The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments later this month in a case determining whether government has the right to keep all the proceeds from foreclosed properties.

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An April 5 meeting to discuss a planned Gotion electric vehicle battery plant with $1.1 billion of backing in Mecosta County has been moved online, allegedly because of planned protests and possible threats of violence. Green Township Supervisor Jim Chapman told The Center Square in an email: “Yes it is a go, virtual only because of the huge numbers of protestors that intended to overrun us. Also we received threats of violence that we felt might be credible. A link to the panel will be on our webpage next week along with a link to the questions submitted.”

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Saginaw Township residents might see up to a $460 annual increase in tax bills if voters approve a tax hike to repair school buildings. The Saginaw Township Community Schools Board of Education placed a $243 million bond proposal for 30 years on the May 2, 2023 ballot. With voter approval, the bond would finance school facility improvements, including demolishing three classroom pods and constructing a new 600-seat theater at Heritage High School. The bond proposal would require a 5.75 mill tax increase, or $5.75 on each $1,000 of taxable valuation, which the school says will cost the average Saginaw Township Community School District homeowner in a $100,000 home with a taxable value of $50,000, $287.50 per year, or $23.95 per month.

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The Ann Arbor public school district has a book available in its pre-kindergarten library called “Introducing Teddy: a gentle story about gender and friendship." The book is about a boy's best friend and teddy, Thomas, who is sad because "he wishes he were a girl, not a boy teddy, but what only matters to both of them is that they are friends." School districts across the country purchased books in 2022 that cover controversial topics such as critical race theory, white supremacy and gender dysphoria. The Center Square filed Freedom of Information Act requests with numerous school districts around the country and asked for the books they purchased for their K-12 libraries.

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Jennifer and James Crumbley will face a trial on four counts of involuntary manslaughter for their alleged role in the Oxford School shooting in which four students were gunned down by their son, Ethan. The Michigan Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld District Court Judge Julie A. Nicholson’s ruling last month that a jury could find probable cause the parents could reasonably foresee their son’s violent actions against students and faculty Nov. 30, 2021. In their opinion, Judges Christopher M. Murray, Michael J. Riordan and Christopher P. Yates concurred with Nicholson when she determined the parents’ behavior “increase[d] the foreseeable risk of a particular harm occurring through … a second actor.”

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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that a deaf former student can pursue monetary damages against a Michigan school district that allegedly failed to provide an adequate education. Nine-year-old Miguel Perez, the plaintiff, left Mexico with his family and enrolled at Sturgis Public School District in 2004. Perez was assigned to a classroom aide and was never given a sign language interpreter - only aides who were either unqualified or absent. For 12 years, Sturgis allegedly awarded Perez inflated grades and advanced him from grade to grade despite his actual progress, until just months before his anticipated graduation in 2016 when Perez’s parents were informed he was only eligible to earn a certificate of completion rather than a diploma.

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The Detroit Police Department is seeking a $22 million increase to its budget in 2024, citing an increase in violent crime. The budget, proposed by Mayor Mike Duggan, would total $389 million, up from $366 million in fiscal year 2023. Most of that funding increase, about $13.5 million, would fund a bump in salaries and wages, while another $10 million would fund employee benefits. Meanwhile, planned operation costs in 2024 would drop by about $6 million. Chief James White says homicides are up 17% year to date, while they’ve seen a 32% spike in vehicle thefts year-to-date.

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The Democrat-dominated Michigan Senate voted to repeal right-to-work and to reinstate the prevailing wage. The House passed bills to repeal right-to-work last week. If signed into law, the first bill would affect about 9% of Michigan workers. Right-to-work was implemented during a lame-duck session in 2012 under former Republican Gov. Rick Synder and a Republican majority. In short, the 2012 law says that nobody can be required to pay dues or fees to a union to hold a job. “The ability to speak up together with one voice for better pay and benefits and safer workplace conditions is a right that workers deserve,” Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, said in a statement. “By repealing anti-worker laws, we’re making our state a place where people want to come, work hard, and build a life knowing that they will be respected and able to earn a good living. It’s a new era in Lansing and we are taking this historic opportunity to restore workers’ freedom.”

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Listen to Other ATN Productions:

America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!

America's Talking: An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors, journalists, artists, business and nonprofit leaders, authors, and more.

Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.

Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.

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Michigan lawmakers on Wednesday pressed DTE Energy and Consumer’s Energy officials and others about recent storms that left some without power for up to seven days. House Energy, Communications, and Technology Chairwoman Helena Scott, D-Detroit, said Michiganders demand a reliable grid. “We cannot and will not accept this as the new normal,” Scott said at the beginning of the hearing. “The power grid and associated infrastructure must be reinforced, it must be updated and improved so that Michigan residents are safe, warm, and receive the services that they pay for.”

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Listen to Other ATN Productions:

America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!

America's Talking: An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors, journalists, artists, business and nonprofit leaders, authors, and more.

Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.

Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/michigan-in-focus/support

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Three years after COVID struck Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer now admits that many of her early lockdown rules, in retrospect, “don’t make a lot of sense.” “We had to make some decisions, that in retrospect, don’t make a lot of sense,” Whitmer said in a CNN interview clip posted by the Twitter account @Breaking911. When COVID struck, Whitmer shuttered much of the state’s economy. Her rules deemed which careers were “essential” and ordered “nonessential” workers to stay home. Whitmer banned stores larger than 50,000 square feet from selling paint and home-improvement supplies, as well as advertising for “nonessential” goods. Even poperating a motorboat could bring criminal charges, as could traveling to a secondary home. Her lockdown was the longest and most strict in the Midwest.

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Listen to Other ATN Productions:

America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!

America's Talking: An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors, journalists, artists, business and nonprofit leaders, authors, and more.

Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.

Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/michigan-in-focus/support

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