News

By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network

LANSING, MI – State Senate Democrats made a failed attempt Wednesday to force a vote on extending jobless benefits to laid-off part-time workers and unemployed people in training programs.

Governor Granholm has called for the bills, which would initially be paid for with federal stimulus funds.

State Senate Democratic Leader Mike Prusi said the Senate should act before beginning a two-week break.

By Rob South, WKAR News

EAST LANSING, MI – Lansing officials announced the start of an economic study of the city's South side on Wednesday. They hope to better identify ways to improve existing businesses and bring more business to the region.

Critics of the Bernero administration say economic development of the region has taken a back seat to downtown development.

Bob Trezise is the director of the Lansing Economic Development Corporation. He says the area has been given plenty of attention over the years.

By AP

DETROIT – Chris Chelios has a plan to talk about his future.

The 47-year-old defenseman says he will host a news conference this morning at Cheli's Chili Bar and Restaurant in Detroit to answer questions just days after the Red Wings confirmed he will not be offered a contract to stay.

Chelios has said he wants to play next season.

He played in six of 23 playoff games this year for the runner-up Red Wings, extending his NHL records by appearing in his 24th postseason and 266th playoff game. He played 28 regular-season games.

By AP

UNDATED – Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille and Brian Leetch are going into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The selection committee announced on a conference call it had elected the maximum four players this year. All were eligible for the first time.

Yzerman retired in the summer of 2006 with the sixth-highest point total in NHL history. The longtime Detroit Red Wings captain won the Stanley Cup three times and a gold medal with Canada in the 2002 Olympics.

By AP

DETROIT – Ryan Raburn hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning, lifting the Detroit Tigers to a seesaw, 5-4 win over the Chicago Cubs last night.

Chicago's Micah Hoffpauir hit a go-ahead, two-run shot in the eighth inning off Joel Zumaya.

Brandon Inge's two-run home run in the seventh put the Tigers ahead 3-2 and they were a strike away from taking the lead into the ninth, but Hoffpauir sent Zumaya's 85 mph pitch over the fence in right.

By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network

LANSING, MI – The state Senate adopted a higher education budget Tuesday that removes funding for the Michigan Promise scholarship and other types of financial aid for students.

By Steve Carmody, Michigan Public Radio Network

DEARBORN, MI – Ford's effort to build more fuel efficient cars and trucks is getting a nearly $6 billion boost from the Obama Administration.

The money comes from a $25 billion loan program designed to help all automakers that manufacture vehicles in the US. In addition to Ford, the federal government is giving a combined $2 billion to Nissan and electric car maker Tesla.

By AP

TWIN LAKE, MI – A Michigan arts camp has canceled a three-week orchestra tour of Europe after several students came down with the flu.

Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp says its International Youth Symphony Orchestra was scheduled to depart Monday evening from Detroit Metropolitan Airport. But several students were diagnosed with type-A influenza while touring Ohio over the weekend.

By AP

LANSING, MI – The Michigan Senate has passed a bill that would eliminate funding for a state-sponsored college scholarship program but keep debate about the program alive.

The Republican-led chamber's version of the higher education bill passed 19-17 Tuesday eliminates money for the Michigan Promise scholarship for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. But it keeps a placeholder for the program in the bill in case lawmakers figure out a way to at least partially fund the scholarships.

By Scott Pohl, WKAR

IONIA, MI – IONIA, MI (WKAR) - About 1,000 cars remain stranded at the Ionia County Fairgrounds after the Grand River flooded during a concert on Saturday.

The flooded area is also used for parking at the Ionia Free Fair, just over three weeks from now.

AUDIO: Ionia City Manager Jason Eppler says the affected area will need repairs after the floodwaters recede and the cars are removed.

He says the driveway leading into the mowed, grassy parking area will need the most work.

By Kevin Lavery, WKAR News

Mason, MI – The Ingham County Board of Commissioners has approved the use of project labor agreements for certain types of construction projects.
AUDIO:
The commission's 13 to 2 vote in favor of project labor agreements gives the county the discretion to use them on a case by case basis.

PLA's are collective bargaining agreements that set workplace rules before contractors are hired. Non-unionized workers argued PLA's would shut them out of the county bidding process.

By AP

LANSING, MI – Lt. Gov. John Cherry says Michigan lawmakers should restore money for the state's primary publicly funded college scholarship program.

Cherry said in a teleconference Tuesday that while the Michigan Promise scholarship program may not be immune from budget cuts, lawmakers should not completely eliminate it. Cherry, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to run for governor in 2010, says eliminating the program would break a promise to the 96,000
students expecting to receive some money from it this fall.

By AP

TWIN LAKE, MI – TWIN LAKE, Mich. (AP) - A Michigan arts camp has canceled a three-week orchestra tour of Europe after several students came down with the flu.

Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp says its International Youth Symphony Orchestra was scheduled to depart Monday evening from Detroit Metropolitan Airport. But several students were diagnosed with type-A influenza while touring Ohio over the weekend.

By Laura Weber, Michigan Public Radio Network

LANSING, MI – The state House Appropriations Committee plans to vote Wednesday to cut spending for the department of History, Arts and Libraries, but save it from elimination.

AUDIO:

The committee plans to roll back spending on the department by more than ten percent. Governor Granholm wants to get rid of the department altogether, and have its programs absorbed by other departments.

By AP

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is creating a White House council to handle issues that affect American communities and workers tied to the automotive industry.

The White House says Obama will sign an executive order Tuesday to establish the White House Council on Automotive Communities and Workers. The council will be chaired by the president's economic adviser, Larry Summers, and his labor secretary, Hilda Solis.

The executive director will be Obama's director of recovery for auto communities and workers, Ed Montgomery.

By AP

DETROIT – DETROIT (AP) - Even in tough economic times, the body that regulates high school athletics in Michigan says most team uniforms are off-limits to schools looking to make some extra cash.

The Detroit News reports the Michigan High School Athletic Association doesn't allow member schools to accept sponsorship for their athletics uniforms. That rule applies to sports governed by the National Federation of State High School Associations.

By AP

DETROIT – DETROIT (AP) - The Detroit Tigers will call up right-hander Freddy Dolsi from Triple-A Toledo before tonight's game against the Chicago Cubs.

It will be Dolsi's first stint with the Tigers this season after he went 1-5 with two saves and a 3.97 ERA in 42 appearances with Detroit in 2008.

The Tigers also outrighted catcher Dane Sardinha to Toledo. Sardinha hit .097 in 12 games. He was designated for assignment on Saturday to make room for starter Alfredo Figaro.

By AP

DETROIT – Chris Chelios won't be with the Detroit Red Wings next season.

Wings general manager Ken Holland tells The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press he met with the 47-year-old and Chelios wouldn't be offered another contract.

The Associated Press left a message for Holland seeking comment.

Holland tells the News it was "kind of understood last summer" when Chelios signed a one-year deal that it would be his last.

Holland says Chelios wants to play another season and believes the veteran player can still play.

By AP

NEW YORK – A closely watched study of new vehicle quality says Ford, General Motors and Chrysler have improved, but they still lag behind foreign competitors like Toyota.

J.D. Power and Associates' study of initial vehicle quality shows 2009 model year vehicles sold by the Detroit Three improved by an average of 10% from 2008. That's compared with an industrywide improvement of 8%.

Toyota's Lexus brand topped the rankings released Monday, followed by Porsche, GM's Cadillac, Hyundai and Honda.

By AP

DETROIT, MI – Former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca, who led the automaker out of a previous near-collapse, says priority one for the automakers is to get the government out of the mix as soon as possible.

While Iacocca says government intervention was necessary for both Chrysler and GM, "Their oversight is just too extreme."