Mark Brush

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed SB 288 and 289 this afternoon. The bills pave the way for a limited wolf hunt to take place in the Upper Peninsula this fall. It also goes around a referendum aimed at stopping a wolf hunt.

The bug looks like this:

Seven Michigan high schools received "gold medals" from the U.S. News Best High Schools 2013 rankings. 68 high schools received "silver medals," and 131 received "bronze medals."

Here's their top ten:

The new "YouTube Trends Map" shows you the most the popular videos by city. It can also be broken down by sex and age group.

What's trending in Michigan right now?

Well, apparently you like your country music in the northern part of the state:

• Traverse City - Alan Jackson "He Stopped Loving Her Today" George Jones' Funeral

Your dating advice in West Michigan:

• Grand Rapids - Ten Things You Should Never Say to a Guy

Your vampires in southern Michigan:

• Detroit - True Blood Season 6 Trailer

And in the UP, you are in a time lapse kind of mood:

• Marquette - FULL VERSION! Marquette, MI - HDR Color Time Lapse - A City Motion Production

That's what is trending now. But I venture to guess that it won't be long before this interview with Charles Ramsey becomes the most popular in your area:

H/T to Heather Bryant

Not exactly.

Right after Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, R, made the "Adolf" comment about Michigan House Speaker Jase Bolger, he was challenged.

"Isn't that a little over the top?" asked "Off the Record" host Tim Skubick.

"Yeah, I want it to be!" replied L. Brooks Patterson.

Patterson was upset about how Bolger has handled the discussion around proposed changes Michigan's no-fault auto insurance law.

You can watch the exchange here:

The financial storm has been brewing at the Buena Vista School District outside of Saginaw for some time, but it came to a head today.

The Buena Vista School District announced that the school is closed today and that teachers will be laid off.

A community meeting is expected to be held at 6 p.m tonight.

The District has faced declining enrollment at a time when public education funds are being cut in the state.

It starts this week in Grand Rapids.

As of May 1st, 2013, if you celebrate 4:20, you’re less likely to get jail time.

Instead, you’re subject to a $25 fine for your first offense ($50 for your second, and $100 for three or more).

WKZO reports Grand Rapids police have issued tickets already:

The first tickets were issued Wednesday when the voter-approved ordinance took effect.  The first one went to a 28-year-old man from the northwest side of Grand Rapids, who was cited around 3 a.m. Wednesday.

The marijuana law in Grand Rapids mirrors the one in Ann Arbor.

The only difference is “selling marijuana” is not listed as a potential civil infraction in Grand Rapids as it is in Ann Arbor (organizers felt Grand Rapids voters wouldn’t be THAT lax).

The state House has approved a bill that would allow a wolf hunt in the Upper Peninsula to go forward regardless of the result of a possible state-wide referendum on a wolf hunt.

The bill was approved last week by the state Senate, and Governor Rick Snyder is expected to sign it.

More from the Detroit Free Press:

Update 2:37 p.m.

It appears the low-income residents in the Cass Corridor will have more time to find a new place.

From Louis Aguilar of the Detroit News:

The owner of three Cass Corridor apartment buildings who planned to kick out the low-income residents in 30 days has softened his approach. The residents now have until the end of June to leave. They've also been offered two months free rent as they search for new places to live.

Wednesday, April 24th, 10:41 a.m.

Louis Aguilar of the Detroit News reports the residents were "abruptly notified" last Friday that they had to move out of their apartments by May 20. The tenants live in three apartment buildings in Detroit's Cass Corridor.

The buildings are being sold, and not much is known about the buyer, but there's suspicion the sale has to do with a proposed $650 million complex in downtown Detroit.

More from the Detroit News:

Residents in each affected apartment building, a total of 96 units, said they received a three-sentence letter in their mailboxes Friday informing them that Mercier has signed an agreement to sell. It doesn't name the new owner. "And the new owner has requested that all of the apartments be vacated," states the letter.

Along with the letters, the residents were given a state document to vacate, the step prior to eviction.

Aguilar reports another letter was sent that apologized for the short notice. The News could not reach the owner for comment.

It's has been expected, and now it is official.

In an e-mail to supporters today, this logo was at the top:

U.S. Rep. Gary Peters, D-MI 14, is expected to announce his intention to run for the U.S. Senate in 2014.

After serving six terms, Michigan Senator Carl Levin announced his retirement earlier this year leaving the seat open.

Todd Spangler of the Detroit Free Press reports that Peters is expected to announce his run tomorrow in Rochester Hills.

A Democratic source told the Free Press on Monday that Peters, who had been widely expected to run, would announce his intentions and visit several other cities around the state — including Flint, Lansing and Grand Rapids — this week.

Peters, a 54-year-old Democrat and former state senator and Michigan Lottery commissioner, is in his third term in Congress, winning in the new Detroit-based 14th Congressional District in 2012, even though he lives outside it in Bloomfield Township. In his two previous terms, he represented the 9th District based in Oakland County.

Republicans say they have a "great opportunity" to take the Senate seat.

These Republicans names have been mentioned in a potential run for the seat:

• Justin Amash
• Dave Camp
• John Engler
• Terri Lynn Land
• Pete Lund
• Randy Richardville
• Mike Rogers
• Fred Upton

And these Democrats:

• Gary Peters
• Jocelyn Benson
• Hansen Clarke
• Geoffrey Fieger
• Mark Hackel
• Mark Schauer

The last time a Republican won a Senate seat in Michigan was in 1994 with Spencer Abraham.

Will Michigan's next emergency manager operate the Pontiac School District?

More from the Associated Press:

Officials plan to wrap up a review by next month of the Pontiac School District's finances that could lead to the appointment of an emergency manager or other measures.

District officials recently were notified by state Superintendent Mike Flanagan of the preliminary financial review, which is to begin Monday and end by May 24.

In a letter, Flanagan describes the public school district's situation as "critical and alarming."

The site of the annual Arab International Festival in Dearborn is moving and admission could be charged.

Niraj Warikoo reports for the Detroit Free Press that tensions in recent years involving Christian missionaries has led to the change of venue.

Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly said Friday that the city plans to shift the festival — the biggest annual outdoor gathering of Arab Americans in the U.S. — from Warren Avenue to Ford Woods Park, near the corner of Ford and Greenfield roads. One of the reasons for the move is liability concerns; the city has been hit with lawsuits from some Christian missionaries alleging their free speech rights were curtailed at the festival.

The 18-year-old festival is held each June by the American Arab Chamber of Commerce.

Last year, some Christian missionaries from California picketed at the festival with anti-Islam signs.

The International Joint Commission (IJC) recommends that the U.S. and Canadian governments investigate the option of placing man-made structures in the St. Clair River to raise water levels in Lakes Michigan and Huron.

The IJC is a binational organization that develops recommendations and resolves disputes over waters between the U.S. and Canada.

More from Jon Flesher of the Associated Press: