Prison Legal News sues to get into jail
HOWELL, Mich. (AP) -- A monthly journal about prisons is being locked out of the Livingston County jail.
Prison Legal News is suing the county and Sheriff Robert Bezotte claiming its free-speech rights are being violated because authorities won't distribute the publication to inmates.
Most regular mail at the Livingston County jail is restricted to postcards.
West Brattleboro, Vt.-based Prison Legal News says it has more than 7,000 subscribers, including lawyers and judges. It reports stories about inmate rights and prison conditions. The August edition has a story about tax fraud committed in prisons.
A message seeking comment was left for the sheriff Wednesday. The jail is in Howell, 40 miles east of Lansing.
AARP opposing state pension tax before Mich. Supreme Court
LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- The AARP and other retiree groups are telling the Michigan Supreme Court that they believe a new state tax on public pensions is unconstitutional.
The retiree groups said Wednesday they filed a friend of the court brief on the matter this week.
Republican Gov. Rick Snyder's administration says the tax is constitutional and has asked the high court to review it. Oral arguments are scheduled Sept. 7.
Snyder signed the sweeping tax law earlier this year. The new law will end income tax exemptions for some types of retiree income including pensions. Eligibility to continue existing exemptions would be based on when a taxpayer was born and other factors.
The State Employees Retirement Association and the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association joined the AARP in the new filing.
Detroit-area groups to mark Sept. 11 with day of community service
DETROIT (AP) -- A number of groups in the Detroit area plan to mark the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks with a day of community service that is expected to include packaging food boxes, writing letters to U.S. military members and cleaning up empty homes and vacant lots.
The Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services, known as ACCESS, announced plans this week for A-OK (Acts of Kindness) Detroit. The aim, organizers said, is to make the anniversary "a day of caring and service" by bringing people together.
Hassan Jaber, executive director of ACCESS, said community service efforts won't be limited to the anniversary.
"We want to make sure that we keep this message going long in the future, not just one day a year, but as a way of life," he said in a statement.
Groups involved include Women's Interfaith Solutions for Dialogue and Outreach in MetroDetroit, the Interfaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit, the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan, City Year Detroit, the United Way, University of Michigan-Dearborn and J-Serve.
Activities are scheduled on and around the Detroit campus of Focus: HOPE, a social services organization.
"With this new approach, 9/11 becomes a day to find our commonality as human beings," said Gail Katz, co-founder of WISDOM and a board member of the Interfaith Leadership Council.
Published: Thu, Aug 11, 2011
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