Tagged: morning news roundup

Obama to Holland

President Obama travels to West Michigan today to tour a plant in Holland that makes Lithium-ion batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles.  The plant that the President is visiting received a nearly $300 million federal grant. This marks the second time that the President has visited Holland to bring attention to the area’s investment in battery technology. After his stop in Michigan, the President heads to New York City for a fundraiser for his 2012 re-election campaign.

Seniors Challenge Pension Tax

Groups representing seniors and public employees filed briefs yesterday with the state Supreme Court challenging Michigan’s new tax on pension income, Rick Pluta reports. From Pluta:

Extending the income tax to pensions was part of Governor Rick Snyder’s budget proposal that was adopted earlier this year by the Legislature’s Republican majorities.

Eric Schneidewinde, with the AARP of Michigan, says the tax violates a part of the state constitution that protects the pension income of teachers and other retired public workers.

Republicans say the tax treats everyone the same, so it does not specifically target public employee pensions.

Governor Snyder asked the state Supreme Court to rule on the pension tax before it officially takes effect in January. The court will hear arguments in the case early next month.

Michiganders Represent on Debt Commission

Two Michigan Congressmen, U.S. Representatives Dave Camp and Fred Upton, have been selected by U.S. House Speaker John Boehner to a powerful committee that will work out a plan to reduce the nation’s budget deficit. Considering there will only 12 members, six Democrats and six Republicans, on the so called “super-committee”, it’s a pretty big deal for the state. Rep. Camp told Michigan Radio he believes if the panel takes a common-sense approach, it will be able to work together without the rancor that marked the debt-ceiling debates. The committee has until November 23rd to come up with a plan.

More Cut from Food Assistance than Predicted

Some 30,000 college students in Michigan have been dropped from the state’s food assistance program since April. Earlier this year, the state Department of Human Services took bridge cards away from college students who didn’t meet federal guidelines for food assistance. However, the new eligibility requirements put in place were not predicted to drop so many students from the program. DHS says even more people will be cut from the program in October when qualifications become asset-based instead of income-based.

Bridge Debate Continues

Officials from Governor Rick Snyder’s administration say they would like to have a deal on a new bridge between Detroit and Canada reached before the end of the year, Laura Weber reports. From Weber:

Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley, who is spearheading the governor’s effort to build the bridge, says he has not counted heads recently to see who in the Legislature supports a new bridge project. But he says the only count he cares about is the final vote in the House and Senate. Most lawmakers, especially Republicans –who are in control of the Legislature—have yet to take a position on the bridge issue, citing misinformation from both sides of the debate. Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville says he won’t bring the bridge issue up for a vote if most Republicans are not on board.  But Calley hinted last week that there could be a handful of ways the governor’s administration could get the bridge built without the Legislature’s approval.

Remembering Eleanor Josaitis

Focus: Hope co-founder Eleanor Josaitis has died. “Her son says she died this morning at a hospice in Livonia after being diagnosed with cancer last year… Josaitis and the Rev. William Cunningham founded Focus: HOPE in 1968 following the race riots that widened a rift between Detroit's black and white residents. The group offers job training, as well as food programs for the poor and elderly. Cunningham died in 1997,” the Associated Press reports. Josaitis was 79.

MI Politics

President Obama will visit Holland next week to tour the Johnson Controls Inc. advanced battery facility. The President came to Holland last year for the LG Chem battery facility ground-breaking. Holland Mayor Kurt Dykstra says the president’s visit is a great opportunity for his community, and the state in general. Meanwhile, Republican Congressman Thaddeus McCotter of Livonia, who wants President Obama’s job, has opened up his national campaign headquarters in Plymouth. Rep. McCotter says opening the national office in Plymouth proves his commitment, "to running a winning, grass-roots campaign for the presidency."

Auto Earnings

General Motors made $2.5 billion in the second quarter, slightly more than its rival Ford which took in $2.4 billion in the same period. “Most of GM’s second quarter profit came from North America, as truck and Chevrolet brand car sales rebounded.  North American President Mark Reuss says the strong performance came despite the slow economy and some unexpected events… This is GM’s sixth quarterly profit in a row, a dramatic improvement compared to the years leading up to the bankruptcy,” Tracy Samilton reports.

Looking for Asian Carp

Crews in Chicago are on the hunt for Asian carp this week, Rebecca Williams reports. From Williams:

The crews are looking for the carp in Lake Calumet, which is linked by a river to Lake Michigan. Asian carp have been found in the rivers that feed into Lake Michigan from Illinois. John Rogner is the assistant director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. He says they’re looking for live carp after finding carp DNA in Lake Calumet. He says it could mean there are live Asian carp in the lake… He says so far this week, they have not found any live bighead or silver carp in Lake Calumet.

States Wary of Debt Deal

President Obama announced last night that leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties in both the House and Senate have come to a deal to avert a default on the national debt. As the Associated Press reports, the deal will likely inflict fiscal pain on states still struggling to recover from the recession:

Although the details of the spending cuts to states remain unclear, lawmakers from both parties have discussed the need to cut or impose caps on so-called discretionary spending over the next decade.

That could mean wide-ranging cuts in federal aid to states, affecting everything from the Head Start school readiness program, Meals on Wheels and worker-training initiatives to funding for transit agencies and education grants that serve disabled children.

There also is concern among governors, state lawmakers and state agency heads that Congress will make deep reductions or changes in federal aid for health services for needy people, most notably through Medicaid. That could shift more of the costs onto states already having trouble balancing their budgets.

Snyder Recall

Organizers of a recall petition against Governor Snyder have until  Friday to collect more than 800,000 signatures to put the issue on the November ballot. “The recall campaign is being led by groups that claim Snyder’s policies are hurting Michiganders. Recall critics accuse the petition drive organizers of just trying to reverse the voters’ decision last year,” Steve Carmody reports. Tom Bryant, the recall campaign spokesman, says petition circulators will be at polling places across the state tomorrow to gather more signatures for the recall petition.

Pontiac Turns Over Police

The Pontiac Police Department is about to close, making way for the Oakland County sheriff to take over law enforcement in the financially challenged southeastern Michigan community, the Associated Press reports. From the AP:

The sheriff's department says the official changeover happened at  11 p.m. Sunday. The city of 58,000 is under the control of state-appointed emergency financial manager Michael Stampfler. He proposed eliminating Pontiac's police force last year. Hiring the sheriff's department to do the job is expected to save about $2 million each year.

Health care lawsuit to SupCo

The Thomas More Law Center of Ann Arbor has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review its constitutional challenge to the nation’s healthcare overhaul law. As the Associated Press reports, “the appeal filed Wednesday… said Congress overstepped its authority in requiring Americans to purchase health insurance or pay financial penalties.” The appeal is challenging the first federal appeals court ruling that upheld the legislation.

Ford Investing in India

Bloomberg is reporting that Ford will spend more than $906 million on a second car factory in India. In an email statement today, the company says it will build the plant with an initial capacity to make 240,000 cars and 270,000 engines annually. Ford says the new plant will employee 5000 people. It’s being reported that the factory will start production in 2014.

House Cuts

State House Speaker Jase Bolger is requiring lawmakers and state members of the Michigan House to pay more for their health insurance benefits come October 1st. Laura Weber reports:

Bolger made the decision to require all state House employees to pay as much as 20 percent of their health insurance benefits alongside an 18 percent reduction to the money lawmakers have allotted for their office expenses. The changes ordered by Bolger’s office comes amidst a debate between the House and Senate over how much teachers and local government employees should be required to pay for their health benefits.

Contract Talks Begin

Contract talks between the United Auto Workers and Detroit automakers kick off today. Tracy Samilton reports that, although the union and auto companies are on better terms than perhaps any other time in history, it could still take weeks to reach a deal. Car companies want to reduce their labor costs and other issues will include health care, pensions, and how many skilled trades workers there should be. The current contract ends September 14th.

Unconstitutional Recalls?

State House Speaker Jase Bolger says the process citizens use to launch recall campaigns in the state is unconstitutional. Bolger is facing a recall campaign himself and has filed suit to block it, Sarah Hulett reports. From Hulett:

State House Speaker Jase Bolger has filed suit to block the recall against him. At issue is the fact that county election commissions are made up of a judge, the county clerk and the county treasurer. Bolger says that violates the separation of powers doctrine in the state constitution. More than a dozen state officials – including the governor and attorney general – are currently the targets of recall campaigns.

Cooler Temps thru Wednesday

We’ll have a bit of a weather ‘cool down’ over the next few days. But, of course, when temperatures were in triple digits, calling it a ‘cool down’ is only relative. “High temperatures are expected to be around 85 degrees today with low humidity levels… The somewhat cooler weather will continue Tuesday. But the heat and humidity will return Wednesday and Thursday, with highs hovering again around the low 90s,” the Detroit Free Press reports.

New Asian Carp Evidence

There is new evidence that Asian carp may have slipped past electric barriers in Chicago-area waterways. The barriers are meant to keep the fish from reaching the Great Lakes, Rick Pluta reports. From Pluta:

The news has launched a new wave of arguments over the threat posed by the invasive species. The Army Corps of Engineers turned up nine positive tests for Asian carp DNA out of hundreds taken from Chicago-area waterways. Federal officials say that’s not proof the invasive species is getting closer to Lake Michigan, or that it poses an imminent threat of infesting the Great Lakes. The state of Michigan is suing the federal government to get the shipping locks shut down as an emergency precaution.

Gov’t to Chrysler: Bye-Bye

The U.S. Treasury Department says Italian automaker Fiat SpA has bought the U.S. government’s remaining holdings in Chrysler. “Fiat paid $560 million to the Treasury Department for the government's 98,000 shares. Fiat has run the company since it emerged from bankruptcy protection in June 2009. Treasury provided a total of $12.5 billion to Chrysler and its financing arm after the recession hampered auto sales and sent Chrysler and General Motors to the brink of collapse. The funds came from the government's $700 billion bank bailout fund,” the Associated Press reports.

Michigan in the “Toxic 20”

Michigan ranked seventh worst in air population in a study released by the Natural Resources Defense Council. The NRDC study found almost half of all toxic air pollution came from coal and oil-fired power plants. The NRDC used data from the Environmental Protection Agency's Toxics Release Inventory. Ohio had the worst air population, followed by Pennsylvania, Florida and Kentucky.