WATZ Today's Country

Friday News Summary 02-10-23
Fri, 10 Feb 2023 12:05:42 EST

(Stories Courtesy of Michigan News Radio)

TAX PLANS
Governor Gretchen Whitmer's proposed tax cut plan -- which includes a "one time"
rebate for tax filers across Michigan -- is "one step" closer to reality, following a
contentious vote in the State House. The voices of protest began early, as House Bill
4001 was brought to the floor for consideration, and what turned out to be it's eventual
passage. Unhappy House Republicans say the proposed payout plan doesn't provide
the permanent tax relief residents of Michigan need. The vote ended 56-to-53 in favor
of the plan to mail $180 rebate checks to individual tax filers across the state, while
also approving the phasing out of the state's decade-old "retirement tax." The
package -- if passed by the Senate and signed by the governor -- would also raise the
Michigan Working Families Tax Credit from 6 percent to 30 percent.

ELLIOTT-LARSEN
Some lawmakers call it a historic move. The State Senate Committee on Civil Rights,
Judiciary, and Public Safety has approved a plan that expands the Elliott-Larsen Civils
Rights Act to provide protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation,
gender identity, or expression. Committee members voted five to one, with one
lawmaker passing, to approve Senate Bill 4 after hearing about 90 minutes of
testimony. The bill now goes to the full Senate for consideration.

MARINE CITY
An investigation is underway after an alleged bomb threat at a school. According to the
Marine City Police Department, administration from Marine City High School reported a
bomb threat around 8:30 Thursday morning. The school was immediately put into
lockdown. Students were also being evacuated by buses to a nearby building. K-9s
trained in explosive detection were brought in from the Port Huron Police Department.
They found no evidence of a bomb.
The circumstances around the threat are unknown at this time.

CAMP GRAYLING
Not everyone is on board with a plan to expand Michigan's Camp Grayling. Republican
State Representative Ken Borton of Gaylord is joining with a number of other Northern
Michigan Lawmakers in opposition to the plan, which would nearly double the size of
the military training facility. Borton says the proposed expansion would threaten the air,
water, wildlife, and other natural resources of the state. Governor Gretchen Whitmer's
plan would allow the Michigan National Guard to use 250 square miles of state-owned
land for the expansion. The D-N-R has been holding hearings over the past year to
gather public input on the plan. That public comment period officially wrapped up
Wednesday night.

VAN GOGH
After several weeks, a federal appeals court agreed to hear a dispute when it comes to
the famous 1888 Vincent Van Gogh painting displayed at the DIA. This comes after a
judge dismissed the lawsuit a few weeks ago. On Monday, the court granted an
injunction and ordered the DIA to hold onto the painting while the case is pending. The
Brokerarte Capital Partners, who claimed to be the owners of the painting since 2017,
filed the lawsuit. It said it only gave temporary possession to a third party but never got
the piece back. "The Novel Reader," which is the paintings' name, was part of dozens
of van Gogh's work lent out by collectors.

HOME CHILD CARE SUSPENDED-GRAND RAPIDS AREA
A Grand Rapids area home child care has had its license suspended after the state
says the woman running it routinely locked children inside tents. Connie Rookus' Day
Care in Courtland Township was suspended Wednesday by the Michigan Department
of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Child Care Licensing Bureau after it received a tip.
The state says Rookus admitted to placing children in child sized tents and locking
them in with padlocks.
The Kent County Sheriff's Department is also investigating.

HOSPITAL BOMB THREAT-GRAND RAPIDS
A west Michigan hospital was put on lockdown last night after someone walked in with
a brown bag and said it was a bomb. This happened at Trinity Health Saint Mary's in
Grand Rapids and police arrested the man. The bag had an orange and a banana in it.
The lockdown was lifted.

PERRY JOHNSON FOR PRESIDENT-SE MI
A former candidate for governor in Michigan, is now running for president. Republican
businessman Perry Johnson has created a committee to run for president and he's
spending $192-thousand dollars to run Super Bowl ads in Iowa.
Johnson says , in a statement, that he blames Washington D.C. elite fat cats for
borrowing and wasting too much money and tied that to inflation.
His run for governor last year failed when the state elections bureau said he didn't
submit enough valid signatures to make the ballot.

PANDEMIC FRAUD-DETROIT
Eight years in federal prison. That's the sentence for a Detroit man, convicted on
charges of trying to defraud multiple government agencies out of more than two million
dollars in Covid-19 pandemic assistance funds. 35-year-old Chaz Shields was also
sentenced in U.S. District Court of defrauding the U.S. Postal Service out of more than
200 thousand dollars in phony insurance claims.
Officials say from May of 2020 through July of 2021, Shields and his co-conspirators
submitted more than 240 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims to over 20 states,
in order to obtain more than two-point-two million dollars in benefits.
Officials say Shields has a long history of fraud and deceit, having accumulated six
separate state fraud convictions five in Michigan and one in Maryland since 2016.

PHARMACIST SENTENCE
An Oakland County pharmacist who pleaded guilty to distributing more than 25-
thousand Oxycodone and other pills will spend seven years in prison. The U.S.
Attorney's office says 44-year old Yousef Kosho, who ran Great Health Pharmacy in
Madison Heights, gave the pills to a patient recruiter in return for cash and without
writing any prescriptions. Investigators say at times Kosho would sell entire pharmacy
stock bottles of drugs to the recruiter. As part of his sentence, Kosho will have to give
up more than one million dollars seized during the investigation.

NURSES TENTATIVE DEAL-MID MI
One group of mid Michigan nurses has reached a tentative contract agreement.
MyMichigan Alma nurses have reached a tentative agreement , avoiding a strike. The
nurses had been working without a contract since late last year. Nurses will vote on
the deal next week.
Meantime, nurses at McLaren Central continue to negotiate for a new contract.

TRINITY HEALTH EMBEZZLE-GRAND HAVEN
A former Trinity Health Grand Haven account manager, Cindy Norgren, has been
charged for embezzling over two million dollars from the health system. She was
arrested and charged on a count of embezzlement and using computers to commit a
crime. The investigation began when the hospital found financial irregularities.
Norgren faces up to 20 year in prison, if convicted.

THROWING ICE-METRO DETROIT
The Oakland County Sheriff's office is investigating reports that someone is deliberately
targeting drivers in Rochester Hills, by throwing ice at their vehicles. Officials say
they've received at least five reports over the past week from people who say they were
driving on or near Tienken Road when a chunk of ice hit their car. Some drivers say
they're facing repair bills of up to 35 hundred dollars due to damage caused by the
flying ice chunks.
The sheriff's office doesn't have any suspects at this time. Crimestoppers is offering a
reward of up to one thousand dollars for information leading to an arrest. If you know
anything, you can call Crimestoppers at 1-800 SPEAK UP.

DETROIT COUNCIL WANTS RAISES
Detroit city council members and the city clerk are asking for huge pay raises.
Speaking before commissioners who determine their salaries, Clerk Janice Winfrey
said clerks in several nearby suburban communities make significantly more than she
does. She's seeking a $150,000 annual salary. She currently makes about $89,000 a
year. Council members are asking for a $115,000 annual salary and $125,000 for the
council president.
The Elected Officials Compensation Commission is expected to make a decision next
week. The city council can reject the pay raises by a two-thirds vote.

NICK BAUMGARTNER-IRON RIVER
Olympic Gold medalist in snowboarding, Nick Baumgartner, a native of Iron River,
surprised a former coach last night at the West Iron County girls' basketball game.
Olympic athletes are given the Order of Ikkos award by the U.S. Olympic and
Paralympic Committee to give to an influential coach in the athletes life.
Baumgartner reportedly gave the award to his t-ball coach when he was five years old
for the lasting impact on his sports career, Jim Kralovec. The elementary phys ed
coach says he's humbled by the award.

FREE SNOWMOBILING
It's a free snowmobiling weekend in Michigan, but there's no snow in the southern
portion of the state. If you want to go snowmobiling, you'll have to go to northern
Michigan or the U-P. There will be no registration or trail fees on state trails this
weekend.