Rick Pluta

The Legislature’s Republican leaders say they’re going to start sending budget bills to Governor Gretchen Whitmer without the road money she’s asked for.
                As we hear from WGVU’s Rick Pluta, Whitmer says that increases the risk of a state government shutdown.
 

Michigan State University must pay a four-and-a-half  million dollar fine for failing to protect athletes and students from abuse.
                The penalty was ordered by the US Department of Education.

MSU must also re-tool its procedures for handling allegations of sexual misconduct. That’s after disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing students and athletes.

       US Education Secretary Secretary Betsy DeVos says this is the largest fine levied by the department for sexual misconduct.

Inman faces charges that he tried to trade votes for campaign donations. He also faces calls now for him to resign. 

Inman says his fellow lawmakers should display compassion for someone who’s struggled with addiction to painkillers that began after a series of surgeries. He also says the House should let the legal process play out before making decisions about whether should keep his job.

“In my mind I did nothing wrong, and what we need to do is to go through the legal process to make that final determination.”

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has barred embattled Michigan civil rights director Agustin Arbulu  from cabinet meetings. Whitmer says it’s time for Arbulu to be fired for “unacceptable conduct.”
 

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has again called on Republican leaders to reconvene the Legislature to wrap up work on a new state budget and on a plan to fix the roads.

       GOP leaders say there’s no reason for the Legislature to return yet to the state Capitol. 

Governor Whitmer is visiting roads and bridges to show their decrepit state, and the urgent need to fix them. That requires money and a new state budget that includes that money. She says that can’t happen if lawmakers are not at the state Capitol.

The body of a 41-year-old Iraqi man who was deported will be returned to the US. That’s according to Congressman Andy Levin, a Michigan Democrat.

That will allow Jimmy Aldaoud to be buried alongside his mother.

The state of Michigan is offering grants to local governments to help reduce racial disparities in their juvenile justice systems.

To qualify, one thing local governments and court systems will have to do is acknowledge there’s a problem.

“First of all, they’ve got to demonstrate that they have racial and ethnic disparities, that they exist in their jurisdiction…”

Lynn Sutfin is with the state Department of Health and Human Services.

“…and then they need to propose activities that they think will address those disparities.”

Governor Gretchen Whitmer wants to know why the state’s civil rights director is still on the job.

That’s after director Agustin Arbulu was reprimanded for inappropriate behavior.
 

In a letter to the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, Governor Whitmer demanded an explanation why Agustin Arbulu remains in charge of the civil rights department. That’s after an inquiry determined he created a hostile work environment with comments he made about women and about a gay employee.

The state Supreme Court says a police officer violated a woman’s Fourth Amendment rights by arresting her after he was pulled inside her home during a struggle. 

A state lawmaker says people with misdemeanor marijuana convictions should have their records cleared automatically now that Michigan has legalized it.
 

Voters last year legalized marijuana for recreational use in Michigan.

State Senator Jeff Irwin is a Democrat from Ann Arbor. He says 235 thousand people in Michigan have been convicted of possessing small amounts of marijuana.