Politics

LANSING - The Michigan Public Service Commission approved two settlements Thursday resulting in increases for natural gas customers of Michigan Gas Utilities Corporation and electricity customers of Upper Peninsula Power Company. Both are related to reconciling each respective company's 2014 energy optimization revenues and expenses, as well as to revise surcharges. Effective August 1, residential

LANSING - With legislative packages to update the state's energy laws in both the Michigan House and Senate, Michigan House Speaker Kevin Cotter said he expects movement by the fall. "The timeline has stretched out a bit," he said. Cotter said it is important to him to get a package passed by the end of

LANSING - The Center for American Progress Action Fund ranked Michigan 28th of the 50 states and Washington, D.C., for voter access to polls and for their effective representation in its Health of State Democracies Report. Michigan was among 15 states getting failing grades (and ranked 48th) for accessibility for not having pre-registration for teens

LANSING - Some of the changes the state has made spending tens of millions of dollars upgrading computer systems may not have gone smoothly, but some praise the upgrades. Dominic Perone, an inspector for the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the EZAM and Exam-Hand software the department has been using for grain dealers

LANSING - The state has spent tens of millions of dollars upgrading computer systems since Governor Rick Snyder took office, but, as with prior attempts to improve the system, the changes have not always gone as smoothly as many would like. But state officials said this time they are keeping track of what is going

ANN ARBOR - Gas mileage of new vehicles sold in the U.S. slipped last month, according to researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. Average fuel economy (window-sticker values) of cars, light trucks, vans and SUVs purchased in June was 25.4 mpg, down from 25.5 mpg in May. "The decline likely reflects the

LANSING - It seems the Michigan Senate can add one more group to its list of skeptics on its plan to fix Michigan roads, as the Michigan Association of Counties says it cannot get behind the plan because of its reliance on funding shifts. "MAC has consistently supported the difficult, but necessary, decision to raise

LANSING - The state implemented a new system for handling unemployment taxes and claims, implemented in 2012 (MiDAS Tax) and 2013 (MiDAS Benefits), respectively, at a cost to date of $46.24 million. A worker with the Unemployment Insurance Agency, who also asked to remain anonymous, said that system has some good features, but also has

ANN ARBOR - Over the next few weeks, MITechNews.Com will be publishing excerpts from cybersecurity expert Richard Stiennon's latest book, called There Will Be Cyberwar. The book makes the case that the US military rushed to "network everything" and, like most organizations, neglected to secure its most critical systems. One point he makes is that

LANSING - It took more than seven hours, but the Michigan Senate eked out passage Wednesday of a road funding package that includes a tax increase, pumping more money from the General Fund into roads and a potential income tax cut despite sharp opposition from Democrats and one-third of the majority Republican caucus. The vote