Several weeks ago I posted on the debate taking place over the trademark owned by brothers Matt and Keegan Myers.

They've captured the love people have for northwest Michigan and Leelanau County with their M-22 business.

M-22 has been a success, but they've also been working to keep others from selling stuff emblazoned with a Michigan state road sign symbol.

The brothers own a trademark that they say covers all state road signs in Michigan, not just M-22.

DETROIT (AP) — The new Detroit Crime Commission is getting a $1 million federal grant to help fight crime on the city's east side.

The money will be used to develop a "data-driven approach" to identify issues fueling crime. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy says she's putting an assistant prosecutor in place to concentrate on Detroit's east side.

U.S. Rep. Hansen Clarke, D-Mich., will present a symbolic check to the Detroit Crime Commission on Tuesday. The commission is a nonprofit group formed last year to act as a liaison between the public and law enforcement agencies.

It is staffed by retired law enforcers and led by Andrew Arena, the former head of the Detroit FBI.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - More and more Michigan ex-cons are killing people after they leave prison, a problem that the state Department of Corrections and its employees union blame on each other.

The Detroit Free Press says 88 probationers or parolees committed 95 homicides in 2010 through Aug. 31, 2012. Ex-cons under state supervision killed 21 people in 2010, 38 in 2012 and 36 in the first eight months of 2012.

Michigan has cut corrections spending under budget pressures. It operates 31 prisons and employs 15,000 people, with a $2 billion annual budget.

MARQUETTE, Mich. (AP) - A Michigan inmate who blamed prison officials for his bad teeth has another cavity to fill: a $353 bill for his failed lawsuit.

A judge has ordered Jerry Flanory to pay for transcript costs, copy fees and a nominal $20 for the state's cost of the one-day trial. The money will go to the state of Michigan.

Flanory claimed his teeth and gums suffered because he was cut off from toothpaste at a prison in the Upper Peninsula. The state denied the allegations and said the Flint man had only five teeth when he entered prison.

Jurors ruled in favor of the state after a brief trial in Marquette federal court two weeks ago.

The state says prisoners "must bear some responsibility for their unsuccessful claims."

Thousands of state employees are applauding a judge’s ruling that they shouldn't be forced to pay for their pension benefits.

An Ingham County Circuit Court judge said today that a rule requiring state employees cough up four-percent of their salaries to keep their pensions is unconstitutional.

She said it’s effectively a pay cut, something only the Michigan Civil Service Commission has the authority to enact.

Ray Holman is with UAW Local 6000, the largest state employee union in Michigan.

“When you don’t get a full paycheck, it can be really demoralizing. So to have this victory really puts a pep in everybody’s step,” he said.

The ruling only applies to people who started working for the state before it switched to a 401k in 1997.

Organized gangs that steal from retail stores in Michigan are not only driving up prices, they're putting the public at risk. 

The gangs take everything from electronics to baby formula. Then they sell the items at online auction sites or flea markets  for pennies on the dollar.

Bill Hallan is with the Michigan Retailers Association.  He says the thieves are getting bolder, sometimes running out an emergency fire door with a shopping cart full of merchandise.
 
"Since they're professional criminals, they will evade capture at all cost," Hallan says. "So they become violent, which posts a threat to consumers in the stores, as well as employees."

Hallan says there are also health concerns associated with stolen baby formula.