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Wednesday Afternoon State News Summary Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:45:48 EDT (Mi-Unemployment Rate) Michigans Unemployment Rate In August Edged Upward By Two-Tenths Of A Percentage Point To 15-Point-Two Percent. According To The Department Of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth, Total Employment Fell By 28-Thousand And Unemployment Rose By Six-Thousand Last Month. The Reduction Of 22-Thousand In The States Labor Force Was The Largest Monthly Decline Since January. A Department Spokesman Says The States Unemployment Rate Remained Steady During The Summer Months However, Payroll Jobs Continue To Decline Led By Cuts In The Manufacturing Sector. Michigans Jobless Rate Last Month Was Six And Six-Tenths Percentage Points Above The States August 2008 Rate Of Eight-Point-Six Percent. The National Unemployment Rate In August Was Nine-Point-Seven Percent. (Mi-Granholm Recall) Governor Jennifer Granholm Is Now The Subject Of A Statewide Recall Campaign. The Ingham County Elections Commission On A Two To One Vote This Morning (Wednesday), Authorized Petition Language Which Gives An Arenac County Corrections Officer The Green Light To Attempt The Recall. It Was The Fourth Time That 52-Year-Old Paul Piche Of Omer Tried To Get Approval For His Recall Petition. He Claims The Governor Must Be Stopped In Her Efforts To Reduce The Number Of Inmates And Close State Prisons As Part Of Balancing The State Budget. Piche Faces A Monumental Task. He Needs To Gather More Than 950-Thousand Signatures In Less Than Two Months To Force A Statewide Recall Vote Of The Governor...That's 10-Thousand Names Per Day. Piche Brings With Him A List Of 100 Circulators And 100-Dollars In The Bank. Others Tried To Recall Governors Blanchard And Engler And Failed...Granholm Supporters Are Confident This Drive Will Fail, Too. (Mi-Union/Day Care Lawsuit) A Lawsuit Has Been Filed Against The State, Alleging That The Michigan Department Of Human Services Is Illegally Withholding Union Dues From Home Day Care Providers For Low Income Families. The Suit Was Filed By The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, A New Legal Arm Of The Free Market Mackinac Center Think Tank. It Was Filed On Behalf Of Two Home Day Care Operators, Who Charge The D-H-S Helped Clear The Way In Creating A Newly Formed Union, Called 'Child Care Providers Together Michigan, Which Is Effectively Organizing About 40 Thousand Babysitters. The Mackinac Center Says It's Wrong To Allow The State To Tax Independent Contractors. The New Union Was Created By The U-A-W And Afscme. They Will Collect About Three-Point-Seven Million Dollars In Dues From The Day Care Providers By The End Of The Year. (Detroit-Bouchard Picks Land) Republican Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard This Morning (Wednesday) Announced In Detroit That Secretary Of State Terri Lynn Land Will Be His Running Mate In His Quest To Win The 2010 Gubernatorial Election. Land Announced Earlier This Summer That She Was Dropping Her Interest In The Gubernatorial Sweepstakes And Endorsing Bouchard, The Former Senate Majority Floor Leader. Bouchard Says That Land Has Made Great Changes In Her Role As Secretary Of State And That She Would Be Able To Make Strong Positive Changes As Lieutenant Governor. (Allegan Co-Casino Groundbreaking) A Groundbreaking Ceremony Will Be Held Thursday For The First Phase Of The Gun Lake Casino In Allegan County. Phase One Will Be An 83-Thousand Square Foot Facility Which Will House One-Thousand-200 Slot Machines, 36 Gaming Tables, An Entertainment Lounge And Bar, Restaurant And Food Court. It's Approximately One-Half The Size Of The Initially Planned Project And Will Cost 157-Million Dollars. D.K. Sprague, Chairman Of The Gun Lake Band Of Pottawatomi Indians, Says Given The Current Economic Conditions, It Made Sense For Them To Build The Casino In Phases. The First Phase Will Create 600 Direct Jobs And One-Thousand Indirect Jobs. 750 Jobs Will Be Created Over The Course Of Construction Which Is Expected To Last 10-To-12 Months. It's Anticipated The Casino Will Pump More Than 11-Million Dollars Annually Into State And Local Revenue Sharing Funds. (Detroit-House Firebombed-Update) Two Men Are In Custody While Police Look For A Third In Connection With A Firebombing In Detroit That Sent Two Little Girls To The Hospital This Morning (Wednesday). Police Are Searching For The Boyfriend Of The Girls' Aunt. They Believe Brandon Jones And 32-Year Old Vanessa Thomas Got Into A Fight And He Tossed A Molotov Cocktail Into The Kitchen Window Of The House On Detroit's Northwest Side. The Two Injured Girls, 10-Month Old Adreona Thomas And Two-Year Old Kyra Mills, Are Children Of One Of Thomas' Sisters. They Are Being Treated For Smoke Inhalation At Children's Hospital. Three Other People In The House At The Time Of The Firebombing Were Not Injured. (Help From: Metro Source) (Mi-Gray Wolf) The U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service Has Published A Final Rule In The Federal Register Acknowledging That Endangered Species Act Protections Are Reinstated For The Gray Wolf In The Western Great Lakes. The Rule Complies With A Court Order And Settlement Agreement Which Effectively Restored The Protections On July 1st. The Lawsuit Challenged The Agencys April Decision Removing Gray Wolves In The Western Great Lakes From The Endangered Species List. Under The Terms Of The Agreement, The Wildlife Service Will Provide An Additional Opportunity For Public Comment On Any Future Proposed Rule To Remove The Protection For Wolves In The Region. The Settlement Agreement Does Not Affect The Status Of Gray Wolves In Other Parts Of The United States. It's Estimated That More Than Five-Hundred Gray Wolves Live In Michigan's Upper Peninsula And About Four-Thousand Live In Michigan, Minnesota And Wisconsin. (Kalkaska Co-Dismemberment Murder) The Trial Is Underway For An Oakland County Man Charged In The Death Of His Live-In Girlfriend Whose Dismembered Body Was Discovered Last Year In Northern Michigan. 46-Year Old David Dejonge (Dee-'Ong) Of Bloomfield Township Is Charged With Open Murder And Mutilation Of A Body. 28-Year Old Sarah Wilson Was Last Seen On May 8, 2008 And Reported Missing By Her Parents A Few Days Later. The Remains Of The Former Big Rapids Woman Were Found Two Weeks Later In A Swampy Area Of Kalkaska County's Oliver Township. Dna Tests Had To Be Done To Confirm Her Identity. Investigators Later Found What They Believe To Be Wilson's Blood On Multiple Items In A Nearby Cabin Owned By Dejonge's Family. (Detroit-Wrong Man Jailed) A Detroit Family Hopes Csi-Type Evidence Can Free Their Loved One From Prison, Where He's Been Held 23 Years On A Crime They Say He Never Committed. Before Dna Analysis Became The Norm, Then-31-Year Old Karl Vinson Of Detroit Was Convicted And Imprisoned In 1986 For The Rape Of A Nine-Year-Old Girl, On The Strength Of A Blood Test. But Now The Michigan Innocence Clinic At The University Of Michigan Says They Have Scientific Proof The Forensics Used To Convict Vinson Were Inaccurate. The Group's Attorneys Also Claim The Assistant Prosecutor On The Case Misled The Jury. Numerous Appeals Over The Years Have Been Denied. Vinson's Family Has Been Working With The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office For His Release. A Motion Has Been Filed To Set Aside The Now 54-Year-Old Man's Conviction. (Wwj, Detroit) (Ypsilanti-Uniforms Stolen) They Just Want Them Back, No Questions Asked. Ypsilanti High School Athletic Director Chuck Fuller Says That He And His Teams Just Want Their Stolen Basketball Uniforms Returned And Are Not Interested In Pressing Charges. Twenty-Three Uniform Pieces Have Turned Up Missing And It Is Believed That They Were Simply Stolen By Thieves Not By A Rival Team. Since Some Of The Pieces Taken Are Obsolete Now, Unless The Uniforms Are Returned They'll Have To Replace All Of The Uniforms For Freshman, Junior Varsity, And Varsity Team Members And That Will Cost Three To Four-Thousand Dollars. (Metro Source) (Detroit-Cobo Handed Over) After A Year Of Political Haggling, The Cobo Regional Authority Is Officially In Charge Of The Aging Convention Hall On Detroit's Riverfront And There's Already A Big Job List. Work Will Begin On Cobo's Electrical System In The Coming Months, Along With Other, Smaller Improvements. But It Won't Be Until After January's North American Internationial Auto Show That The Heavy Lifting Will Begin On Renovation And Expansion Work, To Be Completed By 2011. The Regional Authority Now In Charge Of Cobo Will Buy The Parking Facility From Detroit For 20-Million Dollars And Try To Secure More Than 280-Million In Bonds To Fund Cobo's Upgrade. Oakland County Officials Are Still Skeptical That Construction Costs Will Come In On Budget And That Cobo Can Sustain Itself After State Subsidies Run Out. (Wwj, Detroit) (Detroit-Fbi Dig) The Fbi Will Continue Its Search At A Former Lumber Yard In Detroit Today (Wednesday). Federal Authorities And Detroit Police Began Clearing Brush And Digging Holes On The Vacant Property On The City's West Side Monday Morning. Fbi Special Agent Sandra Berchtold Says A Sealed Federal Search Warrant Was Executed At The Site And She Would Not Give Any Details Of What Officials Are Looking For On The Lot. According To A Man, Who Lives Near The Property, Authorities Have Been Clearing A Space, Then Bringing In Dogs To Check The Area. As Of Late Monday, Berchtold Says Officials Have Not Found Anything At The Vacant Lot That She Can Report. The Mysterious Dig Has Led To The Inevitable Speculation That The Search Has Something To Do With Former Teamsters Union Boss Jimmy Hoffa. Police Officials Had No Comment On That Theory. (Metro Source) (Ontonagon-Mill Shutdown) The Smurfit-Stone Paper Mill In Ontonagon In The Western Upper Peninsula Has Closed Down Once Again. It's The Second Time In Less Than A Year That Operations Have Been Halted. The Paper Mill First Closed Last November And Didn't Reopen Until The End Of May. The Company Had Said Earlier That It's Halting Operations Due To Depressed Market Conditions. There Are Over 200 Employees At The Facility. It's Unclear How Long This Shutdown Will Last. (Detroit-Bomb Threat) Detroit Police Are Continuing To Investigate The Report Of A Bomb At The Frank Murphy Hall Of Justice This Morning (Wednesday). The Building Was Evacuated A Shortly Before 9:00 A.M. Bomb Sniffing Dogs Canvassed The Building Looking For Explosives But None Were Found. The Building Reopened Shortly Before 11:00 A.M. No Other Information Has Been Released. (Metro Source) (Roscommon Co-Motorcycle Theft) Even Thieves Need To Remember To Wear A Helmet While Riding A Motorcycle In Michigan. A Detroit-Area Man Is Facing A Number Of Charges Including The Failure To Wear A Helmet After He Tried To Outrun Police In Roscommon County At Speeds Over 100-Miles Per Hour On A Stolen Motorcycle. State Police Say 32-Year Old Christopher Nickerson Of St. Clair Shores Swiped The Harley From The Front Yard Of Property On M-55 In Houghton Lake Tuesday Afternoon. Troopers Pursued Nickerson At Speeds Over 70-Miles Per Hour In A 45-Mile Per Hour Zone Before He Headed North On Old U.S. 27 Reaching Speeds Up To 115 Miles Per Hour. When Additional Patrol Cars Joined The Chase, He Pulled To The Shoulder Of The Road And Ran Into Some Woods. Police Had To Use A Taser To Take Nickerson Into Custody. He Is Facing Charges Of Vehicle Theft, Fleeing And Eluding, Resisting Police And Failing To Wear An Approved Helmet. (Mike Paulin, Wtcm, Traverse City) |
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