News

 Michigan will receive $2.5 million from the federal government for efforts to protect shore lands and coastal ecosystems, along with public access and recreation.

     The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded the funding this week to the state's coastal management program. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality will administer the grant, which will generate an additional $2 million in state and local spending.

 Hot air balloons will take to the skies over Howell this weekend for the 30th annual Michigan Challenge Balloonfest.

     The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus reports  that the event takes place Friday through Sunday at Howell High School. Forty-three balloons with Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri and Tennessee pilots are scheduled to compete.

     Balloon launch and fly-in times are 6 to 8 p.m. Friday and 6 to 8 a.m. and 6 to 8 p.m.  Saturday and Sunday.

  Emmy and Golden Globe winner Jane Seymour's new show is filming in the Detroit area.

     The actress isn't working on a new movie or a scripted series, however.

     She's the host of a national 13-part series called "Feel Grand with Jane Seymour" that's being produced by Detroit Public Television.

     Seymour will be joined on the show by medical experts such as author Deepak Chopra and Susan Blumenthal, former U.S. assistant surgeon general.

Michigan welcomes office to help skilled immigrants get jobs

Highly skilled immigrants in Michigan now have a new resource to help them find jobs. The national nonprofit organization Upwardly Global opened a new office in Detroit on Monday.

Upwardly Global says immigrants and refugees often have valuable job skills that are in high demand in the United States. But the group says they often still have trouble finding work because of cultural differences.

During our recent Summer Pledge Drive you probably heard us mention how difficult it is to maintain our mixed format of music and news.  Keeping knowledgeable local hosts on staff, presenting both news and music content and committing ourselves to support the vibrant community and organizations that are represented by that content is most definitely not the easiest path.  

If you'll be driving in the Ypsilanti area Saturday morning, plan on dodging street closures necessary to hold the annual Color Run.

Streets will be closed at 7 a.m. with the 5-K race and walk scheduled to start at 8.  Among the affected streets:

Police say a 58-year-old University of Michigan employee who was struck by a bus has died.  The Ann Arbor News reports Nancy Sanders was crossing a street on Thursday morning in Ann Arbor when she was struck by the university bus.

An effort by deep-pocketed philanthropists to save the bankrupt city of Detroit's art treasures culminated today when Michigan Governor Rick Snyder authorized $195 million in state help. The bill signing in Detroit was part of what's dubbed the Grand Bargain. The deal also includes $366 million from foundations and a $100 million fundraising pledge by the Detroit Institute of Arts.

The Ypsilanti Heritage Foundation Sunday has the chance to show off some of the diverse and beautiful architecture in the city with its annual Historic Homes Tour.

Tour chair Jan Arps-Prundeanu says you've no doubt driven past these homes many times.

"The tour always gives people an opportunity to get to see the inside of some of these beautiful homes," Arps-Prundeanu says.

Some of the homes on this year's tour:

The University of Michigan has approved a 2.6 percent increase in tuition and fees for in-state undergraduates. 

Years of planning and fundraising will be worth it for area skaters as they celebrate the grand opening of Ann Arbor's new skatepark tomorrow.  The event will include a demonstration by skating legend Tony Hawk and other professional skaters at 4 PM.  

With the possibility of a mining operation coming to Lyndon Township, officials in Chelsea have taken steps to regulate heavy truck traffic rumbling through town along M-52.

The city has created an M-52 corridor that requires mining haulers and other big trucks to apply for a special permit to use the road. 

Chelsea special legal counsel Gerald Fisher says the restrictions also apply to over-sized vehicles carrying things like manufactured homes and wind turbine blades.

"That operation will be subject to application, review and approval by the city," Fisher says.

Eastern Michigan University is taking a page out of Boise State's playbook and will play its home football games on a field featuring a unique color scheme.

A state-of-the-art  gray-colored FieldTurf playing surface will be ready for the Eagle's season-opening home game against Morgan State. 

EMU Athletic Director Heather Lyke says the new turf is being paid for with money Eastern gets from host schools.

Michigan's jobless rate jumps very slightly to 7.5 percent

Michigan's monthly unemployment rate has edged up slightly 7.5 percent. It's a statistically small nudge of one-tenth of a percentage point, and most of the change is attributed to more people looking for jobs.

A one-tenth of a percentage point shift in the unemployment rate represents about 2,000 people, and statistically that's considered virtually unchanged from the month before. The slight bump in the rate is attributed primarily to more people joining the workforce to compete for jobs.

MI Supreme Court: Judges can't impose fines for court costs on their own

The Michigan Supreme Court says judges can't order people convicted of a crime to pay the costs to the legal system -- unless it's been specifically allowed by the Legislature.

State health director says Snyder not to blame for home care failings

Michigan's top health official is defending Gov. Rick Snyder amid claims his administration put in-home care patients in danger.

A new audit shows the state allowed convicted felons to work with vulnerable Medicaid patients. That includes people convicted of Medicaid fraud and violent crimes including assault and murder.

Sign-ups for expanded Medicaid program soar over 300,000

More than 300,000 low-income Michiganders have signed up for the state's expanded Medicaid program.

In just eleven weeks, the Healthy Michigan program has almost reached the sign-up goal for its entire first year. State officials say that bodes well for the success of the program.

Storms that rolled through Washtenaw County knocked out power to several thousand DTE Energy customers Wednesday afternoon.

The utility's outage map shows three main affected areas:

• Dexter Township area:  500-1500 customers without electricity.
• Webster Township area:  100-500 customers affected.
• Southern edge of Ann Arbor into Pittsfield Township:  1500-2500 customers in the dark.

Numerous smaller scattered outages have also been reported.

The University of Michigan Cancer Center was briefly evacuated Tuesday due to a hazardous material scare. A solvent being used in an autoclave in a seventh floor research area was the cause.  

The American Red Cross hopes you'll help build up their supply of blood for the busy summer months.

Regular donors can sometimes forget to give over the summer.  Students are also a big part of the donor base, but with school out the Red Cross loses many of their younger donors. 

The Southeastern Michigan Blood Services Region is holding close to two dozen local blood donor events through the beginning of July.

Find more information online:

http://www.redcross.org/mi/detroit

The HathiTrust Digital Library has been cleared of accusations of copyright infringement by a Federal Appeals Court. The University of Michigan is part of this collaboration of over 90 libraries and universities that are compiling digital information on nearly every topic throughout history.  

Women who need mental health counseling, job coaching, and divorce support have one less local resource to turn to for assistance.  The loss of several important grants forced the Women's Center of Southeastern Michigan to close it's doors last week.   

Audit slams state for $160 million in improper payments for in-home care

Two state departments are under fire for mismanaging a program that provides in-home care for Medicaid patients.

A new audit shows the program has misspent at least $160 million since 2010.

The Michigan auditor general's report says the state also failed to make sure money was actually used to deliver services and that caregivers were qualified.

Ann Arbor City Council is unified in concerns over Liberty Plaza but differ in their thoughts on how to move forward on improving the urban park.  Council referred a resolution to start a re-design process to the Parks Advisory Commission.   

The City of Ann Arbor wants to help provide some energy relief to rental property owners.

They are teaming up with DTE's Multi-Family Program on a pilot program that offers free upgrades like compact flourescent light bulbs, water-saving shower heads and programmable thermostats. 

Heidi Muir, the principal program advisor, says they usually focus on rental properties with five or more units.

This effort targets smaller properties.

"We will accept multi-family properties with two to five units under one contiguous roof," Muir says.