Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/author/capital-news-service/page/18/)
LANSING – A widely-supported bill that would prevent property tax increases for owners who transfer family-owned land has a high chance of becoming law before the end of the year, according to the sponsor, Rep. Peter Pettalia, R-Presque Isle.
Current law decrees that the taxable value of a home cannot increase from one year to the next by more than 5 percent or the increase in the consumer price index.
New advertising campaign lures fall and winter tourists to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Nonprofit organizations that safeguard land and habitat in Southeast Michigan are worried about a proposal that could tax their preserves.
Long-held misconceptions about pit bull breeds still have negative effects on adoption rates, but increased awareness and community support have somewhat improved the situation, officials from animal shelters statewide say.
Like corn and apples, Michigan’s soybeans have been hit hard by the drought and extreme hot weather.
“We are facing a 60 to 70 percent reduction of soybeans altogether compared to normal years,” said Tim Boring, research director of the Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee in Frankenmuth.
According to figures from the committee, Michigan ranks 12th among nation’s 31 soybean-producing states. Nearly 2 million acres are planted annually in Michigan.
The dunes are much younger and move more quickly than previously thought.
That finding has implications for protecting them.
LANSING — A new Vulnerable Household Warmth Fund in the Department of Human Services is temporarily replacing a decade-old state program to help low-income residents heat their homes this winter. The fund will provide $58 million to help consumers pay their gas and electric bills. That’s less than $87 million available last year and $89 million in 2010 when the program was under the public service commission, according to its reports.
Legislation to authorize specialty fundraising plates for Sleeping Bear Dunes, the Girl Scouts and other pet causes are gathering dust in Michigan Senate and House committees.
As apple growers statewide struggle to make up for losses, experts say the ramifications of one of the toughest crop years ever could continue to harm the industry. One worry: Will seasonal workers return to Michigan?
The long battle over building a second bridge between Detroit and Windsor has been almost free of environmental debate.