Unemployed Workers Can Claim Benefits Throughout Memorial Day Holiday
News Briefs - Original 05-24-2013 Hits:102 
Cathy Nedd
Although the State of Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) will be closed on Monday, May 27, to observe the Memorial Day holiday, unemployed workers can still contact the Michigan Automated Response Voice Interactive Network (MARVIN) system to claim their eligibility for unemployment benefits. Unemployed workers claiming benefits in Michigan must contact MARVIN by telephone or online once every two weeks to certify that they are unemployed and meet the eligibility requirements for unemployment benefits. Individuals who contact MARVIN by telephone must do so during specific times according to a Monday through Wednesday schedule based on the last two digits of their Social Security numbers or anytime on Thursday or Friday between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. MARVIN can be reached toll-free at 1-866-638-3993. MARVIN is also available online to those with free online web accounts at www.michigan.gov/uia and is available to users anytime during their reporting week from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday throughFriday. Bi-weekly certification through MARVIN Online is just one of many services available to users through the Claim Web Account Manager (CWAM), UIA’s online portal that gives users direct access to their account. Using CWAM, claimants can access account information and get answers to questions using the Virtual Problem Resolution (ViPR) team – where claimants can send an online inquiry and receive the reply directly by email. Because of the upcoming holiday, there may be a one or two day delay before the benefits are either directly deposited into the bank accounts or loaded onto the debit cards of unemployed workers. The Memorial Day holiday is observed by Michigan state government and most financial institutions. For more information about LARA, please visit www.michigan.gov/lara. Follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/michiganLARA, “Like” us on Facebook or find us on YouTubewww.youtube.com/michiganLARA.
Read moreAnti-Abortion Leader Compares Rape And Incest To Accidents
News Briefs 05-24-2013 Hits:114 
Huffington Post
The head of a pro-life group in Michigan made a controversial comparison on Wednesday, arguing that women in the state should be forced to pay extra for health insurance that covers abortions, even in cases of rape or incest. "It's simply, like, nobody plans to have an accident in a car accident, nobody plans to have their homes flooded. You have ...
Read moreDuggan Stays On The Ballot
News Briefs - Original 05-24-2013 Hits:204 
Bankole Thompson, Chronicle Senior Editor
Despite ballot certification, Duggan foes vow challenge Despite the 2-1 vote of the Detroit Election Commission, whose decision was anchored on the city’s new charter to retain mayoral candidate Mike Duggan on the ballot, his challengers are vowing to take the issue straight to court. Candidate Tom Barrow, who raised Duggan’s residency as a technical flap that shouldn’t allow him on the August primary ballot, is promising to campaign against Duggan’s candidacy, which he calls “Aanother suburban transplant taking over the reigns of the city. We already had a failed experiment with Dave Bing and the parachuting in of a Livonia mayor only works for Republican money interests, not everyday Detroiters.” Robert Davis, a labor activist, said he is going to court to fight the issue. Duggan campaign lawyer Melvin “Butch” Hollowell, in an interview with the Michigan Chronicle, said the issue is “not really a close legal question,” because Duggan has met the requirements of the new charter. “I think the election commission did the right thing,” Hollowell said. “This was about having access to the ballot which is an important part of election law all around the country.” According to Hollowell, with today’s ruling the campaign now shifts away from what he describes as “small issues like technicality and allows us to focus on the larger issues such as when you call a police, will they come?” Detroit Election Commission members Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey and interim corporation counsel Edward Keelean voted for Duggan to remain on the ballot while the third member, City Council President Charles Pugh, opposed. E-mail bthompson@michronicle.com.
Read moreReport Shows Medicaid Expansion Would Help 25,000 Michigan Veterans and Th…
News Briefs - Original 05-23-2013 Hits:301 
Amber Bogins
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As AARP works to support Medicaid expansion in Michigan, a recent report by the Urban Institute and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation shows that more than 25,000 currently uninsured Michigan veterans and spouses would receive health coverage if Medicaid is expanded under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Currently, Michigan legislators are debating the merits of Medicaid expansion, with a decision expected in the coming weeks. Gov. Rick Snyder supports extending Medicaid to 470,000 uninsured Michigan residents. “As we honor our veterans on this Memorial Day, we can provide much-needed help to those who have served our nation by expanding affordable health care coverage to veterans currently without health insurance,” said Jacqueline Morrison, AARP Michigan State Director. “AARP is fighting for affordable health coverage in Michigan to help veterans, as well as the 75,000 hard-working 50 to 64 year olds who are struggling without health insurance.” The report, “Uninsured Veterans and Family Members: Who Are They and Where Do They Live?”, says there are 1.3 million veterans under age 65 uninsured in the United States, and about 40 percent of those could qualify for health coverage through Medicaid expansion. “Our uninsured veterans’ health care coverage depends upon Medicaid expansion, and they deserve our support so they get it,” Morrison said. Many assume that all veterans receive Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care coverage, but that’s not the case. VA care is out of reach for low-income veterans who do not live near VA facilities or are unaware that VA care is available. In addition, VA eligibility is determined by other factors including service-related disabilities and income, and many veterans make too much money to qualify for VA assistance, but not enough to afford insurance on their own. Most spouses of veterans do not qualify for VA assistance or for Medicaid under current requirements. The need for care...
Read moreInkster Resident Turns 114 Today: America's Oldest Person
News Briefs - Original 05-23-2013 Hits:522 Amber Bogins
The oldest woman in the U.S. is pushing off questions about her longevity to a higher power. When Jeralean Talley (pictured) was asked why she thinks she has lived so long, the 113-year-old from suburban Detroit lifted her arm and pointed to the sky. “Don’t ask me,” she said. “Ask Him.” Talley, who was born May 23, 1899, in Montrose, Ga., is the third-oldest person in the world, according to the Gerontology Research Group, which verifies age information for Guinness World Records. She earned the title of oldest American when Elsie Thompson of Clearwater, Fla., died March 21, just weeks before her 114th birthday. “I feel all right,” Talley told the Detroit Free Press on Tuesday in the Inkster home in which she has lived for decades. Several of Talley’s 11 siblings lived well into their 90s, said 75-year-old Thelma Holloway, Talley’s only child. Talley, who gave up bowling at age 104, uses a walker to get around and still plans to attend her annual fishing outing with Michael Kinloch, a friend from Wayne County’s Canton Township whom she met at church. “Her memory is phenomenal,” he said. Talley moved to Michigan in 1935, and her husband, Alfred, died in 1988. Her friend, Mary Kennedy, said Talley remains alert and has a sense of humor. “She is original,” Kennedy said. “There is nobody else like her.” The Gerontology Research Group said the world’s two oldest people are 115 and live in Japan.
Read moreFood Assistance Dollars Spent at Supermarkets on Nutritious Foods
News Briefs - Original 05-22-2013 Hits:192 Amber Bogins
A majority of people on government food programs get their food from large grocery stores according to a new report, which means they have a wide variety of foods available. More than 82 percent of SNAP benefits (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps) are redeemed at supermarkets and superstores according to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Retailer Policy and Management Division 2012 Annual Report. $74 billion in client benefits were redeemed in the more than 246,000 participating stores, farmers’ markets, direct marketing farmers, homeless meal providers, treatment centers, group homes, and others authorized to accept SNAP. Supermarkets and superstores made up about 15 percent of the firms allowed to redeem SNAP benefits but continue to redeem the majority of them. In 2012, Michigan had 10,060 authorized firms to redeem SNAP benefits, those firms redeemed nearly $3 billion dollars worth of benefits. But despite recent criticisms by people saying the SNAP recipients waste their food stamps on high-sugar foods and drinks, The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that most food expenditures by people on SNAP are of the healthy variety. A 2005 study found that 35 percent of SNAP benefits went toward meats and meat alternatives, 20 percent went to grains, another 20 percent to fruits and vegetables, 12 percent to dairy, while only 13 percent went toward other foods. Not unlike the foods purchased by people not on the SNAP program. Click here to read the full report
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