine Weeks Until Close To Memorial Day Weekend. Work On The Southbound Lanes Will Now Be Put Off Until Early Next Year. The Original Cost Of The Bearing Replacement Project Was Put At Three-Point-Three-Million Dollars. It's Unknown What Additional Costs Will Be As A Result Of The Unexpected Delay. (Wsgw, Saginaw) (Mi/In-Identity Mix-Up Topic Of Book) The April 2006 Highway Crash In Indiana That Spawned The Identity Mix-Up Of Two Taylor University Female Students From Michigan Is Now Forever Documented In Book Form. Mark Tabb's Book, "Mistaken Identity," Hit Bookshelves Nationwide Yesterday (Tuesday). The Book Explores The Emotions Surrounding The Devastating Mix-Up Of Laura Vanryn Of Caledonia And Whitney Cerak Of Gaylord. The Two Students Were Wrongly Identified At The Scene Of The Crash And For Five Weeks, Vanryn's Family Believed Their Daughter Was Comatose, But Alive, And The Ceraks Thought Their Daughter Had Died. It Turned Out To Be The Other Way Around. Whitney Cerak Will Appear Friday Morning On Nbc's "Today" Show. (Metro Source) (Houghton Co-Gipp Exhumation) A Houghton County Judge Could Hand Down A Ruling Later This Week On Motions To Dismiss A Case Brought By Relatives Of George Gipp Relating To His Exhumation Last Fall. The Lawsuit Named The Cable Sports Network Espn, Another Family Member, A Sports Writer Researching Gipp And Others Including The Houghton County Medical Examiner. Gipp's Body Was Exhumed On October 4th For Dna Testing To Determine If He Had Fathered His Girlfriends Child. The Tests Came Back Negative. The Lawsuit Alleges That The Exhumation Damaged The Gravesite Of Bertha Isabelle Gipp Martin, George Gipps Sister, And Caused Relatives Distress And Public Scorn. The Famed Notre Dame Football Star Who Grew Up In The Upper Peninsula Died Of Pneumonia In 1920 At The Age Of 25. (Ann Arbor-U-M Gem Theft Suspect) An Eastern Michigan University Student Has Been Charged With Stealing Dozens Of Semi-Precious Gems Worth Ten Of Thousands Of Dollars From A University Of Michigan Geology Display Earlier This Month. Police Say 27-Year-Old Michael Edward-Lopez Sherer Was Arrested While Attempting To Have The Gems Appraised At A Jewelry Store Just Blocks From Where The Burglary Took Place. After A Search Of Sherer's Apartment, Officers Believe They Have Recovered All Of The Gems That Were Stolen. He's Charged With Breaking And Entering And Another Count Of Receiving And Concealing Stolen Property. The Saline Native Remains In The Washtenaw County Jail Pending A Preliminary Hearing Scheduled For April 2nd. (Metro Source) (Mecosta Co-Break-In/Shooting Suspects) Arrests Have Been Made In Connection With Last Week's Home Invasion And Subsequent Shooting In Mecosta County. Authorities Involved In The Case Believe The Same Four People Who Broke Into The Home Of Mike And Theresa Korpal In Morley Last Thursday Fired Multiple Shots Into The Couple's Bedroom Monday. Theresa Korpal Was Struck By One Of The Bullets, But She Is Expected To Survive. The Couple Is Currently In Protective Custody. The Number Of Suspects And Their Identities Have Not Yet Been Released. (Metro Source) (Grand Rapids-Marine Homecoming) Hundreds Of People Showed Up At The Gerald R. Ford International Airport In Grand Rapids To Welcome Home A Wounded Marine. Joshua Hoffman Was Shot Last January By A Sniper In Iraq And Is Paralyzed From The Chest Down. The 26-Year-Old Member Of The Grand Rapids-Based Alpha Company Wasn't Able To Return With The Rest Of His Fellow Soldiers Last Year Because He Was Recovering In A Virginia Hospital. Hoffman's Welcoming Home Crowd Tuesday Morning Included Family, Friends And Dozens Of Retired And Active Marines. (Metro Source) (Tues-Lottery) The Winning Mega Millions Numbers Selected Tuesday Were: 38-42-43-48-53. The Mega Ball Number Was 12. Tuesday's Winning Midday Lottery Numbers Were: 7-7-4 And 5-7-2-6. The Evening Winners Selected Tuesday Were: 1-8-0 And 5-0-4-2. The Winning Fantasy Five Numbers Were: 6-15-24-36-39. Tuesday's Winning Keno Numbers Were: 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 30, 32, 33, 49, 50, 51, 54, 62, 69, 77. Tuesday's Mega Millions Jackpot Was An Estimated $95 (M) Millions Dollars. Wednesday's Classic Lotto 47 Jackpot Is Estimated At One (M) Million Dollars. |
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