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Tuesday Afternoon State News Summary Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:48:09 EST (Mi-Unemployment January) Michigan's Jobless Rate Dropped Slightly To 14.3 Percent In January. The Jobless Rate Reported Is Down From A Revised Rate Of 14.5 Percent In December. It Was Still Significantly Above The Year Ago Rate Of 11-Point-Three Percent. Michigan Continues To Have The Highest Jobless Rate. Michigan Has Held The Top Spot For Four Consecutive Years. The National Unemployment Rate Was 9.7 Percent In Both January And February. Michigan's February Rate Is Due Out Later This Month. (Mi-New Drug Threat) Authorities Are Concerned That The Party Drug B-Z-P, Also Known By Names Like "Frenzy," "Nemesis" And "Legal X" May Be Becoming More Prevalent In Detroit. B-Z-P Is Legal In Canada, But It Is Considered A Schedule One Drug In The U.S., Meaning It Has No Use Other Than Recreational. Frenzy Is Similar To Amphetamines And Is Said To Mimic The Affects Of Another Popular Party Drug Called Ecstasy. Possession Of A Schedule One Drug Is A Felony And Can Land A Possessor In Jail For Up To Ten Years, And A Dealer Could Serve Up To 20 Years Jail Time. Authorities Say That In The Last Year Reported Cases Have Jumped From 22 To 149. (Metro Source) (Mi-Sex Offenders Arrested) The State Police Say They've Arrested 179 Sex Offenders Who Were Not In Compliance With The Sex Offender Registry Law In Michigan. Called "Operation Verify," The State Police Also Say That 248 Additional Arrest Warrants Have Been Requested In The Crackdown, Which Police Say Is Aimed At Increasing Complaisance With The Law. It's The State's Seventh Coordinated Sex Offender Sweep In Five Years. Included In The Arrests Were Two Of The State's Most Wanted Sex Offender Absconders. They Are 27 Year Old Scott Pemberton, Who Was Arrested In Holland And Is Now In The Ottawa County Jail, And 41-Year Old Nathaniel Dilworth, Who Has Been Extradited To Jackson County. The Effort Involved More Than 120 Federal, State And Local Law Enforcement Agencies. The Arrests Took Place During The First Part Of February. The State's Sex Offender Registry Law Requires Offenders Convicted Of Felony-Listed Offense To Verify Their Address At A Local Law Enforcement Agency Quarterly During The First Half Of January, April, July And October. Offenders Convicted Of Misdemeanor-Listed Offenses Are Only Required To Verify In January. Failure To Either Verify Or Change An Address Can Mean Up To Ten Years In Prison. As Of January, There Were More Than 45-Thousand Offenders In The Registry, And Just Under 41 Thousand Were In Compliance With The Registry Law. (Pontiac-Tenn Not Guilty) A Jury Has Found A 17-Year-Old Not Guilty Of First Degree Murder In The Shooting Of A Restaurant Manager. The Jury In The Third Trial Of Jerome Hamilton Reached Their Decision Earlier Today. Hamilton Was One Of Three Teens That Allegedly Tried To Rob Catherine Solinski Blain Outside The Rib Rack Restaurant In Lathrup Village In October Of 2008. New Evidence At This Trial Came From Family Members Of Hamilton Who Said He Was With Them When The Shooting Occurred. The Other Two Men Accused In The Case Are Facing Jail Time. Deandre Sturgis Is Serving Life In Prison While Brandon Davis Will Spend Eleven To 18 Years Behind Bars. (Metro Source) (Uscongress-Chile Relief) Ways And Means Committee Chairman, Democrat Sander M. Levin Of Michigan And Ranking Republican Dave Camp Of Michigan Have Introduced Legislation That Would Allow Individuals Who Make Charitable Contributions To Victims Of The Earthquake In Chile To Claim An Itemized Charitable Deduction On Their 2009 Tax Return. The Idea Is To Allow Immediate Contributions And Immediate Deductions In Tax Returns Filed By April 15th Of This Year. The Bill Also Includes A Provision That Would Extend The Ability To Claim The Charitable Deduction For Contributions Made To Assist Victims Of The Earthquake In Haiti To The Same Date On 2009 Tax Returns. (Capitol-Digital Billboard Fight) A Battle Is Brewing In Lansing Over Digital Billboards. It Started With New Legislation That Would Temporarily Ban All New Digital Billboards, Because Some Say They Create A Driving Distraction. But The Billboard Industry Is Crying Foul, Saying The Boards Are Not A Distraction And Don't Pose A Danger On The Roads. They Point To Recent Studies In Nee Mexico, Minnesota And Ohio, Using Police Data, That Say The Billboards Are Not A Driving Distraction. The Legislation Is Now Before The State House. (Pontiac-Tenn Not Guilty) A Jury Has Found A 17-Year-Old Not Guilty Of First Degree Murder In The Shooting Of A Restaurant Manager. The Jury In The Third Trial Of Jerome Hamilton Reached Their Decision Earlier Today. Hamilton Was One Of Three Teens That Allegedly Tried To Rob Catherine Solinski Blain Outside The Rib Rack Restaurant In Lathrup Village In October Of 2008. New Evidence At This Trial Came From Family Members Of Hamilton Who Said He Was With Them When The Shooting Occurred. The Other Two Men Accused In The Case Are Facing Jail Time. Deandre Sturgis Is Serving Life In Prison While Brandon Davis Will Spend Eleven To 18 Years Behind Bars. (Metro Source) (Capitol-Dems Bank) Democrats In The Michigan Senate Are Proposing The Creation Of What They Call A "Michigan Development Bank." The Democrats Say Their Proposed Bank Will "Keep Residents Money In Michigan And Put It To Work To Stimulate The Economy And Create Jobs" Through Increased Business Lending And Protect Consumers With Reasonable Interest Rates On Loans. They Say The Michigan Development Bank Would Be Structured Like A Traditional Financial Institution, But It Would Operate Differently, With An Increased Emphasis On Economic Development Rather Than Profits. The Bank Would Be Used To Offer Small Business Loans, Agricultural Loans, Low Interest Credit Cards, Home Loan Assistance And Low Interest Student Loans. (Mi Job Outlook) The Job Market Is Turning Around For Jobseekers Virtually Everywhere Across Michigan, According To The Quarterly Manpower Employment Outlook Survey From The Milwaukee-Based Temporary Help Firm Manpower Inc. In The State's Largest Labor Market, Detroit-Warren-Livonia, 17 Percent Of Companies Plan To Hire More Employees In The April-June Second Quarter, While 10 Percent Expect To Reduce Their Payrolls. Another 72 Percent Expect To Maintain Current Staffing While 1 Percent Hadn't Yet Decided. That Net 7 Percent Positive Outlook Is Far Stronger Than The First Quarter, When The Outlook Stood At Minus 13 Percent. It's Also Stronger Than A Year Ago, When The Outlook Was Minus 5 Percent. For The Coming Quarter, Job Prospects Appear Best In Nondurable Goods Manufacturing, Professional And Business Services, Leisure And Hospitality And Other Services. (Jackson-Officer Killed) Authorities Have Identified A Jackson Police Officer Who Was Shot And Killed While Investigating A Domestic Dispute. Investigators Say 26-Year-Old Officer James Bonneau Was Shot By 63-Year-Old Elvin Potts Around 12:30 This Morning. Bonneau And Blackman Township Police Officer Darrin Mcintosh Were At Potts' Home After A Woman Called Police To Report She Was Having Trouble With Potts Who Was Her Ex-Boyfriend. Investigators Say Potts Opened Fire Wounding Both Officers Before He Was Shot And Killed By Another Officer. Bonneau Was Pronounced Dead At A Local Hospital While Mcintosh Underwent Surgery And Is Expected To Recover. The Investigation Into The Shooting Continues. (Metro Source) (Franklin-Preschoolers Hurt) Four Preschool Students At Their School In The Village Of Franklin Have Been Taken To The Hospital After An S-Uv Crashed Into The School. Police Say An Employee Was Backing Into A Parking Spot Early Today (Tue) At The Huda School When She Hit The Gas Instead Of The Brake. The S-U-V Crashed Thru A Glass Window Of A Preschool Class. 17 Students Were In The Class. Four Have Been Taken To The Hospital. Most Of The Injuries Are Cuts And Bruises. Authorities Say A Couple Parents And Staff Members Helped The Injured Students Until Emergency Personnel Arrived. An Investigation Is Ongoing, But Investigators Say It Appears It Was An Accident. (Wwj, Detroit) (Mi-Blue Cross Merger) A Subsidiary Of Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Michigan Has Opted To Abandon A Plan To Acquire Sparrow Health Systems' Physicians Health Plan Of Mid-Michigan. The Blue Care Network Announced Yesterday (Monday) That Both Parties Decided That The Extended Period Of Time And Substantial Cost To Get Regulatory Approval Weren't In The Best Interest Of Either Organization. Bcn President Kevin Klobucar Says It Was Not A Desire Of Either Organization To Continue To Focus Our Time And Resources To Litigate This Matter. Shortly After Bcn Made The Announcement, Attorney General Mike Cox Issued A Press Release Saying Blue Cross Dropped Its Plan After His Office Found Such A Merger Would Be Anticompetitive And That He Would File A Civil Antitrust Lawsuit Jointly With The U-S Department Of Justice. (Mi-Constitution Study) Most Michigan Voters Supported The Idea Of A State Constitutional Convention Until They Were Told How Much It Would Cost, According To A New Study. The Poll Conducted By Lansing-Based Epic Mra Found That 49-Percent Of Likely Voters Would Support Or Lean Toward A Constitutional Convention, While 35 Percent Oppose Or Lean Toward Opposing The Idea. But When Told A Constitutional Convention Could Cost As Much As 45 (M) Million-Dollars, Voters Change Their Tune With 71-Percent Opposing The Idea And Only 23-Percent Supporting It. The Poll Of 600 Likely Michigan Voters Had A Margin Of Error Of Plus Or Minus Four-Percentage Points. (Mi-Foster Care Numbers) The Number Of Children In Michigan Living In Foster Care Dropped By 13-Percent Over The Past Year. Officials From The Department Of Human Services Say There Are Now Fewer Than 16-Thousand Children In The State's Foster Care System. Dhs Data Released Yesterday (Monday) Also Shows That Adoptions Out Of The Foster Care Rose Six-Percent, Making It The Fourth Straight Year That Adoptions Have Risen. "Gongwer News Service" Reports The Dhs Data Was Released Just A Day Before A Federal Monitor Of The State's Child Care System Is Scheduled To Release An Update To A Fall Report. The Monitor Is The Result Of A Lawsuit Settlement That Required Dhs To Find Permanent Placements For More Children In Foster Care, Provide Better Training And Support For Relative Foster Care Placements And Improve Investigation Practices To Better Identify And Prevent Abuse And Neglect. (Detroit-13th Congressional Seat) State Senator Hansen Clarke Has Officially Announced His Candidacy For The 13th Congressional District Seat. The "Detroit Free Press" Reports Clarke Will Face Off Against U-S Representative Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick In Democratic Primary. The 53-Year-Old Clarke Says The Time Is Ripe For A Run For The Seat Because There Is Such Public Discontent With Congress. Cheeks Kilpatrick Is The Mother Of Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. In 2008, Cheeks Kilpatrick Faced A Tough Primary Election And Nearly Lost To A Far Underfunded Candidate In The August Primary. (Detroit-Conyers Sentence) Federal Prosecutors In Detroit Are Asking A Judge To Consider Other Acts Of Alleged Corruption When He Sentences Former Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers Wednesday Afternoon. Conyers Will Be Sentenced For Conspiring To Take Bribes In Connection With Her City Council Vote Supporting The One-Point-Two (B) Billion-Dollar Synagro Waste Treatment Contract. The Conspiracy Also Involved Conyers' Work As A Member Of The General Retirement System, A Pension Fund For City Workers. The 22-Page Sentencing Memorandum From The U.S. Attorney's Office Says Conyers Should Also Be Punished For Alleged Schemes Aired During The Recent Trial Of Ex-Aide Sam Riddle. His Case Ended In A Mistrial Last Month. The Government Says That Would Boost Conyers' Sentencing Guidelines To 46 Months To 57 Months In Prison. In A Court Document Unsealed Monday, Prosecutors Say She Deserves A "Substantial Sentence Consistent With Her Conduct.'' Conyers, Who Is The Wife Of Democratic Congressman John Conyers, Pleaded Guilty Last Summer And Resigned. Her Attorney, Steve Fishman, Declined Comment. (Wwj, Detroit) (Soutfield Bridal Shop Fight) Three Men Have Been Arraigned On Assault Charges For A Fight At A Southfield Bridal Shop. The Melee Took Place Last Week At First Lady Boutique And Bridal Salon After A Dissatisfied Customer Took Issue With The Store's Service. First Lady Owner Hekmat (Heck'mat) Putruss (Puh-Truce') Says The Woman Came Back The Following Day And Threatened Him When The Complaint Was Not Resolved. According To Putruss, The Woman Requested Alterations To Her Bridal Gown. Putruss Says He Told The Customer That The Store Would Not Handle Any More Services For Her. (Metro Source) |
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