The Detroit Institute of Arts might be headed to court after an anti-tax group sued the museum, claiming it made false claims about free admission.

The Michigan Taxpayers Alliance filed the lawsuit against the DIA in Macomb County Circuit Court Thursday, according to the Macomb Daily. Their grievance comes after an August vote in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties passed a 0.2 millage that would funnel cash to the financially-struggling museum. In exchange, residents of the three counties would receive free admission to the DIA.

However, visitors still must purchase tickets to special exhibitions like "Fabergé: The Rise and Fall," currently on view. The MTA suit claims that denying free admittance to that exhibit is a breach of the museum's agreement with the Macomb County Arts Authority to provide free admission to residents.

"Voters were lied to," MTA Chairman Leon Drolet told the Detroit News. "The DIA made a promise and signed a contract and now are reneging. Our suit seeks to enforce both the DIA's campaign promises and the contract they signed."

The 10-year millage will bring in $23 million, without which museum officials said they would have to lay off workers, shorten hours and eventually close. While the measure passed with a strong lead in Oakland and Wayne, it was much closer in Macomb, where only 50.5 percent of residents at the polls voted in favor.

According to CBS Detroit, a spokeswoman from the museum said Thursday they had not yet seen the lawsuit.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/06/detroit-institute-of-arts-sued-michigan-taxpayers-alliance_n_2251362.html?utm_hp_ref=detroit

DEARBORN (WWJ) - Wipe away the bah-humbugs with a healthy dose of Christmas spirit during The Henry Ford’s annual Holiday Nights in Greenfield Village.

The event runs December 7-8, 14-16, 18-23 and 26-27 from 6:30 p.m. until 10 p.m. Museum officials suggest families buy their tickets soon, however, because the event sells out every year.

Holiday Nights transforms Greenfield Village into a holiday scene from the 19th and 20th centuries. Streets are lit by the soft glow of lanterns leading you into the historic homes decorated for the season and filled with the scents of evergreen and freshly baked holiday treats.

Take a ride in this winter wonderland via Model T or on a horse-drawn carriage, complete with caroling. As you make your way throughout the Village, don’t forget to stop by the Robert Frost home to visit with Santa and his reindeer.

Visitors can lace up their skates and take a turn or two on the Village’s ice skating rink. Listen as traditional holiday tunes echo through the air as Victorian-era carolers stroll through the Village and the Dodworth Saxhorn Band serenades visitors down Main Street.

Food stations are planted along the paths and are filled with historically inspired seasonal delights, including freshly roasted chestnuts, hot apple cider and cocoa.

For the end of the evening, you can purchase an official Holiday Nights lantern and join the procession from Martha-Mary Chapel to Town Hall for a Fireworks finale accompanied by a sing-along of familiar holiday tunes.

Ticket prices for Holiday Nights are $17 for adult members and $12.75 for youth members, $20 for adult non-members and $15 for youth non-members. Children four and under are free. To purchase tickets, call 313-982-6001 or visit www.thehenryford.com.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/12/06/walk-in-winter-wonderland-during-holiday-nights-in-greenfield-village/

DETROIT (CBS Detroit) Last-minute shoppers take heart: Macy’s is staying open for a 48-hour straight Christmas shopping marathon from 7 a.m. Friday, Dec. 21 to 7 a.m. Dec 23.

It’s a national initiative that includes Macy’s at Oakland Mall in Troy and Macy’s at Twelve Oaks in Novi. Stores will stay open until 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

A special “one day sale” will be tied to the event, and shoppers who need a little extra help with their gift list will find special offers for “great ‘gifts under’ $100, $50 and $25.”

This follows an effort by Macys, Walmart, Target and other retailers to gain a holiday shopping advantage by opening on Thanksgiving for Black Friday shopping. Workers fought back with a petition asking the retail giants to stay closed to “save Thanksgiving.”

It appeared to work: 30 percent of Americans in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll said they shopped either online or in stores Thanksgiving Day — a higher number than those who said they shopped on Black Friday. Twenty-nine percent of respondents said they shopped on Black Friday.

In more good retail news: Online Black Friday shopping hit $1.04 billion in 2012, according to comScore, a 26 percent increase over last year.

Macy’s is hoping to capitalize on the upswing.

“For the first time ever, Macy’s will keep most stores open around the clock for the last weekend of holiday shopping, an expansion of our successful marathon that began at select stores in 2006,” said Peter Sachse, Macy’s chief stores officer, in a press release.

He added: “We hope to make it easy for our customers across the country to finish their shopping at any time of day or night and with the benefit of the great deals and value they count on from our One Day Sale events.”

Macy’s began the tradition of keeping its doors open 24-hours with Macy’s Queens Center in 2006. Macy’s added additional stores in subsequent years, and last year offered customers the opportunity to shop outside regular store hours in 14 locations that were open 24 hours and in 27 locations that offered extended hours.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/12/07/macys-stays-open-for-48-hour-christmas-shopping-marathon/
 

Modest hiring continued in November and the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in nearly four years, according to a report released Friday.

The U.S. economy added 146,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7% from 7.9% in October, the Labor Department said. While that's the lowest unemployment rate since December 2008, it fell due mainly to workers dropping out of the labor force.

Economists surveyed by CNNMoney had predicted that only 77,000 jobs were added in November and that the unemployment rate had risen to 8%, factoring in distortions from Superstorm Sandy. But the Labor Department said it was still able to collect a normal level of responses to its survey, even in areas affected by the storm.

"Our analysis suggests that Hurricane Sandy did not substantively impact the national employment and unemployment estimates for November," the Labor Department said in a press release.

The Labor Department typically revises its jobs numbers several times. In Friday's report, job growth was revised lower in both September and October, subtracting 49,000 jobs from the 2012 total.

Of the job gains in November, more than a third, or 52,600, came from retailers, but much of that was likely due to temporary holiday hiring.

Check the Unemployment in your state

Economists at the Labor Department try to adjust for seasonal trends like holiday hiring, but this year the raw data showed retailers hired more workers in November than any other month on record since 1939.

Professional business services hired 43,000 workers in November, seasonally adjusted. Health care added 20,000 jobs.

Why the unemployment rate fell

The payrolls number and the unemployment rate come from two separate surveys conducted by the Labor Department, and the data don't always match up. While businesses largely reported they hired workers, a survey of households said just the opposite.

Households claimed they had 122,000 fewer jobs in November, and also showed 350,000 people dropped out of the labor force.

The unemployment rate fell largely because there were fewer people looking for work. The Labor Department only counts people who have searched for a job in the last four weeks as officially unemployed.

About 12 million people were counted as unemployed in November, down from 12.3 million a month earlier.
Overall, the U.S. labor market has still not completely recovered from the financial crisis. Of the 8.8 million jobs lost, about 4.2 million have still not been added back.

Economists often say that job growth around 150,000 a month is enough to keep up with population growth, but not much more.

"At this rate of job growth, it will take us more than 10 years to get back to the pre-recession unemployment rate," said Heidi Shierholz, an economist for the liberal Economic Policy Institute. "The November data provide a clear reminder that mass joblessness remains the real and present economic danger this country faces."

Stocks rose at the opening bell, following the report.  

http://money.cnn.com/2012/12/07/news/economy/november-jobs-report/

LANSING — A new study released Thursday by Engine Advocacy, a San Francisco-based nonprofit advocacy group for tech companies, showed that Michigan ranked third in the nation for high-tech job growth from 2010-2011.

The report also showed Lansing ranking as the sixth top metropolitan area in the U.S. for high-tech job growth over the same period, and a suburban Detroit region containing Warren, Troy and Farmington ranking 13th.

“This news really captures what is special about Michigan — we discover things, we make things, and we make things work,” said Michael A. Finney, president and CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. “Very few places in the world can match our technology leadership, R&D capabilities, and world-class workforce. These strengths make us a great location for high-tech innovators to grow their businesses and create jobs.”

Engine Advocacy commissioned the San Francisco-based Bay Area Council Economic Institute to analyze Bureau of Labor Statistics data to identify communities around the country that are experiencing pronounced job growth in tech.

“This is great news for the Lansing area and for the state of Michigan,” said Travis Stoliker, marketing director of Liquid Web, a Lansing-based Web hosting company. “Now our challenge is to build on this positive momentum and continue to encourage and support technology startups, entrepreneurs, education and training.”

“We are proud to be part of the bright spot of Michigan’s rebounding economy,” said Joe Ford, co-founder of Netvantage Marketing, a Lansing search engine marketing firm with an office in Grand Rapids. “The technology sector will continue to boost Michigan’s economy and make the Great Lakes State a hotspot for innovation on the global stage. We should continue to invest in talent to spur new tech startups in Michigan.”

National key findings from the Engine Advocacy study include:
* Jobs in high tech industries exist almost everywhere, with 98 percent of U.S. counties home to at least one high tech business;
* Hubs of high tech employment can be found in unexpected places, including communities in the Midwest, South, West, Northeast and along both coasts;
* Employment growth in the high-tech sector has outpaced growth in the private sector by a ratio of three-to-one since the dot-com bust’s bottom in early 2004;
* High tech job growth is projected to outpace the job growth of the economy as a whole over this decade, expanding by 16.2 percent between 2011 and 2020; and
* Higher wages and job growth have significant effects: the creation of one job in the high tech sector is estimated to best associated with the creation of 4.3 other jobs in local economies.

“The dynamism of the U.S. high tech companies matters not just to scientists, software engineers and stockholders, but to the community at large,” said Enrico Moretti, professor of economics at the University of California- Berkeley and author of The New Geography of Jobs. “While the average worker may never be employed by Google or a high tech startup, our jobs are increasingly supported by the wealth created by innovators.”

“This research confirms the story that I see unfolding every day in cities across the country,” said Michael McGeary, senior strategist for Engine Advocacy. “The trajectory for job growth and the higher incomes of tech workers, combined with the job multiplier effect, make the high-tech sector a key driver of economic growth in cities across
America.”

For more information on the study visit: www.engine.is/techworks

Lansing’s No. 6 spot came on the achievement of high tech employment growth of 17.6 percent in a single year.

“There is no doubt in my mind that one day, our region will be known by all as a hub for high tech business competing with Silicon Valley,” said Bob Trezise, president and CEO of the Lansing Area Economic Partnership. “Being named on lists like this among top communities in the country makes that prediction more likely.”

More at www.purelansing.com.

Engine Advocacy is a non-profit advocacy organization for tech entrepreneurs that includes companies like Mozilla, LivingSocial and Yelp.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/12/06/report-michigan-no-3-in-nation-for-tech-job-growth-lansing-no-6-among-metros/

Members of the Michigan House quickly voted in favor of a new bill Thursday evening that would make Michigan a right-to-work state, as Democratic representatives left the floor in protest. The legislation passed on a vote of 58-52 in the House and is currently being voted upon in the state Senate.

The legislation was attached to existing bills in the House and Senate to bypass rules requiring new bills sit in each chamber for five days, according to the Detroit News.

Calling it a measure to protect “freedom in the workplace," Gov. Rick Snyder (R) finally voiced his support for controversial right-to-work legislation in Michigan. If it passes, the bill would prevent any Michigan company from signing labor agreements requiring mandatory dues payment by employees in union workplaces.

Protesters who rallied against the right-to-work legislation were barred from entering the Capitol building, with at least eight protesters arrested and crowds maced by Michigan State Police. House Democrats walked off the floor to protest the Capitol not being opened to the public, despite an injunction by an Ingham County Court judge, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Michigan legislators introduced the new bill earlier this morning, tentatively called a "Workplace Equity And Fairness Act," that would cover all public and private workers except for police and fire departments.

Snyder's pledge to sign right-to-work into law follows an announcement Tuesday in which the governor reversed his long-time stance of discouraging Republican lawmakers from moving forward with the legislation. It also comes just about a month after Michigan voters declined to pass Proposal 2, which would have enshrined collective bargaining rights in the state constitution. Snyder had actively campaigned against passing the measure.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/06/right-to-work-bill-passes-michigan-house_n_2253348.html?utm_hp_ref=detroit
 

State lawmakers in Michigan are using their lame-duck session to pass a bundle of bills that would significantly restrict women's ability to access and pay for abortions in the state.

The state Senate passed three bills on Thursday that would ban abortion coverage in state-based health insurance exchanges and all private insurance plans, and another bill that would allow employers and medical professionals to refuse to cover or provide health treatment to which they morally object. State lawmakers are also expected to pass a so-called omnibus bill on Thursday that would impose prohibitive building regulations on abortion clinics and ban the use of telemedicine to prescribe abortion medication.

"It feels like [state legislators] are completely tone-deaf to what Americans want in general, which is for legislators to pay attention to the economy, particularly in Michigan, and to women and their power to say, 'This is what we want, and this is what we don't want,'" Desiree Cooper, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan, told The Huffington Post.

Senate Bills 612, 613 and 614, which passed along party lines in the State Senate on Thursday, will prevent all insurance plans in Michigan from covering abortion unless a woman would die without the procedure. The measures do not include exceptions for rape, incest or pregnancy complications that would jeopardize the mother's health. Private insurance companies will be given the option to carry a separate abortion coverage policy that the woman would have to pay for in addition to her regular coverage.

Republicans said they support the bills because they allow people who morally object to abortion to ensure that their money doesn't feed into a pool that pays for the procedure. Reproductive rights advocates argue that the bill is unreasonable, because insurance companies are not likely to offer that separate rider.

"It's somewhat of a false promise," said Meghan Groen, director of government relations for PPAM. "No insurance company currently offers a rider for abortion coverage, and no woman is going to purchase a separate rider for something she hasn't planned. You're talking about an unexpected pregnancy, or a fetal anomaly."

State senators also passed a bill on Thursday by a vote of 26 to 12 that would allow employers, doctors, nurses and pharmacists to conscientiously object to providing or paying for certain medical services, including birth control and abortion. Senate Republicans argued that the bill protects religious freedom. The Detroit Free Press reports that one Republican doctor, state Sen. Roger Kahn (R-Saginaw), broke with his party to oppose the bill.

“I don’t know how this doesn’t violate the oath I took, when I promised to resuscitate someone with TB or treat someone with AIDS,” he said.

The House is expected to consider those bills next week. In the meantime, it is expected to pass an omnibus bill that would further restrict abortion access. House Bill 5711 would regulate abortion clinics as surgical centers by imposing strict physical building requirements on them, such as minimum doorway sizes and minimum square footage. The regulations could effectively shut down some clinics in the state.

The omnibus bill also includes a provision that ends telemedicine abortions, which are commonly used by women in rural and medically under-served areas of the state. According the Groen, 21 out of 83 counties in Michigan have no local OBGYN, so telemedicine allows doctors to prescribe medication abortions to women in early stages of their pregnancies through a phone or internet consultation. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) recently signed a bill that expands the use of telemedicine in other areas of health care.

State Sen. Coleman Young II (D-Detroit) sharply criticized his Republican colleagues on Thursday for pushing forward with the anti-abortion agenda. “Get the government from underneath women’s clothes," he said. “We’ve already had this conversation. Obama won, Romney lost, get over it.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/06/michigan-abortion-bills_n_2253380.html?utm_hp_ref=detroit&ir=Detroit

The White House Thursday released a fact sheet illustrating the importance of resolving the debate of the “fiscal cliff” for African-Americans, showing black families could see their taxes rise by up to $4500 if an agreement is not reached.

The fact sheet comes as negotiations between President Obama and Congress remain stalled over billions in tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to be start on Jan. 1 that some economists say could plunge the U.S. back into recession.

The White House fact sheet shows that, like for white families, the expiration of the tax cuts for the middle-class would raise taxes for most black families by more than $2000.

Here’s the breakdown of the potential tax increases and their impact, as provided by the White House.

Example 1: A typical middle-income African-American family of four: a married couple with two children with income between about $50,000 and $85,000 would see a $2,200 tax increase.

A tax increase of $1,000 because the Child Tax Credit will fall from $1,000 to $500 per child.

A tax increase of about $900 because of merging the 10 percent tax bracket into the 15 percent tax bracket.

A tax increase of about $300 because of the expiration of marriage penalty relief that provides a larger standard deduction for married couples.

Total Tax Increase on this Family if Congress Fails to Act = $2,200

Example 2: A single African-American mother with three young children, ages 11 months to 6 years, working full-time at minimum wage ($14,500 annual income).

A tax increase of $1,725 because the Child Tax Credit will fall from $1,000 to $500 per child, while the threshold for refundability will be substantially more strict.

A tax increase of $670 because of the expiration of the EITC expansion for larger families.

Total Tax Increase on this Family if Congress Fails to Act = Nearly $2,400

Example 3: An upper-middle-income African-American married couple with a 15-year-old at home and a 19-year-old in her second year at a public university; the couple’s income is $120,000.

A tax increase of $700 because, instead of being able to claim the $2,500 American Opportunity Tax Credit to help with college expenses, they will only be able to claim the Hope Credit worth $1,800.

A tax increase of $500 because the Child Tax Credit will fall from $1,000 to $500 per qualifying child.

A tax increase of about $900 because of the disappearance of the 10 percent tax bracket.

A tax increase of $2,400 because of the combination of higher marginal rates and the expiration of marriage penalty relief that provides a larger standard deduction.

Total Tax Increase on this Family if Congress Fails to Act = $4,500

Example 3: An upper-middle-income African-American married couple with a 15-year-old at home and a 19-year-old in her second year at a public university; the couple’s income is $120,000.

A tax increase of $700 because, instead of being able to claim the $2,500 American Opportunity Tax Credit to help with college expenses, they will only be able to claim the Hope Credit worth $1,800.

A tax increase of $500 because the Child Tax Credit will fall from $1,000 to $500 per qualifying child.

A tax increase of about $900 because of the disappearance of the 10 percent tax bracket.

A tax increase of $2,400 because of the combination of higher marginal rates and the expiration of marriage penalty relief that provides a larger standard deduction.

Total Tax Increase on this Family if Congress Fails to Act = $4,500

http://thegrio.com/2012/12/06/white-house-warns-black-families-could-see-taxes-up-by-as-much-as-4500-unless-fiscal-cliff-is-resolved/

LANSING (WWJ) - President Barack Obama repeated his opposition to right-to-work laws as the Republican-controlled Michigan legislature moved toward adopting the union-curbing measure.

In a statement out Thursday, White House spokesman Matt Lehrich said President Obama has long opposed right-to-work laws, “and he continues to oppose them now.”

“The President believes our economy is stronger when workers get good wages and good benefits, and he opposes attempts to roll back their rights,” Lehrich said. “Michigan – and its workers’ role in the revival of the U.S. automobile industry – is a prime example of how unions have helped build a strong middle class and a strong American economy.”

State Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer said they’re calling on the White House for help in an effort to prevent Michigan from becoming a right-to-work state.

Said Whitmer to WWJ Lansing Bureau Chief Tim Skubick, ”We’re hoping when President Obama comes to Michigan next week this is going to be on his radar screen, that he’s going to say, ‘If Michigan doesn’t care about their middle class, why should we be bending over backwards to make sure that this governor is able to deliver on his promises?’”

Skubick says Gov. Snyder needs cash from the Democratic President to complete projects including the new Detroit/Windsor international bridge crossing and the Woodward Avenue rail system — and it’s not yet clear if this could turn into a political game of let’s make a deal.

“If this works out the way the Democrats would hope, here’s the scenario: Governor, if you sign the legislation, kiss that money goodbye. And if you nix it and veto it, well, guess what? We’ll open up the wallets and get you the money,” Skubick said. ”Some people might call that blackmail. In politics we call it taking advantage of a situation.”

Snyder, for the first time speaking out in support of a right-to-work plan, said this not a union-busting move and is actually pro-worker — giving hardworking Michiganders a choice. (More from the governor here).

So-called right-to-work measures generally prohibit requiring unions from collecting fees from nonunion employees.

If the two bills are enacted, Michigan would become the nation’s 25th right-to-work state.

The President is expected to travel to our state on Monday, Dec. 10, to talk about the economy at the Daimler Detroit Diesel plant in Redford.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/12/06/obama-administration-comes-out-against-michigan-right-to-work-legislation/

Sources have been reporting and now it has been confirmed that Legendary African American Female Radio Host, Frankie Darcell of the well-known “Afternoon Mix” has been terminated from WMXD-FM-92.3. According to the Detroit Free Press, Clear Channel Media and Entertainment market president Nick Gaun confirmed Darcell’s termination.

Frankie Darcell's radio show has been a constant over the Detroit radio waves, airing weekdays, 3-7 p.m. and 1-4 p.m. on Sundays. Although, not confirmed other radio sources are citing other terminations are possibly in the process. Stay connected with MichiganChronicle.com for all the latest updates on this breaking story.