March 2023 - Page 6 of 10

Find and fix leaks during Fix a Leak Week

by orionontv | Mar 20, 2023 | Environmental

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 20, 2023

EGLE Media Office, [email protected], 517-284-9278

Kristina Donaldson, Clean Water Public Advocate, [email protected], 517-285-8140

Find and fix leaks during Fix a Leak Week

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has issued a proclamation recognizing this week, March 20-26, as Fix a Leak Week. Fix a Leak week is an annual event created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and supported by WaterSense partners across the U.S. and Canada. During this week, EGLE’s Office of the Clean Water Public Advocate will provide some practical tips on finding and fixing household leaks and spotlight free home energy efficiency programs offered by some utilities within the state.

“Fixing water leaks in home plumbing can reduce consumer water bills and prevent water damage within the home” said Kris Donaldson, EGLE’s Clean Water Public Advocate. The EPA estimates that fixing easily corrected household leaks can save homeowners about 10 percent on their water bills.

Residents are encouraged to get involved and track down leaks in their home using EPA’s at-home checklist. Common types of leaks found in the home, like worn toilet flappers and dripping faucets (don’t forget to clean the aerators too!), are often easy and relatively cheap to fix. Share a photo and tag your post with #FixALeakWeek and #IFixLeaks!

Some energy utilities within the state offer free at-home energy efficiency assessments to qualifying customers. These can include a basic home walkthrough and installation of energy-efficient products, such as faucet aerators, lightbulbs, or showerheads. Contact your energy utility to find out what programs they offer.

More information and resources are available at Michigan.gov/FixALeakWeek. For more information about the Office of the Clean Water Public Advocate visit Michigan.gov/CleanWater.

To stay up to date on other EGLE news follow us at Michigan.gov/MIEnvironment.

Family Medicine Week: Benefits of having a family physician

by orionontv | Mar 20, 2023 | Health and Wellness

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 20, 2023

CONTACT: Chelsea Wuth, 517-241-2112, [email protected]

MDHHS recognizes benefits of having a family physician during Family Medicine Week

LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), along with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan Academy of Family Physicians and the Michigan Association of Osteopathic Family Physicians are recognizing March 19-25 as Family Medicine Week in Michigan.

Family medicine is a medical specialty practiced by family physicians. These physicians undergo extensive training to provide comprehensive care for people of all ages.

“Visiting your family physician for regular check-ups and to keep up-to-date on immunizations can help you stay healthy and prevent illness,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive. “Having a family doctor helps build a lasting relationship with someone who knows you and your family’s medical history and can treat a variety of medical conditions. We recommend all Michigan residents get a family physician or other primary care provider and keep up with routine medical visits.”

Family Medicine Week highlights family physicians’ dedication to providing comprehensive, coordinated primary care to residents across the state to protect and improve health and wellness and reduce costs to the health care system. Research shows that adults and children with a family physician as their regular source of care have lower annual costs of care, visit the doctor less, are prescribed fewer medications and report less difficulty accessing care.

Family physicians are key partners in Michigan adults and children getting vaccinated against the seasonal flu, COVID-19 and other vaccine-preventable diseases that cause illness and death.

To learn more about Michigan Academy of Family Physicians, visit MAFP.com. To learn more about Michigan Association of Osteopathic Family Physicians, visit MAOFP.org.

Michigan Lottery’s $1.25 Billion Contribution to Support Schools

by orionontv | Mar 9, 2023 | Regional News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 9, 2023

Contact: [email protected]

Gov. Whitmer Announces Michigan Lottery’s $1.25 Billion Contribution to Support Schools Across the State

LANSING, Mich. – Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer joined the Michigan Lottery to announce their $1.25 billion contribution to the School Aid Fund in fiscal year 2022. This marks the Lottery’s fourth consecutive contribution of more than $1 billion to Michigan’s schools.

“The Michigan Lottery’s contributions to our schools over the last 50 years have helped students across the state succeed,” said Governor Whitmer. “Lottery games provide Michiganders with a chance to win life-changing prizes and their purchases support local businesses and public education programs in their communities. I want to congratulate the Lottery team on their fourth consecutive contribution of more than $1 billion to schools across the state. These funds help us continue making historic investment in public education and give every student the tools they need to succeed in the classroom and beyond.”

The School Aid Fund provides funding for public education, including per-pupil funding, special education, at-risk programs, early childhood education, adult education, school lunch and breakfast, career and technical education, and more.

Since 1972, the Lottery has contributed more than $27 billion to the School Aid Fund, supporting public education programs throughout Michigan. In each of the last four fiscal years, the Lottery has contributed more than $1 billion to the School Aid Fund, totaling nearly $5 billion to the fund since FY19.

“During the course of its 50-year history, the Lottery has raised more than $27 billion for public education in Michigan,” said Lottery Commissioner, Brian O. Neill. “These incredible results would not be possible without the support of our players, retailers, vendors, and dedicated public-service professionals across state government.”

For each dollar spent on a Michigan Lottery ticket in FY22, approximately:

63 cents went to players as prizes
25 cents went to the School Aid Fund to support public education
9 cents went to commissions for retailers and vendors
3 cents funded the Lottery’s operations and administrative costs

Under state law, all profits from the Lottery go to the School Aid Fund. The lottery is one of several revenue sources that support public education in Michigan.

Education Budget – Getting Kids Back on Track

In February, Governor Whitmer released her Executive Recommendation for the School Aid Fund and continued historic public education investments. It includes the highest per-student investment in Michigan history for the fifth year in a row without raising taxes, landmark funding to help students and adults build critical reading skills, and free breakfast and lunch to all Michigan public school students. Education-related budget proposals include:

$900 million deposit into a new rainy day fund for schools – funds set aside for future budgetary needs – ensuring long-term financial stability of the state’s public education system.
$614 million to support school operations through a 5% increase in the base per-pupil that equates to an additional $458 per student, for a total of $9,608 per pupil.
$318 million for school safety programs, building off existing school safety grant opportunities for districts and implementing cross-sector approaches to prevent mass violence through partnerships between schools, public safety, mental health professionals, and communities.
$442.4 million to help students reach their full academic potential, including expansion of existing payments for literacy grants and literacy coaches.
$300 million for tutoring through the MI Kids Back on Track program.
$300 million to continue historic investments for student mental health to ensure students needs can be identified and provided with the right support.
$257.3 million toward the goal of offering universal preschool to all of Michigan’s 4-year-olds, putting all children on the path to a brighter future.
$195 million in recognition of the crucial role high-quality teachers play in the success of their students. Including continued support for the MI Future Educator Program (which provides a tuition free path for college students to become certified teachers) and funds to retain and develop existing teachers through mentorship programs.
$160 million to help students thrive by providing free breakfast and lunch to all of Michigan’s 1.4 million public school students.
$150 million to fund matching grants for school districts to modernize their bus fleet by switching over to electric vehicles.
$120 million investment in various educator supports, including continuation of the MI Future Educator Fellowship, student teacher stipends and professional development.
$94.4 million for literacy-related programs and activities in Detroit public schools.
$79.9 million to continue expanded support for special education students – a 12.5% increase in the current allocation.
$66.5 million to provide a 5% increase in funding to support academically at-risk students, English language learners, and students in rural school districts.
$64.7 million increase, for a total of $812.2 million, in funding for academically at-risk, economically disadvantaged students.
$30 million supporting new math intervention programs.
$25 million for additional supports for vocational education and career and technical education equipment upgrades.

Automated speed enforcement in work zones

by orionontv | Mar 9, 2023 | Transportation

Revisiting a conversation about automated speed enforcement in work zones

With the introduction of a new bill in the Michigan Legislature to enable the use of automated technology to enforce speeding laws on segments of road under construction, this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast reprises an episode from Aug. 30, 2022, after a similar bill was introduced last legislative session.

Listen now: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1374205/12401736-revisiting-a-conversation-about-automated-speed-enforcement-in-work-zones

House Bill 4132 has bipartisan sponsorship that has generated a great deal of discussion. The podcast now follows up on talks when the similar bill was discussed in the previous Legislature.

Some key points from the previous podcast:

In 2006, Illinois became the first state to authorize the use of automated traffic enforcement programs to enforce speed limits in highway work zones, with implementation coming a few years later. The enabling legislation provided a legal framework for photo enforcement of speed limits in highway work zones.
In the summer of 2022, some Michigan lawmakers, Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) officials, leaders in labor organizations, and the road building industry witnessed demonstrations on Michigan freeways on how the technology works.

The podcast first featured a conversation with Juan Pava, Safety Programs Unit chief, Bureau of Safety Programs and Engineering at the Illinois Department of Transportation, about how the enforcement has worked there.

Later, Lance Binoniemi of the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association (MITA), talks about why he and his members are advocating for the previous House Bill 5750, and what he learned from the demonstrations.

Listen now at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1374205.

Stay connected by subscribing to Talking Michigan Transportation e-mail updates.

AG Nessel Shuts Down Texas-Based Robocallers

by orionontv | Mar 8, 2023 | Regional News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

March 8, 2023

Media Contact:
AG Press

AG Nessel Shuts Down Texas-Based Robocallers

LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel won judgments shutting down a massive robocall operation involving John Caldwell Spiller II and his business partner, Jakob Mears, the owners of Texas-based Rising Eagle Capital Group LLC and JSquared Telecom LLC, as well as Rising Eagle Capital Group, Cayman. The defendants directed billions of illegal robocalls to people across the country. In 2019 alone, the defendants bombarded Michigan consumers with more than 42 million robocalls – including more than 19 million calls to people whose numbers were on the Do Not Call Registry.

“The number of illegal robocalls Michigan residents receive is unacceptable,” Nessel said. “The National Consumer Law Center and the electronic Privacy Information Center estimate that over 33 million scam robocalls are made to Americans every day. And the businesses these defendants own were a big part of the problem. Permanently closing these businesses and preventing the owners from creating similar ones is an important step. I am happy to join my colleagues in protecting consumers from abusive telemarketing practices like illegal robocalls.”

AG Nessel sued the defendants in June 2020, alleging violations of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the federal Telemarketing Sales Rule, as well as various state consumer protection laws. The complaint alleged that defendants used their companies to bombard people with deceptive robocalls, including extended car warranties and health care services. They also spoofed calls to mislead the call recipients and called people on the Do Not Call list.

Mears and Spiller are now permanently banned from initiating or facilitating any robocalls, working in or with companies that make robocalls, or engaging in any telemarketing. The court also ordered monetary judgments totaling $244,658,640 for Spiller and Mears combined, though these payments will be largely suspended in favor of the permanent operational bans and because of their inability to pay.

AG Nessel’s legal action on this matter is not over. The attorneys general are continuing their cases in this same litigation against Florida-based Scott Shapiro, Michael Theron Smith, Jr., and Health Advisors of America, Inc. These defendants allegedly worked with Mears and Spiller to make illegal robocalls targeting people who never asked to be contacted by Health Advisors.

AG Nessel is joined in the settlements by the Attorneys General of Arkansas, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, and Texas.

A copy of the Spiller judgment is available HERE.

A copy of the Mears judgment is available HERE.