Kalamazoo
Police: 4 arrests made at Occupy Kalamazoo camp
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — Police say four people have been arrested at the site of a planned two-month encampment in southwestern Michigan by an offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street protests.
Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Assistant Chief Brian Uridge tells the Kalamazoo Gazette that three of the arrests Tuesday at Bronson Park were on previous warrants.
Those involved say police in southwestern Michigan shut down the Occupy Kalamazoo encampment. But Uridge says those remaining at the camp left on their own.
The camp was set up on Monday, in part to address issues of homelessness. Chris Wahmhoff, an Occupy Kalamazoo organizer, says he was arrested for civil disobedience. He and others involved appealed to the Kalamazoo City Commission on Tuesday night.
Tittabawassee Twp.
Illnesses at prison may have peaked
TITTABAWASSEE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Department of Corrections says an outbreak of illness at Saginaw Correctional Facility appears to have peaked.
MLive.com reports recent illnesses linked to E. coli sickened 89 prisoners and seven staff members, up from about 20 prisoners first reported ill.
Department spokesman John Cordell says no new cases were reported earlier this week. Most of the cases were reported Aug. 27-30.
The prison is in Saginaw County’s Tittabawassee Township, northwest of Saginaw. It remains under a medical quarantine because of the illnesses.
Lansing
Snyder signs teacher benefits changes into law
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has signed legislation requiring public school employees to pay more for their pensions and ending state-provided health coverage in retirement for new hires.
The Republican governor signed the overhaul of the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System on Tuesday. The GOP-led Senate and House passed the legislation this year.
Officials say the measure cuts at least $15 billion from a $45 billion liability on the system. The reductions include a $130 million contribution by the state toward retirement costs.
At the signing ceremony, Snyder also said he’ll appeal an August state Court of Appeals decision that found Michigan’s 3 percent payroll deduction for school employees unconstitutional.
The state has collected $508 million since 2010 from 227,000 public school employees to finance retiree health care.
Portland
Man charged in March death of 3-month-old infant
PORTLAND, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan man has been charged with murder and child abuse in the March death of one of his twin infant sons.
The Sentinel-Standard of Ionia and WOOD-TV report 27-year-old Keith Thibeault of Portland was arrested Tuesday on the charges by police in Portland, about 20 miles northwest of Lansing.
Authorities say the arrest comes after one of his twin sons, Everette Thibeault, was brought to Sparrow Hospital in Lansing injuries consistent with physical abuse. The child, who was 3 months old at the time, later died. The child’s twin brother has been removed from the care of his parents.
