SCHOLARSHIP ACCOUNTS

Whitmer vetoes scholarship program backed by Republicans

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has vetoed Republican-backed bills to create a scholarship accounts for K-12 students to pay for educational expenses, including private school and tutoring, and give tax credits to people and corporations that donate to the program. The veto, which was expected, comes the same week proponents of the legislation launched a ballot drive to enable the GOP-led Legislature to enact identical citizen-initiated bills without her signature. The Democratic governor says the bills would cut state revenue by as much as $500 million in 2022. School-choice proponents say the funds would help kids who fell behind during the pandemic.

FLINT WATER

Michigan to pay $300K to only staffer fired over Flint water

DETROIT (AP) — The state of Michigan says it will pay $300,000 to the only employee who was fired as a result of lead-contaminated water in Flint. Liane Shekter Smith was head of the state’s drinking water division in 2014-15 when Flint switched its water source and didn't use corrosion control additives. As a result, lead leached from old pipes. An arbitrator recently said Shekter Smith was wrongly fired by officials who were likely looking for a scapegoat during the scandal. The arbitrator awarded about $192,000 in back pay and other compensation, but Michigan agreed to pay even more to close off any possible appeals and end the dispute.

MISSING STUDENT

Search is active for missing student who was visiting MSU

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Authorities a week later still are searching for a college student who was last seen visiting friends at Michigan State University. Foul play is not suspected in the disappearance of 18-year-old Brendan Santo. Santo is from Rochester Hills in suburban Detroit and attends Grand Valley State University in western Michigan. Santo was on the MSU campus around midnight on Oct. 29. Police believe he was on foot; his car has been located. The search has focused on the Red Cedar River, which flows through campus, though police say they're checking “other possibilities.”

OBIT-COLLINS

Former US congresswoman Barbara-Rose Collins dies at 82

DETROIT (AP) — Barbara-Rose Collins, who represented Detroit in Congress and served on its City Council, has died after contracting COVID-19. She was 82. The Detroit News reports that Collins’ family confirmed her death Thursday to the newspaper. Christopher Collins said his mother had been vaccinated against the coronavirus, but still fell ill and was hospitalized before her death. Barbara-Rose Collins, a Democrat, was elected to the U.S. House in 1990 after eight years on the City Council. She was defeated for reelection to Congress in 1996 by Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick. She was elected again to the council in 2001 and served until 2009 when she did not seek reelection.

TAMPON TAX

Michigan will no longer tax tampons, other feminine products

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan will no longer apply the 6% sales tax to tampons and other feminine hygiene products under legislation signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The change will take effect in early February. Supporters of the bill signed Thursday say the products are a necessity, not a luxury, and should be exempt from taxation like other medically necessary prescriptions and items. About 15 states with sales taxes do not tax menstrual products. The law will reduce state sales and use tax revenue by roughly $6.3 million a year, a sliver of Michigan’s $11 billion in annual sales and use tax collections.

BLACK OFFICIAL-DEROGATORY NAME

Township treasurer under fire for calling Black CFO 'boy'

MOUNT MORRIS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Some residents of a Michigan community are calling for its treasurer to resign after she acknowledged referring to a Black official as a “boy.” MLive-The Flint Journal reports that a small group of people protested Thursday outside Mount Morris Township offices near Flint and 78 miles northwest of Detroit. The newspaper says Treasurer Gayle Armstrong told the newspaper she called township Chief Financial Officer Greg Eason a “boy” during a conversation with township Supervisor Jolena Sims. The word “boy,” when referring to Black men is considered derogatory. Armstrong, who is white, said it wasn’t meant as a racial slur.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-UNEMPLOYMENT FRAUD

Rhode Island man charged with pandemic unemployment fraud

BOSTON (AP) — A Rhode Island man authorities say used the stolen identities of others to obtain more than $450,000 in COVID-19-related unemployment assistance has been arrested. Federal prosecutors say 34-year-old Dquintz Alexander, of Cranston, was arrested Thursday in Michigan on wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft charges. He was released following an initial court appearance in Michigan and will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date. No defense attorney was listed in online court records. According to prosecutors, Alexander and an accomplice between April and June 2020 made 85 fraudulent claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.

CONSTRUCTION WORKER HURT-ELECTRICAL LINE

Worker injured after truck strikes electrical lines

BLENDON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A 56-year-old construction worker has been hospitalized after the arm on a boom truck he was operating struck overhead electrical wires in western Michigan. The Ottawa County sheriff's office says the truck caught fire Thursday afternoon at a home construction site in Blendon Township and the worker suffered an electric shock while trying to mitigate the damage. He was in critical condition at a hospital. No other injuries were reported. The sheriff's office says a utility company had to de-energize the wires to allow firefighters to put out the fire on the truck. Blendon Township is west of Grand Rapids.

FATAL STABBING

Year later, guilty plea likely in woman's fatal stabbing

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (AP) — A guilty plea is likely in federal court in the fatal stabbing of a young woman at a central Michigan apartment building. Kaden Gilbert has been in custody for about a year since the death of Nangonhs Massey in Mount Pleasant. A man was also stabbed. A charge of second-degree murder was filed Tuesday in federal court in Bay City. It was labeled a criminal “information,” which means a guilty plea is expected on Nov. 10. The case is in federal court because the stabbing occurred on an American Indian reservation.

MYANMAR-US JOURNALIST

Official Myanmar records mistaken about detained US reporter

BANGKOK (AP) — Testimony by prosecution witnesses in the case of a U.S. journalist detained in Myanmar for more than five months has established that official records did not accurately reflect where he was employed. Danny Fenster's lawyer says witnesses testified the Information Ministry declared Fenster was still working for an online news service that he actually left last year. A judge has said the case involved actions committed this year by that service. Fenster was detained at an airport in May as he was about to board a flight to go to the Detroit area to see his family. He is the managing editor of the online Frontier Myanmar magazine.

News from © The Associated Press, 2021