raoulraoul

Disclaimer: while the article is national news, the first cited example is based right here in The Great Lakes State (where? -- r^2^ ).

In December, a new company registered in Michigan: American Lidar. Its planned home would be an easy drive from the big three U.S. automakers. […] The company behind American Lidar, and not mentioned in its registration, is China-based lidar maker Hesai Group, which the U.S. has labeled a security concern. It is a familiar playbook: a company facing regulatory or reputational problems sets up a subsidiary or affiliate with a different name.

Chinese companies’ efforts to shift production, rebrand as American or set up subsidiaries with new names are legal, lawyers say. Still, such moves irritate regulators who can’t enforce laws when it isn’t clear who is behind a company.

• Related report from India media WION

A month after it set up American Lidar to be its manufacturing facility in the U.S. heartland, Hesai was added to the Defense Department list that designates companies as Chinese military entities operating in the U.S. Its stock fell 30% in a day after the list was published and hasn’t recovered. Almost one-fifth of Hesai’s revenue comes from the U.S.

Hesai filed a lawsuit this month against the Defense Department, asserting it should be removed from the list because it has no affiliation with any military and isn’t controlled by the Chinese government.

…which is false as all Chinese "private" business is "enlightened" in Xi's CCP.

Further ~~reading~~ interaction:

• Original WSJ article

  • The article is paywalled but the "Listen" audio works and the related video, What Banning TikTok in the US Would Look Like* plays

And why not? DTE says there's plenty of money still to be made on Michigan's abundant methane resources, global warming be damned, and compared to northern Michigan's propane jones, it's almost half the cost and at least a stop-gap measure.

Like many buildings in this part of rural northern Michigan, the Tsuber Auto garage in the Village of Mesick is heated with propane, delivered by truck once or twice a month to the tank outside.

On average, [owner Vyacheslav Tsuber] said, it costs anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000 a year to heat the shop. But that could soon change. DTE Gas Company, a subsidiary of Michigan’s largest utility, is expanding its natural gas network to the area, giving over 1,000 homes and businesses the choice to switch to natural gas.

What’s left out of that equation, say climate advocates, is a third option: electrification. Instead of locking in fossil fuels for decades to come — and reducing the incentive for people to electrify their homes — why not make it easier to switch to electric heating instead?

As Sam Stolper, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Sustainability puts it: “We have really ambitious [climate] goals for good reason[…]and we’re not going to hit them if we keep making decisions to switch to natural gas … instead of going straight to electrification.”

So many stumbling blocks.

What We Want Now
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…or maybe Consumer Energy has to give back ~USD$1M of the recently approved USD$92M rate increase

Power outages. Clients in the cold. Incorrect billing estimates. Broken meters. Inordinate delays in new service. This is Consumers Energy.

From crack reporter Kyle Davidson at MichiganAdvance…

Consumers Energy has faced repeated criticisms on the quality and reliability of its services, with members of the House Energy, Communications and Technology Committee pressing the company on its plan to address future long-term outages after an ice storm in February 2023 left thousands of Michigan households without power for days.

“It is a fundamental job for a utility to measure the amount of electricity used and then accurately bill their customers,” MPSC Commissioner Katherine Peretick said in a statement. “There was a clear and obvious failure here, and this $1 million fine and the corrective actions required in the settlement agreement will hopefully ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

Consumers Energy has not responded to a request for comment as of the time of publication.

Remember…Parma spelled backwards is AMRAP!
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Rule #1: Don't panic.

In Michigan, the case initially went undetected. A nasal swab first tested negative for influenza in Michigan, but an eye swab from the patient was shipped to CDC. There, it tested positive for the flu virus, according to the CDC.

The virus has been circulating in dairy and poultry farms across the U.S. for several months, and was detected in Michigan cattle March 29. Just more than a month later, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s director Tim Boring directed farmers to take extra precautions to separate potentially infected livestock and to minimize interaction between humans and farm animals. […] Boring, in the statement released Wednesday afternoon, said finding the human case is “exactly how public health is meant to work, in early detection and monitoring of new and emerging illnesses.”

From the Freep's coverage…

[Michigan chief medical officer, Dr. Natasha] Bagdasarian said the average Michigander shouldn't panic. […] "The risk to the general public remains low," she said. "And that's for a few reasons: No. 1, we have not seen evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission. ... For this to become a bigger risk to the general public, we would be looking for sustained human-to-human transmission and we have not seen that."

Citing privacy concerns, no details were released Wednesday about specifically which farm employed the Michigan worker or in which county the infection occurred. The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development reported Monday that avian influenza outbreaks have been identified in 18 dairy cow herds in the following Michigan counties: Clinton, Gratiot, Ionia, Allegan, Ingham, Isabella, Montcalm, Barry and Ottawa.

It's more cow herd outbreaks than in any other state, according to the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. Since the outbreak began in February 2022, H5N1 avian influenza also has been detected in domestic birds from 23 Michigan counties: Bay, Branch, Cass, Eaton, Genesee, Gratiot, Ingham, Ionia, Kalamazoo, Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Menominee, Montmorency, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oakland, Ottawa, Saginaw, Sanilac, Tuscola, Washtenaw and Wexford.

Alt Freep link for your convenience via archive.is

Everything I say is a lie…
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From ace reporter Anna Liz Nichols at MichiganAdvance…

The Caring for MI Family Tax Credit is one of the proposals under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s recommendations for the state’s next budget and would afford caregivers tax relief of up to $5,000.

“That work is almost always uncompensated. … It is not always visible in policy in terms of how we respond to the needs of caregivers, things that caregiving requires so that people can do it,” [Michigan Lt Gov Garlin] Gilchrist said. “Caregivers are a critical infrastructure to life, to success, to wellbeing, to stability, and we need to make sure that they are really supported.”

“These are people who care for their loved ones and use their own dollars for out of pocket expenses, grandparents taking care of grandchildren, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, mothers daughter taking care of those who they love,” [state director of AARP Michigan Paula] Cunningham said. “They don’t do this for the money, they do it because of their commitment to their family members and … their loved ones.”

Although the majority of the readers of this community were hatched from reptile eggs, I'm sure there are those among us who are part of this uncompensated, unofficial nursing team (if you aren't, I wouldn't ever wish it on you). Talk about tough; you're constantly in damage-control mode. At least with the state's proposal, this monthly USD$416.00 largesse could help with, for example, occasional outside care so you can do stupid stuff…like take a shower or grocery shop or talk to someone.

Otherwise, you know, we could always demand the dismantling of the trillion-dollar racket known as "American health insurance" and maybe shoot for a system proposed back in 2003 by the late representative John Conyers (D-MI) that would cover most of these needs…? No, I get it…y'alls too busy checking…

Reporter Brian McVicar at mlive.com covers the big news about the coming outdoor covered arena in Grand Rapids…

After years of planning and fundraising, a ceremonial groundbreaking for Acrisure Amphitheater, the 12,000-capacity venue that officials say will transform a sprawling stretch of Market Avenue in downtown Grand Rapids, is happening Tuesday.

The venue would have 7,000 fixed seats and 5,000 lawn seats. Its main entrance would be along Market Avenue, and its pedestrian plaza would be open to the public during events and non-events.

In addition to 201 Market Ave. SW, the venue would also occupy 225, 233 and 301 Market Ave. SW. The site is bordered by the Grand River on its west, by Market Avenue on its east, by U.S. 131 on its north and railroad tracks on its south.

The venue is expected to host an estimated 54 events per season, with a projected 300,000 visitors.

Me, I got an allergy to stadiums and arenas named after corporations.

From crack reporter Jon King over at MichiganAdvance, Another Day, Another Election Interference: more voting obfuscation for the ever-unstable GOP…

Following overwhelming victories in a recall election last week, the Republican members of the Delta County Board of Canvassers are refusing to certify the election results.

Unofficial results indicated that Van Ginhoven, a Democrat, and independent candidates Myra Croasdell and Matt Jensen, each defeated Republican Commissioners David Moyle, Robert Barron, and Robert Petersen by an approximately 3-1 margin. The incumbents were targeted for recall after they voted in February 2023 to fire County Administrator Emily DeSalvo.

When the county canvassers met this past Tuesday, however, Republican members Bonnie Hakkola and LeeAnne Oman refused to certify. The board, consisting of two Democrats and two Republicans, has to produce at least three votes in order to certify. […] Van Ginhoven tells Michigan Advance that the GOP canvassers cited, without evidence, irregularities in the vote totals based solely on the similarity across all three races.

While the board’s failure to certify the election has delayed the swearing in of the new commissioners, they will meet again on Monday, at which point they will have a final opportunity to provide certification. […] “And if at that time, the Republicans are still not willing to sign off on the certification, then everything’s going to have to be trucked downstate on the county dime and go to the State Board of Canvassers,” said Van Ginhoven.

Everything I say is a lie…
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Who could have forseen this? 🤦‍♂️ From our friends over at BridgeMichigan, journalist Gabrielle Nelson reports on the pants-around-the-ankles situation in EV land…

A new International Energy Forum report, co-led by a University of Michigan researcher, found that a swift transition to EVs will require “unprecedented rates of mine production.” […] The world’s active copper mines, the authors concluded, can’t deliver.

Waitaminute…swift transition? Much like space exploration and a national renewable energy network, thanks to corporate greed and government myopia/complacence, the execution of a working national EV strategy is at least 20 years behind schedule, by my unscientific reckoning. Talk about dropping the ball.

Amid mounting political pressure to address climate change and looming competition from overseas automakers, Michigan’s Big Three automakers have all set ambitious EV production targets. General Motors has committed to all-electric sales by 2035, and Ford Motor Co. has said it wants half of its sales to be EVs by 2030, although both now face a reality check amid a slowdown in EV sales.

Bridge Michigan spoke to Adam Simon, a professor of earth and environment sciences at the University of Michigan and lead researcher on the report, about its findings. […] “Without copper,” Simon said, “you don’t have an EV.”

Unless the industry can find a way to make EVs with less copper, meeting EV demand would require an average of 1.7 new mines every year until 2050, according to the report. Achieving a full net-zero economy could require as many as six new mines per year.

…or Scrupulous Senator Reports Regaled Shill Stubs

State law bans lobbyists from giving officeholders gifts worth more than $76. However, lobbyists [slimy creatures that they are, tell me I'm wrong -- r^2^ ] have used various strategies to circumvent the prohibition, including providing tickets to lawmakers and then privately sending them letters asking for the value of the tickets over $76 to be paid back to the lobbying firm, according to more than 10 sources with direct knowledge of the arrangements. […] Whether lawmakers ultimately hand over what they owe the lobbyist is a mystery.

Sen. Paul Wojno, D-Warren, mistakenly thought he had to disclose tickets he received from lobbyists to a Detroit Lions game, to a Detroit Red Wings game and to the North American International Detroit Auto Show's annual Charity Preview event. The auto show tickets were worth $700, Wojno wrote in his disclosure.

Eric Doster, an Okemos attorney who advises clients on how to comply with state lobbying and campaign finance policies, said it's become a common practice for lobbyists to ask lawmakers to reimburse them for the cost of tickets over the gift limit. Such transactions are perfectly legal, Doster said.

Rep. Dylan Wegela, D-Garden City, a first-term lawmaker who has called for greater transparency, described the strategy of lobbyists using letters to seek reimbursements after sporting events as a loophole. […] Wegela said receiving tickets from lobbyists should be banned over a certain financial threshold. […] “Certainly, it should all be reported, period,” Wegela said.

[All emphasis in the above quotations is mine -- r^2^ ]

I was thinking (working without tools, I know), "what if your preferred politician isn't a sports fan or car buff?" It's a rhetoric question, kids.

Alt link for your convenience via archive.is

Stay sick, scratch glass, turn blue, climb walls…but don't get caught!
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Why should DTE have to pay their "extracurricular" business expenses when you can?

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed testimony on Tuesday in DTE’s most recent request to increase its rates, calling the $266 million request “excessive and unnecessary.”

[…]business consultant Sebastian Coppola said DTE’s proposed gas rate hike would result in a 6.5% increase to the average customer’s bill.

Need I remind the DTE-bill-paying customers amongst us that a $368 million rate increase was approved only in December 2023?

Coppola also pointed to DTE’s estimated $74,769 jet travel costs included in the company’s projected expenses submitted as part of the rate case, and[…]leased private aircrafts for executives[…].

DTE spokesperson Ryan Lowry [said], “Regarding travel expenses, a fraction of the costs for limited air travel for business-appropriate needs[…]were included in the initial DTE Gas rate request.”

Everything I say is a lie.
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…and what digs she had set up for herself! Computer, printer, coffee maker…yeh, not glamorous…

From the AP website:

Contractors curious about an extension cord on the roof of a [Midland,] Michigan grocery store made a startling discovery: A 34-year-old woman was living inside the business sign, with enough space for a computer, printer and coffee maker, police said.

The woman, whose name was not released, told police she had a job elsewhere but had been living inside the Family Fare sign for roughly a year, Warren said. She was found April 23.

A spokesperson for SpartanNash, the parent company of Family Fare, said store employees responded “with the utmost compassion and professionalism.” […] “Ensuring there is ample safe, affordable housing continues to be a widespread issue nationwide that our community needs to partner in solving,” Adrienne Chance said, declining further comment.