State Roundup

Detroit
EM Orr: Casino money is key to Detroit finances
DETROIT (AP) — Detroit’s state-appointed emergency manager testified that access to casino tax revenues is key to the city staying afloat financially.
Transcripts of Kevyn Orr’s Friday deposition were released Tuesday.
An attorney for Syncora Guarantee questioned Orr. The debt insurer had questions about a deal that would let Detroit settle millions of dollars in pension debt with two banks for as little as 75 cents on the dollar.
A judge earlier ruled casino tax revenue can’t be withheld from Detroit while the city is seeking Chapter 9 bankruptcy.
Meanwhile, during the deposition, Orr said he has “no plans to use art to relieve the liquidity crisis that the city is in now.” Detroit’s financial situation has raised concerns about whether the Detroit Institute of Arts’ collection might be at risk of sale.

Douglass Twp.
Mom can’t sue  child workers in death of her son
DOUGLASS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A federal appeals court says a judge was wrong to allow a civil suit to proceed against state Child Protective Services workers and the state by the mother of a western Michigan boy killed by his father in a murder-suicide.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled Tuesday that state workers’ conduct wasn’t the “direct cause” of injuries that killed 9-year-old Nicholas Braman.
The appeals court reversed the decision of a federal district judge who’d refused to dismiss the agency and workers as defendants.
Nicholas died in 2007 when Oliver Braman filled a room in his home in Montcalm County’s Douglass Township with carbon monoxide. Oliver Braman and his wife also died.
Days earlier, Oliver Braman skipped his sentencing for abusing two other sons.

Lansing
Section of river to be closed for Asian carp test
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Part of the St. Joseph River in southwestern Michigan will be closed for two days next week, as crews test a plan for dealing with a potential Asian carp infestation.
Bighead and silver carp from Asia have been moving northward in the Mississippi River and its tributaries. None have been spotted in Michigan waters. But the state Department of Natural Resources wants to respond quickly if the invasive fish show up.
The field exercise will take place Sept. 10-11 on a two-mile stretch of the St. Joseph River, near the Jasper Dairy boating access site in Berrien County.
Crews will use nets and electrofishing to tag and release common carp and black buffalo, then attempt to catch them again. Grass carp that are caught will be removed from the river.

Ann Arbor
UM program to push transit tech into real world
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — The University of Michigan has launched a pilot program to push advanced transportation technologies toward real-world use, the Ann Arbor school announced Tuesday.
The Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization program, to be known as M-TRAC, is funded by $330,000 from the university itself and from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and the university.
The university said M-TRAC is modeled on its Coulter biomedical program. An 11-member oversight committee will “assist in project selection, mentoring and oversight,” university spokeswoman Greta Guest said in a statement.
M-TRAC “will provide translational research funds for promising new innovations from the College of Engineering and the U-M Transportation Research Institute,” Guest said.

Houghton
Michigan Tech campus goes tobacco-free
HOUGHTON, Mich. (AP) — Classes started this week at Michigan Technological University on what’s now a tobacco-free campus.
WLUC-TV reports the idea first proposed in 1986 is in full effect after students voted for the campus to be tobacco-free.
Tobacco still is allowed at the Houghton school’s golf course and the Mont Ripley ski hill. Also, people are allowed to smoke in personal vehicles.
Signs have been put up saying the campus is tobacco-free. And tobacco cessation classes are being offered for students and faculty.

Shelby Township
Police: Boy, 2, dies after being found in vehicle
SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Police say a 2-year-old boy has died after being found unresponsive in a vehicle parked in suburban Detroit.
Police in Macomb County’s Shelby Township say they responded to several 911 calls Tuesday evening and found the child.
Police say the boy was taken to an area hospital and pronounced dead. An autopsy was expected to be performed on Wednesday.
More details are expected later in the day from investigators.

Detroit
Zoo set to host biannual Senior Day
ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) — It’s time for another Senior Day celebration at the Detroit Zoo.
Senior citizens living in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties can enjoy a free day at the zoo in Royal Oak on Wednesday.
Tri-county residents ages 62 and older and a caregiver receive complimentary admission and parking that day.
Senior Day is to feature live music, tractor train tours and bingo.
The fall Senior Day is one of two free days for seniors annually at the Detroit Zoo. The spring Senior Day was held in April.