DETROIT (WWJ) - Detroit police say a man who was apparently trying to steal copper from a transformer on a DTE Energy pole was electrocuted.

Police told WWJ Newsradio 950 that an investigation is ongoing but they believe the 34-year-old man was attempting to remove the copper from inside the pole, located at Putnam and Lawton, near I-96.

Police said he was then electrocuted by a live wire, causing him to fall off his ladder and be left hanging. He appears to have died sometime overnight

A DTE crew cut power to the pole and used a cherry picker to bring down the man’s body.

His name was not immediately released.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/10/10/man-electrocuted-trying-to-steal-copper-from-pole/

DETROIT (WWJ) - Toyota is recalling 7.43 million vehicles globally, about a third of them in the U.S., because smoke can come out of the side windows.

Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday the power-window switch on the driver’s side didn’t have grease applied evenly during production, causing friction in the switch and sometimes smoke.

“The driver’s side (switch) may experience a “notchy” or sticky feel during operation,” read a statement from Toyota. “If commercially available lubricants are applied to the switch in an attempt to address the “notchy” or sticky feel, melting of the switch assembly or smoke could occur and lead to a fire under some circumstances.”

While it has happened about 200 times in the U.S. alone, no crashes or injuries have been reported related to the problem.

WWJ Auto Beat Reporter Jeff Gilbert said about 2.5 million vehicles are being recalled are in the U.S. The recalled vehicles include:

2007 to 2008 Yaris
2007 to 2009 RAV4
2007 to 2009 Tundra
2007 to 2009 Camry
2007 to 2009 Camry Hybrid
2008 to 2009 Scion xD
2008 to 2009 Scion xA
2008 to 2009 Sequoia
2008 Highlander
2008 Highlander Hybrid
2009 Corolla
2009 Matrix
Toyota said they will inspect, repair and apply special grease to all the recalled vehicles at no cost to the consumer. The repair should take approximately one hour, depending on the dealer’s work schedule.

Owners of vehicles covered by this safety recall will receive a notification letter in the mail starting in late October 2012.

For more information, call 1-800-331-4331 or visit www.toyota.com/recall.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/10/10/massive-toyota-recall-due-to-faulty-window-switch/

DETROIT (WWJ) - Detroit officials say hazardous materials crews were called to the city’s 911 communications building when employees smelled natural gas. The building is located near Lyndon and Wyoming.

Officials talking to WWJ Newsradio 950′s Pat Sweeting said it’s been determined that the leak did not originate from the 911 dispatch center, but employees there smelled fumes.

At around Noon everyone inside was asked to leave the building.

“The odor of natural gas was pretty much overwhelming and at that point we started evacuation because we did not know the source of the gas,” said Detroit Police Commander Todd Bedison, who added that, as of 12:30 p.m., they were still trying to figure out where the smell was coming from.

The Detroit Fire Department is on the scene as an investigation continues.

No injuries have been reported.

Bedison said the ordeal cause a minor disruption in 911 services at the center for about five to 10 minutes. Services have been redirected to another center on Detroit’s east side and response time has returned to normal.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/10/09/gas-leak-detected-at-detroit-911-dispatch-center/

DETROIT (WWJ) - A new report shows half of Detroit residents want out.

That’s just one finding of a comprehensive poll of residents’ attitudes about Detroit and its leadership.

Eight hundred people were questioned by the Chicago-based Glengariff Group for the survey commissioned by the Detroit News.

Glengariff president Richard Czuba said the survey shows Detroiters overwhelmingly believe the city is on the wrong track and have no faith that the people in charge have a plan to turn it around.

He said half of the city’s population wants to leave and about 40 percent of Detroiters plan to actually do so within the next 5 years.

Without prompt or suggestion, residents were asked to name the biggest challenges to living in the city.

“We were stunned when 58 percent of the residents told us crime and safety were the biggest daily struggles they face in Detroit,” Czuba told WWJ Newsradio 950. “We also asked them if they felt safe in Detroit and half of Detroiters said they felt unsafe.”

Czuba said the survey suggests that unless city officials can stop violence, efforts to halt decades of decline will fail.

“It’s been a long time since anyone has done a comprehensive survey of this nature of the attitudes of Detroit’s residents, and that finding of 40 percent is extraordinary,” said Czuba. “We haven’t seen anything like that anywhere else.”

The city has already lost a million people in the last half-century.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/10/09/survey-half-of-detroiters-plan-to-leave-the-city/
 

SHELBY TOWNSHIP — Macomb County Executive Mark A. Hackel will attend an expansion celebration for Fori Automation Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. at Fori’s offices, 50955 Wing Drive in Shelby Township.

Fori is expanding as a global supplier of advanced manufacturing machinery. Success in diversifying beyond the automotive industry has resulted in a brand new building and the creation of good paying, sustainable jobs in southeast Michigan.

Also being announced is a new initiative to retain businesses in Macomb County developed by Hackel and the Macomb County Planning and Economic Development Department. Based on the principles of economic gardening, the initiative will expand services available for the nearly 18,000 businesses that drive Macomb’s economy.
 

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/10/08/global-tool-builder-expands-in-macomb-county-adding-new-jobs/

DETROIT (WWJ) - Is the Detroit Schools’ official website unsafe?

When Internet users search “Detroit Public Schools” on Google, the district’s website, DetroitK12.org, is first on the list. But when you click on it, there’s a warning that the site contains “malware” that might harm your computer — including 43 Trojan viruses.

The following message appeared Monday morning: “Google has found malicious software may be installed onto your computer if you proceed. If you’ve visited this site in the past or you trust this site, it’s possible that it has just recently been compromised by a hacker. You should not proceed, and perhaps try again tomorrow or go somewhere else.” (View a copy of the Google advisory).

Talking to WWJ Newsradio 950, DPS spokesman Steve Wasko said school officials recently noticed the problem via the web and in their internal emails.

Wasko said the district’s technical staff is calling it a “Google glitch” and they’re working on it. He insists that the site hasn’t been compromised and that it’s safe to use.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/10/08/google-warns-detroit-schools-website-infected/

DETROIT (WWJ) Tamela Wells, 29, was last seen at 9:30 p.m. Aug. 6, 2012 in the 19700 block of Appleton. She was driving her vehicle, a white, four-door Pontiac Grand Prix.

Her car has been recovered, but she is still missing.

There’s no evidence of a crime, but no one has heard from or seen her since, which makes no sense to friends, family and her boyfriend Rickey Tennant.

Wells is 5 foot-6 inches tall, weighs 150 pounds, has brown eyes, black hair, and medium complexion. She was last seen wearing a white shirt, and blue jean shorts with a cuff. She is in good mental and physical condition.

If anyone has seen Tamela Wells, please contact the Criminal Investigations at 313-596-5240.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/10/08/missing-in-the-metro-tamela-wells/

DETROIT (WWJ) – The average price for a gallon of gas in Michigan is 3.1 cents higher this week than it was last week.

According to AAA Michigan, the statewide average is now $3.91 per gallon. That’s 52.8 cents more than it was at the same time last year.

Following is a list of average gas prices in several cities across Michigan:

Ann Arbor
$3.924

Benton Harbor
$3.874

Detroit
$3.888

Flint
$3.928

Grand Rapids
$3.935

Lansing/E. Lansing
$3.928

Marquette
$3.764

Saginaw/Bay City
$3.93

Traverse City
$3.908

AAA surveys 2,800 Michigan gas stations daily. To find the cheapest gas nationwide, go to AAA.com and look for AAA Fuel Price Finder.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/10/08/gas-prices-up-3-cents-in-michigan/

DETROIT (WWJ) – General Motors and the State of Michigan are expected to announce details on 2,000 new hi-tech jobs being created by GM in Michigan, with 1,500 of them coming to the Warren Tech Center.

GM is out to bring more of its information technology operations in-house. Right now, most of the company’s IT is handled outside the automaker. To that end, GM is spending $300 million on new IT innovation centers in Warren and in Austin, Texas.

About a third of the 1,500 jobs in Michigan may be made up of recent college graduates. The governor is happy about the new developments, seeing how it will make Michigan a bigger player in hi-tech, keep younger workers from moving away and even attract younger workers to the state.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/10/08/gm-creating-thousands-of-new-jobs-in-michigan/

SOUTHFIELD — There are plenty of ways to live more sustainably, and it’s not just about your light bulbs or your furnace.

A sustainable lifestyle includes careful consideration of everything from the house you live in to the car you drive to the food you eat to the clothes on your back.

Information about sustainability in all those fields is available at Lawrence Technological University’s eighth annual Seminars On Sustainability, Friday and Saturday at the school’s Southfield campus, 21000 W. 10 Mile Road.

Friday’s events are intended mostly for architectural and engineering professionals, and include information on solar homes, environmentally friendly remodeling, sustainability in municipal services delivery and net-zero energy-saving homes.

Saturday, the public is invited. There will be ride-and-drive opportunities in electric and hybrid vehicles, a green expo of various green technology vendors, storm water management for homeowners, and urban gardening.

There’s an audio interview with conference chair Janice K. Means, PE, LEED AP, associate professor of architecture and design at Lawrence Tech, at this link.

The conference kicked off Friday morning with the dedication of new electric vehicle charging stations in Lawrence Tech’s parking lots by the school’s Blue Devil mascot.

Friday’s keynote comes from renowned Chicago architect and sustainability advocate Doug Farr. And Saturday’s keynote comes from Suzanne Lindsay, director of sustainability at the nation’s largest grocery store chain, Cincinnati-based Kroger. Lindsay is also a Lawrence Tech alumna.

More about the conference at www.ltu.edu/sustain/sos2012.asp.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/10/05/lawrence-tech-event-helps-you-get-sustainable/