Bid to recall Governor Snyder ends
The organization behind recalling Michigan Governor Rick Snyder says its effort has fallen short of collecting the more than 807,000 valid signatures needed to put the issue on the ballot. From the Detroit Free Press:
The campaign to recall Gov. Rick Snyder is calling it quits after falling short of collecting the number of petition signatures needed to put the issue before voters, campaign spokesman Tom Bryant said in an e-mail to the Free Press. Bryant did not specify how many signatures had been collected, and could not be reached for further comment today.
Detroit moves forward with targeted effort to support "healthier" neighborhoods
The city of Detroit is tight on resources, so providing services to all the neighborhoods in the city's footprint is a challenge. Mayor Bing's "Detroit Works Project" is aimed at providing more services to neighborhoods considered healthy, and cutting back on other neighborhoods. The Detroit Newsreports the targeted effort is beginning:
The strategy is the first phase of a larger Detroit Works Project that eventually could encourage residents to leave some neighborhoods. That plan is still being formed, and Bing announced the service changes in July that will be rolled out in the next several months. Under the plan, neighborhoods identified by City Hall as healthy, such as East English Village and Palmer Park, would get more code enforcement, commercial code improvements, home rehabs, streetlight fixes, tree trimming and dump cleanups, but fewer housing demolitions. That would be reversed for those deemed distressed, such as Brightmoor and the east side surrounding Coleman A. Young International Airport, where demolitions would be focused and some services reduced.
Grant means 35 police officers in Michigan can be retained or hired
An $8.18 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice will cover full salaries and benefits for 35 police officers for three years. The Associated Press reports that U.S. Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow say the Department of Justice is giving the grant to four Michigan police agencies in Michigan. The grant comes form the Community Oriented Policing Services program (COPS):
They say Detroit is getting $5.69 million for 25 officers, Flint is getting $1.23 million for six officers, Wayne County's Redford Township is getting $936,000 for three officers, and Roseville is getting $320,000 for one officer.
