State Senators and the Department of Corrections clash over privatizing nurses in Michigan prisons. A study finds relatively short wait times to vote in Michigan, but longer lines in urban area. WMU wins two out of three games in its weekend baseball series with Eastern Michigan.
Some state Senators and the Michigan Department of Corrections are butting heads over privatizing prison services. The department recently asked to stop outsourcing its food services in prisons. The Legislature seemed to be on board. But now some Senators want to outsource the employment of prison nurses to an independent company. Republican Senator John Proos of St. Joseph is leading the effort. He says the prisons already contract a lot of other medical employees and this could save the state money. The Michigan Department of Corrections says a private company would have to pay the nurses less than they’re currently being paid. It says that won’t help attract new employees – especially without state employee benefits.
A conservation group says it will challenge the state of Michigan’s recent ruling that allows Nestle to take more groundwater from northern Michigan. Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation has previously sued Nestle over its groundwater withdrawals. MLive reports the group now plans to contest the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s decision to issue a permit that allows the company to increase its withdrawal rate to 400 gallons per minute. The DEQ must still approve a plan to monitor wetlands in the area and the health of two trout streams before Nestle can begin pumping more groundwater from the wellhead north of Big Rapids.
A bipartisan research group say they have released the first-ever data on election day lines and the wait times at the voting booth. The study found that wait times at 92 percent of precincts were shorter than a half an hour. The study found longer waits around precincts with larger populations, mostly in urban areas where there tend to be more minority voters. Michigan had the highest participation in the study from the Bipartisan Policy Center. Roughly 50 counties shared data with researchers. (WCMU)
In baseball, Western Michigan beat Eastern Michigan 12-5 Sunday in Ypsilanti. The Broncos won two out of three games during the weekend series. Western will play at Notre Dame Tuesday.