Reports that Tsunami waves have reached Hawaii. This from ABC news:
Tsunami waves reached Hawaii early today, following a massive 8.9 magnitutde earthquake in Japan, that triggered tidal wave warnings as far away as Oregon as the giant wave makes its way to the West Coast of the United States.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says Kauai was the first island hit early by the tsunami, which was quickly sweeping through the Hawaiian Island chain.
Screeching tsunami warning sirens woke residents through the night and Hawaiians were warned to seek higher ground and officials braced for the first 6 foot waves to make landfall just before 3 a.m. local time, 9 a.m. EST
Update 8:04 a.m.:
Hawaii is bracing for a possible tsunami following the magnitude 8.9 earthquake that hit Japan early this morning (Eastern time). The AP reports:
Warning sirens have been sounding and coastal areas are being evacuated. The first waves are expected to hit around 9 a.m. Eastern time today. Waves are predicted to hit the U.S. Western Coast between 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Eastern.
Update 7:46 a.m.:
President Obama has issued his condolences for the people who died in the earthquake in Japan. The President said the United States, "stands ready to help" in any way it can. The Associated Press reports:
At the same time, Obama said in a statement early Friday that his administration will "continue to closely monitor tsunamis around Japan and the Pacific going forward."
The largest earthquake in Japan's history - measured at a magnitude of 8.9 - pummeled the eastern coast of Japan Friday, accompanied by a towering tsunami. A rising death toll is in the dozens.
Obama said he has told the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be ready to assist Hawaii and any other U.S. states and territories that might be affected. He said he's ready to support the Japanese people "in this time of great trial."
6:59 a.m.:
Officials in Japan say more than 30 people have died in the magnitude 8.9 quake and 13-foot tsunami that hit the northeast part of the country, the Associated Press reports:
People, boats, cars, buildings and tons of debris were swept away by the wave. The death toll has been rising.
Fires triggered by Friday's quake are burning out of control up and down the coast, including one at an oil refinery.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was a magnitude 8.9, while Japan's meteorological agency measured it at 8.8. It was followed by more than 19 aftershocks, including several at least 6.3, the size of the quake that struck New Zealand recently.
Dozens of cities and villages along a 1,300-mile stretch of coastline were shaken by violent tremors that reached as far away as Tokyo, hundreds of miles from the epicenter.
A tsunami warning was issued for the entire Pacific, including areas as far away as South America, the entire U.S. West Coast, Canada and Alaska.
Grand Rapids smashed the former world record for rubber chicken chucking set last April in a town near Boston. They got 265 people to toss rubber chickens at once. Last night Grand Rapids tossed an impressive 925.
The world record title marked the beginning of LaughFest. An event that'll take over much of Grand Rapids over the next 9 days. Those little yellow smiley faces representing the festival dot billboards, bar windows, churches; people even wear them as lapel pins.
A winter storm has brought a few inches of snow and dangerous early-morning driving conditions to parts of the state. The Associated Press reports:
The National Weather Service says southeast Michigan was feeling the effects of the storm Friday morning, with an inch or more on the ground as the morning commute began. The snow left slippery driving conditions in its wake and numerous weather-related spinouts and crashes were reported.
The state's Thumb area and Port Huron were expected to get the most snow. The weather service says 5 to 7 inches could fall in that area. Winds contributed to hazardous conditions.
As much as 4 inches of snow fell overnight as a fast-moving system heads from the Ohio Valley into Canada, with Metro Detroit on the outer edge of the system.
The snow is expected to taper off this morning, but not before some parts of the region see a total of as much as 7 inches snow, said meteorologist Steve Considine of the National Weather Service reporting station in White Lake Township.
"It is winding down now," he said about 6:15 a.m. today. "About 2-4 inches will fall in much of Metro Detroit and higher in Macomb County."
St. Clair and Sanilac counties could see a total of 5-7 inches, Considine said, because of how the storm is moving.
Blowing snow could be a problem this morning because winds are blowing at 25-30 mph, Considine said.
Temperatures were in the 20s this morning but expected to climb near 40 degrees this afternoon, Considine said. A snowy rain is expected later this evening.
Michigan’s research universities could have a lot at stake in the outcome of a Stanford University lawsuit before the U.S. Supreme Court.
The ruling could affect who gets the rights to nearly two billion dollars’ worth of patents that are developed as part of university-private partnerships.
Stanford sued after drug company Roche claimed the rights to a lucrative medical test.
A Stanford researcher developed the test using research techniques he learned at a private company later acquired by Roche.
Governor Rick Snyder signed full funding into law for the Pure Michigan ad campaign.
He signed the funding plan at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn today, saying his plan to pay for the Pure Michigan ad campaign through a venture capital fund will work this year and next year.
He says he will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of the ad campaign over the next two years:
“I’m the metrics and dashboard person, so we’re going to focus on metrics and dashboards on everything we do,” said Snyder.
Republican congressman Mike Rogers says more than a thousand major corporations,unions and other groups have obtained waivers to the new national health care law, so they will not be immediately mandated to carry health insurance or pay a fee instead. He says they shouldn't be the only ones with that option.
Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard is making plans to take over the policing duties in Pontiac. The city of Pontiac is shutting down its police department as the city deals with severe budget problems.
The city’s rank and file police officers voted to dissolve their union contract this week. Other public safety unions must also do the same before the Sheriff’s department takes over. Sheriff Bouchard says policing Pontiac will pose some public safety challenges to his office.
And now... add the lack of a State Fair to that list.
In this age of austerity, Nevada has decided to cut its State Fair. Michigan cut its Fair back in 2009.
The Associated Press reports Nevada and Michigan are the only two states without a State Fair.
From the AP:
The board of directors for the Nevada State Fair says there won't be one this summer.
Board members say budget shortfalls leave them no choice but to bring an end to the fair for the first time in 136 years.
Executive director Rich Crombie said in a statement Wednesday that a last-ditch fundraising effort had produced only a fraction of the estimated $250,000 needed to keep the fair from folding up its tent.
It means Nevada will join Michigan as the only states in the nation without state fairs.
Crombie says they are debt but don't intend to file bankruptcy. He says the hope is to continue to raise money for another state fair in the years ahead. The first Nevada fair was held in 1874.
The Michigan State Fair, said to be the country's oldest, was closed in 2009 because of declining attendance and budget shortfalls.
Michigan Radio's "Picture Project" has some fantastic images of Michigan's now defunct State Fair.
Today, within the framework of the Charter for Tibetans in Exile, the Kalon Tripa, the political leadership, and the people’s representatives are directly elected by the people. We have been able to implement democracy in exile that is in keeping with the standards of an open society.
As early as the 1960s, I have repeatedly stressed that Tibetans need a leader, elected freely by the Tibetan people, to whom I can devolve power. Now, we have clearly reached the time to put this into effect. During the forthcoming eleventh session of the fourteenth Tibetan Parliament in Exile, which begins on 14th March, I will formally propose that the necessary amendments be made to the Charter for Tibetans in Exile, reflecting my decision to devolve my formal authority to the elected leader.
There’s been a lot of talk in West Michigan lately about how wind power could boost the region’s economy. The area, particularly along the Lake Michigan shore, could be home to several potential wind projects.
On the public radio program Here & Now, host Robin Young was interviewing Gabrielle Hamilton, the chef and owner of the New York City restaurant “Prune.” She wrote a memoir called “Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef,” (which chef Anthony Bourdain called “simply the best memoir by a chef - ever.”).
During the interview Young asked Hamilton about her time in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Young says, "like a lot of Americans, you thought, 'Ann Arbor, Michigan… cheese cubes.'"
You can hear Young's comment in the audio here. It's at the 6 minute mark.
That comment sparked one listener to write in. Phillip wrote:
I do hope that someone from your Michigan network of stations will contact the host of Here and Now about her comment yesterday regarding Ann Arbor; specifically, in an interview with the chef/ author of Prune, the host remarked something to the effect that "When most of us think of Ann Arbor, we think of cheese cubes..." Give me a break!
Well, we did share that comment with the producers at Here & Now and host Robin Young wrote back:
Dear Phillip
OY YI YI!!!!
The cheese cube kerfuffle!!
We're going to address on a letters segment on air, but I've been writing the (many!) people who've written.
Just to clarify.. what I said was, "YOU" (meaning the author) thought Michigan meant cheese cubes. This is what she writes in the book! Then I went on to say, but you found otherwise.
I buy from Zingermans!! I don't think Ann Arbor means cheese cubes!
Nobody in Lansing was neutral yesterday when the Michigan senate completed passage of new, tougher Emergency Financial Manager legislation on a straight, party line vote.
State Senator Phil Pavlov said this is needed to maintain “vital services, such as public safety and education,” when a city or a school district is in desperate financial straits.
This reform, he said, is necessary to allow steps to be taken “to protect public interests and the public’s money and strengthen local control and accountability.” His fellow Republicans all agreed.
But if you talked to any of the Democrats, they sounded like this was the equivalent of Mussolini seizing power. “An unfair and unjustified power grab,“ Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer called it. One of her colleagues said it went way too far, “and was going to damage our communities and our schools.”
Well, you could say that it is nice to see that our time-honored tradition of bitter partisan divisions is alive and well, but I think the opposite. We’ve had four sterile years of that in Lansing. I think we’d all be better off if this could have been a bipartisan bill.
Michigan’s new ‘Texting While Driving’ law will get its first test in a fatal auto accident in Lapeer County. The driver who allegedly caused the accident that killed a 78 year old woman was allegedly texting behind the wheel.
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