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Wednesday Morning State News Summary Wed, 29 Apr 2009 4:51:34 EDT (Granholm-Budget Cuts) Governor Granholm Will Issue Executive Order Budget Cuts Next Tuesday. According To The 'Detroit News,' Granholm Planned To File A Five-Day Notice Yesterday (Tuesday) That She Will Recommend Spending Reductions As Required. However, The Governor Didn't Say Where The Cuts Would Come Or The Size Of Her Order Which Is Aimed At Eating Into An 800 Million-Dollar Budget Shortfall In The Current Fiscal Year. Legislative Leaders Have Suggested That Spending Cuts Of Somewhere Between 200-Million And 300-Million Dollars Are Necessary, Plugging The Rest Of The Hole With Federal Stimulus Money. The Governor's Executive Order Must Be Approved By The Appropriations Committees In The House And Senate In Order To Take Effect. (Capitol-Prison Reform) Republicans In The State Senate Tuesday Introduced A Prison Reform Package They Say Will Help The State Save Money In The Corrections System Without Putting Public Safety At Risk By Closing Prisons And Releasing Felons. The Bills Would, Among Other Things, Establish A Series Of Requirements That A Prisoner Must Meet To Be Able To Be Paroled, Including Establishing A Detailed Treatment Plan For Drug And Alcohol Abuse Or Mental Health, If Appropriate. The Department Of Corrections Would Be Required To Partner With In-State Medical Schools For Health Care Services And Report To The Legislature On The Cost And Effectiveness Of The Offender Tracking Information System. Governor Granholm Has Proposed Closing Additional Prisons And Releasing At Least Three-Thousand Inmates As Way To Reduce A Projected Budget Shortfall Of One-Point-Six (B) Billion Dollars Next Year. But Senate Republicans Argue That Decreasing The Inmate Population Will Not Result In A Significant Cost Savings To The State. (Mi-Swine Flu) State Health Officials Are Still Awaiting To Hear From The Centers For Disease Control And Prevention To See If A 34-Year Old Livingston County Woman Tested Positive For The Swine Flu. The Woman Recently Traveled To The Texas And Mexican Border. She Is Experiencing Flu-Like Symptoms And Is Recovering At Home. Meanwhile, The Department Of Community Health Says It Is Concerned A Kent County Resident Has A "Probable" Case Of The Flu Strain. No Word On Whether The Patient Is A Man Or Woman. There Are At Least 64 Confirmed Cases Of Swine Flu In The U-S. (Mi-Swine Flu Response) The State Is Taking Measures To Keep Michigan Residents Informed With Up-To-Date Information On The Human Outbreak Of Swine Flu Being Reported Around The Country. Governor Granholm Has Partially Activated The State's Emergency Operations Center As Well As The Joint Information Center. The State Emergency Operations Center In Lansing Will Monitor The Ongoing Situation With Local, State And Federal Agencies. The Joint Information Center Will Serve As The State's Central Communications Hub And Is Responsible For Gathering, Monitoring And Disseminating Information To Keep The Public Aware Of Any And All Developments Relating To The Outbreak. The Community Health Emergency Coordination Center Also Has Been Fully Activated To Oversee Reporting Of Potential Swine Flu Cases In Michigan And Provide Public Health Officials With Updated Information. (Capitol-Equal Pay) Democrats In The State House Have Unveiled Legislation Aimed At Ending Wage Discrimination. The Plan Would Establish New Penalties For Wage Discrimination And Create New Legal Avenues To Pursue Those Employers That Engage In The Practice. A Report By The American Association Of University Women Shows Michigan Is Ranked 44th In The Nation For Wage Parity With Women In Michigan Paid 71 Cents For Every One-Dollar Men Make - A 29-Percent Pay Gap. Under The Legislation, Failing To Provide Equal Compensation For Work Of Comparable Value Will Be A Violation Of The State's Elliot-Larsen Civil Right Act. Gender-Based Pay Discrimination Would Be A Misdemeanor, With Employers Facing Fines Up To Two-Thousand Dollars Or Up To 90 Days In Jail For Not Complying. Employers Guilty Of A Third Violation Would Face Fines Up To 15-Thousand Dollars. A Similar Plan That Passed The House Last Year Was Rejected By The Republican-Controlled Senate. (Capitol-Autism Rally) Supporters, Children With Autism, And Their Families Rallied On The Steps Of The State Capitol Yesterday (Tuesday) To Raise Autism Awareness And Show Support For A Plan To Require Health Insurance Companies To Cover Autism Treatments. The Event Was Held In Accordance With National Autism Awareness Month. House Democrats Recently Launched An Online Petition For Residents Who Would Like To Show Their Support For The Plan And Raise Autism Awareness. Currently, Most Health Insurance Companies Cover Only Autism Screenings. Proponents Of The Plan Claim Treating Autism Can Cost A Single Family 50-Thousand Dollars Or More Annually, And Roughly Three-Point-Two Million Dollars To Provide Autism Treatment For An Individual Over His Or Her Lifetime. According To The Michigan Department Of Education, An Estimated 13-Thousand-839 Children In Michigan Had Some Form Of Autism In 2008. (Capitol-Funding Crime Lab Review) The State Appellate Defender Office Says It Needs More Than 300-Thousand-Dollars To Review About Two-Thousand Cases That May Have Been Tainted By The Now Defunct Detroit Crime Lab. Sado Director Jim Neuhard Told A State House Subcommittee Yesterday (Tuesday) That The Funding Would Be Used To Hire Four More People To Comb Through Files Form The Last Twelve Years To Determine How Many People May Have Been Wrongly Convicted. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy Shut Down The Detroit Crime Lab Last Year After A State Police Audit Of The Firearms Lab Revealed Errors In One Out Of Every Ten Analyses Of Ballistic Evidence. (Mi-College Access Network) Governor Granholm Yesterday (Tuesday) Announced The Launch Of The "Michigan College Access Network" (Mcan) In An Effort To Diversify The State's Economy By Doubling The Number Of College Graduates. The Initiative Is Intended To Promote Postsecondary Education By Supporting Local College Access Programs, Which Help Citizens Learn About Higher Education Options, Get Into College, And Earn Their Degrees. As Part Of Mcan, The State Will Launch A One-Stop-Shot Web Site For Students To Plan, Apply, And Pay For College. The Network Is Expected To Be Up And Running In The Fall Of 2010. It Is Supported By A U-S Department Of Education Grant And Private Organizations. (Detroit-American Axle Cuts) American Axle Is Closing Its Largest Detroit Area Factory Meaning More Than 700 Permanent Layoffs. According To Reuters The Company Is Moving All Of Those Jobs To Mexico By The End Of July. The Plant Produces Axles For Heavy-Duty Pickup Trucks. (Metro Source) (Eastpointe-Police Shooting) A 19-Year-Old Man Is In Temporary Serious Condition After Being Shot By Police In Eastpointe Tuesday Afternoon. According To Police, Officers Were Called To The Papa Romanos At Nine Mile And Gratiot After A Fight Broke Out In The Restaurant. Officers Tried To Stop The Suspect Outside The Restaurant When He Pulled A Handgun On Police. Police Inspector John Calabrese Says The Officer Shot The Suspect Twice In Self Defense. An Investigation Is Underway. (Metro Source) (Kalamazoo Co-Fatal Fire Investigation) Investigators Now Say There Were 16 People In A Kalamazoo County Rental Home Saturday When A Fire Broke Out That Left Four Children Dead. So Far Officials Believe The Fire Was An Accident, But They Have Not Determined The Cause. Autopsies Showed That Two-Year-Old Kianna Bracken, Four-Year-Old Deontae Vaughn, Four-Year-Old Zion Bryant And Six-Year-Old Daniel Adams All Died From Smoke Inhalation. The Landlord Told Investigators There Were Working Smoke Detectors In The House, But That Has Not Been Confirmed. 22-Year-Old Daniela Adams And 5-Year-Old Vernon Bryant Remain Hospitalized. (Wbck, Battle Creek) (Marquette-City Attorney Settlement) A Four-Year Battle Has Come To An End In Marquette. The City Commission Monday Approved A Settlement In A Legal Dispute With Former City Attorney Bonnie Hoff Who Was Fired In 2005. She Filed A Lawsuit Claiming Breach Of Contract And Court Rulings Found Her Firing By The City Commission To Be Illegal Because The Panel Violated The Open Meetings Act. As Part Of The Settlement, Hoff Has Officially Resigned As City Attorney But Other Details Have Not Been Released Yet. Hoff Was Asking For Between 500-Thousand And 800-Thousand Dollars In Back Wages, Attorneys Fees, And Workmen's Compensation Claims. The City's Insurance Carrier, The Michigan Municipal League, Will Pay For The Entire Settlement Which Must Be Approved By The Workmen's Compensation Agency. That Could Come Later This Week. (Battle Creek-Accidental Fatal Shooting) A Battle Creek Man, Who Police Say Accidentally Shot Himself Has Died. Police Were Called To A Home Monday Afternoon, Where They Found 21-Year Old Michael Asher Suffering With A Gunshot Wound To The Neck. He Was Taken To Battle Creek Health System And Transferred To Borgess Hospital In Kalamazoo, Where He Died Tuesday Morning. A Witness Told Police Asher Had Just Purchased A 38-Calibre Handgun And Was Playing With It When It Discharged. Investigators Are Working To Find Out Where Asher Bought The Weapon. They Say It Was Reported Stolen In 1977. (Wbck, Battle Creek) (Hamtramck-Colbert Coward) Habitat For Hamtramck Is Challenging Stephen Colbert, Host Of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" To Help Raise Funding For Two Projects In Detroit And One In Hamtramck. The Group Posted The Challenge On Its Website To Colbert To Help Raise 350-Thousand-Dollars. The Post Insinuates That Colbert Is A Coward If It Is Unable To Reach Its Goal. If Colbert Commits To Help With Some On-Air Publicity, The Group Says It Will Name A House After Him, Paint A Full-Sized Mural Of Colberts Face On One Side Of One Of The Houses And Possibly Create A Replica Of The House In The Likeness Of His Head. (Tues-Lottery) No Tickets Matched All The Mega Millions Numbers And Mega Ball In Yesterday's $181 (M) Million Dollar Drawing. That Means Friday's Drawing Will Be Worth $220 (M) Million Dollars. The Winning Mega Millions Numbers Selected Tuesday Were: 15, 20, 24, 36, And 44. The Mega Ball Number Was 6. Tuesday's Winning Midday Lottery Numbers Were: 1-6-0 And 4-0-8-9. The Evening Winners Selected Tuesday Were: 8-7-4 And 0-5-9-9. The Winning Fantasy Five Numbers Were: 12-19-20-34-38 . Tuesday's Winning Keno Numbers Were: 02-03-05-14-17-21-24-27-30-33-35-38-40-42-43-46-49-52-59-65-69-72. Wednesday's Classic Lotto 47 Jackpot Is Estimated At Six-Point-Two (M) Million Dollars. |
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