Consumer groups, led by Michigan Consumers for Healthcare (MCH), have been urging state officials to move slowly in providing the legal mechanism for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) to shed its charitable mission and be sold to a newly formed BCBSM mutual insurance company. Unfortunately, many lawmakers are instead pushing to fast-track this risky proposal despite it meaning higher insurance rate ...

As president of the United States, Barack Obama has ended a senseless war in Iraq, where more than 110,000 soldiers and civilians were killed, and countless injured. He killed the most wanted 9/11 terrorist, Osama Bin Laden, after he was on the run for more than 10 years. ...

Osborn Neighborhood Alliance celebrated its five-year anniversary and auction to sustain future issues of the Osborn neighborhood premier newsletter Osborn Voice. The event took place at the D:hive Loft on Woodward Nov. 9. The Osborn Voice highlights people, activities, businesses and resources in every issue. Published quarterly, The Osborn Voice reaches on average over 5,000 residents in the Osborn Commun ...

City Council will meet in closed session Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. to discuss whether the Financial Stability Agreement (FSA) entered into between the city and the state should remain in effect now that Public Act 4 (PA4) has been repealed. At its Nov. 13 formal session, Council members praised the repeal of PA4, but remain uncertain what it means for the city going forward. “The repeal of Public Act 4 will require ...

On the fourth floor of Howard Center, two graduate students and two professors in African Studies mulled Haiti’s application to become the first potential non-African member of the African Union in January 2013. “If you consider that islands like Martinique are quite far away from Europe but are still part of the European Union, Martinique by virtue of being a part of France, Haiti’s becoming an AU member d ...

Army Times news service has reported that more than 3,000 United States soldiers will be deployed to Africa next year. While defense officials claim these troops will be involved in “teaching military tactics, medicine and logistics, as well as combating famine, disease and terrorism in secure environments,” some critics suspect the actual objectives are to secure U.S. access to Africa’s vast oil reserves a ...

Experts say intrusive security at public schools reproduces social inequality By Marcus Wright Special to the Michigan Citizen DETROIT — “I don’t like it but it is what it is,” one Detroit Public School student said after going through video-monitored metal detectors and being patted down upon entering his school. Many of the districts’ high school students — including DPS and the newly created Educational ...

Billed as education reform, a new Republican measure would give the governor power over an expanded, statewide Educational Achievement Authority (EAA) with power to seize local school district properties and weaken local control. Subject of a legislative hearing Nov. 13, the citizens who traveled to Lansing and who opposed the bill were not allowed to testify on House Bill 6004. ...

In a special meeting Nov. 13, the Detroit Board of Education voted unanimously to end the district’s contract with the Educational Achievement Authority and passed other measures as they attempt to recover from more than a decade of state control under emergency management. ...

Detroit City Council delayed a vote on a no-bid contract Nov. 13 that would take control of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) out of public hands and into the control of the privately owned EMA, Inc. More than 100 citizens from across the Southeastern Michigan region and from as far as Toledo, Ohio filled council chambers in opposition of the contract that Councilwoman Brenda Jones categorize ...