SW Michigan

PORTAGE, MI -- An arbitration hearing involving Portage Public Schools and former superintendent Ric Perry has been scheduled for May 21-23, Portage school board President Bo Snyder said. The hearing, which will be closed to the public, will determine whether the board violated Perry's contract and whether Perry is due additional money from the district.

Lansing - Rising conservative opposition to raising taxes to pay for road repairs means Senate Republicans are unlikely to meet a Thursday deadline for placing a sales tax proposal on the May 7 statewide ballot.

SOUTH HAVEN - A proposed legal settlement calls for the city to install 911 automatic call boxes at two Lake Michigan beaches and for its insurer to pay the family of a Chicago-area man who drowned Aug. 1, 2009, at South Beach after saving five family members from rough waters.

In a decision that one member said felt like government operating in secret, the Battle Creek City Commission gave its initial approval to updated boundaries of the city's five political wards. The map voted on Tuesday didn't include two minor changes proposed by Commissioner Andy Helmboldt meant to make wards better align with neighborhood boundaries.