Hardwood trees can take upwards of twenty years or more to reach full maturity. And a Michigan township is in the middle of a complicated legal feud dealing with hardwood trees.

According to The Detroit News, a Canton Township feud has accused local “tree police” of harassment of businesses, prompting a statewide push for lawmakers to implement rules limiting tree removal or force companies to pay replacement fees.

Canton is one of Michigan’s fastest growing communities, with a total population of approximately 90,173 and is consistently ranked one of the safest cities in the United States.

New legislation would allow local governments across Michigan to regulate the cutting of larger “heritage” trees. Additionally, the rules would ban more aggressive ordinances regulating smaller trees in business, commercial, industrial, and agricultural zones.

The Township sued Gary and Matt Percy, alleging that the two businessmen and brothers removed 1,500 protected hardwood trees from an industrial property prior to seeking approval through any local permitting process. Additionally, the brothers didn’t pay to plant any replacement trees or vegetation on the public property.

Government officials have asked the Percys to pay as much as $550,000 into a tree fund.

“We’re talking about personal property,” said Sen. Tom Casperson, chair of the Natural Resources Committee, sponsor of one of the measures, and a former logging trucker who has regularly refunded with environmental organizations. “We’re talking about the ability of local units to now tell someone with personal property, ‘You don’t technically own that tree. We own it by zoning. Therefore, we can dictate what you can and cannot do with that tree.’”

Critics of the tree removal have continually stated that these trees are not only visually appealing but can help draw chemical contaminants from the soil on industrial properties, provide a sight or sound barrier between residential areas and commercial properties, and serve as a natural filtration system for storm water.

I’ve heard a lot of talk about trees,” added Jen Rigterink, of the Michigan Municipal League. “But the legislation speaks to all vegetation ordinances, which is a lot broader than trees.”

Schools are responsible for keeping kids healthy, safe, and well-educated. This is made possible by the school staff, which is generally half made up of teachers and the other 50% is other staff like guidance counselors, speech therapists, and nurses. But school-aged children in Flint, Michigan are facing a much bigger problem than most: a lack of clean water. Fortunately, Elon Musk has brought clean water to these schools.

Back in July, Elon Musk tweeted that he would personally pay to bring clean water to Flint residents. And well, he kept his word. Musk has agreed to donate $480,350 for all 12 school buildings and the administration building in Flint to buy and use ultraviolet water filtration systems by January 2019.

Michigan’s Flint School District took to Twitter to thank the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, tweeting “Your generous donation will help us replace ALL water fountains w/NEW WATER STATIONS and WATER FILTRATION at ALL SCHOOLS! Looking forward to our burgeoning partnership! More to come!”

It’s all too easy for water to be contaminated in today’s society, especially with the U.S. holding more than 45% of the global pharmaceutical market and using a lot of potentially harmful chemicals. Flint’s tap water first became contaminated back in 2014 when the Detroit system was switched to the Flint River, causing lead to enter the water system. Getting access to clean water has been an area-wide problem over the years since the first incident.
Supposedly, the city failed to implement proper steps to prevent corrosive water from breaking down the lead pipes. And with each American using about 88 gallons of water at home each day, Flint residents quickly became exposed to the neurotoxin now in their drinking water.

But thanks to Musk’s donation, Flint children can at least have access to clean water at school.

Flint Community Schools Superintendent Derrick Lopez explained to MLive, “The new water filtration systems will be instrumental in helping our students return to the normalcy of what should be a fundamental right: having access to safe, clean water from water fountains in their school.”

The Flint school district contains 4,500 students and the school district has been searching for a long-term solution to their contaminated water issue. With the new water filtration systems, the school will be able to remove lead and bacteria from the water so students will have access to clean water when needed.

While Flint did receive $450 million in state and federal aid to provide residents with bottled water while pipes were being replaced to lessen the contamination, there is still lead in Flint’s water. Officials have said that the level of lead contaminants has dropped well below the federal threshold but according to the CDC, there is no safe level of lead for children to consume.

So despite Elon Musk being surrounded with controversy due to some Twitter comments, he made good on his promise to help bring clean water to Flint residents and his help could not have come soon enough.

Every day across the United States, around 2,800 drivers are arrested for drunk driving. It’s a nationwide problem, but each state in the nation chooses to tackle it differently. Are some states doing a better job than others?

Did you know that there are only eight states in the United States whose DUI/OWI laws are less strict than Michigan? Michigan is number 43 on a list detailing states with the most strict DUI/OWI laws (number one being Arizona) and least strict laws (number 51 being South Dakota; there are 51 because the list includes Washington D.C.).

Detroit in particular has had its fair share of tragic and alarming OWI incidents in 2018. In early June, a young off-duty Detroit police officer was arrested for drunk driving in his personal vehicle — with his firearm. In late August, a Detroit fire marshal was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in his city-issued vehicle. Most tragically, a mother was charged in October for a crash that resulted in the ejection of her infant from the vehicle. Miraculously, the child was saved by nearby good Samaritans who witnessed the crash, and is expected to survive.

Would introducing stricter laws in Michigan lead to lower rates of driving while intoxicated?

In 2016, 32,610 Michigan drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or a combination of the two. In comparison, Arizona (the strictest state) arrested around 25,000 drivers in 2016 for driving while intoxicated. There’s a difference in numbers there, but it’s not as extreme as you might expect from the two states’ drastically different DUI/OWI laws.

When looking at the numbers, there isn’t a strong correlation between the leniency of DUI laws and the number of DUI-related deaths within each state. This article from Reuters compares data from all 50 states and goes into detail if you’re interested. The surprising conclusion Reuters points to? Drinking and driving stems back to a single problem to address: drinking.

What a lot of laws don’t take into account is how drunk drivers tend to repeat their habit without getting caught by law enforcement. In fact, the average drunk driving has driven intoxicated at least 80 times before their first arrest. Perhaps this means states, including Michigan, need to take a different approach to drunk driving besides harsher punishments after the fact.

Studies have found that tough alcohol laws implemented by the state may actually do a better job lowering fatalities from intoxicated accidents than tightening up existing DUI punishments. Forcing drinkers to make more responsible choices or have less access to alcohol means less people get behind the wheel drunk in the first place.

So yes, Michigan could stand to strengthen its DUI punishments to keep repeat offenders off the road and deter new offenders. But what communities and lawmakers should look at is the culture and law surrounding alcohol consumption in the first place. If you’re interested in learning more about Michigan liquor laws, check out this website.

Although Labor Day has come and gone, the state of Michigan still has a reason to celebrate arguably the most iconic symbol of American working women: Rosie the Riveter. After an intense 10-month waiting period, the Guinness Book of World Records officially recognized an event held at Eastern Michigan University’s Convocation Center in Ypsilanti as the Largest Gathering of People Dressed as Rosie the Riveter.

Although approximately 5.8 million American adults dress up as a witch for Halloween, last October there were 3,734 people who gathered at an event (organized by the Yankee Air Museum) decked out in red polka-dotted bandanas and navy blue coveralls to portray someone a bit less scary and a lot more inspiring.

Their intent was to bring the record back home to Michigan after it had been stolen by the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historic Park, based in California, back in 2014. Michigan managed to reclaim the record the following year, but lost it again to the same park in 2016. In response, the Yankee Air Museum devised a campaign that subsequently paid off when the Guinness Book officially recognized Michigan once again this year.

It’s a rather fitting homecoming, explained Yankee Air Museum Executive Director Kevin Walsh in a statement, seeing as Rosie’s legacy reportedly started in a Michigan Ford B-24 bomber plant. Walsh explained that the real Rosie, whose real name was Rose Will Monroe, worked to build bomber aircraft with thousands of other women during WWII.

But another woman may have actually been the inspiration for the emblematic figure. Naomi Parker Fraley, who worked at the Alameda Naval Station, has also been credited as the real Rosie the Riveter. Rosalind P. Walter, who worked as an aircraft welder in Bridgeport, Connecticut has also been profiled as the real Rosie and associated with her legacy.

But more important than identifying the singular woman behind the sensation — or whether she even used one of the two main types of riveting machines at all — is the fact that Rosie’s attitude defines an entire generation (and subsequent generations) of women. Not only did the thousands of people in Michigan prove that they “can do it,” but many other girls and women are inspired by Rosie’s no-nonsense strength and perseverance. Now, let’s just hope that Michigan can keep the record for the foreseeable future — or at least put up a good fight.

The U.S. fencing market is actually projected to reach $11.5 billion by 2024. Unfortunately, there are all sorts of property disputes that occur across the country — with or without fences. Not too many of these property disputes, however, involve ducks.

According to The Washington Post, Dylan Dyke, a 12-year-old Michigan boy with autism, says that his two ducks, Nibbles and Bill, are his best friends.

“These ducks are his everything,” said Jen Dyke, Dylan’s mother. “They’re his whole life.”

That’s why Dylan’s parents said it was so upsetting earlier this summer when their neighbors began to complain about the ducks, which are there to offer emotional support for Dylan. Symptoms of autism spectrum disorder are typically recognized by age two, and many parents often introduce therapy animals to help their children cope with some of their difficulties.

“[The ducks] provide the opportunity for him to calm down,” said Eric Dykstra, Dylan’s psychologist. “They provide the opportunity for him to practice emotional regulation. For Dylan these ducks are extremely helpful.”

After numerous complaints from the neighborhood, officials in the township, near Grand Rapids, ordered the Dykes to remove the ducks, stating that they violated an ordinance against keeping farm animals in the neighborhood.

“They say they’re not aggressive,” said Brandon Phillips, who complained to the town. “I’ve seen firsthand that they are aggressive to adults and kids and there are people here who would testify to that. It’s not the [Dyke family’s] fault that they’re aggressive; they’re just being ducks.”

Jay Shaap, who lives next to the Dyke https://www.twopointzero.com.au/generic-viagra-online/ family, also voiced some concerns over the ducks coming onto his family’s property.

“I want to be clear they’re all terrific neighbors, they’re not mean people, and nobody has ill will towards Dylan,” he said. “We just don’t want the ducks in our yard, along with the problems they create. It’s that simple.”

According to Fox, Dylan and his family will likely be able to keep the ducks — at least for now. On Facebook, Dylan’s Duck Adventures posted the following:

It looks like Dylan will get to keep his ducks! The board postponed the final decision to the next meeting to work out details of how they will be kept, the pen, etc. but before postponing they did say they all agreed on Dylan keeping the ducks. The next meeting is in a month and there is a lot of work to do, but we remain confident that we can come to an agreement!

It wasn’t all complaints, either. There have been people from all over the community and the Internet that have gone out of their way to have Dylan’s back — they are even purchasing bright yellow shirts that say: “Save Dylan’s Ducks” on the front, right above a duck’s head.

As for Dylan, he says that Nibbles and Bill just get him.

“I can tell them anything and they just won’t be bothered by it,” said Dylan. “These ducks understand me so much. My siblings do as well, but these ducks just trust me more.”