Controversy over attorneys fees and former Governor Snyder still facing charges in Flint Water Crisis court cases for World Water Day 2021

Happy World Water Day! My pattern is that I cover the Flint Water Crisis during odd-numbered years and this year is no exception. I begin with WXYZ's Attorneys submit proposed fees and get criticized in massive $641 million Flint water settlement.

Federal District Judge Judith Levy has been given a 416-page proposal to pay dozens of attorneys in the Flint water crisis combined civil lawsuits.

I'm not going to muster any outrage over this proposal. As the expert WXYZ interviewed pointed out, attorneys fees of 25-33% of a settlement are normal. Also, as Melissa Mays pointed out, at least some of the attorneys deserve their full fees. Without the lawyers' work, the plaintiffs would have little or no money to compensate them for their injuries. That written, at least some legislators are doing what they can to limit the fees so that plaintiffs can receive more, as MLive reported in State House resolution asks judge to limit attorney fees in Flint water crisis settlement.

Flint area members of the Michigan House of Representative have introduced a resolution urging a federal court judge to limit attorney fees related to a $641-million proposed partial settlement of lawsuits related to the city’s water crisis.

State Reps. David Martin, Mike Mueller, John Cherry Jr., Cynthia Neeley and Ben Frederick introduced the resolution Thursday, March 18, and Cherry said in a news release that attorneys for Flint residents should be limited to 10 percent of the settlement rather than the more than 30 percent they are seeking.

“I have lived in the city for about a decade now,” Cherry said. “I’ve seen my neighbors and friends get hurt. To see the attorneys ... ask for such a large cut really bothers me.”

The policy resolution is an indication that the legislators don’t have legal authority to lower the fee request but want to express the opinion of members of the state House, Cherry said.

U.S. District Judge Judith E. Levy must decide on the motion for fees and expenses, which would drain the settlement fund of more than $200 million before it can be distributed to those who were harmed by Flint water when it contained elevated levels of lead, bacteria and chlorination byproducts.

As the article states, the legislature is merely trying to make a request; it's entirely up to Judge Levy to make the decision. When she does, I'll tell my readers about it.

MLive's article concluded with a caveat about the settlement.

Even if the proposed settlement is given preliminary approval later this year, the water crisis lawsuits will continue against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, city water consultants and bond companies involved in setting up financing for the Karegnondi Water Authority.

Looks like I'll be updating my readers about the lawsuits for years to come.

I've also been updating my readers on the prosecution of state officials involved in the Flint Water Crisis once a month. WDIV/Click On Detroit has the latest on that story in Charges to move forward against ex-Gov. Snyder in Flint water crisis.

A judge...rejected a request to dismiss misdemeanor charges against Rick Snyder Thursday in the Flint water crisis.

I fully expect Snyder's attorneys will file that appeal, which will delay trial for quite a while. I'm not worried. As I first wrote two years ago, "The wheels of justice are grinding slowly in this case, but I expect they will indeed grind exceedingly fine."

Of course, the reason for the lawsuits and prosecutions is the damage lead in Flint's water did to its residents. "60 Minutes" covered that in The legacy of the Flint water crisis.*

Six years ago, lead seeped into the tap water in Flint, Michigan, while state and local officials said everything was fine. Now, the same doctor who proved something was wrong is taking the first comprehensive look at the thousands of kids exposed to lead in Flint. Sharyn Alfonsi reports.

I am glad to feature Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha again. She has been a real hero to the people of Flint, especially its children.

That's it for World Water Day. Stay tuned for statistics of the tenth year of this blog.

*Last year, I wrote that I might feature the PBS 'Nova' episode "Poisoned Water" in a future post. To that, I can add a "Frontline" episode about Flint's water, which I expect will earn a News and Documentary Emmy Award nomination or two later this year.

Samantha Bee, Rachel Maddow, and Vox on environmental racism, including the Flint Water Crisis and 'Cancer Alley'

I'm looking at another pair of stories I tell my students today today, environmental racism, thanks to Samantha Bee uploading Environmental Racism: How It Started vs. How It’s Going last week.

Great news! Joe Biden is signing climate change-based executive orders AND appointing people of color to take the lead on environmental justice for the first time ever. And it's not a moment too soon for communities of color who have been disproportionately suffering the ill effects of corporate greed and environmental racism. It's time to get those resources to the people who need them the most. And also, some f*cking clean water, please.

In addition to this being a good survey of the subject, it includes two examples of environmental racism, the Flint Water Crisis, which I've been blogging about for years, and "Cancer Alley," a location I've never written about before. It's about time I did.

I last updated the Flint Water Crisis in Former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and others likely to be charged for roles in Flint Water Crisis. That happened; the State of Michigan charged Snyder and eight others with crimes related to it. Rachel Maddow reviewed the conditions that helped create the crisis in Years Later, Michigan Officials Are Made To Answer For Flint Water Crisis.

Rachel Maddow looks at how former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder's suspension of democracy brought about the mistakes that created the Flint toxic water crisis, and only now is Snyder, along with other officials, being held to account for their role in what happened.

Maddow's history goes back 9 years and not only demonstrates how the Republicans in Michigan's legislature along with former Governor Snyder turned Michigan into Ignoreland, but focused their anti-democratic efforts on majority African-American municipalities, showing that the Emergency Manager law had racist effects, if not an outright racist intent. The resulting disregard of local rule allowed the health and environmental disaster of Flint's contaminated water supply to happen. Maddow may not call the Flint Water Crisis environmental racism, but she doesn't have to; it's clear it is.

Now for "Cancer Alley." Vox examined the locale and how racism contributed to it becoming a "zone of sacrifice" earlier this year in One reason why coronavirus hits Black people the hardest.

Toxic air can weaponize the coronavirus.
...
Across the US, black people are dying from Covid-19 at disproportionately high rates. While there are many different factors at play behind the stark racial disparities — there’s one possible reason that’s been lurking in the air for decades: pollution.

The long history of segregation and housing discrimination has long put black people at greater risk of living near chemical plants, factories and highways, exposing them to higher levels of air pollutants. These pollutants have had a chronically negative impact on health, leading to conditions like hypertension and asthma. Now, those same diseases are associated with severe cases of Covid-19, and showing that where you live can determine whether you survive from Covid-19.

Dr. Robert Bullard, who Vox interviewed for this video, spoke to my environmental science class about his work in fighting environmental racism 13 years ago. I have featured him in my slide show about the politics and economics of the environment ever since. Now I have a video of him to add to that slide show so my current students can see and hear him.

I also tell my students the story of Commoner's Laws. These videos serve as good examples of three of them, "everything must go somewhere," "there is no such thing as a free lunch," and "everything is connected to everything else." The first two laws weave through all three videos, but the last video connecting environmental racism to air pollution to the pandemic serves as a good example of the third law I listed. That's yet another reason to add the Vox video to my presentations. Welcome to blogging as professional development.

Former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and others likely to be charged for roles in Flint Water Crisis

Two years ago, I observed that "The wheels of justice are grinding slowly in this case, but I expect they will indeed grind exceedingly fine" regarding the Flint Water Crisis. When Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud, and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy dismissed the criminal cases without prejudice, which means they could be refiled and the revised cases would be stronger, I added "If anything, they're grinding even slower than I expected, but also much finer." When prosecutors explained their action to residents of Flint in a town hall, I worried that "they can only grind so slowly because of the statute of limitations, which imposes a deadline nine months from now." That deadline passed almost a year ago, but either I was mistaken about the time limit or the statute of limitations didn't apply to all possible charges, because WNEM TV5 in Flint reported yesterday AP: Charges against Gov. Snyder, others likely.

Former Gov. Rick Snyder and other former state officials are likely to be charged in the Flint water probe, according to the Associated Press.

WNEM was vague about the likely defendants beyond former Governor Rick Snyder and former Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon, but WXYZ's Former Governor Snyder to face criminal charges in connection to Flint water crisis was not, naming names and showing faces.

Former Governor Rick Snyder and several other state officials will be facing criminal charges in connection with the Flint water crisis.

In addition to Snyder and Lyon, the reported defendants include Eden Wells, former chief medical executive at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Darnell Earley, former Emergency Manager for the City of Flint and Detroit Public Schools, and Gerald Ambrose, also a former Emergency Manager for the City of Flint. All of them were previously charged in the previous round of prosecutions brought by former Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, about whose motives I expressed cynicism.

Schuette is a Republican, but he doesn't owe Snyder much in the way of favors. He's going to thread (sic — "tread" fits the metaphor better, but it's a common mixing of metaphors) a narrow path. On the one hand, he's going to use this to make enough of a show that he'll help himself look "independent" for a general election. He might even harm Snyder as long as it also hurts the current Lieutenant Governor, Brian Calley, helping himself in the primary. On the other hand, he doesn't want to hurt Snyder so badly that it makes him look disloyal to the GOP. He especially does not want to force Snyder from office. The last thing he wants is Calley as an incumbent Governor to run against in a primary. That will be quite a balancing act!

I think Schuette did exactly what I described in this case, which was to look tough and independent while not going directly after Snyder. It worked for him, as he became the Republican nominee, not Calley.

While the residents of Flint were worried that the likely defendants would never be brought to justice when the previous charges were dismissed, it looks like they have not escaped being "ground exceedingly fine," not yet.

The person who caught my attention most was Jarrod Agen, Snyder's former Chief of Staff, Vice President Mike Pence's former communications director, acting chief of staff, and deputy chief of staff, and current Vice President of Communications for Lockheed Martin. This scandal follows him to go beyond the state lines of Michigan to the highest levels of government and industry. When I write about the revolving door between industry and government, it's not just about Monsanto and regulation of the food supply.* It happens all throughout government, including defense and aerospace, as Agen's example demonstrates.

Follow over the jump for reactions to this news from activists and local politicians.

Prosecutors hear from residents of Flint at town hall

I wrote "I'm looking forward to hearing and reading more on this investigation at the end of the month" near the end of All charges dismissed without prejudice against defendants in Flint Water Crisis cases as the Michigan Attorney General's office was planning on holding a town hall with the residents of Flint at the end of this month.  They were true to their word, as they held that town hall last night.  Local news media covered the event and I am sharing their reports, beginning with WDIV's Prosecutors meet with residents after dismissing charges in Flint water case.


I was very cynical about how Bill Schuette handled this case and this segment confirms my cynicism.  I described what Schutte hoped to achieve three years ago in a comment.

Schuette is a Republican, but he doesn't owe Snyder much in the way of favors. He's going to thread a narrow path. On the one hand, he's going to use this to make enough of a show that he'll help himself look "independent" for a general election. He might even harm Snyder as long as it also hurts the current Lieutenant Governor, Brian Calley, helping himself in the primary. On the other hand, he doesn't want to hurt Snyder so badly that it makes him look disloyal to the GOP. He especially does not want to force Snyder from office. The last thing he wants is Calley as an incumbent Governor to run against in a primary. That will be quite a balancing act!

I think Schuette did exactly what I described in this case, which was to look tough and independent while not going directly after Snyder.  It worked for him, as he became the Republican nominee, not Calley.  However, his strategy resulted in a lot of frustration, which the town hall audience expressed and WXYZ reported in Flint hears from prosecutors who dropped water charges.

Prosecutors who dropped charges against eight people in the Flint water scandal explained their decision in a public forum Friday night, telling frustrated and shocked residents they must look at hundreds of mobile devices and millions of documents that a previous investigative team never reviewed.

The one person named by the audience was Snyder.  I don't blame them for blaming him.

WNEM in Flint covered the event as well and uploaded the segment as Residents meet with prosecutors over Flint water crisis investigation.

Prosecutors who dropped charges against eight people in the Flint water scandal have explained their decision in a public forum.

I still think "The wheels of justice are grinding slowly in this case, but I expect they will indeed grind exceedingly fine," but they can only grind so slowly because of the statute of limitations, which imposes a deadline nine months from now.

I will give the last word to Marijoyce Campbell, who the other outlets showed, but whose public comment MLive reported apparently in full in Flint resident gives impassioned plea for Flint water crisis justice.

Flint resident Marijoyce Campbell, 65, speaks firmly from the heart as she please for justice to the new Flint water prosecution team during a community meeting on Friday, June 28, 2019 at UAW 659 in Flint. Some of those who came to the meeting at UAW Local 659 were angry over how the cases were initially handled and worried about whether anyone will still be held responsible. A few shouted at Fadwa Hammoud, Kym Worthy and other attorneys working on the current investigation as time ran out at the end of the two-hour meeting. Friday’s meeting was billed as the first opportunity for Hammoud and Worthy to explain their decision to dismiss criminal charges against current and former state and city employees and two former emergency managers of Flint. It was also bill[ed] as an opportunity to discuss the investigation going forward.

'The Rachel Maddow Show' wins an Emmy for its coverage of the Flint Water Crisis

I promised I would get to Maddow, the Emmys, and Flint today.  With no further ado, here is the paragraph I wrote about the nomination in 'Body Team 12' and 'Extremis' both nominated for Outstanding Short Documentary plus other science, health, and environment nominees.

The Rachel Maddow Show's "An American Disaster: The Crisis in Flint" from MSNBC makes for a perfect transition from health to the environment with dashes of politics and crime to spice it up.  It is nominated for Outstanding News Discussion & Analysis along with three other MSNBC news segments, which collectively account for four of MSNBC's five nominations, the fifth being Rachel Maddow's interview of Kellyanne Conway.  Analysis and interviews are the two things MSNBC does well.  I've written a lot about the Flint Water Crisis, but nothing since April.  A trial of at least one of the officials responsible is going on now, so I should probably cover that.

Watch Katy Tur present the award to her colleagues at MSNBC for Outstanding News Discussion & Analysis.


It's time for a look at the awarded show.  First, here is the promotional segment on the Andrea Mitchell Show to introduce the town hall.

The contamination of the water supply in Flint, Michigan has sparked outrage across the country. MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow is holding a town hall Wednesday night to discuss this problem. She joins Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC.

Follow over the jump for three segments from the town hall Rachel held in Flint.

Flint Water Crisis for the sixth year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News

I concluded Entertainment for the sixth year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News by writing "The next retrospective will be about the Flint Water Crisis, which had two posts in the top forty, one of which was briefly on the all-time top ten.  Stay tuned."  I'm not waiting until Throwback Thursday or Flashback Friday to post it; today is as good a day as any to finish the recounting of the forty most read entries of the blogging year finished just last month.  I summarized the rise of both entries in Monthly meta for April 2016, so I'm going to be a good environmentalist and recycle the stories for each in turn.

The twenty-ninth most read entry of the past year was Slow drip of Flint Water Crisis erodes Rick Snyder's approval from April 7, 2016 with 1509 raw page views on March 20, 2017.  That an entry that ranked so low at the end of the blogging year, however briefly, was in the all-time top ten, became one of the main reasons why I recapped the top forty instead of the top twenty.  Here's the tale of its rise and fall.

"Slow drip of Flint Water Crisis erodes Rick Snyder's approval" from April 7, 2016 earned a series of accolades.  It came in second among entries shared at the Coffee Party's Facebook page, second for April entries, second for the month overall, and tied for first in comments on entries posted during April with four comments (Thanks Paul W. and Les, who apparently came via the Coffee Party).  I also shared it at Greer's and Kunstler's blogs.  All that earned it 1416 page views, 1434 according to the raw counter, attracting 1639 page views on April 8th and 9th, and placed it tenth on the all-time list, kicking out "Doctors to Congress: Fund gun violence research at the CDC and NIH."  It only lasted ten days there.  Sic transit gloria mundi.

John Oliver and FiveThirtyEight on Tax Day knocked this entry out of the top ten after only ten days, a story I told in John Oliver: Top posts for the sixth year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.

Follow over the jump for the other entry about Flint that made the year's top forty.

Governor Snyder declares energy emergency in Michigan

I predicted "that price increases will likely stall out next week, at least until the Memorial Day weekend" in WXYZ on rising gas prices for May.  That didn't happen.  Instead, shows that the Detroit average jumped 12 cents to $2.47 on top of the previous week's 11 cent rise.  That was enough to prompt Governor Rick Snyder to declare an energy emergency, as WOOD-TV reported day before yesterday.

Gov. Rick Snyder issued the order as the state faces a potential gasoline shortage ahead of the long Memorial Day weekend.

I share Patrick DeHaan's skepticism about the effectiveness and timing of the order.  I expect the price increase to moderate before the weekend as well.

WXYZ also covered the issue.  While WOOD-TV focused on expert analysis, WXYZ went with their strength, reactions from people on the street.

Governor Rick Snyder has declared an energy emergency to combat rising gas prices going into the Memorial Day weekend.

People look and sound a little worried, but only a little.  This is more of an inconvenience than an emergency.

As for the situation after the holiday weekend, I expect prices to continue rising.  Oil-Price.Net lists yesterday's closing prices for WTI as $49.56 and Brent as $49.74.  Not only are those both above last Friday's $47.75 and $48.72 for Brent, WTI has set a new high for the year, while Brent is only a few cents below its high for the year, which it set last Wednesday, when WTI hit $48.95 and Brent hit $49.85.  The only good news is that RBOB closed yesterday at $1.64, exactly the same as it was last Friday and still two cents lower than its peak earlier this year at $1.66, a nine-month high.  That's probably why the U.S. average has only moved up a few cents from $2.28 to $2.31 over the past week.  It's also why I expect prices at the pump to decline a bit when the refinery and pipeline issues are fixed before rising again in late June and early July.

WXYZ updated the Flint Water Crisis on Monday

After writing three entries about the Flint Water Crisis in April, I've been silent about it so for this month.  No more.  WXYZ posted three clips about the ongoing scandal to its YouTube channel on Monday, beginning with two that followed up on the Congressional inquiry into the matter.

First, Elijah Cummings wants to know more in Top member of Congress pressing Governor Snyder for answers.

One top member of Congress is pressing Governor Rick Snyder for answers on the Flint water crisis.

Here is the follow-up from later that night, Governor Snyder facing new questions over Flint water crisis.


It's not just Congress that is continuing to pursue the issue.  WXYZ reported on the results of two state investigations in New bombshell in Flint water crisis.

New information is leading to bombshell questions about the investigations into the Flint water crisis.

Looks like the right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing, not that I disapprove of an independent investigation by the Michigan State Police.  Far from it. I trust their findings more than I do Schuette's.  He wants the Republican nomination for Governor in 2018 and doesn't want to do anything that might jeopardize it.

Congressional inquiries, emails, and lawsuits in the Flint Water Crisis this week

I began Slow drip of Flint Water Crisis erodes Rick Snyder's approval with a program note.

At the end of Task force findings on the Flint Water Crisis, I told my readers to "Stay tuned.  I'm sure I'll have more, including the effects the crisis has had on Snyder's favorability ratings."  That's really the least of the state's worries, but it has been in the news lately.

As I wrote, Michigan and Snyder have worse problems resulting from the Flint Water Crisis than his sinking approval ratings.  Yesterday, WXYZ reported on three of them.

Leading the pack is a direct follow-up to Snyder testifies before Congress about the Flint Water Crisis.  U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings sent a letter to Snyder about the latter's testimony as well as questions about the process and transparency behing the Governor's Task Force findings.  Here's the WXYZ report: Cummings questions Snyder on Flint.

Congress continues to look into the Flint water crisis, Rep. Elijah Cummings is questioning some of the answers provided by Governor Rick Snyder.

Another Congressional committee hearing into the Flint Water Crisis that is sure to feature attacks on the EPA from the Republicans and attacks on Snyder and the Emergency Manager Law from the Democrats--that should produce a lot of heat and smoke.  I'll pass along all of that, along with any light it manages to shed, when it happens.

Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley, who has managed to stay out of the scandal, got sucked into it the same day.  Follow over the jump for that.

Slow drip of Flint Water Crisis erodes Rick Snyder's approval

At the end of Task force findings on the Flint Water Crisis, I told my readers to "Stay tuned.  I'm sure I'll have more, including the effects the crisis has had on Snyder's favorability ratings."  That's really the least of the state's worries, but it has been in the news lately.  Following my policy of "if it moves, it leads" (pun not intended, given the context), I begin with WXYZ reporting POLL: Governor Rick Snyder takes big political hit over Flint water crisis.

The ongoing Flint water crisis has taken a huge political toll on Michigan Governor Rick Snyder. That’s the finding of a brand new EPIC MRA Poll released first to WXYZ/Channel 7 and their statewide media partners in Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids and Lansing.

The article on WXYZ's website quoted Bernie Porn, President & CEO of EPIC MRA, who said, “In all measurements for the Governor, he has taken a serious hit because of the Flint water crisis!”  The Detroit Free Press quoted Porn again.  "I think the slow drip, drip of it -- the e-mails, the hearings ... I don't think any public relations firm in the world was going to change the direction that this has gone."

That's just from Michigan media.  Follow over the jump for Fortune Magazine listing Snyder among the most disappointing leaders of the past year.

Task force findings on the Flint Water Crisis

More than a week ago, I promised "entries about the second most read post of the past year, the Sunday entertainment entry, a humorous take on nuclear meltdowns, and an update on the Flint Water Crisis."  I've taken care of all of those except the very last, a follow-up of sorts to Snyder testifies before Congress about the Flint Water Crisis.  It's well past time to follow through.

I begin with WOOD-TV's report, Inquiry: State “fundamentally accountable” for Flint crisis.

An investigation has found that the state of Michigan is “fundamentally accountable” for Flint’s lead-contaminated water crisis.

The panel minced no words about how bad the situation was and still is and who was to blame.  The key finding from my perspective was that the Emergency Manager Law needed to be modified.  I thought so back in 2011, when I wrote "The solutions devised here will be exported, including the bad ones."  One of the worst was the Emergency Manager Law.  When the Emergency Manager took over, he eliminated the Pontiac Police Department and replaced it with Oakland County Sheriffs.  In 2012, the Emergency Manager Law was repealed by a vote of the people.  That didn't matter to the legislature, who passed a new version in the lame duck session a few months later.  It may take this crisis four years later to convince lawmakers to change the law so man-made disasters like this don't happen again.  Or not--I'm not optimistic about the current crop of legislators.

Follow over the jump for WXYZ's reports.

Snyder testifies before Congress about the Flint Water Crisis

The Congressional hearings on the Flint Water Crisis finally got to their star witnesses, Governor Rick Snyder and EPA Chief Gina McCarthy, on Thursday.  The result was predictable, as WOOD-TV reported in Lawmaker: Gov. Snyder responsible for Flint crisis.

A Democratic lawmaker says Gov. Rick Snyder is responsible for lead contamination in Flint’s water supply.

Yes, the Democrats attacked Snyder; I expected no less.  What I also expected, but the title and caption ignored, although the reporter highlighted it, was that the Republicans went after the EPA.  Charlie Pierce of Esquire minced no words about that: Drink in This Republican Hypocrisy From the Flint Water Hearings Today.

[T]he howling hypocrisy of conservative Republicans feigning concern about environmental safety, and the howling hypocrisy of conservative Republicans pretending that they expected the EPA to take care of this crisis, was extraordinarily hard to take. Nine days out of ten, they'd be baying at the moon about regulations strangling business and about devolving federal functions to the states, which are run by people like Rick Snyder. Today, though, rather than confront the complete failure of that entire theory of government in this awful episode, it was time for them to argue that the EPA wasn't tough enough in regulating Snyder's bungling. Where were the jackboots, they seemed to be saying, when the citizens of Flint could have used them.
...
It was profoundly nauseating to listen to Congressman Jason Chaffetz waxing wroth about what was done to the poor people of Flint, smirking his way through his questioning, over and over again, and blaming "career bureaucrats" in the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality for letting down poor Rick Snyder. Chaffetz has had the knives out for the EPA ever since he slithered into Congress. He has a lifetime rating of three percent from the League of Conservation Voters. On at least three occasions in 2015 alone, Chaffetz voted in ways harmful to clean water regulations. He's a climate denier. He's one of the leaders of the movement to prevent the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases. He wants to privatize federal lands for the purpose of exploitation. And his basic point yesterday was that Barack Hussein Obama's EPA didn't do enough to force the Republican governor of Michigan to do his freaking job.

Pierce obviously bought none of what the Republicans were selling.  Instead, he placed blame squarely on Snyder and his policies.

Regardless of who sent what memo to whom and when they sent it, the crisis in Flint is the result of a full implementation and exercise of a philosophy of government that noisy pissants like Chaffetz, Grothman, Carter, and Rick Snyder have proposed as a solution to almost all the nation's problems—government is bad, government bureaucrats are always incompetent, devolve federal powers to the states, and that government is best that is limited and, preferably, run like a business. The two primary contenders for the Republican presidential nomination want to eliminate the EPA. Absent as a cudgel against environmental protections that he wants to gut, the 100,000 people in Flint wouldn't matter a damn to Jason Chaffetz. "A government is not a business and it shouldn't be run like one," said Rick Snyder to Congress, and his tongue did not burst into flames.

About time Snyder figured that out.

Follow over the jump for more on the hearings.

'Dump Trump' and 'Arrest Snyder' at the Detroit Republican Debate

I concluded Examiner.com article on Clinton and Kasich endorsements by writing "As for what's next, I'm feeling like writing about the protests outside the Fox Theatre last night instead of the debate itself."  That was my idea for an Examiner.com article, but the local media covered those relatively well.  Besides, I've found another polling story to write about (a fresh angle on Michigan polling?  Yes!)

I begin with WXYZ's Protestors at the Republican debate.  If it moves, it leads!

Protestors converged on the Fox Theatre for the Republican debate.

That certainly conveyed the atmosphere and emotion of the protests, but it almost entirely missed the substance.  For that, I turn to the Detroit Free Press, which reported Hundreds protest outside of GOP debate at Fox Theatre.

Hundreds of protesters waving signs and shouting through megaphones filled the street and blocked traffic Thursday evening ahead of the Republican presidential debate at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, demanding attention be paid to the Flint water crisis and civil rights issues.

Despite the blowing wind and snow, many shouted relentlessly "Flint Lives Matter," and held up brightly lit "arrest Gov. Snyder" signs. Others shouted phrases critical of Republican candidate Donald Trump, such as "Dump Trump," as people entered the Fox.
...
The protesters were from a variety of organizations, including the National Action Network (NAN) and the Fight for $15 organization, which is calling on candidates to support the fight for a $15 hourly wage and the right to form a union without interference. Hundreds of workers marched from Cass Park to the theater, playing drums and holding signs.
...
"There will be no American president that doesn't address the American tragedy that happened in Flint, Mich.," [Rev. Charles] Williams [President of NAN's Detroit Chapter] said. "None of these candidates have said nothing about Flint, Mich. What we're saying is what debate, what conversation can (candidates) have in Detroit or the state of Michigan that doesn't involve Flint? We're calling on Republicans to begin to move and make sure there are shovels in the ground and the people of Flint get safe drinking water immediately."
...
Jessica Spencer, 22, of Bloomfield Hills, said while she's not from Detroit, she felt compelled to come and protest.

"This is everyone's fight," she said, holding a "Say no to Trump" sign. "They're not doing enough. The Republicans need to hear what we're saying and that's that everyone deserves equal rights, good drinking water and  fair wage."

Trump wan't the only target of anger.  So was Governor Snyder.


Given what's been going on in Michigan with the the Flint water crisis, I'm not surprised.

Two MDEQ employees suspended over actions in Flint water crisis

Yesterday, I wrote that "I expect more resignations and firings to come" in the wake of the resignations of the MDEQ Director and the regional EPA Director.  It didn't take long at all for that to begin to happen as WXYZ reported two MDEQ workers suspended in Flint water crisis later that same day.

Governor Snyder has suspended two workers at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality for their roles in the Flint water crisis.

The Detroit Free Press has more.

Gov. Rick Snyder announced the suspensions of two Department of Environmental Quality officials Friday afternoon, but if the state determines those or other workers need to be fired for mishandling the Flint water crisis, it could take more than a year to make it final.

Snyder said in a news release Friday two DEQ officials are suspended pending an investigation, in accordance with civil service rules. Although state officials wouldn’t reveal the names of the employees, they said they were managers within the Water Quality division of the MDEQ.

They were suspended without pay, although under civil service rules, the unpaid status can only last seven days. The internal investigation into further action against the two employees should take a couple of weeks, said Kurt Weiss, spokesman for the state’s department of Technology, Management and Budget. After seven days, they’ll go back on the payroll.

Once the investigation is complete, the action taken against the employees can range from getting their job back to getting fired, Weiss said.

So these suspensions may not be the ones to completely satisfy the prediction.  That's OK.  There are more dominoes to fall.

Speaking of falling dominoes, some have already toppled.

At the Department of Environmental Quality, two key employees — Liane Shekter Smith, who was the chief of the DEQ’s Office of Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance and Stephen Busch, a district manager in the drinking water division for MDEQ, whose area of responsibility included Flint — have been reassigned and no longer have any role in dealing with the Flint water crisis. An undetermined number of other employees in the drinking water division no longer have any role in the Flint water response, said Melanie Brown, a spokeswoman for the department.

Consequences may still be coming for high-level people, including the Emergency Manager for Flint at the time of the switch, Darnell Earley.  He can't be fired from that position, but he's currently the Emergency Manager for the Detroit Public Schools, which is currently having its own crisis, which includes environmental issues from poor maintenance of school buildings, resulting in teacher sickouts.  The New York Times has that story and more in Anger in Michigan Over Appointing Emergency Managers.  I recommend my readers read it, too.

Congressional hearings on the Flint water crisis and a resignation

I wrote yesterday that I didn't have much to say about the Flint water crisis until it got national attention.  Has it ever!  Wednesday, President Obama spoke on the issue while visiting the North American International Auto Show.  Yesterday, WXYZ reported on two more responses by the federal government.  First, Congressional hearings to be held in Flint water crisis.


As the caption read to an earlier version of this report, "Governor Rick Snyder will be requested to testify at U.S. Congressional hearings in connection to the Flint Water Crisis, according to the office for U.S. Representative Brenda Lawrence."  That suggests to me that this is enough of a problem for national Republicans (thank you Hillary Clinton) that they have decided to do damage control.  Whether this will take the form of trying to save Snyder by making it look like a local problem or throwing him under the bus, I don't know.  I hope it's the latter.*

Speaking of throwing people under the bus, the report above mentioned an EPA regional adminstrator resigning.  Here's the clip from WXYZ on that part of the story: EPA administrator resigns amid Flint water crisis.

An EPA administrator is out of a job, and her agency is cracking down on the response to the Flint water crisis.

She's the second official to resign over the scandal, joining Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Director Dan Wyant.  I expect more resignations and firings to come.

*But probably not.  Instead, this quote from Representative Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, indicates they have one of the GOP's favorite targets in their sights instead, "The EPA is rife with incompetence and Region 5 is no exception. Mismanagement has plagued the region for far too long and Ms. Hedman’s resignation is way overdue."  The same article reports that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the EPA as well, so the concern is bipartisan.

As for Snyder, the just thing may be that he should resign, but I don't expect the just thing to happen any time soon.  That would give Michigan Governor Brian Calley as an incumbent in 2018.  Neither Attorney General Bill Schuette nor the more pragmatic Democrats who would run for the office would want that.  Better to campaign against lame duck Snyder for an open seat.

President Obama visits NAIAS and talks about Flint water crisis

While I've been busy with entertainment news, there are two stories that I've been ignoring, the North American International Auto Show and the Flint water crisis.  In the case of the former, which I'm usually all over every year, the awards shows proved to be shinier objects.  In the case of the latter, I've been watching the story, but just couldn't find much to say until it got national attention, much like the Courser-Gamrat scandal. Yesterday, something happened to finally direct my attention to both: President Obama visited Detroit.

President Barack Obama was in Detroit today to visit the auto show.

PBS has more: Obama tours auto show, pledges help for Flint’s water crisis.

DETROIT — President Barack Obama hailed the revival of the nation’s auto industry on Wednesday while acknowledging the water crisis in nearby Flint, Michigan, saying the detection of high levels of lead serve as a reminder that the government can’t shortchange basic services.

Speaking to auto workers after taking in the North American International Auto Show, Obama said he would be beside himself if his children’s health were put at risk. He said he met with Flint’s mayor the day before and promised federal help.

“I told her we are going to have her back and all the people of Flint’s back as they work their way through this terrible tragedy,” he said.
...
Obama spoke at the UAW-GM Center for Human Resources, the national headquarters of the joint relationship between the United Auto Workers and General Motors. His visit took place as longstanding problems with the drinking water in Flint have begun to capture the nation’s attention.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder asked Obama on Wednesday to reconsider his denial of a federal disaster declaration to address the drinking water crisis, saying its severity poses an “imminent and long-term threat” to residents. Obama declared an emergency — qualifying the city for $5 million — but determined that it is not a disaster based on the legal requirement that such additional relief is intended for natural events, fires, floods or explosions.

In his appeal letter, Snyder called it a “narrow reading” and likened the crisis to a flood, “given that qualities within the water, over a long term, flood and damaged the city’s infrastructure in ways that were not immediately or easily detectable.” He also said the state and city cannot meet all the needs of Flint residents. He again painted a bleak picture of the city and said the “economic injury” from the crisis is significant.

I could see the beginnings of the Flint water crisis in Detroit Regional Water Authority talks in the news, when I wrote about Detroit's contracts with Flint and Genesee County expiring in 2014 so they would stop using Detroit water.  I thought it was premature for Flint to leave the system then, as the new system wouldn't be finshed, but I had no idea the results would be so disastrous.  Sometimes, I'm not pessimistic enough!

Finally, both houses of Michigan's legislature pass a road bill

When the Michigan Senate passed a road funding bill, I wrote "Looks like it will be a long summer before this issue is resolved."  That was back in July.  A bill didn't finally pass both houses until after Election Day.  WXYZ has the story in State legislature approves road funding fix.


WXYZ followed up with the bureaucracy's reaction in MDOT responds to road funding plan.

Officials at the Michigan Department of Transportation are responding to Lansing's plan to fund road fixes.

That looks like good news, although it will come at a price. I'm not concerned about the direct costs of the bill, including the higher fuel taxes and registration fees.  I'm not even upset about the surcharge for electric and hybrid vehicles like mine; I've been expecting that for years.  Instead, I'm worried about the transfer of money from the general fund, which will impact other state services, like education.  That's why I wrote in June I was right to vote for Proposal 1, even if I was on the losing side of the largest defeat of a state ballot measure in Michigan history.  I'd rather have had that deal, as unwieldy as it was.  Oh, well, at least the roads will be better.

Examiner.com article on Proposal 1 polling

Proposal 1 to raise Michigan's sales tax one percent to fix the state's roads is behind in the polls 61% to 29%.
Image from the Detroit Free Press.

Michigan's Proposal 1 trailing by huge margin in final poll before election

A poll released Friday evening showed that opponents of Proposal 1, which would increase the sales tax by one percent to fund improvements to the state's roads and trigger ten other laws if passed, still outnumber proponents among likely voters in Tuesday's election by more than two to one.  The survey of 600 likely voters conducted by EPIC-MRA found that sixty-one percent of those responding said they would vote against the measure, in contrast to only twenty-nine percent saying they would vote in favor.  Those indicating they would vote no increased to sixty-four percent when the language of the ballot measure was read to them.

The implications of the poll on the prosposal's prospects were summed up by EPIC-MRA President Bernie Porn, who was quoted by the Detroit Free Press as saying "The proposal is obviously on life support--there's no other way of saying it."  Porn was quoted by MLive as saying of the measure's backers "They have a very high hill to climb, and they have a very short time in which to do it."

The top four reasons those indicating a vote of no gave were that there was too much in the proposal (31%), they were against the tax increase because taxes were too high already (22%), they thought it would be wasteful government spending (13%), and they distrusted Michigan's government, including Governor Rick Snyder (11%).  A majority (53%) of those favoring the proposal said that roads needed repair.  Other reasons included education funding (16%), funding needed in general (6%), and roads, schools, and the rest of state government needed funding (4%).

Click on the link in the headline to read about the approval ratings of Governor Snyder and the Michigan legislature along with some more darkly hilarious quotes from Bernie Porn.

Continue to stay tuned for the Sunday entertainment entry and the Monthly Meta.

Examiner.com analysis of the November election

Richard Bernstein, shown here in 2011, won his election for Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court.  Getty Images.

Washtenaw County helped Democrats do better in 2014 than in 2010

Despite the loss of the four statewide offices at the top of the ballot, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State, Democrats did much better in November's general election this year than four years ago, when Republican candidates won election to every single statewide office.  This election cycle, Democrats won election to eight statewide offices, nine if one counts Gary Peters' victory over Terri Lynn Land for U.S. Senate, to seven for the Republicans.  Even two of the losing efforts for Democrats, Governor and Attorney General, were closer than four years ago.

Democrats earned wins for two members of the State Board of Education, two University of Michigan Regents, one Michigan State University Trustee, two Wayne State University Governors, and one Michigan Supreme Court Justice.  In addition to Governor, Lieutanant Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State, Republicans were able to put one Michigan State University Trustee and two Michigan Supreme Court Justices into office.

Four years ago, Washtenaw County bucked the statewide trend by giving all but one Democratic nominee majorities or pluralities in a losing effort.  The one Republican nominee who earned a plurality in 2010 was a Supreme Court Justice.  This year, Washtenaw County repeated this pattern, down to giving one Democratic candidate for Supreme Court a plurality, but this time its votes helped Democrats earn their way into office.  In two of these contests, Washtenaw County's voters were able to provide more votes than the candidate's statewide margin of victory.

More at the link in the headline.  Consider this article a follow up to Why the well-off turn out to vote and what happens when they do.

I just celebrated my fifth anniversary writing for Examiner.com.  It would have been a shame to have lost my position by not writing.  I managed to beat the deadline by mere hours.

Examiner.com article on USA Today poll

Michigan Democrats lead in USA Today poll

A poll published Thursday afternoon by USA Today shows Democrats leading in all contests for statewide partisan offices surveyed.  U.S. Representative Gary Peters led former Secretary of State Republican Terri Lynn Land by 9% for U.S. Senate.  Former U.S. Representative Mark Schauer edged Republican incumbent Rick Snyder by 2%.

Farther down the ballot, the poll conducted by Suffolk University continued to show Democrats with more support than Republicans, all of whom are incumbents.  Oakland County Clerk Lisa Brown was well ahead of Republican Brian Calley by 10% for Lieutenant Governor.  Michigan State University professor Mark Totten led Bill Schuette by 7% for Attorney General.  Even Detroit attorney Godfrey Dillard managed a 4% lead over Republican Ruth Johnson.

The poll also looked at the generic Congressional ballot and the 2016 Presidential election.  A plurality said they planned on voting for the Democratic candidate over the Republican candidate by a margin of nearly 4% this year.  For the Democratic nomination, an overwhelming majority favored Hillary Clinton (60.8%) over Joe Biden (17.45%).  On the Republican side, undecided led at 17.02% with Jeb Bush and Mike Huckabee tied for second at 11.17%.

Much more at the link in the headline, including statistics for all candidates, a video about the U.S. Senate contest featuring Terri Lynn Land putting her foot in her mouth over equal pay for women, and summaries of two other polls this week.  One of those polls included a look ahead to the next presidential campaign.

For 2016, poll respondents overwhelmingly favored Clinton over all the potential Republican nominees surveyed.  She would beat Ted Cruz by 14%, both Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee by 12%, Jeb Bush by 11%, and Rand Paul by 10%.

Good news for Democrats, indeed.