About 5K GM salaried workers take buyouts, avoiding layoffs

April 5, 2023

DETROIT — About 5,000 white-collar workers at General Motors took the company’s buyout offers, which the automaker says is enough to avoid layoffs at this time. GM said Tuesday that the offers will save about $1 billion per year in costs, about half of the $2 billion it wants to cut annually by the end of 2024. The company now has about 58,000 salaried workers in the U.S. The buyouts come at an uncertain time for the auto industry, which is in the midst of a transition from internal combustion to electric vehicles. GM has a goal of selling only electric passenger vehicles by ...

Police reform divides community where cop killed Black man

April 3, 2023

GRAND RAPIDS The Rev. James Stokes remembers Grand Rapids following the slaying of George Floyd, when demonstrations devolved into rioting that left businesses damaged and scores of people arrested. Stokes and other leaders in the western Michigan city desperately wanted to avoid a similar outbreak of violence when a white Grand Rapids police officer fatally shot Patrick Lyoya, a Black motorist, last April. After video of that shooting was publicly released, outrage in the community grew, and some feared a violent response. But the protests — while loud and angry — were peaceful. ...

Loan forgiveness announced

April 3, 2023

LANSING — Medical providers of behavioral health services in Michigan may be eligible for educational loan repayment through the MI Kids Now Loan Repayment Program. This program focuses on incentivizing behavioral health providers to provide mental health services through nonprofit, outpatient organizations across the state. The loan repayment program is open to providers of services to both children and adults, but the priority will be providing debt relief to those who serve children. Eligible providers will be selected to enter into consecutive two-year agreements. The program ...

Electric vehicles: new rules mean no tax credits

April 1, 2023

By TOM KRISHER, FATIMA HUSSEIN and MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON — Fewer new electric vehicles will qualify for a full $7,500 federal tax credit later this year, and many will get only half that, under rules proposed Friday by the U.S. Treasury Department. The rules, ...

MPSC approves UPPCO rates

April 1, 2023

By DREYMA BERONJA Journal Staff Writer MARQUETTE — The Michigan Public Service Commission has approved a settlement in Upper Peninsula Power Company’s rate increase request. The settlement secured a 60% reduction, low-income customer affordability funds and a fixed-term moratorium on future rate increases from UPPCO’s initial seeking of a $25.3 million increase in electric rates, according to a press release sent from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. “With this settlement we’ve secured significant savings and support for ratepayers across the Upper Peninsula,” ...

College ends partnership over ‘David’ issue

March 31, 2023

HILLSDALE, Mich. — A Michigan college has ended its partnership with a Florida charter school whose principal was forced to resign after a parent complained sixth graders were exposed to pornography during a lesson on Renaissance art that included Michelangelo’s David sculpture. A Hillsdale College spokesperson said Tallahassee Classical School no longer is affiliated with the small, Christian classical liberal arts college in southern Michigan, MLive.com reported Thursday. “This drama around teaching Michelangelo’s ‘David’ sculpture, one of the most important works of ...