State Roundup

Lansing @ROUND UP Briefs Headline:Episcopal Church in Michigan backs gun control LANSING, Mich. (AP) - The Episcopal Church in Michigan recently passed a resolution calling for stricter gun control measures that some members argue violates the constitutional right to bear arms. A majority of members of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan voted to approve the symbolic resolution calling for universal background checks on all gun purchases, banning all semi-automatic weapon sales and making gun trafficking a federal crime, the Detroit Free Press reported. After an intense debate among Episcopalians, the resolution was passed at the diocese's 180th annual convention in Lansing. "We ... stand for public policies to ban violence and assault weapons," it states. "Access to guns with rapid fire ability and high capacity magazines are a common, deadly ingredient in ... repeated killings." Some members who opposed the resolution claim it alienates congregants by promoting liberal social issues instead of the Gospel. Liberal members argue their views are in line with Christian teachings. "We work to bring God's peace to the world," said the Rev. Chris Yaw, rector of St. David's Episcopal Church in Southfield. "God's kingdom is not of violence; it's of peace." The resolution says the "Episcopal Church supports the U.S. Constitution's protections of the rights of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms." But it adds that "wholesale murder is made possible because those without proper moral guide have easy access to these assault weapons." Some opponents contend the changes the resolution supports would target law-abiding people, rather than criminals. "I think there is a heartfelt desire by all of the church to keep people safe from violence," said the Rev. Steven Kelly, rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Detroit. "However, most of those who intend violence are going to get weapons anyways, no matter what kind of legislation we pass." The Episcopal Diocese of Michigan was created in 1836, one year before the state was established. The group includes representatives from southeast Michigan and the Lansing and Jackson areas. Detroit JPMorgan Chase workers to help Detroit nonprofits DETROIT (AP) - JPMorgan Chase plans to send teams of employees to Detroit to help strengthen the city's nonprofit community. The five-year Detroit Service Corps program was announced Monday. The financial giant says its employees plan to use their business skills and expertise to help select nonprofits address the city's economic challenges and support those who need it most. The first 12 employees involved will spend the first three weeks of November helping nonprofits deal with blight, aid community development and facilitate small business growth. They'll work with Eastern Market, Focus: HOPE, Michigan Community Resources and Vanguard Community Development Corp. It's part of JPMorgan Chase's plans announced in May to spend $100 million over five years in Detroit to support and accelerate the economic recovery in the bankrupt city. Ann Arbor Researchers to examine potential links to autism ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - University of Michigan researchers plan to use a $1.6 million federal grant to examine potential social and environmental links to autism. The Ann Arbor school announced Monday that researchers will collect location-specific information from tens of thousands of individuals and families nationwide. The National Center for Geospatial Medicine is based at the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and Environment. The center is funded through the National Institute of Mental Health for the three-year autism spectrum disorder study. The study began last month. Social and demographic data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the American Community Survey will be used. Environmental data will focus initially on air-quality measurements, including ambient levels of air pollutants. Iron Mountain Man accidentally shoots himself in the hand, kills dog IRON MOUNTAIN, Mich. (AP) - Police say a 25-year-old man who accidentally shot himself in the hand ended up killing a dog at a home in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The Daily News and WLUC-TV report officers responded about 8:30 p.m. Saturday to a 911 call about the shooting in Iron Mountain. The man was taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries that were described as non-life-threatening. Police say the dog was killed by the bullet that went through the man's hand. The shooting is under investigation. Prosecutors are expected to review the case. Lansing @ROUND UP Briefs Headline:Audit questions spending on state gas cards LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan auditors are raising questions about hundreds of thousands of dollars of purchases charged to state government gas cards. The state Office of the Auditor General on Friday released a report on its review of vehicle and travel services within the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget. The audit covers the two years from May 1, 2012, through April 30, 2014. The report found that people driving state vehicles spent $372,000 on things besides gas over a two-year period. About 17,000 of the about 55,000 non-fuel transactions during the period were for items listed as "other," the auditors found. The state of Michigan's vehicle policy has many restrictions on the use of gas cards. Food, beverages, maps and towing are among the prohibited items. "There is no way to determine if any of these 'other' products included any of the products prohibited by policy," the report said. It recommended that the state "utilize available system restrictions to help prevent the inappropriate use of state fuel funds." The state budget department said it agreed with the recommendation and said it would further limit use of the "services" category for state gas card users "provided such actions do not impact drivers by reducing their access to needed products and services." The department said it also would see if it could impose further product restrictions for card users. Grand Rapids Home on market comes with church pipe organ GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - The massive pipe organ is for sale to a good home. Preferably, the Grand Rapids home it's already in. The 3,200-pipe organ is the distinguishing, dominating feature of the bungalow on the city's west side. And the house - instrument included - is listed for $129,900, according to a story published Friday in The Grand Rapids Press. The 85-year-old organ was bought in 2002 from a Muskegon church by Bill Tufts, who died this year at 72. He bequeathed the home to Guy Vander Wagen and partner Don Haan, owner of Haan Pipe Organ. Haan and Vander Wagen installed the organ in the small home, which was expanded to accommodate the pipes that reach to the top of the cathedral ceiling. Because of the Kimball organ, the house has one upstairs bedroom and 1 ½ baths. But the garage where Tufts worked as a handyman is heated and air-conditioned. Haan said re-installation would cost about $100,000, and he estimated that duplicating the entire "irreplaceable treasure" would likely cost close to $1 million. Real estate agent Mark Douglas, who is listing the unusual house, said he's received calls from across the country. Some potential buyers want to salvage the organ and re-sell the home. Haan, who spent about 2½ years installing the organ with Vander Wagen, said they hope to find a buyer who possesses the same passion and dedication to the merger of the home and instrument as his late friend. And an organist isn't required - Tufts never learned to play but invited musicians who did to his home. "We really would like somebody to buy it who likes the organ and appreciates it for what it is," he said. Detroit Program to boost Michigan health access to expand DETROIT (AP) - A program that seeks to improve access to primary care providers in medically underserved Michigan communities has received a federal funding boost to help it expand. Detroit-based Wayne State University recently announced that the Michigan Area Health Education Center program has been awarded a one-year, nearly $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration to maintain its four regional centers and launch a fifth. The Northern Lower Regional Center is scheduled to open in 2015. Current locations are the Southeast Regional Center in Detroit, the Mid-Central Regional Center in Mount Pleasant, the Western Regional Center in Grand Rapids and the Upper Peninsula Regional Center in Marquette. The funding also will help the Michigan Area Health Education Center promote and provide health care career preparation initiatives, clinical experiences and continuing education programs across Michigan. Rural areas, in particular, are expected to see improvements. "This is critical to our state, which faces a dire shortage of physicians at a time our population is aging and needs more health care and more health care providers," Dr. Valerie M. Parisi, dean of Wayne State University's School of Medicine and co-principal investigator of the grant, said in a statement. According government figures, 79 of Michigan's 83 counties have at least partial designation as primary care health professional shortage areas, 76 have a shortage of dental professionals and 45 are designated as mental health care professional shortage areas. "We look forward to expanding our reach and working with more schools, professional associations, health centers and health providers," said Dr. Dennis Tsilimingras, co-program director of Michigan Area Health Education Center and assistant professor in the School of Medicine. The Wayne State University College of Nursing and School of Medicine established the Michigan Area Health Education Center in 2010. Published: Tue, Nov 04, 2014