Michigan Radio Newsroom

Are we allowing poorly performing charter schools to expand in Michigan?

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:44:33 +0000

Education Trust-Midwest, "a statewide nonpartisan policy, research, and advocacy organization," released an analysis on the 32 charter schools set to open in Michigan this fall.

They say while some newly approved charter schools are run by operators with a strong track record, many others are run by operators that are “chronically low-performing.”

According to ETM’s David Zeman, the data demonstrates that “Michigan needs to seriously consider holding charter authorizers more accountable for school quality.”

In this morning’s news: Orr eyes DIA art as city asset, Hamtramck finances, prom shooting in Saginaw

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Fri, 24 May 2013 14:57:50 +0000

Detroit looking to sell art from the DIA?

Detroit’s emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, is considering whether the collection at the Detroit Institute of Arts should be counted as a city asset. If so, it could be sold to help cover the city's $15 billion debt.

The DIA Executive Vice President Annmarie Erickson has hired a bankruptcy attorney to help advise how to protect the collection. However, as The Detroit Free Press reports, liquidating the art to help pay the debt would be incredibly complicated and controversial.

Hamtramck faces financial turmoil

According to a state-appointed review team, the City of Hamtramck faces a financial emergency.

The results of the investigation were released on Thursday. Six years ago, Hamtramck emerged from state oversight. Now its more than $3 million in debt. Michigan Radio’s Lindsey Smith reports, if Governor Rick Snyder agrees with what the review team found, city leaders could opt for an emergency manager.

Pre-prom shooting in Saginaw

A 17-year old female died as a result of a shooting at a Saginaw High School pre-prom party.

Three other women were also injured during the shooting and are receiving treatment. According to an MLive report by Jessica Fleischman, the incident occurred in the parking lot of the Florence Event Hall. Officials have not revealed whether the 17-year old was a Saginaw student or if suspects have been identified.

32 new Michigan charter schools set to open in fall 2013

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Thu, 23 May 2013 23:39:54 +0000

This fall, 32 new charter schools are scheduled to open in Michigan.

To check out where these schools will be located, look at this Michigan Association of Public School Academies (MAPSA) link.

According to MAPSA, there are currently 232 charter public schools in Michigan with over 100,000 enrolled students.

This year, there number of charter schools opening is due in part to a controversial law that lifted restrictions on charter schools.

Former Detroit Public Library official charged with bribery

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:49:54 +0000

Tim Cromer, the former chief administrative officer for the Detroit Public Library, was charged with taking $1.4 million dollars in bribes.

Cromer and two contractors were indicted on 21 counts after the FBI raided the library offices last November.

Christine MacDonald of The Detroit News has more:

The difficulties of setting a legal limit for high driving in Michigan

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:45:17 +0000

On Tuesday, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that medical marijuana patients are not automatically breaking the law if caught driving after using marijuana.

Passed in 2008 by Michigan voters, the state’s Medical Marihuana Act does prohibit patients from operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of pot.

But the law fails to explicitly say just how much THC, marijuana’s active ingredient, needs to be in the bloodstream for a user to be considered “under the influence.”

Which is why the justices offered this piece of advice to lawmakers: Set a legal limit for pot consumption, just like the blood alcohol content metric for alcohol intoxication.

Canada scouts for property in Delray for new bridge

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:25:37 +0000

Get ready Michigan – Canada is taking serious steps toward building a new bridge over the Detroit River, according to Dave Battagello from The Windsor Star:

The Canadian government has dedicated $25 million in its recent budget to start buying property in Delray for the new Detroit River bridge, while U.S. federal administrators debate the size and scope of the customs plaza, Canada’s Consul General Roy Norton said Wednesday.

If you aren’t familiar with the bridge project (known as the Detroit River International Crossing or the New International Trade Crossing) you certainly saw the commercials for Proposal 6 last November.

Proposal 6 was an attempt by Ambassador Bridge owner, Matty Moroun, to require voter approval for any bridge or tunnel between Michigan and Canada.

Proposal 6 did not pass and the new bridge is moving closer to reality.

Black bear drops by middle school in Mancelona

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:42:52 +0000

The Mancelona Middle School had a surprise visitor on Monday.

According to Michael Walton of the Traverse City Record-Eagle, around 9 a.m. a black bear lumbered onto school grounds.

The school’s principal, Chad Culver, was meeting with a teacher when he first spotted the bear.

"Literally out by the bike rack, which is about 20 feet from my window, was a black bear," Culver said

The bear prompted a 10-minute stay-in-place lockdown. Students were not allowed to leave the building. Shortly after the lockdown went into effect, the bear was spotted crossing U.S. 131 west of town.

77 percent of students return to troubled Buena Vista school district

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 22 May 2013 17:28:38 +0000

The Buena Vista School District reopened on Monday after closing for two weeks due to a financial crisis.

Of the 400 students that attended the school district before the closure, 77.5 percent have returned, according to Lindsay Knake at MLive:

Superintendent Deborah Hunter-Harvill said the there are 339 students back in school this week, including 151 students at Doerr Child Development Center, 97 students at Phoenix Science & Technology Center and 91 students at the high school.
"We have to keep working to receive high school students back," she said.
The high school had about 160 students prior to the school closings, and is missing 40 to 50 students including the 25 graduating seniors, Hunter-Harvill said. There are 29 students missing at Doerr and 10 missing at Phoenix.
"Come back to us," Hunter-Harvill asked students at a community meeting on Tuesday, May 21. "Believe in us."

Knake also reports that five employees who were laid off were recalled:

Vote for your favorite craft cocktail bar in Michigan

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:13:05 +0000

We asked you where you go for a craft cocktail, and you told us.

Here are the 17 favorites we heard about on Facebook.

Now let's vote!

EPA grants $600,000 to help assess Wayne County brownfield sites

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:10:29 +0000

The federal government is giving a Wayne county agency $600,000 to assess more than 30 potentially contaminated sites in Southwest Detroit.

The grant will not cover the costs of cleaning up or redeveloping these sites but Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano says it's exciting to see more focus being placed on the city's neighborhoods.

Income taxes could go up in Flint

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:22:28 +0000

Last night, Michigan Radio's Steve Carmody reported on the city of Flint's budget.

While the emergency manager delivered a balanced budget for next year, the city council was concerned the budget cuts would negatively impact basic city services.

This morning, MLive and the Flint Journal reported that the emergency manager, Ed Kurtz, wants to raise income taxes in order to stabilize the city's finances.

Read this for a brief summary of all the problems at Palisades

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:00:05 +0000

Operators at Palisades Nuclear Power Plant announced yesterday that it will take until early summer to repair the plant and get it back online.

The plant was shut down after it was discovered that radioactive water had been entering Lake Michigan.

The leak came from a water storage tank that has continually caused problems at Palisades. Water from the tank dripped into the plant’s control room in May of 2011.

This time the water leaked onto the roof, down the roof drains, and out into the lake.

Trump to speak at Oakland County fundraiser

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:32:48 +0000

“The Donald” is coming to Oakland County.

The real estate mogul and television star is scheduled to speak today at the Lincoln Day Dinner at the Suburban Collection Showcase convention center in Novi.

Lincoln Day is an annual fundraising event for state and county Republican Party organizations. Tickets to the meal start at $750.

Where can you find the best 'craft cocktails' in Michigan?

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:52:38 +0000

Michigan Radio's Lester Graham recently reported that Michigan is building its reputation as a state known for its distilleries:

That's being driven in part by a growing interest in craft cocktails.

Why does Michigan have the highest black unemployment rate?

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:50:33 +0000

It’s no secret that Michigan’s been in a bit of an economic rough patch. For black Michiganders, the downturn has hit even harder.

According to recent research by the Economic Policy Institute, nearly one in five African-Americans in Michigan are unemployed.

That’s almost 2.5 times higher than the unemployment rate for white workers in the state.

The discrepancy between white and black unemployment earned Michigan a new title: highest African-American unemployment nationwide.