The Detroit Evening Report

Activists are calling on the federal departments of Housing and Urban Development and the Michigan Department of Civil Rights to investigate housing discrimination in three majority-Black cities in Wayne County. Tonya Myers Phillips is a lawyer with the Sugar Law Center. She says homeowners in Detroit, Inkster and Highland Park continue to be over-assessed and foreclosed at a far greater rate than any other Wayne County municipality. Myers Phillips says the overassessments disproportionately impact Black homeowners in these cities. She says advocates are also asking officials to investigate allegations from homeowners. Detroit resident Tahira Ahmad says she’s been overtaxed $15,000 dollars, not including the $500 dollar monthly payments to avoid foreclosure. Ahmad says she’s on a fixed income and is unable to make home repairs due to being overtaxed. Ahmad says it’s a common situation for homeowners who are forced to walk away from their homes or live in danger.

Health officials say Michigan’s first probable case of monkeypox has been detected in Oakland County. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported Wednesday that the case was identified in a resident who is currently isolating and does not pose a risk to the public. Preliminary testing completed at the department’s Bureau of Laboratories returned a presumptive positive result and testing to confirm the case is underway at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. State and local health officials are working to notify any close contacts of the individual.

The City of Detroit has secured $12.1 million to continue building nearly 500 units of affordable housing. The 486 units were jeopardized due to rising construction costs and labor shortages. The additional funding comes from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA), according to Mayor Mike Duggan and state officials. Six major housing developments in the city were at risk. To cover those surging construction costs, the city and the developers requested additional Low Income Housing Tax Credits from MSHDA.

The Michigan Supreme Court says the state did not act properly when it indicted several former officials in connection with the Flint water crisis. The court holds the state made a mistake using a “one-man grand jury” to issue the indictments. Last year a county judge indicted Michigan’s former director of Health and Human Services on charges of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the contamination that tainted Flint’s water supply. The judge served as a one-person grand jury, examining evidence and witnesses in secret. But while Michigan’s Supreme Court says a judge can issue subpoenas and arrest warrants — but not an indictment — and add that the process denied several former state officials of their right to a preliminary hearing. The attorney general wanted to proceed directly to a trial that could include former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder. Now the justices have sent the cases in question back to the county court for re-consideration.

The House Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021,  attack on the U.S. Capitol has announced it will hold a previously unscheduled hearing Tuesday. The committee wrapped up a series of hearings planned for June last week. The committee says the hearing says will focus on "recently obtained evidence" – and will contain witness testimony. The hearings will air live on WDET at 1 p.m. Tuesday and on wdet.org.

Abortion care will remain legal in Michigan. That’s despite today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling and a 91-year-old state law criminalizing the medical procedure. A Court of Claims judge issued an injunction in May that keeps the 1931 anti-abortion law from being enforced while a constitutional challenge plays out in court.

More than 6 inches of rain drenched metro Detroit in just a few hours in late June 2021. The historic storm left residents with basements full of water and flooded freeways. The heavy rainfall from June 25th and 26th overwhelmed the design capacity of the region’s wastewater system and made surface flooding and basement backups inevitable. Those are the findings of a new report by the Independent Investigative Team reviewing the historic storms last year.

President Joe Biden is calling on Congress to suspend federal gasoline and diesel taxes for three months, however, it's not clear if Biden has the votes to suspend the taxes. Many lawmakers in his own party have expressed reservations. Biden says he knows the move wouldn't reduce “all the pain but it will be a big help.” If the gas tax savings were fully passed along to consumers, people would save 18 cents per gallon at the pump. Prices average about $5 a gallon nationwide. The average price for a gallon of gas today is $5.23 in Metro Detroit.

Inflation is taking a toll on infrastructure projects across the U-S. Rising prices for materials such as asphalt, steel and iron pipes are driving up the costs to build roads, bridges, and water mains. The costs of some infrastructure materials have risen even faster than general consumer prices. State and local officials say inflation is diminishing the value of a $1 trillion federal infrastructure law signed by President Biden just seven months ago. Some officials say inflation has forced them to delay or scale back the scope of projects. Federal infrastructure funds have een allotted for flood prevention and the replacement of lead pipes in Detroit.

President Biden says he may move to suspend federal taxes on gasoline by the end of this week. That would save drivers as much as 18 cents per gallon as the price for unleaded in Southeast Michigan continues to hover above $5 per gallon. Biden says his staff will meet with oil companies this week to discuss high gas prices. He says the companies are making excessive profits while people are hurting from costs at the pump and rising inflation. The average price for a gallon of gas in Metro Detroit is $5.26.