Dearborn: Iraq officials to discuss trade with Michigan Arabs
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — An Iraqi ministerial delegation is planning to meet with Detroit-area Arab-American business owners and leaders to discuss investment opportunities in his country.
Iraqi National Investment Commission Chairman Sami Al-Araji will speak Wednesday afternoon at the Fairlane Club in Dearborn. The commission serves as promoter and adviser for investment in Iraq.
The event is hosted by the American Arab Chamber of Commerce, which seeks to make southeastern Michigan a hub for trade between the United States and the Middle East.
The area has one of the nation?s largest populations with roots in the Middle East.
Southfield: Kroger, Del Monte offer to settle lawsuit over lid
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (AP) — A fruit company and a major grocer are offering $150,000 to a Detroit-area man who says he lost consciousness after being hit with a lid that exploded off a jar of fruit.
Del Monte Foods and Kroger Co. say there’s no credible evidence that the jar was unsafe. But they’ve failed to persuade a federal judge in Detroit to dismiss a lawsuit by Darryl Alexander of Southfield.
Alexander says a stubborn lid flew through the air and struck him in the eye after he hit it with the handle of a screwdriver in 2008. He says he fell to the floor and lost consciousness.
Kroger and Del Monte made the $150,000 offer in a court filing Tuesday. Lawyer Mark Miller says its not enough. He says Alexander has eye damage.
Lansing: Unions sue to block state worker 3 percent payment
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Three state employee unions have filed lawsuits against the state aimed at blocking a measure that requires workers to pay 3 percent of their salaries toward retiree health care.
The Lansing State Journal reports Wednesday that United Auto Workers Local 6000, the Michigan State Employees Association and AFSCME Council 25 sued this month in Ingham County.
Unions say the forced contribution violates the state constitution by nullifying labor contracts.
The contribution is part of a retirement incentive package prompting more than 4,700 state workers to leave their jobs by Jan. 1. The lawsuits don’t affect those retirements.
A spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office told the newspaper the state won’t comment on the lawsuits because they are pending.
Lansing: Blue Cross rate increase blocked temporarily
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — An Ingham County Circuit judge has stopped Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan from implementing rate increases as high as 66 percent for some seniors.
Tuesday’s preliminary injunction also requires a public meeting be held.
The Michigan attorney general’s office filed suit in September against Blue Cross and a state regulator, claiming the Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation should have held a hearing.
State officials say the decision affects 8,000-9,000 policies out of about 200,000 covered by BCBS Medigap policies.
Blue Cross and the regulator said the rate changes stemmed from elimination of a discount on Medigap policies for people who don’t live in Michigan or do get help from employers in buying coverage.
Blue Cross said it was complying with an order to end to discounts.
Plymouth: Manufacturer to open research center in Plymouth
PLYMOUTH, Mich. (AP) — Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano says a Chinese manufacturer will open a research and development center early next year in Plymouth, west of Detroit.
Ficano said in a release Tuesday that the investment by ChangAn Automotive will bring 100 engineering jobs and put the company closer to Ford Motor Co., one of its clients.
ChangAn was courted during a 2009 trade mission. It’s one of China’s largest automotive companies with revenues topping $4 billion.
Ficano and a number of Detroit area business and community leaders currently are on another trade mission to China. He says the 26-person delegation is focused on bringing jobs back to Michigan and Wayne County. They’re expected to travel later this week to Beijing.
The current trade mission is the sixth led by Ficano.
Woodhaven: Fugitive couple arraigned in real estate scheme
WOODHAVEN, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan couple arrested last month after fleeing the state in April have been arraigned on racketeering and obtaining money under false pretenses charges in connection with what authorities call a “massive real estate Ponzi scheme.”
Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox said Tuesday in a release that 62-year-old Richard Gosselin and 58-year-old Rita Gosselin of Grosse Ile each was given a bond of $3.5 million in Woodhaven’s 33rd District Court.
A preliminary examination was set for Nov. 23.
Rita Gosselin also was charged in December. Authorities say she cut a court-ordered tether device in April and left Michigan with her husband. They were caught Oct. 29 in Tennessee.
Cox says the real estate scheme may have bilked up to 20 people out of $500,000.
The couple want a court-appointed lawyer.
Rose Township: Officials hope to find homes for 5 rescued horses
ROSE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Animal control officials in Oakland County want to get five horses home for the holidays.
The five horses in question were rescued earlier this year from a farm in Rose Township, along with eight other malnourished horses. Those eight already have been adopted out.
Sgt. Joanie Toole, administrative supervisor for Oakland County Animal Control and Pet Adoption Center, said she wants to see them in new homes by Thanksgiving.
The five horses have friendly temperaments, but also some special needs, Toole told The Oakland Press of Pontiac for a story on Tuesday. Two are pregnant; one is blind; a young mare needs to be broken and a gelding is in need of an experienced owner and rider.
Toole said she doesn’t know exactly when the pregnant mares will foal.
“We picked them up in late September, and the stallion had been running with them for about two months then,” she told the newspaper.
Horses typically come with an adoption fee of $500, but Toole said the county will negotiate with potential adopters for these five.
“Right now, we just want to place them in a good home,” she said.
Those interested in adopting the horses can call Toole at the Oakland County Animal Control and Pet Adoption Center at (248) 393-3572.
