Category: Top News Written by Michigan Chronicle

The Detroit Board of Water Commissioners (BOWC) voted unanimously Friday to authorize the Department to move forward with a five-year contract with EMA Inc. The contact will allow EMA to proceed with the organizational optimization work initially recommended as part of the company’s 90-day operational assessment. With Friday’s vote, DWSD will negotiate a final contract with EMA which could begin as early as October 1. Under the five-year agreement, EMA will work with DWSD to develop new job designs, resulting in a reduction in the number of employee classifications from 267 to 31. 

The scope of work will also include piloting those job designs and business process designs, developing an information technology master plan, examining human resources and payroll systems, optimizing the department’s CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System), and improving the reliability of equipment through improved asset management. For that work, EMA will receive compensation of approximately $17 million, with an additional $2.5 million set aside for expenses.

In addition to the services listed above, EMA will work on the development, assessment, and implementation of non-core outsourced services as originally identified within the 90-day operational assessment. Non-core services include building maintenance, grass cutting, snow removal, and janitorial services. Over the term of the agreement, it is anticipated that those outsourced services will come at a cost of roughly $21 million, resulting in an expected net savings to DWSD of more than $50 million. 

“We are focused on a process to improve our compliance with the federal consent agreement and become more efficient,” said DWSD Director Sue McCormick. “We are not starting with a target number to achieve those savings. If we follow the process, the numbers will work themselves out.” Today’s vote followed an extensive period of due diligence by DWSD staff and the BOWC, which involved reviewing EMA’s history of recommendations and implementations in other municipalities. Especially noted were how the efforts of EMA improved compliance with federal regulations in those systems. 

Chairman James Fausone thanked the Board members for spending the extensive amount of time necessary to review the due diligence information that was gathered, as well as the proposal from EMA and the recommendations to proceed from the Director and the Board’s technical advisor, Tarolyn Buckles. DWSD supplies high-quality drinking water to Detroit and 126 other communities in southeast Michigan. The Department provides wastewater services to Detroit and 76 other southeast Michigan communities.

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Category: News Briefs Written by WWJ

 

DETROIT (WWJ) – Jury selection is set to begin in Wayne County Circuit Court Tuesday for the trial of a Detroit father who is accused of murdering his 2-year-old daughter.

 

D’Andre Lane faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted on charges of first degree murder and child abuse in the death of Bianca Jones, whose body has still not been found.

 

The prosecution says it’s not the first murder trial where the victim’s body was still missing, but they contend Lane beat the toddler to death during potty training and dumped her body before staging a carjacking and kidnapping to cover his tracks.

 

According to Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, an extensive investigation determined that there was no carjacking.

 

Center to the trial will be the testimony of a cadaver dog expert, whose dog allegedly detected the scent of decomposition in the closet of the children’s room at Lanes’ home.

 

Lane maintains his innocence and has said he believes his daughter is being held somewhere.

 

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/09/18/jury-selection-begins-in-bianca-jones-murder-case/

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Category: News Briefs Written by WWJ

 

DETROIT (WWJ) - A quiet Detroit neighborhood turned into the scene of a fatal crime after one person was shot to death and another was critically wounded on the city’s west side.

 

Police say they responded to a home on Marlowe Street, between Fenkell and Grand River, around 3 a.m. Tuesday after neighbors heard gunshots and called 911.

 

Arriving officers found the door to the house ajar and upon entering found the bodies of two men on the floor. One of the men was dead from an apparent gunshot wound, while the other was transported to a local hospital in critical condition.

 

It wasn’t immediately clear what led to the shooting or who fired the weapon. The deceased victim is reportedly a man in his 40s and the injured victim is a man in his 20s.

 

Just a few houses away from the crime scene, Briana Lewis lives in a home with three children.

 

“It’s just got my stomach twisted up and turned. I’ve never been so close to something like this. You hear about this on the news but you don’t think it can happen that close to you. I mean, (my kids) go to that school right there. They walk up and down these streets, you know, they walk past this house everyday,” Lewis told WWJ’s Mike Campbell.

 

An investigation is ongoing.

 

Anyone with information is asked to call Detroit Police at 313-596-2260 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.

 

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/09/18/1-killed-in-double-shooting-on-detroits-west-side/

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Category: News Briefs Written by WWJ

 

DETROIT (WWJ) – The Head Start program has been given a big federal boost to expand the program for hundreds of children.

 

The Wayne County Head Start program has been awarded a new federal grant worth approximately $2.3 million annually.

 

The five-year funding plan allows for the enrollment of 318 additional children from Detroit’s northwest side, zip code 48219, through April 2017.

 

The grant will allow for an expansion in services, programming and resources to be administered by The Children’s Center of Wayne County (TCC), one of the largest comprehensive and responsive frontline human service agencies, having served thousands of children since their founding in 1929.

 

“We are thrilled to partner with Wayne County to offer The Children’s Center Head Start Academy to families with 3-5 year old children residing in the 48219 neighborhood. Serving the needs of the whole child and their family empowers them to shape their own future,” added Debora Matthews, President & CEO of The Children’s Center of Wayne County.

 

While classes were scheduled to be September 10,  registration information or eligibility requirements, interested parents may reach out to The Children’s Center of Wayne County (TCC) directly at (313) 481-5114.

 

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/09/17/wayne-county-head-start-program-awarded-11-5m-for-expansion-into-detroit/

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Category: News Briefs Written by WWJ

 

DETROIT (WWJ) – The Detroit Science Center is “one large step closer to opening its doors” after a $500,000 donation from ITC Holdings Corp.

 

Board members the newly renamed “Michigan Science Center” of have been hard at work securing dollars to reopen the cultural attraction since it closed last September amid a financial crisis.

 

“As the Detroit Science Center, it touched hundreds of thousands of children and parents each year. Now, as the Michigan Science Center, it will expand its influence statewide, encouraging an interest in math and the sciences, enlightening the minds of students throughout the state. It’s important to remember that today’s youth will be tomorrow’s workforce of engineers and technical operators in the electric transmission industry,” Gregory Ioanidis, president of ITC Michigan, said in a release.

 

Over the past several months the Michigan Science Center has achieved a number of significant milestones including commitments and donations of more that $2.5 million. Other donors include The General Motors Foundation, The Ford Foundation, Penske Corporation and the Manoogian Fund.

 

“These milestones are critical to our efforts to open the Michigan Science Center,”  Tom Stephens, chairman of the Michigan Science Center board, said in a release. “The Board of Directors has been focused on completing all of the steps of the Michigan Science Center Recovery Plan. One of the steps we are currently working on is developing an opening strategy for the facility.”

 

Stephens said possible reopening dates for the  science center stretch from as early as November into the first part of next year. He said visitors can go to www.michigansciencecenter.org to keep up with all the center’s latest updates.

 

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/09/18/detroit-science-center-one-step-closer-to-opening-its-doors/

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Category: Breaking News Written by WWJ

 

TORONTO (WWJ) - There will not be a strike nor a settlement in the short-term as the Canadian Auto Workers union is now taking negotiations on a day-to-day basis.

 

WWJ AutoBeat reporter Jeff Gilbert said the CAW union has to give the companies 24-hours notice before a walkout.

 

 

Earlier Monday the CAW announced a tentative agreement with Ford Motor and said if GM and Chrysler refused to accept that pattern then they would strike both of those companies.

 

Top labor executives at both GM and Chrysler asked the CAW for more time to digest specifics of the deal at Ford.

 

“This is a good faith gesture on behalf of the bargaining committees of GM and Chrysler it a good faith gesture from the national officers of the union,” said CAW President Ken Lewenza.”But good faith must result in good results.”

 

Lewenza says that the deal with GM and Chrysler must be patterned like the tentative Ford agreement - or there will be a work stoppage.

 

Gilbert says it would not make sense to walk out if progress is being made. The current contract was scheduled to end at 11:59pm Monday.

 

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/09/17/no-strike-for-caw-as-negotiations-go-day-to-day/

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Category: Breaking News Written by WDIV

 

DETROIT -

It’s a critical time this week in the federal trial against former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

 

Jury selection is expected to be complete Tuesday -- which means opening statements, witnesses testimony and the presentation of evidence could all get under way in the coming days.

 

The trial, the largest of its type in the city's history, could last for months.

 

 

Twelve jurors, with six alternates, will eventually be seated to review the dozens of charges listed against members of what the government is calling the "Kilpatrick enterprise."

 

Kilpatrick, his father Bernard, ex-city water boss Victor Mercado and Kilpatrick pal Bobby Ferguson are accused of a sweeping corruption scheme. The Kilpatricks are accused of shaking down contractors who wanted business or favors from Detroit city hall.

 

All have pleaded not guilty.

 

Kilpatrick was mayor until fall 2008 when he resigned in an unrelated scandal.

 

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/investigations/Kwame-Kilpatrick-s-federal-corruption-trial-expected-to-start-this-week/-/1719314/16641270/-/42ek3h/-/index.html

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Category: Breaking News Written by WWJ

 

DETROIT (WWJ) – The Secretary of State could have a battle on her hands as a federal lawsuit is being filed asking courts to eliminate the citizen check-off box on ballot applications in the state.

 

According to the Ingham County Clerk, the suit claims the box is illegal and unconstitutional.

 

Secretary of State Ruth Johnson has asked local clerks to include the check-off box for all voters; spokeswoman Gisgie Jendreau says it’s important that only legal citizens be allowed to vote.

 

“The Secretary has repeatedly asked the federal government to provide us with citizenship information so we can clean up our voter rolls – but they have so far refused to help,” said Jendreau.

 

The spokeswoman said that Johnson wants to make sure that anyone who inadvertently registered to vote does not commit a felony.

 

The Michigan Election Coalition has sent Secretary Johnson letters urging her to do away with the check box, but she has said that she will continue to use it in the November election.

 

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/09/17/federal-lawsuit-seeks-ban-on-citizenship-check-off-box/

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Category: Breaking News Written by WWJ

 

DETROIT (WWJ) - A new study finds that bacteria living in the intestines could be the key to finding an effective treatment for obesity.

 

“People have known for a long time the body is full of microorganisms and now the tools have become available to study them,” Lita Proctor, coordinator of the National Institutes of Health Human Microbiome Project, told the Baltimore Sun.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Wendy Miller, Director of Beaumont Hospital’s Weight Control Center, explained the University of Maryland study identifies 26 species of potentially harmful bacteria that may be unique to the obese.

 

“They (the bacteria) are metabolically active just as our own cells are and factors that they are secreting could potentially be having an impact on us — such as causing inflammation, and inflammation has been shown to be a precursor to a variety of disease states including Type Two Diabetes and heart disease,” Dr. Miller said.

 

The researchers say the bacteria is linked to insulin resistance and the high blood pressure, Cholesterol and sugar levels suffered by people who are overweight.

 

Miller told WWJ Newsradio 950 the study’s findings look promising. ”There’s a variety of factors that impact our weight, you know, genetics and lifestyle and environment. This very well could be another factor that is worth looking more into,” she said.

 

Researchers say more research needs to be done to understand how to control the bad bacteria.

 

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/09/17/study-links-gut-bacteria-to-obesity-diabetes/

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Category: Breaking News Written by WWJ

 

TORONTO, Canada (WWJ) – The Canadian Auto Workers Union is using a unique strategy in its final day of negotiations before Monday night’s 11:59 p.m. deadline in talks with the Detroit three.

 

 

Most of the focus today will be with Ford, but CAW President Ken Lewenza says his negotiators will be working simultaneously to pattern any agreements at GM and Chrysler.

 

“If they’re genuinely interested in getting a deal, we can get a deal with them coinciding with Ford Motor Company because, quite frankly, we have the energy to go from room to room to room to get the job done,” Lewenza said.

 

Lewenza says he’s told both GM and Chrysler that they better show a desire to have a deal, or union members will withdraw their services at tonight’s deadline.

 

Chrysler officials have expressed concern about the negotiating strategy.

 

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/09/17/no-agreement-yet-caw-trying-unique-strategy/

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