Lansing
Snyder approves $27.6M in outdoors grants
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Rick Snyder has signed legislation approving more than $27.6 million in grants from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund.
About $13 million will go to trail development. Grants will also fund 44 outdoor recreation projects and 32 land acquisition projects.
Snyder says the grants will boost tourism and stimulate local economies. He says grant-funded projects will provide more opportunities for residents and visitors to “enjoy unmatched natural resources.”
The grants will go to both state and local agencies. The Trust Fund gets its money through investments from the sale and lease of the state's mineral rights.
Detroit
ACLU suing for 300 new same-sex couples
DETROIT (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union says it’s filing a lawsuit to enforce the legal rights of about 300 same-sex couples who were married during a one-day window between separate federal court decisions.
Detroit U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman ruled March 21 that Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. Clerks in four counties held unscheduled Saturday openings the next day, issuing about 300 marriage licenses.
The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati stayed the ruling a few hours later.
Gov. Rick Snyder says Michigan government agencies aren’t yet recognizing the new same-sex marriages in such areas as adoption and child custody.
ACLU spokeswoman Rana Elmir says the group is suing to require state recognition of the marriages.
Key West
Family of man who died in custody sues Key West
KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — The family of a Michigan man who died at a hospital while in police custody has sued the city of Key West in federal court, claiming excessive force killed the unarmed man and that officers conspired to cover up the death.
The lawsuit filed Friday says Charles Eimers of Birch Run, Mich., died “in a horrifying way” and names 12 officers connected to the case. A state investigation into Eimers' Dec. 4 death is pending.
