State Roundup

Lansing Audit reviews child support payments unit LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- A new audit says Michigan's monitoring of the collection and distribution of child support payments is effective. The audit released Tuesday by the state's auditor general reviewed how the Michigan Department of Human Services monitors a service provider that operates under federal child support enforcement program requirements. The unit collected and processed more than $3 billion in child support remittances over a two-year period reviewed by auditors. The audit included suggestions for improvement related to quality assurance sampling and other areas. The Department of Human Services says about 70 percent of children entitled to receive child support get some payments. The average payment is about $250 per month. Department Director Maura Corrigan says the audit illustrates the agency's commitment to holding parents accountable for the financial support of their children. Lansing Judge: Cut in school worker pay unconstitutional LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- A judge has ruled unconstitutional a state law forcing K-12 and community college employees to pay 3 percent of their salary toward retiree health care, saying they were paying into a system from which they were guaranteed no benefit. The state has not yet decided whether to appeal the opinion, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Bill Schuette told The Associated Press on Monday. "The ruling still is under review by the attorney general's office and we will make a decision whenever that review is complete," Joy Yearout said. Retired Ingham County Circuit Judge James Giddings, who was hearing the case before he stepped down and returned to finish the job, wrote in his ruling Friday that school employees are paying into a system that may not ultimately benefit them. "What is beyond speculation is the undisputed fact that the Legislature has the unfettered power to change or eliminate all benefits," Giddings wrote. The law applies to teachers, librarians, bus drivers, secretaries and other employees in the school retirement plan. It was passed in June and was estimated to bring in more than $300 million each year over the next decade. "The judge was clear. The law was arbitrary and unreasonable," said David Hecker, president of the American Federation of Teachers-Michigan. "You cannot have current employees pay for a benefit that current retirees receive -- when those current employees are not guaranteed receiving the same benefits. "Pensions are guaranteed; health care is not. We would hope the state does not appeal." A similar 3 percent salary provision for state employees was ruled unconstitutional in February by Ingham County Circuit Judge William Collette. The Michigan Court of Appeals later ruled that the state can continue to withhold the 3 percent from state employees. That legislation was passed in September, with the money going into an escrow account pending the case's outcome. Canton Township Michigan couple to walk +2,000 miles for wedding CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- A Michigan couple is planning quite a wedding march: More than 2,000 miles before getting married this fall near Las Vegas. Joseph Crist and Laura Brunett tell Detroit television station WJBK that they plan to leave around the middle of the month for Las Vegas and a wedding at Lake Mead. The 24-year-olds from Wayne County's Canton Township met in middle school. They say they got the idea for the trip from a book checked out from the library titled "The Lost Art of Walking." Crist says it's a "crazy" idea to make the trek. They say it will help prepare them to spend a lifetime together as a married couple. Buckley Families want girls hurt in NC crash home BUCKLEY, Mich. (AP) -- Two northern Lower Michigan families are trying to bring home their daughters who were seriously injured in a spring break car crash in North Carolina that claimed the life of another girl. The families of Hannah Baldinger, 14, and Paige Gokey, 17, say they hope the girls can be flown by medical transport to Michigan hospitals in Traverse City and Grand Rapids. The girls remained hospitalized Monday from injuries they suffered in a collision with two tractor-trailers on North Carolina's U.S. 1 on Friday that killed Hannah's 17-year-old sister, Haley Baldinger. "We just want to get everyone back in the same state," Kim Taylor, the sisters' aunt, told The Traverse City Record-Eagle for a story Tuesday. "Haley and Paige were lifelong best friends, and the three of them together were like the Three Musketeers," Taylor said. "It's horrible. Haley was a wonderful, beautiful girl with a bright future before her." The girls from the small Wexford County community of Buckley, about 20 miles south of Traverse City, were returning from Myrtle Beach, S.C. with the Baldinger sisters' older brother and his family. The car Haley was driving crossed the center line and struck one semi, then hit another head-on, a North Carolina State Highway Patrol official said. Haley died instantly. Family members say insurance won't cover the cost of the flight. Funds have been established at Honor Bank to help both families pay for medical and funeral costs. Taylor said a funeral is planned at the Buckley Community School but arrangements are pending because the parents are with their daughters in North Carolina. Buckley schools' Superintendent Rick Heitmeyer said the school had 14 counselors and clergy members assisting students and staff on Monday. "Haley was a senior, so the seniors spent a lot of time together talking and hugging and sharing tears," he said. Lansing Lansing film festival gets under way next week LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- The four-day Capital City Film Festival kicks off next week in Lansing. Organizers are describing it as the city's first film festival. It runs April 14 through April 17 and is to include a "Made in Michigan Showcase" and a retrospective of John Hughes' career. In addition, concerts will cap off each evening in venues stretching from Michigan Avenue to Old Town Lansing. Film festival official Jake Pechtel says organizers are "bringing in some amazing national, regional and local musicians to make this festival truly one of a kind in Michigan." Festival passes are $65 for students and $75 for adults. Individual screening tickets start at $6. Royal Oak Facebook posting leads to Mich. kidney donation ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) -- A Detroit-area woman's posting on the social networking website Facebook led to doctors finding a kidney donor for her husband. Beaumont Hospital says 35-year-old Jeff Kurze of Warren received a kidney from 25-year-old Ricky Cisco of Royal Oak in a transplant operation at the Royal Oak hospital on March 30. The match was found after Roxy Kurze made the post. Jeff Kurze says it was "hard to breathe" after learning that Cisco was willing to donate the kidney. Jeff Kurze says that since connecting with Cisco they've become good friends and now spend time together regularly. Cisco says donating the kidney was a way he could help someone else. Published: Wed, Apr 6, 2011