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July 9, 2012

House Committee votes to cut water infrastructure funding

Congress continues to move forward with the fiscal year 2013 budget. While not all has been negative news for communities, last week's vote by the House Appropriations Committee proved otherwise. The committee voted out the spending bill for the Department…

July 2, 2012

Webinar – Transportation Infrastructure Finance

With passage of a new transportation authorization act and a increase in funds available for the federal TIFIA (Transportation Infrastructure and Innovation Act) Program, a webinar being hosted by the National Highway Institute now takes on more importance. The webinar, to be…

July 2, 2012

Foreclosure Prevention Funds Available Through MSHDA

Michigan has been hit particularly hard by the foreclosure crisis. Now, Federal funds are available through the Michigan State Housing Development Authority to stop foreclosures and help Michigan homeowners stay in their homes. There are funds available for those who…

July 2, 2012

CDBG receives increase in House budget

With all the commotion regarding the transportation bill and the Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act, seemingly getting lost is work Congress is doing on the 2013 budget. And one very important piece, HR 5972, the Transportation, Housing and…

July 2, 2012

Affordable Care Act upheld by Supreme Court

In what many have called a stunning decision, the Supreme Court has upheld the federal Affordable Care Act by a 5-4 vote. The decision was stunning because of Chief Justice John Roberts, who voted to affirm the law with the…

June 30, 2012

Congress passes new transportation act

Nearly three years since the last transportation act actually expired and some 10 extensions later, Congress has overwhelmingly passed legislation, H.R. 4348, putting in place a two year authorization through September 2014 at current spending levels. That is not to…

June 26, 2012

Michigan Legislature Has Left the Building

Both the Michigan House and Senate are now their summer recess. They have one session day scheduled for July and one for August before they return for 3 weeks in September. After that, they will be out until after the…

June 26, 2012

COPS grants received by 8 Michigan communities

The U.S. Department of Justice has announced $111 million in Community Oriented Policing Services grants to communities across the country. Eight Michigan cities received nearly $3 million. The grants can be used to hire new officers, rehire laid off officers, or rehire…

June 25, 2012

Muskegon and Detroit receive TIGER grant funds

Muskegon and Detroit are two of the 47projects announced by the U.S. Department of Transportation to receive funds from the department's TIGER (Transprotation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) 2012 program. In total, 47 projects in 34 states will receive $500 million.…

June 25, 2012

Supreme Court says no to much of Arizona immigration law, health care ruling next

In a 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down much of Arizona's controversial immigration law, stating that a state "may not pursue policies that undermine federal law." The court ruled that Arizona cannot make it a misdemeanor for immigrants…

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