WATZ Today's Country

Tuesday News Summary 02-28-23
Tue, 28 Feb 2023 12:12:08 EST

(Stories Courtesy of Michigan News Radio)

DTE CREDITS
DTE Energy is promising automatic credits for anyone out of power for at least four
days due to last week's ice storm. This, as more outages pile up due to the icy weather.
Attorney General Dana Nessel called on DTE to proactively issue credits to those
impacted by the storm. And the company will -- automatically issuing customers who've
been out of power for four or more days a 35 dollar credit.

POWER COMPLAINTS
The Michigan Public Service Commission has received nearly 800 complaints related
to the ice storm and a response. Most of the concerns deal with DTE's call center being
unreachable and the phone system not working, the outage map not working or
providing inaccurate restoration times and receiving text messages from the utility with
vague or wrong information. Some people have also voiced concern about DTE taking
too long to restore service. Members of the commission stayed in contact with utility
executives over the weekend.

AIRPORT IMPROVEMENTS
Some enhancements will soon be coming to Detroit Metro Airport. The FAA will be
awarding the airport $6-MILLION dollars in federal funding to replace more than 100
passenger loading bridges they say have reached the end of their useful life. The funds
come from the Airport Terminal Program that was a part of the bipartisan Infrastructure
Act signed into law in late 2021. The law provides a BILLION dollars annually for five
years for Airport Terminal grants.

ANN ARBOR SEX ASSAULTS
Following two alleged sexual assault incidents in Ann Arbor, police are looking for a
suspect they believe could be responsible for both. Both a 22-year-old woman Sunday
afternoon and 25-year-old woman Saturday afternoon reporting a man in a 4-door
sedan tried to grab them and put them in his car, groping them in the process. The 25-
year-old woman says he also exposed himself. The suspect is described as a male 20
to 30 years old with a full dark beard, 5-foot-7 and medium build. Anyone with
information should contact Ann Arbor Police.

GREEN OAK TWP ARSON
Investigators are looking into a suspected case of arson near Brighton. Green Oak
Township authorities are investigating a fire that happened early Friday morning at an
empty house on Fieldcrest Drive. There aren't many details -- but investigators say
there is a connection between the homeowner and the suspect... who's allegedly
connected to another arson case in Oakland County. Anyone with information on the
fire is asked to call the Green Oak Police Department.

POWER OUTAGES
Consumers Energy says it is working around the clock to restore customers in southern
Michigan affected by last week's ice storm and responding to multiple nex outages
caused by Monday's icing......affecting mostly mid and northern Michigan. Consumers
is working to restore power to more than 70-thousand customers.
DTE Energy is working to restore power to more than 48-thousand.

SHERIFF ARREST-ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
The sheriff of southwest Michigan's St. Joseph County, Mark Lillywhite, finds himself on
the other side of the law. The 47-year-old sheriff was arrested early Sunday morning
for drunk driving after a crash on US-131 in Schoolcraft Township. State Police say
Lillywhite rear-ended another SUV and that forced both vehicles off the road. There
were minor injuries.
The Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office says he's charged with operating while
intoxicated and possession of a firearm while intoxicated.

GUPTA SUES WOODRUFF
The sheriff of southwest Michigan's St. Joseph County, Mark Lillywhite, finds himself on
the other side of the law. The 47-year-old sheriff was arrested early Sunday morning
for drunk driving after a crash on US-131 in Schoolcraft Township. State Police say
Lillywhite rear-ended another SUV and that forced both vehicles off the road. There
were minor injuries.
The Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office says he's charged with operating while
intoxicated and possession of a firearm while intoxicated.

MSU RALLY
For a second week in a row, Michigan State University students returned to the capitol
in Lansing -- to push again for gun reform legislation, following the shootings on
campus.
Joining them Monday was Michigan U-S Senator Debbie Stabenow, who told the
students to remain focused on the task at hand...
Also in attendance was the Michigan Senate Majority Leader, Winnie Brinks -- who
says legislation has already been introduced that would include mandating "safe
storage" and other laws.

DETROIT YOUTH CHOIR-AGT
The Detroit Youth Choir is not one of the five finalists of America's Got Talent: All Stars.
The bad news coming for the Choir last night following a joint performance of the song
"Beverly Hills" with rock band Weezer that had the crowd and panel of judges bouncing
off the walls. The five finalist were selected by a group of "super fans" and
unfortunately, the Youth Choir was not among them.
However, Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield announcing that the group will
receive the Spirit of Detroit Award regardless of last night's outcome.

DTE RATE HIKE
DTE Energy says it'll take BILLIONS to improve the electrical grid ... so they've filed
another request for a rate hike. DTE filed the request February 10th, just under two
weeks before last Wednesday's ice storm that left more than 630-thousand of their
customers without lights and heat for several days. They're asking the state Public
Service Commission for permission to raise rates by about $620 million a year. If
approved, the average residential customer would pay approximately $150 more a year.
In November, the Public Service Commission approved a $31 million rate hike, much
less than the $388 million DTE requested. Citing inflation pressures, DTE says it's not
enough.

PAW PAW FIREFIGHTER
Funeral services are set for the Paw Paw firefighter killed during last week's ice storm
when a power line fell on him in Almena Township. There will be a visitation at Paw
Paw High School on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12:30 for 28-year-old Lt. Ethan Quillen
and then there will be a funeral service. Following the funeral, there will be a
procession to the cemetery, with a brief pause in front of the fire department.
A GoFundMe account started by the Paw Paw Fire Department has raised more than
121-thousand dollars for Quillen's wife and family.

TODDLER DEATH-GRAND RAPIDS
The death of a toddler who was being watched by babysitters is being investigated by
Grand Rapids Police. The child's mother, Amanda O'Brien was in a car crash and
taken to the hospital and had to stay because she was pregnant. The babysitters
contacted her and told her Kaiyanni's stomach was bloated and she was throwing up,
so O'Brien told them to take her to the hospital. Doctors said she had abdominal
trauma and was declared brain dead a few days later.
O'Brien gave birth to another child.

U-P BANK ROBBERY
Police in the U-P's Iron River are looking for a suspect in a bank robbery at Flagstar
Bank Monday morning. The suspect was reportedly wearing a yellow jacket and khaki
tearaway pants. They left the bank in a grey Chevy Silverado pickup truck. No one
was injured.

MUSKEGON HTS. SUPERINTENDENT
The Muskegon Heights Public School Academy board has chosen Rodriguez Broadnax
as its interim superintendent. M-Live reports Broadnax resigned from his last job after
questions arose about his credentials and a criminal probe over expenses.