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Friday Morning State News Summary Fri, 30 Jul 2010 3:07:05 EDT (Kalamazoo Co-Epa-Dam Breach) Reports The Oil Spill In The Kalamazoo River Had Breached A Dam And Was Headed Toward Lake Michigan Were Refuted By The Environmental Protection Agency. Susan Hedman, District Administrator For The Epa, Conducted A Flyover Thursday Afternoon, And Said That There Was No Evidence Of Oil On Morrow Lake In Comstock Township, Just East Of Kalamazoo. Governor Jennifer Granholm Had Previously Stated That The Oil Had Already Contaminated Water Beyond The Morrow Dam, Which Was Believed To Be The Final Barrier Between The Spill And Lake Michigan. An Estimated One-Million Gallons Of Oil Leaked Into The River When A Pipeline Broke Near Marshall. (Metro Source) (Calhoun Co-Oil Spill Evacuation) The Calhoun County Public Health Department Is Recommending Immediate Evacuation Of Residents Directly Affected In And Around The Site Of The Kalamazoo River Oil Spill. The Area Affects Approximately 30 To 50 Homes North And Northwest Of The Oil Spill Site In Talmadge Creek Near Marshall. According To Media Reports, County Health Department And Michigan Department Of Community Health Officials And Volunteers Will Personally Visit Those Homes Affected To Deliver Notices Of Recommended Evacuation. The Recommendation Is Due To The Higher Than Acceptable Levels Of Benzene Found In Air Quality Tests And The Adverse Health Affects Associated With Long-Term Exposure To The Known Carcinogen. Volunteers Are Reportedly Securing Hotel Rooms And Arranging Shelter Locations For Evacuees. (Mi-Drunk Driving Crackdown) This Year's Fourth Of July Holiday Drunk Driving Crackdown Resulted In The Arrests Of 239 Drunk Drivers. The Michigan Office Of Highway Safety Planning Says Law Enforcement Officers In 30 Counties Made More Than 68-Hundred Traffic Stops In The July 1-11 Crackdown. In Addition, 46 Fugitives Were Arrested And More Than One-Thousand Speeding Tickets Were Written. Last Year, One Pedestrian Died In Michigan In An Alcohol-Related Crash Over The July 4th Holiday. Preliminary Reports Indicate Five People Were Killed During This Year's Holiday Weekend With None Of The Crashes Involving Alcohol. Another Over The Limit. Under Arrest. Drunk Driving Crackdown Is Set To Start August 19th And Running Through The Labor Day Weekend. (State Police-New Contract) The State Police Troopers Union Has Announced That It's Ratified A New Contract With The State. Eighty-One Percent Of The Membership Voted To Approve The Agreement. The Contract Covers The Period From January 2009 Through December 2011. The Michigan State Police Troopers Associaton Says The Pact Includes A "Structural Change" Through Health Care Plan Design Changes, And Employee Premium Sharing. There Is No Wage Increase For The First Year Of The Contract, A One Percent Increase In The Second Year, And Two Percent In The Third Year. The Union Says The Wage Increases Are More Than Offset By Savings Achieved Through The Structural Changes In The Health Care Plan. The Agreement Also Includes M-S-P-T-As $1.4 Million Share Of The $50 Million In Fiscal Year 2010 Employee Concessions Achieved Through Banked Leave Time. The Mspta Represents Just Under 1,500 Troopers And Sergeants In The Michigan Department Of State Police. (Mi-Public Transit Jobs) The Department Of Transportation (Mdot) Estimates That Transit Operations Kept Over Nine-Thousand Jobs And Contributed One (B) Billion-Dollars In Economic Output In Michigan In 2008. An Mdot Study, Released Yesterday (Thursday), Found That For Every 10 Jobs Created In The Public Transit Sector, Six Additional Jobs Are Created In The Rest Of The Economy. "Mirs News" Reports The Study Also Found The Money Passengers Save By Taking The Bus Added Over 264 (M) Million-Dollars To The Michigan Economy. Those Who Use Public Transit As Opposed To A Car Or A Taxi Saved A Combined 348 Point-Eight (M) Million-Dollars In 2008. The Study Says Transit Agencies Delivered One-Dollar-46-Cents Of Economic Value For Each Dollar Spent On Providing Transit Services. (Mi-Biz Economic Survey) Michigan Business Leaders Are Forecasting A Loss Of Momentum In The Nation's Recovery While Michigan's Economy Will Bottom Out In 2011. The Business Leaders For Michigan's (Blm) Second Quarter Survey Of 75 Of The State's Most Prominent Executives Found That Over 90-Percent Think The U-S Economy Will Be The Same Of Get Better Over The Next Six Months. That's In Contrast To 82-Percent Who Believe Michigan's Economy Will Be The Same Or Deteriorate Over The Same Period. The Poll Also Found That Approximately 33-Percent Of Business Leaders Forecast Increased Hiring In Michigan In The Next Six Months. And Over 70-Percent Forecast Flat Or Lower Capital Investment In Michigan During The Same Period. B-L-M President Doug Rothwell Says The Results Show A Decade-Long Trend Of Michigan Getting Smaller And Poorer Relative To Other States...A Trend That Must Be Reversed. (Mi-Roads Pure Hell) A Michigan Transportation Team Has Launched An Online Viral Video Campaign Titled "Roads To Pure Michigan Are Pure Hell." The Group "Pothole Hell Devils" Delivered Personal Copies Of The Video To State Lawmakers Yesterday (Thursday) In An Effort To Get Legislators To Take Action On Developing Transportation Funding. Mike Nystrom Of The Michigan Infrastructure Transportation Association Says While The Pure Pothole Hell Campaign Is Lighthearted, Michigan's Crumbling Roads Are Very Serious And A Growing Problem For The State. The Pure Hell Campaign Comes As The Michigan Department Of Transportation Faces A Saturday Deadline To Submit A Complete List Of Approved Projects To The Metropolitan Planning Organizations. To Have Any Of The Projects Win Federal Approval By October 1st, State Lawmakers Must Find The 84 (M) Million-Dollars To Ensure Michigan Receives Its Full Federal Reimbursement. (Taylor-Officer Funeral) An Estimated Crowd Of Ten-Thousand Mourners Including Law Enforcement Officers From Throughout The State Attended The Funeral For Taylor Police Corporal Matthew Edwards Yesterday (Thurs). The Ceremony Was A Private Service For Family, Fellow Officers And Members Of Beacon Baptist Church. The 31-Year Old Edwards Was Killed In The Line Of Duty A Week Ago When He And His Partner Answered The Call Of A Possible Home Invasion At The Coppertree Apartments. Tyress Mathews Of Westland Allegedly Shot And Killed The Officer After He Was Stopped In The Parking Lot. The 36-Year Old Mathews Was Shot And Wounded By Edwards' Partner And Remains Hospitalized. He Is Expected To Face Charges Within The Next Few Days. (Metro Source) (Mi-Oil Leak Warning) Enbridge Energy, Which Owns The Pipeline That Leaked Near Battle Creek Earlier This Week, Was Warned By The Government That The Oil Leak Could Happen. A Confidential Letter Dated January 21st That Was Sent By Certified Mail From The Pipeline And Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Warned Company President Terry Mcgill Of The Potential Risk Of A Leak Of The Firms Pipeline In Griffith, Indiana. The Pipeline Is The Same One In Which A Leak Of An Estimated One-Million Gallons Of Oil Is Causing Major Environmental Damage In The Kalamazoo River. Houston-Based Enbridge Had Committed Probable Violations Of Pipeline Safety Regulations That Were Found In An Inspection Last Fall. The Problems Included Corrosion Of The Pipe And The Lack Of Equipment To Stop The Corrosion From Spreading. It Also States That Monitoring Equipment Should Be Installed. Ivan Huntoon, The Director Of The Central Region Office, Told Enbridge If Nothing Was Done, The Firm Could Be Liable For Civil Penalties Of $100,000 For Each Day In Violation, Up To One-Million Dollars. (Wwj, Detroit) (Mi-Snyder Leads Poll) The Latest Statewide Poll Shows Rick Snyder With A Slight Lead In The Race For The Republican Nomination For Governor. With Just Four Days Left Until Tuesday's Primary, The Ann Arbor Businessman Had The Support Of 26-Percent Of Likely Voters In The Lansing-Based Epic/Mra Poll Released Thursday. Attorney General Mike Cox Was Close Behind Snyder With 24-Percent, And U.S. Representative Pete Hoekstra Received 23-Percent Of Responses. Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard Finished Fourth In The Poll, At Ten-Percent. (Metro Source) (Mi-Illegal Foreclosure Rescue) The Attorney General's Office Has Filed 19 Criminal Complaints And 69 Charges Against Illegal Advanced Fee "Foreclosure Rescue" Operations. "Mirs Mews" Reports That Nine Michigan Mortgage Companies Are Accused Of Illegally Charging Homeowners Facing Foreclosure Upfront Fees For Mortgage Modification Assistance. Attorney General Mike Cox Announced The Charges Yesterday (Thursday). He Says The Companies Took Advantage Of Struggling Michigan Families Trying To Hold Onto The American Dream. Defendants Claim The Companies Would Help Homeowners By Working With Their Lenders In An Attempt To Modify The Borrower's Mortgage. After Paying The Upfront Fee, Borrowers Found That The Companies Made No Real Attempt To Secure A Modification. (Mi-Obama Returning) President Barack Obama Will Be Back In Michigan Today (Friday) To Talk About The Auto Industry. Obama Will Tour And Speak To Workers At A Chrysler Plant In Detroit And A General Motors Plant In Hamtramck. The Visit Comes Just Over A Year After The President Helped The Two Companies Start Returning To Profitability By Pushing The Auto Bailout Package Through Congress. The Hamtramck Gm Plant Is One Of Nine That The Automaker Recently Kept Open During A Scheduled Summer Shutdown In Production. The Jefferson North Chrysler Plant Just Added A Second Shift Bringing Approximately One-Thousand-100 Jobs To The Facility. According To The Obama Administration, The Auto Industry Overall Is Strengthening Because Of The Steps The Administration And Congress Have Taken With Cash For Clunkers And The Recovery Act. (Mi/Mn-Man Killed By Bear) Friends And Relatives Are Mourning The Death Of A Grand Rapids Man Who Was Killed By A Grizzly Bear At A Campground Near Yellowstone National Park In Montana Wednesday. 48-Year Old Kevin Kammer Was Evidently Attacked In Or Near His Tent At The Soda Butte Campground. Two Other People In That Campground Were Also Attacked By The 300 To 400 Pound Female Bear But Both Survived. The Mother Grizzly And Two Of Her Three Cubs Have Been Captured And Montana Fish, Wildlife And Parks Officials Have Said The Sow Will Be Killed. The Fate Of The Cubs Has Not Been Determined. (Help From: Rod Kackley, Wood, Grand Rapids) (Ingham Co-Murder Suspects-Update) The Number Of Suspects Arrested In Connection With The Death Of A 19-Year-Old Lansing Woman Is Now Up To Seven. 18-Year Old Demetris Kline Surrendered To Police Late Wednesday And Was Arraigned Today (Thursday) On Multiple Charges Including Open Murder, Armed Robbery, Home Invasion And Felony Firearm Possession. He's Being Held Without Bond In The Ingham County Jail Pending A Preliminary Examination On August 5th. Shayla Johnson Was Shot And Killed Friday Night After A Group Of Men Armed With Handguns And An Ak-47 Assault Rifle Stormed Her House On The City's Near South Side. Five Other Men Already Have Been Arraigned On Charges Including Murder And Home Invasion While Police Are Still Looking For 32-Year-Old Charles Lewis. One Of The Suspects' 13-Year Old Son Has Also Been Arrested And Prosectors Plan To Ask That The Boy Be Designated As An Adult. (Marshall-Oiled Animals) Agents From The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Do Not Want The Public To Try To Help Oiled Animals Near The Oil Spill In Kalamazoo And Calhoun Counties. There Is A Hotline To Call At 800-306-6837 If You See Animals Who Have Gotten Into The Crude. Another Issue Is That Of Mosquito-Borne Illnesses Such As Equine Encephalitis Which Has Been Reported In The Area. Kalamazoo County Medical Director Dr. Richard Tooker Said Trying To Help The Animals Affected By The Oil Spill Will Likely Take People Into Mosquito-Infested Areas And Increase Their Chance For Infection. (Metro Source) (Thur Lottery) Tonight's (Fri) Mega Millions Jackpot Is Worth $33 (M) Million Dollars. The Winning Numbers For The Midday 3 Lottery On Thursday Were: 0-0-2. The Winning Numbers For The Midday 4 Lottery Were: 6-5-4-5. The Winning Numbers For The Evening 3 Lottery Were: 7-1-6. The Winning Numbers For The Evening 4 Lottery Were: 1-6-0-6. The Winning Numbers For The Fantasy 5 Lottery Were: 05-29-32-38-39. The Winning Numbers For The Keno Lottery Were: 06, 07, 08, 12, 16, 20, 23, 27, 34, 35, 40, 42, 51, 57, 59, 63, 68, 70, 71, 74, 78, 80. Saturday's Classic Lotto Jackpot Is Projected To Be Three Million Dollars. |
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