Michigan's attorney general says a law passed last year violates the state constitution. A group in Kalamazoo hopes to start a needle-exchange program. Newaygo County is home to a new restored habitat for endangered Karner Blue butterflies. The President of Kellogg Community College has announced his retirement. A Michigan women's prison has had another scabies outbreak. Proposed legislation would let more people administer antidotes for opioids. A Catholic organization is suing over same-sex adoptions it says it shouldn't be forced to allow. Pastors in Kalamazoo organize to help a church whose building burned last week. The Coast Guard releases an app for boaters on the Great Lakes.
(MPRN) A legal opinion from state Attorney General Dana Nessel throws into doubt the future of a law adopted last year. The law makes it harder for petition campaigns to put political questions directly to voters.
The law was adopted by Republicans in the Legislature before it was signed by then-Governor Rick Snyder. The opinion from Nessel – a Democrat – says the law violates free speech rights and sets conditions on ballot campaigns that are not allowed by the state constitution. One of the restrictions requires petition campaigns to gather no more than 15 percent of signatures from any one congressional district. Nessel says that makes it too difficult for people to exercise their rights.
Michigan allows voters to use petition drives to challenge laws, to adopt laws, and to amend the state constitution. Republican leaders haven’t revealed their next move, but a legal battle is likely.
The president of Kellogg Community College says he’ll retire at the end of the fall semester. Mark O’Connell has been with KCC a long time: 29 years. In a statement the college says O’Connell presided over expansions and renovations at four KCC campuses. The college’s Board of Trustees says it hopes to announce who its next president will be before the end of the year.
(MPRN member station) Inmates at the Huron Valley women’s prison near Ypsilanti were quarantined last weekend due to a scabies outbreak. This isn’t the first infestation at the prison. The Michigan Department of Corrections was sued in April with inmates alleging a slow response due to a previous outbreak. DOC spokesman, Chris Gautz) says that lawsuit has no bearing on treatment for these prisoners.
“When we have a medical issue, our medical professionals and those we contract with, work to solve it and any other ancillary issues are just that,” he said.
Three prisoners contracted the disease, but 83 inmates total were treated for the parasitic mites that cause intense itching and rashes.
(Kalamazoo Gazette) A group in Kalamazoo hopes to start a clean-needle exchange program in the city. The City Commission is expected to decide June 3rd whether to allow needle exchanges. The programs have been shown to reduce infections among drug users from diseases spread by dirty needles. The Kalamazoo Gazette reports that a local program could also help people who want to get off drugs find resources and connect them with health services like HIV testing. Organizations will need individual permission from the city to distribute needles if it OKs the proposal.
(MPRN) Bills in the state Legislature would allow more people to administer life-saving drugs to someone who’s overdosed on opioids. The legislation would allow government agencies – and their employees – to administer opioid antagonists. Commonly called Narcan, it’s an emergency overdose medication. This would open the door for public agencies – like libraries and schools – to have Narcan on hand in the event an employee sees someone suffering from an overdose. Potential administrators would have to be trained. But once they are, they’d be protected from civil liability if there’s an injury or damages from Narcan.
(Kalamazoo Gazette) Pastors in Kalamazoo are raising money for a church on the city’s east side that lost its building. The Greater Open Door Church of God in Christ burned down last week. The Kalamazoo Gazette reports Northside Ministerial Alliance is holding a benefit this weekend. N-M-A president Addis Moore says his group wants to make sure the church can go on. No one was hurt in the fire. As of last week the Department of Public Safety did not think it was suspicious.
(MLive) West Michigan’s DeVos family has given generously to Republican candidates. But it appears that Grand Rapids-area Representative Justin Amash won’t be among them in the future. MLive reports that spokesperson for the DeVoses says the family hasn’t given to Amash recently and doesn’t have plans to donate in the future. That’s a reversal from previous elections. In 2013-2014, the DeVoses gave Amash about $65,000 to help him face down a primary challenger. Amash is a critic of President Donald Trump. Last weekend he argued on Twitter that Trump’s actions during the Russia investigation were “impeachable.” But the DeVoses say that’s not why they’re dropping him.
(Michigan Radio) A same-sex couple in Michigan hopes to intervene in a lawsuit over whether religious child welfare agencies can decline to help them foster a child. The lawsuit was filed by St. Vincent Catholic Charities. That's after the state agreed to stop letting state-funded agencies turn away same-sex couples for religious reasons. The A-C-L-U's Jay Kaplan says it's discrimination.
“These agencies are essentially acting as agents of the state of Michigan to single out a group of people - same sex couples - and refuse to work with them - citing a religious viewpoint,” he said.
Kaplan says it's not in the interest of children to turn away prospective foster parents. St. Vincent Catholic Charities argues it will have to shut down if it can't follow its religious beliefs - and that's not in the interest of children.
(WCMU) An environmental group has purchased forty acres in Newaygo County to welcome one of the rarest butterflies in Michigan. The Michigan Nature Association is improving a habitat for the Karner Blue butterfly in proximity to an existing population. Andrew Bacon the association’s conservation director. He says the wild lupine is the host plant for the butterfly. One of the primary issues for the butterfly and the plant is habitat loss.
“Over time, encroaching trees and shrubs shade out the wild lupine and other prairie plants and as a result there’s no food or habitat left for the Karner Blue butterfly,” he said.
Bacon says there are no solid estimates of the butterfly population in individual states. He says the future of the species is uncertain in the age of climate change.
(MLive) The Coast Guard is launching an app that’s meant to help boaters stay safe on the Great Lakes. MLive reports users can get information from weather buoys about the conditions where they’re headed. The app also lets boaters get in touch with the Coast Guard about pollution or hazards in the water. Boaters can use it to ask for emergency help, but the Coast Guard says the app is not a substitute for a more robust system like a two-way marine radio.
