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Wednesday Morning State News Summary Wed, 07 May 2008 3:04:52 (Capitol-Tanning Salons) Melanoma Is On The Rise In Michigan And The U-S, So State Lawmakers Are Moving On Legislation Designed To Curb The Growth Of The Deadly Cancer. A House Committee In Lansing Has Approved A Measure Requiring Tanning Salons To Be Registered And Also To Post Certain Warning Signs About The Dangers Of Over Using Tanning Facilities. Dr. Kay Watnick, A Dermatologist From West Bloomfield, Says Melanoma Has Increased 700 Percent Since 1950, And For Females Aged 20-And-29 -- Which Makes Up A Significant Percentage Of Tanning Salon Clientele -- Melanoma Is Now The Second Deadliest Form Of Cancer. The Bill Now Goes To The Full House For Consideration. (Capitol-Novelty Lighters) A State Lawmaker Is Pushing A Bill In Lansing That Would Curb The Sale Of So-Called "Novelty Lighters," Which Are Often Attractive To Kids. State Senate Democrat Gretchen Whitmer Of Ingham County Is Proposing That The State Fire Marshall Be Allowed To Block Any Unrestricted Sale Of A Novelty Lighter, Which Are Often Made Up To Look Like Toys. More Than Two Dozen Other States Have Already Put Laws On The Books Restricting The Sale Of "Novelty Lighters." The Bill Is Now Before A Senate Committee. (Capitol-Foreclosure Freeze) Senate Democrats Yesterday (Tuesday) Unveiled Legislation To Put A Moratorium Of Foreclosures To Enable Struggling Consumers Get Back On Their Feet And Keep Their Homes. The Three-Bill Package Would Establish A Two-Year Freeze On All Mortgage And Tax Foreclosures In Michigan, The Longest Period Of Foreclosure Protection Of Any State In The Country. The Legislation Will Also Allow The Michigan State Housing Development Authority To Issue Bonds Which Can Be Used To Guarantee Residential Mortgage Payments During The Foreclosure Moratorium Period Providing Safeguards For The Lending Industry. Senator Hansen Clarke Of Detroit Says That By Guaranteeing Mortgage Balances And Requiring Borrowers To Continue Making Payments Throughout The Moratorium Period, Lenders Will Be Protected And Homeowners Will Get The Relief They Need, (Capitol-Sudan Iran Divestment) Bills That Would Divest State Retirement Funds From Companies That Do Business With In Sudan Or Iran Have Taken A Step Forward In The State Legislature. A Senate Committee Yesterday (Tuesday) Sent The Legislation To The Full Chamber. The Homeland Security And Emerging Technology Committee Was Told The State Has Identified 300-Thousand-Dollars In Direct Investment In A Company Doing Business With Sudan. But According To Spartans For Progressive Investment, A Michigan State University Student Activist Group, One-Quarter Of A Percent Of Michigan's 64 (B) Billion-Dollars In Pension Funds Has A Connection To The Sudanese Conflict. More Than 250-Thousand People Have Died In The Genocidal Conflict And Two-Point-Five Million Have Fled Their Homes. (Capitol-Mac Bridge Insurance) The State House Overwhelmingly Passed Legislation Yesterday That Would Allow The Mackinaw Bridge Authority To Insure Itself. Under The Measure The Authority Would Pair Up With The Department Of Transportation (Mdot) In Order To Self-Insure Bridge Assets And Activities. The Bills Allows The Authority To Deposit No Less Than 200-Thousand-Dollars A Year Into A Reserve Account Until It Reaches A (M) Million-Dollars. If A Claim Is More Than One(M) Million, The Mdot Would Pay Cover It Through Motor Fuel Taxes And Vehicle Registration Fees. The Change Is Expected To Save The Authority Millions Of Dollars In Bridge Premiums. (Mi-Infant Mortality) According To A New Report African-American Babies Are Three Times More Likely To Die In Their First Year Of Life Than Their White Counterparts. The "Right Start" Study By The Michigan League For Human Services Examined Ten Counties Around Michigan. It Shows That While Mortality Rates Among Infants Dropped Over The Last Several Years, African-American Babies Continue To Suffer At Rates Much Higher Than Other Races. Ingham County Reportedly Saw The Highest Rate Of Mortality Among Black Babies, At More Than 20 Dying Per One-Thousand Births. Experts Also Point To Several Good Things In The Study, Including A Drop In Teen Pregnancies, A Drop In Smoking While Pregnant And Better Prenatal Care. (Mi-Miller Re-Election) U-S Representative Candice Miller Has Filed Paperwork To Seek Another Term. If Re-Elected, The Macomb County Republican Would Serve Her Fourth Term In Congress. A Miller Spokesman Says The Congresswoman Filed The Maximum Number Of Allowed Signatures With The Michigan Department Of State On Tuesday. Law Requires One-Thousand Valid Signatures To Put A Name On The August 5th Republican Primary Ballot. Miller Filed Two-Thousand Signatures. Miller Served As Secretary Of State From 1995 To 2002. (Saginaw-Bodies Found) Police Are Investigating The Shooting Deaths Of A Saginaw Couple. Authorities Say The Bodies Of A Man And Woman In Their 30s Were Found Inside A Home On The City's East Side Just Before Noon Tuesday. According To Officials, Officers Were In The Area Between 3 A.M. And 4 A.M. Because Of A Report That Shots Were Fired In The Vicinity But Didn't Find Anything. The Couple Had Four Children, Including Twin Infants. According To Reports, Three Of The Children Were Inside The House At The Time The Bodies Were Found. No Word Of The Whereabouts Of The Fourth Child. Police So Far Have Found No Firearms In The House, Though They Continue To Search As The Investigation Continues. Detectives Have Not Determined A Motive For The Shootings. (Oakland Co-Mccain Visit) Presumed Republican Presidential Nominee John Mccain Will Be Back In Michigan Today (Wednesday) For The First Time In Three Months. Along With The Fundraising Event, Mccain Will Appear At A Town Hall Meeting At Oakland University's Shotwell-Gustafson Pavilion. Joining Mccain Will Be Former Massachusetts Governor And Former Presidential Rival, Mitt Romney, Who Defeated Mccain In The January 15th Michigan Gop Primary. During His Last Visit In February Mccain Toured A Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant In Wayne. (Metro Source) (Mi-Wind Energy) The American Wind Energy Association And Some Of Its Members Is Urging Governor Jennifer Granholm To Reject Recent House Bills. The Group, Representing The World's Largest Manufacturer Of Wind Energy Equipment, Says The Legislation Would Fail To Boost Manufacturing And Jeopardize New Investment Into Wind Energy Projects. The Group Says Instead, The State Should Pass A Renewable Energy Standard That Requires The State To More Heavily Pursue Alternative Forms Of Energy. (Metro Source) (Detroit-Kilpatrick Report) Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Pulled The Wool Over City Council's Eyes. That's According To The Council's Attorney Bill Goodman Who Says A Report Shows That An Eight-Point-Four Million Dollar Settlement Deal In Last Summer's Whistleblower Lawsuit Against The City Was Orchestrated To Keep An Affair Between The Mayor And His Then-Chief-Of Staff, A Secret. Goodman Says The Council Was Duped By Mayor Who Wanted To Hide The Affair, Lied On The Witness Stand And Used Public Money To Cover Up Private Deceit. Kilpatrick Denies The Allegations Calling The Report Nothing More Than A Witch Hunt And Says He Has No Plans To Resign. (Metro Source/Wwj, Detroit) (Detroit-Reeves Robbed) Detroit City Councilwoman And 60's Motown Legend Martha Reeves Is Missing More Than 100-Thousand-Dollars Worth Of Recording Equipment After A Burglary At Her Childhood Home On The City's East Side. Reeves Said Someone Kicked In The Back Door Of The Home And Made Off With P-A Systems, Thousand-Dollar Microphones, And Other Equipment. She Originally Estimated The Loss At Close To One-Million-Dollars, But Revised The Amount After Returning To The House Monday. Reeves Does Not Live In The Home But Uses It As A Recording And Rehearsal Space. (Help From: Metro Source) (Kalamazoo-Teen Curfew) Sixteen-Year-Olds In Kalamazoo Will Soon Be Included In The City's Curfew Laws. The Current Curfew Says It's Illegal For Anyone Between The Ages Of 12 And 15 To Be Out In Public Between Midnight And 6 A.M., But Kalamazoo City Commissioners Voted Unanimously To Include 16-Year-Olds In That Mix. Members Of The Kalamazoo Department Of Public Safety Hope The Change Will Decrease The Amount Of Youth Violence In The City. The New Age Limit Will Take Effect May 15th. (Metro Source) (Charlevoix Co-Atv Crash Injured Toddler) A Toddler Suffered Severe Injuries After He Crashed An All-Terrian-Vehicle In Charlevoix County. Police Say Two-Year Old Sutton Majeske Of Port Huron Lost Control Of The Atv And Drove It Over A Five-To-Six Foot Embankment On Private Property Near East Jordan On Sunday. He Was Broke His Jaw And Cut Up His Face And Was Airlifted To A Flint Hospital In Critical Condition. Police Say The Child Was Wearing A Helmet At The Time Of The Accident. (Mike Paulin, Wtcm, Traverse City) (Macomb Co-Executive Election) It's Decision Day For Voters In Macomb County. Residents There Will Decide Whether They Want Their Own Executive-Style Government, Similar To Wayne And Oakland Counties. Supporters Of The County Executive Post Say It Would Have One Person In Charge Of Day-To-Day Business With Fewer Commissioners. Opponents Say It Will Help Politicians More Than Taxpayers. Both Sides Claim Their Position Would Potentially Save The County Money. They Also Agree That A Low Voter Turnout Means It Will Be A Very Close Race. (Wwj, Detroit) (Calhoun Co-Double Murder Trial) The Bench Trial Is Underway In Calhoun County For A Battle Creek Man Accused Of Killing His Wife And Son In Their Home. Prosecutors Say Michael Fisher Shot 38-Year Old Candy Fisher And Their 12-Year Old Son Michael The Second To Death In December Of 2006, Then Drove Himself To A Psychiatric Hospital In Kalamazoo, Where He Was Arrested. The 43-Year Old Fisher Was Later Ruled Competent To Stand Trial. Fisher Waived His Right To A Jury Trial Last Week. He Faces Life In Prison If Convicted On Either Of The Two Murder Charges. (Tom Forde, Wbck, Battle Creek) (Monroe-Body Found) Police Are Investigating The Death Of A Person Whose Body Was Found Near The Fermi Ii Nuclear Power Plant In Monroe. The Body Was Found On The Lake Erie Shore Tuesday Morning. Police Are Trying To Determine When The Person Died And Their Cause Of Death. The Gender And Identity Of The Person Wasn't Immediately Available. Anyone With Information About The Person’s Identity Is Being Asked To Contact The Michigan State Police. (Ionia-Holdup Hostage) A Man Who Held Up A Party Store West Of Ionia Added To His Trouble By Trying To Take The Clerk Hostage. The Ionia County Sheriff's Department Says The Knife Wielding Suspect Entered More Purks Party Store Monday Morning And Tried To Demand That The Female Clerk Leave With Him After The Holdup. She Ran To The Restroom, Locked It Up And Called 9-1-1 As The Man Fled. The Suspect Was Eventually Collared By The County's Animal Control Officer, Assisted By Sheriff's Deputies A Short Distance Away From The Store. State Police Are Seeking Armed Robbery And Kidnapping Charges Through The Prosecutor's Office. (Wood, Grand Rapids) (Mi-Sexual Predator) A Leelanau County Man Will Serve 16 Years In Prison For Distribution Of Child Pornography. 24-Year Old Jerry Mikowski Of Suttons Bay Will Also Serve Supervised Release For The Rest Of His Life Once He's Out From Behind Bars. Mikowski Was Arrested As Part Of An Investigation By The U.S. Department Of Homeland Security Of Users Of A Peer-To-Peer Network For Sharing Images Of Minors Engaged In Sexually Explicit Activity. An Examination Of Mikowski's Computer Revealed That He Had Approximately Five-Thousand Images, Primarily Of Girls Under The Age Of 12. He Was Charged As Part Of "Operation Predator", A Nationwide Initiative That Was Launched In 2003 To Protect Children From Sexual Predators. More Than 11-Thousand People Have Been Arrested In The Last Five Years, Including More Than 250 In Michigan. (Mike Paulin, Wtcm, Traverse City) (Holland-Tulip Time Tourism) High Gas Prices Don't Appear To Be Affecting Tourism At This Year's Tulip Time Festival. Many Festival Attendees Are Relying On Car-Pools And Tour Buses To Get Them To Holland This Year. Tour Bus Operators Say High Fuel Prices Are Actually Boosting Business For Them. The Tulip Time Festival Lures Thousands Of Visitors To Holland Each Year. Parades, Live Entertainment And Arts And Crafts Shows Are On The Schedule For The Rest Of The Week. (Metro Source) (Clare Co-Dog Ransom) The Dispute Has Apparently Been Cleared Up, But For A While, Police In Clare County Had A Dog Napping Case On Their Hands. County Animal Control Officials Were Called To A Report Of A Dog That Was Being Held For Ransom. Neighbors Of The Dog's Owners Took The White Poodle And Planned To Keep It Until The Owners Came Up With The 40-Dollars That Was Supposedly Owed Them. The Matter Has Since Been Cleared Up, According To Reports. (Mike Paulin, Wtcm, Traverse City) (Tues-Lottery) There Were No Tickets That Matched All The Mega Millions Numbers And Mega Ball In Yesterday's $120 (M) Million Dollar Drawing. The Winning Mega Millions Numbers Selected Tuesday Were: 4-21-46-53-54. The Mega Ball Number Was 26. Tuesday's Winning Midday Lottery Numbers Were: 6-6-7 And 4-4-0-4. The Evening Winners Selected Tuesday Were: 9-3-9 And 8-5-7-8. The Winning Fantasy Five Numbers Were: 15-28-30-32-37. Tuesday's Winning Keno Numbers Were: 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 17, 31, 37, 39, 44, 48, 52, 53, 55, 59, 61, 65, 68, 71, 78, 79. Friday's Mega Millions Jackpot Will Be An Estimated $145 (M) Millions Dollars. Wednesday's Classic Lotto 47 Jackpot Is Estimated At One-Point-Four (M) Million Dollars. |
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