January 2, 2017

Indiana lawmakers may have to boost taxes for roads funding

INDIANAPOLIS — Republicans who control Indiana's Statehouse say fiscal restraint will be in order when they write the state's two-year budget in the coming months. But as GOP leaders preach frugality ahead of the annual legislative session which kicks off Tuesday, they are also planning for a big increase in infrastructure spending — and want to raise taxes to pay for it.

"We don't have enough revenue to even sustain our maintenance program," said state Sen. Luke Kenley, the Senate's chief budget writer. Last year the Noblesville Republican opposed a similar tax increase; now he says lawmakers need to "face up to the fact" that more money is needed.

That means residents could find themselves paying more for cigarettes, gasoline or vehicle registration in order to build out and repair the state's roads, highways and bridges. It also creates an awkward situation for roughly two dozen Republicans who signed a pledge to conservative activist Grover Norquist, promising never to raise taxes.

Indiana is sitting on about $2 billion in reserves. Revenues are projected to grow 2 percent over the next two years, which could bring in an estimated $1 billion in new money.

Read more: http://www.nwitimes.com/news/state-and-regional/indiana/indiana-lawmakers-may-have-to-boost-taxes-for-roads-funding/article_7491ab36-0cf7-5572-b5a1-5349b9558aae.html

January 2, 2017

Indiana lawmaker seeks to address Sharia law concerns

An Indiana lawmaker says he wants to address constituent concerns that judges could use Sharia law, or Islamic religious law, as a legal standard in civil cases.

Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, has proposed Senate Bill 16, which would prohibit judges from using foreign law to impose a restriction that would violate a person's constitutional rights.

Similar legislation already has been enacted in nine states. While the measures have gained traction out of fears about Islamic law, the recent iterations do not explicitly single out Muslims in order to avoid constitutional challenges, some experts say.

Holdman's bill, for instance, centers on denying the "application of foreign law," but does not mention Sharia or lslamic law. Holdman, however, was clear about the motivation behind the legislation.

Read more: http://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2016/12/30/indiana-lawmaker-seeks-address-sharia-law-concerns/96000058/

January 2, 2017

Officials want sinkhole residents to get financial help

Fraser — A temporary, three pipeline sewer bypass, needed to offset damage done by a massive sinkhole in the city, will likely take a full month to complete, Macomb County officials said Sunday.

In addition, officials hope homeowners impacted by the sinkhole will be supported financially by state and, possibly, federal sources.

Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller updated the status of repair to the ruptured sewer line that caused the sinkhole last month at a press conference held Sunday near the sinkhole site along 15 Mile.

Crews have been working to build the temporary bypass for the leaking Macomb Interceptor Drain sewer line to route sewage around the break and relieve pressure in the area. The lead engineering firm on the repair project is Shelby Township-based Anderson, Eckstein and Westrick Inc.

Read more: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/macomb-county/2017/01/01/fraser-sinkhole/96056396/

January 2, 2017

Michigan law enforcement struggles to lure recruits

Roseville Police Chief James Berlin remembers a time when, about a decade ago, more than 200 people might apply for two or three positions at his department.

Today, he has seen fewer than 25 candidates on hiring lists for twice as many openings, and estimates at least half were unqualified or failed to pass stringent background checks.

He’s not alone. Other policing experts are calling the shortage a crisis that could affect communities for years.

“We have to do something, especially for the future,” said David Harvey, executive director at the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards, which oversees professional guidelines for officers statewide. “I think we’re at a crisis situation with the staffing at our agencies right now.”

Read more: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/01/01/police-officers-michigan-recruit/96074238/

January 2, 2017

Schuette's office OK'd Flint order in alleged tainted-water crimes

LANSING — Attorney General Bill Schuette's office signed off on an environmental order that is central to new criminal charges Schuette filed last week in his Flint drinking water investigation, records show.

In bringing charges on Dec. 20 against two former emergency managers and two former City of Flint public works officials, Schuette and his investigators said a March 2014 administrative consent order issued by the Department of Environmental Quality never should have been issued, because it was based on a "sham" environmental calamity manufactured in part by former Flint emergency managers Darnell Earley and Gerald Ambrose and former city officials Howard Croft and Daugherty Johnson.

All four defendants face 20-year felonies for conspiracy and false pretenses and have entered not guilty pleas.

One of the three signatures on the administrative consent order (ACO), which the Free Press first scrutinized in a May article, is that of Assistant Attorney General Robert Reichel of the AG's environment, natural resources and agriculture division.

Read more: http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2016/12/27/schuettes-office-okd-flint-order-alleged-tainted-water-crimes/95867220/

January 2, 2017

Not partisan? Snyder plays the political patronage game

LANSING — Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Donald Owens is to resign New Years Day, four hours before the official end of his term.

The early retirement allows Republican Gov. Rick Snyder to name a politically appointed attorney to a judicial seat that was supposed to be eliminated as part of a plan to reduce the Michigan Court of Appeals by four judges and save taxpayers money.

Snyder is appointing Brock Swartzle, who was chief counsel to the House GOP caucus but has no judicial experience, by exploiting a loophole in a 2012 law that reduces the size of the judiciary, which Snyder himself pushed for and signed.

Democrats are calling Snyder's appointment bald-faced patronage.

Read more: http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/12/31/rick-snyder-judge-donald-owens/95909228/

January 2, 2017

Snyder names critic of workers' pay Jase Bolger to state panel

LANSING — Gov. Rick Snyder on Thursday named former House Speaker Jase Bolger to the four-member Civil Service Commission, which handles pay and hiring issues for most state employees.

"Jase has many years of public service experience that will serve him well on this commission," Snyder said in a news release. "I am confident he will do a good job ensuring we have the right rules in place to help dedicated state employees excel while providing good oversight for taxpayers."

Bolger has been critical of state employee pay, saying during the 2010 campaign in a taping of "Off the Record" on WKAR, a Lansing-area radio station, that those receiving state paychecks "need to live within (their) means, and they need to be sure we’re comparing that to those who are paying those bills," adding, "today, I think that that is not lined up."

Bolger supported the controversial right-to-work legislation that passed in 2012 and has backed attempts to reduce public employee pension costs.

Read more: http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/12/29/snyder-names-former-speaker-jase-bolger-state-panel/95968290/

January 2, 2017

Michigan students will learn to save lives with CPR training

Cindy Kuhn's son is alive because his best friend learned how to perform CPR during health classes at Novi High School.

Now all Michigan students will receive instruction in cardiopulmonary resuscitation — thanks to legislation approved in December.

"You just never know when you're going to need it," said Kuhn, a fifth-grade teacher at Novi Meadows Upper Elementary.

About 357,000 Americans each year suffer cardiac arrest outside of a hospital, and only about 8% of them survive, according to the American Heart Association.

Read more: http://www.freep.com/story/news/education/2017/01/01/michigan-students-cpr-training/95698192/

January 2, 2017

Ken Ham wants ark light display to 'take the rainbow back'

Lights from every color in the rainbow bathe the giant model of Noah's Ark in Northern Kentucky this Christmas.

But the holiday light display at the Ark Encounter in Grant County isn't just meant to be aesthetically pleasing. Answers in Genesis President Ken Ham made sure to add some political and social commentary to the ark's light display.

In a post on the Answers in Genesis website this week, Ham said Christians need to take the rainbow back. He bemoaned how it's become a symbol for the gay rights movement.

He said the rainbow should not symbolize "freedom, love, pride or the LGBTQ movement," but rather God's covenant with Noah.

-snip-

{Chris} Hartman {director of the LGBTQ-rights organization, the Fairness Campaign} admired the look of the lights, though.

"It makes the ark look incredibly gay," Hartman said.

Read more: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/blogs/2016/12/23/ken-ham-wants-ark-light-display-take-rainbow-back/95790964/

January 2, 2017

Former Ohio lawmaker may not have escaped convictions after all

The state is asking an appeals court to reconsider a decision overturning 10 of 13 criminal convictions for a former Ohio lawmaker from suburban Cincinnati.

Republican Pete Beck was accused of misleading investors about a company's financial status and using their money for personal gain. He was convicted of perjury, theft and securities-related charges.

A state appeals court in mid-December overturned all but three theft counts, which carry a total prison term of one year. Beck had served 16 months of his four-year sentence and a Hamilton County judge granted his request for early release.

The attorney general filed for reconsideration Tuesday. He argues that testimony and evidence supported a perjury count and that the appeals court wrongly concluded Beck was charged with securities fraud outside the statute of limitations.

Source: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2016/12/29/state-asks-court-reconsider-decision-beckss-case/95956270/