Snowy owls flock to Michigan in unusual numbers

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Snowy owls -- majestic, 2-foot tall creatures normally seen in the Arctic tundra -- are showing up all across lower Michigan this winter as an unusually large number of the birds have flown farther south in search of food.
With their regal pose, piercing yellow eyes and fluffy, feathered legs, the owls are an unexpected winter attraction.
The owls are showing up in places they aren't always seen, exciting birders and non-birders alike. They've been seen in many spots in lower Michigan, and some have made it as far as Texas and Hawaii.
Jerry Jourdan of Wyandotte hiked 6 miles last Sunday to photograph one at Pointe Mouillee State Game Area in Monroe County. From a distance, he saw a white lump on the ice, resembling a plastic bag. When he got closer, he could clearly see it was a snowy.
"It was an absolute thrill," he said, even though it was not his first. Two weeks ago, he saw another snowy owl on top of a light pole in Harrison Township, and he has photographed the white creatures in northern Michigan in the past.
Scientists say the likely reason for the explosion is that the owls' chief food source, small animals called lemmings, was abundant last summer, allowing the adults to raise more young. Now, in search of food, young owls are heading farther south.
Although there are a few snowy owls spotted in Michigan every year, "I can tell you this winter is highly unusual," said Karen Cleveland, bird biologist with the Department of Natural Resources.

Should conservationists host hunt to reduce the number of mute swans in White Lake? Some residents not so sure

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Passions were stirred in the White Lake-area last week when officials announced plans for a hunt to reduce the number of mute swans in White Lake — an invasive species that conservationists say have decimated aquatic plants and threaten an effort to restore shoreline habitat.
Now, officials from the Muskegon Conservation District, have put on hold the swan cull — originally planned for later this month — after receiving an outpouring of questions from local residents wondering why the hunt is necessary.
“The majority of the concerns are related to the method that's going to be used — shooting them,” said Jeff Auch, executive director of the Muskegon Conservation District, the agency that's organizing the cull.
Mute swans, an invasive species, were first imported to Michigan in the 1920s, and have since seen their numbers in White Lake rise.
The large white birds have a hefty appetite, and have decimated some aquatic plants that other native animals use for food and habitat, making way for invasive plants such as eurasian watermilfoil. Conservationists fear the swans will hurt a $2.1 million project to increase the diversity of wetland plants, improve the lake's water quality and create a healthier habitat.
“We spend all that money on restoring habitat and suddenly it's destroyed by this invasive waterfowl species,” he said. White Lake is among the Great Lakes Areas of Concern — spots where past pollution and costal development have hurt the health of the ecosystem.

Cat stuck on rooftop rescued he stuck on roof for two days finally rescued

He was shivering cold, undoubtedly frightened and probably wanted nothing more than to be anywhere other than where he was at the moment.

After spending two days atop a pitched roof, a stranded cat was rescued after a neighbor heard its cries.

Marty Bertera, the Brownstown township’s animal control officer, was called by a neighbor who said the cat was on top of a vacant house in the 28000 block of Relda and could not get down.

The News-Herald Newspapers was there as Bertera, John Laub, an animal control officer in training, and Brent Bonds, a Department of Public Works employee, set everything up to rescue the cat.

Bertera climbed an expanded ladder to reach the roof of the house.

Once there, he braced himself and tried to coax the cat to come to him. Bertera talked to the cat to reassure him that he was going to be OK and that he was going to get down.

But when Bertera got in position the cat moved to the tipped edge of the house, almost looking as if it were going to jump.

A few neighbors and passersby began to gather and watch Bertera and his crew in action.

Bertera continued talking to the cat, trying coax him away from the edge of the house and toward him.

Each time the cat moved, the rescuers repositioned their nets to nab him. 

After some planning, Bertera was able to wiggle a net over the cat. The rescue looked complete, but the cat managed to maneuver out of it.

Nevertheless, he was no match for the experience of Bertera, who recaptured him.

The cat, pinned down to the roof by the net, was slowly pushed down the roof as two nets held by the assisting crew were waiting to swoop him up and make sure he did not fall.

The cat purred aggressively as it was forced into the nets from the roof’s edge.

As the cat was secured under the net and a ladder was pulled closer, he jumped right into the perfectly positioned nets held by Laub and Bonds.

Bertera cuddled the cat once it was safe, saying he was sure it was relieved.

Mother has to beg on the street so that she and her daughter can survive

A Belleville mom walks six miles round trip to a spot she calls work in order to make ends meet for her and her daughter.
Every morning, Linda walks three miles to and from a freeway ramp on I-94 in Belleville to panhandle for money. You have probably driven right by her or people like her and not even given their circumstances a second thought. You may have even made your own judgments, but before you do... you have to try and understand her whole story.

Detroit students organize fights online and then post videos in practice called Cyber-Banging

Detroit students organize fights online and then post videos in practice called Cyber-Banging

Detroit Public Schools Police are out in force trying to stop a new wave of violence that is hitting the schools across the country.
Called Cyber-Banging or Cyber Gang-Bangin, the practice involves groups of teens, often in gangs, using the internet to set up fights outside of school.
These fights are often set up on websites like Facebook and then filmed and posted on the internet.
According to officers the latest fight occurred on Thursday.
In order to prevent another fight, police were out in force outside Osborn High School on Friday.

Michigan cancer survivor's long hair leads to suspension J.T. Gaskins sent home from Madison Academy

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J.T. Gaskins says he is just trying to grow his hair so he can donate it to Locks of Love, an organization that provides hairpieces for children with cancer. But the not-even-shoulder-length locks got Gaskins, 17, suspended from Madison Academy in Burton, where he is a senior.
“This is something I want to do, and I feel very strongly about it,” said Gaskins, who was diagnosed with leukemia as an infant and has been cancer-free since age 7.
Officials at the charter school could not be reached for comment.
According to the student-parent handbook on the school’s website, “Hair must be clean, neat, free of unnatural or distracting colors, off the collar, off the ears and out of the eyes” for boys.
Gaskins said he got the Locks of Love idea after a friend whose sister has cancer donated his hair.
Gaskins first was warned by school officials before winter that his hair was too long. When he returned to school in January, he was sent home.
Should Burton's Madison Academy bend the rules to allow boys to grow out their hair for charity?
Yes. It's a good cause. And the issue here is just hair length.No. If a male student wants to grow out his hair, he can wait until he graduates or transfer to a new school.I’m not sure.
He stayed home a week, then returned to school until a school board meeting this week. The board reaffirmed the suspension.
Gaskins’ mom, Christa Plante, said she supports her son and remembers his cancer fight as a small child.
“The fact that he’s ready to talk about everything he went through, his strength ... I can’t deny him that. He’s ready to speak out about what he’s been through,” Plante said.
Plante also said Madison Academy is a wonderful school, and she wants him to graduate.
Gaskins said he’s received partial acceptance to Freed-Hardeman University, a private, Christian university in Tennessee. He hopes to get a baseball scholarship and wants to study marketing.Gaskins said the school shouldn’t be able to dictate to a cancer survivor that he can’t grow his hair to help others with the disease.
“Self-confidence is really what you need to beat the disease,” Gaskins said.
Lauren Kukkamaa, communications director for Locks of Love, said Gaskins is not the first would-be donor to face disciplinary action because of his hair.
She said the organization doesn’t get involved in such disputes, but it will provide more information about Locks for Love. The organization also accepts financial donations, she added.
Gaskins and Plante want Madison Academy to consider allowing male students to have longer hair if they’re growing it to donate. They suggest the school require students to sign a note promising that they’ll donate the hair.
“We’re not asking them to dismiss the policy. We’re not asking them to do away with the dress code. We were simply asking for a compromise,” Plante said. “We could turn this into such a positive learning experience.”
Plante created an online petition asking the board to amend the hair policy for boys and has collected 140 signatures so far. She plans to present the petition to the school board and ask it to reconsider the policy.

Michigan is 175 years old and vital as ever

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Michigan became a state 175 years ago today -- but it wasn't easy. It took growth, balance, compromise -- and nearly a shootin' war with Ohio.
The U.S. recognized Michigan as a territory in January 1805.
Neighboring Ohio attained statehood in 1803 and engaged in a running dispute with Michigan over ownership of land known as "the Toledo Strip" along the Maumee River. Tensions ran so high in the mid-1830s that both states sent militia units into the region, but no shots were ever fired or prisoners taken.
When Stevens T. Mason, then all of 22 years old, became territorial governor in 1834 after George Porter died in a cholera epidemic, he called the Territorial Council into special session to authorize a census. The object was to show that the fast-growing Michigan territory had surpassed the threshold of 60,000 people to apply for statehood. The census counted 85,836 people in the Lower Peninsula and 6,817 in areas to the north and west that were in the territory.
Michigan promptly convened a convention and drafted a proposed state constitution in a remarkable 45 days -- there were only 10 lawyers among the 91 delegates to that constitutional convention.
In 1835, the territory formally applied for admission to the union as a free state, where slavery was outlawed. At the time, federal law required admission of a free state to be offset by the entry of a slave state, in this case Arkansas, which also had applied.
In June 1836, President Andrew Jackson signed a bill admitting Arkansas but, with Ohio kicking up a fuss, told Congress to settle the border issue before he'd approve statehood for Michigan. The resulting compromise awarded the Toledo Strip to Ohio but gave the Upper Peninsula to Michigan.

Bigfoot at Timber Ridge

Saturday, Jan 28 2012, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM 

Lace up your snowshoes because this coming weekend is the annual Bigfoot Snowshoe Race at Timber Ridge in Traverse City. The event brings out hundreds of people from across the Midwest who hit the trails for the snowshoe race.
During Fun in the Snow Sports, Tim Brick with Brick Wheels in Traverse City previewed the event on 7&4 News Today. Brick says registration starts at 7:30 a.m. and the race itself will get underway at 9 a.m.
For more information about the race and registration

Registration Information Link

Hearse Motorcade Against Violence in Detroit 18 murders recorded to start 2012

Hearse Motorcade Against Violence in Detroit 
Sirens signaled an effort to fight crime in Detroit Sunday. A motorcade of about 20 hearses was meant to send a message of peace. The people behind the effort say they're tired of the killing and the violence in the city.

Hearse Motorcade Against Violence in Detroit: MyFoxDETROIT.com

The Model T Way of Life is Gone, Off the Chain Editorial

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Charlie Leduff  took a drive from the auto show at Cobo Hall straight up Woodward to the old Model T factory in Highland Park.
Try it. The view yields a certain perspective and reveals some clues about what happened here.
This factory -– what’s left of it -- is where it all began. Henry Ford and his $5 a day job. The American Way of Life. The Middle Class Standard of Living. These are gifts our grandparents gave to us.
You would think the factory would be a museum but instead it is a rubble pile of shattered glass, asbestos and pigeon droppings. It is surrounded by a discount clothing warehouse, a strip mall and an empty lot.
Henry Ford’s office occupied the fourth floor where he could stand in the window and survey his mechanized kingdom that employed 87,000 people, its smokestacks greasing the sky with wealth.
If Henry Ford was standing in that window today, he would not see assembly lines or smokestacks. Instead he would see a warehouse full of boxes containing tens of thousands of defaulted Ford automobile loans.

Human trafficking is growing almost as fast as drug trade, officials say

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Her hands trembled as she picked up her passport.
The woman of the house, who often called her "donkey," had warned her bad things would happen if she tried to escape.
But she had reached a breaking point.
After months of being held captive as a housekeeper in the Mideast and then metro Detroit, Nade -- her name has been changed to protect her identity -- had become so ill she could barely move. She pleaded to go to the hospital, but her captors refused. On a July day in 2009, Nade did the unthinkable.
She went to the master bedroom, took her passport from a suitcase, grabbed the family's cell phone, wrapped it in tissues and tucked it in her pocket.
She opened the door and ran.
"I ran really hard, as hard as I could. I felt like everyone was following me," said Nade, then 29, who called for help.It came.She's among the lucky ones.
Authorities say human trafficking has become the second-biggest and second-fastest-growing criminal industry in the world, behind drug trafficking. In recent years, the number of cases has skyrocketed -- from 300 in 2008 to 2,515 in 2010.
And those are only the ones known. Too often, officials say, victims stay silent out of fear.

General Motors is the world's largest automaker once more

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It's official. General Motors is again the world's largest automaker with global sales of 9.03 million vehicles in 2011.
That was 11% higher than Volkswagen, which last week reported 2011 global sales of 8.16 million.
Toyota, which held the symbolic title from 2008 through 2010, has not yet reported its final 2011 sales, but last month, the Japanese automaker estimated it sold 7.9 million vehicles globally last year.

Michigan couple talks about escaping sunken cruise ship off the coast of Italy

They were supposed to sampling French cheese and wine in Marseille, France on Tuesday, but instead the Ledtke’s are at home recovering from a nightmare. SEE VIDEO

Watch out for thin ice / Late ice-forming season means some lakes and rivers aren't ready to be fished

This cold weather is just perfect for anglers itching to bait their hook and go ice fishing.

Shanties are starting to pop up on local lakes, like Otsego Lake in Gaylord.

SEE VIDEO

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Thousands march in MLK event in Southfield

An estimated 2,000-2,500 people from across metro Detroit walked a mile in honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King this morning in one of the region’s largest events celebrating his life on the national holiday honoring the civil rights icon.