Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville said Wednesday he supports moving all newly hired public school employees into a 401(k)-style retirement plan and closing the pension and health care plan. “Tell the Mackinac Center that, OK?” Richardville quipped to reporters, referencing the Midland-based free market think-tank that has called for ending the traditional defined benefits of… Continue reading
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College student dies of meningitis
Every year this story is in the news. Nicholas Collins, a 19-year-old Central Michigan University freshman from Livonia who tested positive for bacterial meningitis, died May 10 at St. Mary Mercy Hospital in Livonia. College students are at particular risk for a very deadly form of meningitis because they live in close quarters and as… Continue reading
Radio-a-thon as part of Griese-Hutchinson-Woodson weekend is Friday
The seventh Griese-Hutchinson-Woodson golf weekend to raise money for Mott Hospital in Ann Arbor kicks off on Friday with a 12-hour celebrity radio-a-thon on WTKA-1050 AM. Money raised during the three-day event-filled weekend will go to Champions for Children’s Hearts. Former Michigan players Brian Griese, Steve Hutchinson and Charles Woodson are the event organizers. The… Continue reading
Charts: Carrie Underwood hangs on to No. 1
Carrie Underwood’s “Blown Away” hangs on to the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Top 200 albums chart this week, selling 120,000 copies its second week in stores, according to Nielsen SoundScan . Of Underwood’s three No. 1 sets, “Blown Away” is the first to spend more than one frame atop the chart. Mother’s Day sales helped Adele’s “21″ jump… Continue reading
Justin Verlander wants you to know ... he pays for his Taco Bell
On a day he handed off to charity the proceeds of a product he pitches, “Fastball Flakes,” Tigers ace Justin Verlander took time to talk about a product he isn’t officially affiliated with … yet. Taco Bell. Verlander’s love of Taco Bell has been widely known since he went on “Conan” in January and spilled… Continue reading
Flint's Shields still in hunt for Olympic berth
Halfway around the world from home, Flint boxer Claressa Shields still is waiting for a definitive answer about her Olympic qualification. But the cloudy picture is clearing, if not brightening. After losing a preliminary bout Sunday at the women’s world championships in Qinhuangdao, China — the final Olympic qualification tournament — the 17-year-old Shields was… Continue reading
Romney forgets the facts in campaign speeches - Updated
The Associated Press fact checks the GOP’s apparent candidate and finds Mitt Romney is lying in his campaign speeches . Romney often repeats the Republican trope alleging President Obama has increased our debt more than all the previous presidents combined. Not true, in fact, “the debt has gone up by about half under Obama. Under Ronald Reagan, it tripled.” Romney claims he has… Continue reading