News

The U.S. House unanimously passed the “Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act,” to ensure that emergency services volunteers are not counted as full-time employees under the Employer Mandate of the Affordable Care Act. Michigan Congresswoman Candice Miller, who cosponsored the bill, says this move shields fire departments from new …

Michigan high school counselors could use better training in preparing students for their postsecondary planning. That, according to the head of the Michigan College Access Network. Executive Director Brandy Johnson, says too many high school counselors have never received formal training in college advising and postsecondary planning. She also says …

BYOW stands for bring your own wine, and now that is legal to do in certain restaurants in Michigan. The new law is allowing restaurant guests to stop at the store or just bring a bottle from home to the restaurant. Most restaurants will charge a corking fee to offset …

Governor Rick Snyder has signed legislation reforming the Michigan Central Perpetrator Registry and the policies and procedures concerning its operation. The Michigan Child Protection Law requires the state Department of Human Services to maintain the confidential internal registry of confirmed child abuse and neglect perpetrators. Under the legislation the state …

This is sunshine week in the US. It’s to promote a higher profile about the importance of open government and freedom of information. And in Michigan, some say local governments have become less open, and bills putting new Freedom of Information Act requirements on them, are before state lawmakers. However, …

A Lansing firm will work to make Midwest roadways safer through a new communications partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Pace Marketing & Communications, an advertising, marketing and public relations agency, has been awarded a new contract to help NHTSA promote its traffic safety programs in Illinois, Indiana, …

Two men were arrested after trespassing in an abandoned mine shaft in Keweenaw County early Wednesday morning. Officers from the Keweenaw County Sheriff’s Office say 21-year-old Dylan Stubenrauch of Calumet and 21-year-old Fredrick Adam Bryce of Allouez cut through a metal cover to gain entry to the Gratiot Mine shaft …

Opponents of Michigan’s wolf hunt filed petitions with state elections officials in Lansing yesterday to put the most recent law allowing wolf hunting on the November ballot. If the petitions are found sufficient, they would suspend the current law that allowed the Natural Resources Commission to designate wolves as a …

It’s being called by some a “pot law tsunami.” Efforts are underway in up to a dozen more communities to decriminalize recreational marijuana use. A coalition of groups pushing to relax marijuana ordinances says you just might see the question on your local ballot this November. Last November, voters in …

The Michigan House has approved a package of bills that exempt firearm records from the Freedom of Information Act. The National Rifle Association is the main interest-group backer of the bills, saying in other states such information has been published with the intent of ostracizing gun owners. They also say …