white house

Odawa tribe gay couple invited to White House

The Associated Press — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 14:29:41 +0000

BOYNE CITY, Mich. (AP) - Two men who became spouses at a Michigan Indian reservation in a state that bans same-sex marriages have been invited to the White House.

MLive.com reports that Tim LaCroix and Gene Barfield will be guests of President Barack Obama on Thursday at a reception honoring LGBT Pride Month. LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.

The men were married in March by the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, of which LaCroix is a member. Same-sex marriage is prohibited in Michigan, but federally recognized Native American tribes are self-governing and aren't bound by state law.

Barfield and LaCroix say they were shocked to receive the invitation and canceled a scheduled trip to California.

The longtime partners live in Boyne City.

White House to recognize Oakland County for Economic Innovation

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 19:33:56 +0000

Oakland County is being recognized this week by the Obama administration for economic innovation. The county implemented shared online services, allowing 40 communities around Southeastern Michigan to implement features like online bill payments and tax assessments.

Phil Bertolini is Chief Information Officer for the county. He says this allows communities to select and pay for only the things they need.

White House hosts forum for urban entrepreneurs in Detroit

Mercedes Mejia — Thu, 17 May 2012 18:10:14 +0000

Small business owners and hopeful entrepreneurs are in Detroit today to get advice on starting or improving a business.

The Urban Economic Forum, held by The White House Administration, hopes to help entrepreneurs in Detroit connect to resources and network with other business leaders.

The White House Administration said it is committed to supporting the Detroit area’s small businesses.

CBS Detroit reports:

Among the topics of discussion were the resources available to minority and urban entrepreneurs who are trying to access capital for their businesses. Mentors were also available to provide advice to business owners.

In a press, release the White House Administration wrote that other Urban Economic Forums will be held in Chicago, Illinois, and Columbus, Ohio.

Detroiters receive White House honor for fighting youth violence

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:21:20 +0000

Two community activists from Detroit have been honored by the White House as "Champions of Change" for their work against youth violence in the city.

According to the White House, Detroit's Frank McGhee and De Quan O'Neal were among 12 community leaders from across the nation recognized for their "work to prevent youth violence within their communities as part of the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention..., a network of communities and federal agencies working together to share information and build local capacity to...keep our kids safe."

WXYZ's Detroit 2020 project congratulated the honorees, describing their work:

McGhee mentors and coaches young leaders to educate their peers about violence in Detroit. He’s the program director for the Detroit-Based Neighborhood Service Organization’s Youth Initiative Project.
O’Neal is a program youth director [with the Youth Initiative Project]. He helped discourage gun violence and gunfire on New Year’s Eve.

-John Klein Wilson, Michigan Radio Newsroom

White House LGBT housing conference

Kyle Norris — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 21:08:48 +0000

The White House hosted the LGBT Conference on Housing and Homelessness today in Detroit. It explored various issues lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people face when it comes to finding housing or dealing with homelessness. This was one of four such conferences the White House is hosting around the country.