Storms spin off tornadoes in southeast Michigan
More than 100 homes were severely damaged and 13 homes were destroyed by an F3 tornado in Dexter; a tornado touched down for 3-5 minutes in Monroe County; and a possible third tornado ripped a home from its foundation in Lapeer County.
But amazingly, so far, there have been no reported deaths or serious injuries from these storms.
The Associated Press spoke with Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Deputy Ray Yee after he went door to door in Dexter:
Yee approached one destroyed home Thursday, and saw a hand sticking out of the rubble. He pulled out an elderly man, who was shaken but walked away. “That’s the best part,” Yee said. “Every place I went to, I would have thought I would have found somebody laying there — deceased or whatever. But, knock on wood, everybody was OK.”
A shelter has been set up to help those affected by the storm in Dexter at the Mill Creek Middle School.
The Associated Press reports teams from the weather service will examine the damage today in Washtenaw, Monroe, and Lapeer counties.
Flint's emergency manager stripped of his power
Flint’s emergency manager, Michael Brown, will have to step down from his position after a judge prevented him from ‘taking any action’ on behalf of the city.
The judge's order was sought by Flint's unions. Michigan Radio's Steve Carmody spoke with a union representative about the order:
"Because these proceedings were conducted illegally, including the appointment of Michael Brown as Emergency Manager, the court has quite properly enjoined Mr. Brown from acting on behalf of the City of Flint," says Lawrence Roehrig, Secretary-Treasurer of Michigan Council 25 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
State officials say Brown will abide by the order. A court hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
More power for Bing? Detroit leaders working on counterproposal
The state's consent agreement plan unveiled to Detroit's city leaders on Tuesday was loudly rejected by Mayor Bing and several city council members. Bing and council members are working on a counterproposal to the state.
The Detroit Free Press reports that proposal would give Bing more power than he has now:
Under the 26-page draft, obtained Thursday by the Free Press and first reported on freep.com , Bing proposes taking over many of the responsibilities of the state's proposed financial advisory board. He would assume the powers of an emergency manager, except that of being able to terminate union contracts.
Their time to work up a proposal is limited. Gov. Snyder says his deadline is March 26, and as Michigan Radio's Sarah Cwiek reports "their position gets even weaker as their bank account approaches zero—a time bomb that could blow up before the end of April."
