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MICHIGAN BUDGET

Whitmer proposes school funding boost, bonuses and tax cuts

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has proposed a $74.1 billion state budget that would significantly boost education spending, pay bonuses to frontline workers and cut taxes for retirees and low-income families. The election year plan comes with Michigan awash in surplus revenues and federal pandemic aid. If the Republican-controlled Legislature approves the proposal, there would be a 5% increase in base aid for K-12 schools, universities and community colleges, and a 10% increase in revenue-sharing payments to municipalities. In addition to calling for sizable funding hikes, Whitmer proposed the creation of a new $1 billion school infrastructure modernization fund. Republicans and Whitmer will iron out the budget in the coming months, though Republicans have said they favor broader tax relief.

MINIMUM WAGE-DETROIT CITY WORKERS

Detroit proposes $15 per hour minimum wage for city workers

The minimum wage could increase to $15 per hour for about 270 Detroit municipal employees under a plan expected to be presented in the coming weeks to the City Council. Mayor Mike Duggan and Councilwoman Latisha Johnson told reporters Wednesday that pending approval by the Council the workers’ pay would go up starting July 1. Detroit has about 9,000 municipal workers on its payroll. The bump up for the 270 employees currently making less than $15 per hour would cost the city about $1.3 million annually. Duggan said some of those jobs are play leaders at city recreation centers, civilian traffic controllers and lifeguards.

AP-US-MICHIGAN-GOVERNOR-KIDNAPPING-PLOT

2nd man pleads guilty in alleged 2020 plot to kidnap Whitmer

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A second man has pleaded guilty in an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The plea Wednesday by Kaleb Franks leaves four other men to face trial in March and gives prosecutors a second insider who would be a key witness. Franks joins Ty Garbin in admitting guilt in the scheme to kidnap the Democratic governor. FBI agents stepped in and arrested the group in October 2020, and Garbin pleaded guilty last year. The government said six men wanted to kidnap Whitmer because of their disgust over COVID-19 restrictions. The plot included outdoor training with firearms in Wisconsin and Michigan and scouting Whitmer’s second home in northern Michigan.

SUPER BOWL-SUPER FANS

Friends who have attended every Super Bowl plan final trip

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Three friends who’ve attended every Super Bowl are hoping for a memorable contest this year, because it will probably be their final trip to the big game as a group. The three men are all in their 80s and have attended every game since the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game was held 55 years ago about 7 miles from this year’s venue, SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. They’re meeting at the game once again this year, but future meetings are in question. Don Crisman, a Maine resident and the eldest of the group at 85, said this is his last game.

POLICE SHOOTING-DETROIT

Detroit police shoot suspect who tried to run down officers

DETROIT (AP) — Detroit police say officers shot and wounded a man suspected in an armed carjacking after he allegedly tried to run officers down with the stolen vehicle. Assistant Detroit Police Chief Charles Fitzgerald says the suspect was shot twice Tuesday night and was hospitalized in “temporary serious condition.” The suspect and a juvenile who was with him were supposed to be showing up for an online transaction to buy Nike Air Jordan shoes but the seller was carjacked at gunpoint and he and his two young children were forced out of their SUV. The suspect was shot when he allegedly tried to run down officers with the vehicle.

VIRUS OUTBREAK

Hospitals begin to limp out of the latest COVID-19 surge

Hospitalizations fueled by the highly contagious omicron variant in the U.S. have begun falling after peaking at record levels in some communities. But doctors are warning that the wave is leaving behind lots of postponed surgeries and an increasingly worn-out health care workforce in its wake. Across the U.S., the number of people in the hospital with COVID-19 has tumbled more than 28% over the past three weeks to about 105,000 on average.

SCHOOL SHOOTING-MICHIGAN

Mom, son texted about gun day before school shooting

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan judge has listened to testimony as she seeks to determine if the parents of a teenager accused of killing four students at his high school should face trial. An investigator testified Tuesday that Jennifer Crumbley and her son, Ethan Crumbley, traded text messages a day before the shooting after he was caught looking up ammunition on his phone while at Oxford High School. She asked him if he showed teachers a picture of his gun, to which he replied that he didn’t. Jennifer and James Crumbley, her husband, are charged with involuntary manslaughter. They are accused of making a gun accessible to Ethan and failing to intervene when he showed signs of mental distress.

VIRUS OUTBREAK

Michigan Legislature approves $1.2B bill to combat COVID-19

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan lawmakers have passed a $1.2 billion spending bill to combat COVID-19, including $300 million to help hospitals and other health care facilities give recruitment and retention bonuses. The pending allocation is the latest from funding that was enacted by Congress and President Joe Biden last year. The Republican-led Senate and House approved the legislation Tuesday. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will sign it after senators concur with a House change. The measure includes $150 million for school safety, $100 million for early treatment of patients and $70 million in grants to adult foster care facilities and homes for the aged.

2002 SLAYING-SENTENCE

Woman sentenced to life for role in 2002 Michigan slaying

CHARLOTTE, Mich. (AP) — A woman has been sentenced to life in prison for her role in the 2002 slaying of a man whose burned remains were found dumped in western Michigan. An Eaton County judge sentenced Dineane Ducharme on Monday to the mandatory life sentence she faced after being convicted in Roberto Caraballo’s death. A jury convicted her in December of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and other charges in connection with Caraballo’s death. The Lansing State Journal reports that Michigan law mandates life in prison without the chance of parole for people convicted of first-degree murder. Ducharme was among three people charged with Caraballo’s death.

SWEDEN-POLAR MUSIC PRIZE

Iggy Pop, Ensemble Intercontemporain win Polar Music Prize

STOCKHOLM (AP) — American rocker Iggy Pop, known as “the godfather of punk”, and Ensemble Intercontemporain, a contemporary music orchestra based in Paris, have won the 2022 Polar Music Prizes, a Swedish music award. The award panel said Tuesday that Iggy Pop, a singer and songwriter whose real name is James Newell Osterberg, has “created furious rock music by blending together blues and free jazz influences with the roar of the Michigan automotive industry.”Ensemble Intercontemporain was founded in 1976 by the composer Pierre Boulez. The ensemble is focused on contemporary art music and has made itself known for exploring new musical areas and artistic expressions such as dance, theater and technology.