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.

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.

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.

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.

AP-US-MICHIGAN-LEAD-IN-WATER

Michigan city on edge as lead water crisis persists

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (AP) — The water system in Benton Harbor, Michigan, has tested for elevated levels of lead for three consecutive years. In response, residents have been told to drink and cook with bottled water and the state has promised to spend millions of dollars replacing lead service lines. Residents of the majority Black, largely low-income community question what it means for their families’ health. Waiting for free bottled water is time consuming and some wonder why, in a state that recently dealt with the Flint water crisis, the problem wasn’t fixed sooner.

AUTO INSURANCE-REFUNDS

Michigan drivers will get insurance refunds; details coming

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — All insured Michigan drivers will be getting refunds due to a $5 billion surplus in a fund that reimburses insurers' medical and other costs for people seriously injured in crashes. The Michigan Catastrophic Fund Association’s board said Wednesday it voted unanimously to support issuing checks. The move came two days after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called for refunds, citing excessive premiums along with savings under a 2019 law that curbed medical expenses and made mandatory unlimited health coverage optional. Details on the specific refund amount per vehicle, along with a timeline and logistics, will be announced in the next several weeks.

HOTEL GUARD KILLED

Hotel guard killed by man who tried to record the shooting

WYOMING, Mich. (AP) — Police say a rowdy visitor at a Grand Rapids-area hotel set up a phone to try to record the fatal shooting of a security guard who was sent to remove him. The 21-year-old gunman then went to his mother’s house nearby and killed himself. The incident occurred Tuesday at the Grand Rapids Inn in Wyoming. The security guard was identified as John Cain Jr. The 21-year-old gunman was identified as Jacob Grygorzyk. His video was posted on social media but subsequently removed. Wyoming police say the video didn't show the shooting, but shots could be heard in the background.

VOTING RULES

GOP chair funds Michigan ballot drive to toughen voting law

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The primary funder of a ballot drive to toughen Michigan’s voter identification law and restrict mass mailings of unsolicited absentee ballot applications is Ron Weiser, chairman of the state Republican Party. Secure MI Vote filed a statement Tuesday showing that Weiser donated $80,000 out of roughly $85,000 the committee raised between Sept. 30 and Oct. 26. The group needs about 340,000 valid voter signatures for the initiative, which the GOP-controlled Legislature would likely pass into law rather than let it go to the November 2022 ballot. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed similar legislation last week but could not veto the new measure.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MICHIGAN

Michigan health agency, doctors urge COVID vaccine for kids

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Top state health officials, pediatricians and vaccine advocates are urging parents to get Michigan’s 825,000 children ages 5 to 11 vaccinated against COVID-19. Appointments are opening a day after the U.S. gave the final signoff to Pfizer’s kid-size shots. More than 450 children under age 12 in Michigan are becoming infected with the coronavirus each day in Michigan. The risk of severe disease and death is low in young children. But experts say there is no way to know how serious an individual case will be, saying vaccinations are the way out of the pandemic.

DRIVER'S LICENSES-NONBINARY DESIGNATION

Nonbinary designation added for Michigan driver's licenses

LANSING, Mich (AP) — Michigan residents who identify as nonbinary will be able to designate it on their driver’s license or state identification card starting Nov. 10. Those interested in changing their sex marker do not need any documentation from a health care provider or a court affirming their identity. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson says the nonbinary designation will be annotated as an “X." People are nonbinary if their gender identity is not strictly male or female. Benson says she is proud to support Michiganders who for many years have called on the state to provide a nonbinary sex mark on their ID.

News from © The Associated Press, 2021