This week, East Lansing City Council members will consider ballot language for a proposal that would create a committee to address healthcare costs, but its future is uncertain. It's also the final week to submit public feedback on a proposed transmission line route that would cut through mid-Michigan. Plus, a local group is teaching the public how to properly care for tombstones.
These are some of the biggest stories WKAR lead politics reporter Andrew Roth is following as part of his weekly column, What's Roth Watching. You can find it in our newsletter, The Signal, sent every Sunday to your inbox.
From Andrew:
1. Healthcare Action Plan proposal in East Lansing
A group circulating petitions in six Michigan communities to establish “Citizens’ Advisory Healthcare Action Committees” that would “make recommendations to address prohibitive healthcare costs” has gathered enough signatures to make the November ballot. East Lansing City Council members will hold a special meeting Monday to approve ballot language. But the proposal may not appear on the ballot due to the group filing its signatures after an administrative deadline to submit proposed ballot language to the Michigan governor and attorney general for legal review.
2. Feedback deadline for transmission line
Residents will have until Friday to submit feedback on proposed routes for a new transmission line that would span about 50 miles and cross 15 localities. The Ingham County Board of Commissioners has opposed four of seven proposed routes because they would cut through Burchfield Park in Holt. The Michigan Public Service Commission will set the final route for the project, but ITC will take feedback into consideration when making a recommendation to the commissioners.
3. Tombstone cleaning lesson
The Friends of Lansing’s Historic Cemeteries will hold a tombstone cleaning lesson Saturday morning at Mt. Hope Cemetery. The class will teach attendees how and when to clean and if it’s legal to do so. The techniques follow the “do no harm” methods taught by the Cemetery Conservators for United Standards.
Interview Transcript:
Melorie Begay: This week in mid-Michigan, a proposal to create a citizens advisory committee to address healthcare costs could face a roadblock to making the ballot in East Lansing, and it's the last week to submit feedback on a transmission line project that would cut through the region. Plus, a group of volunteers will hold a tombstone cleaning class to help maintain Lansing cemeteries.
These are some of the biggest stories WKAR's lead politics reporter Andrew Roth is following as part of his weekly column, What Roth's Watching. You can find it in our newsletter, The Signal. Andrew joins me now. Thanks for being here, Andrew.
Andrew Roth: Always happy to join.
Begay: Let’s start with the citizens advisory committee. Who's behind this proposal, and what do they want to do?
Roth: There's a group called Community Action Michigan, which is not to be confused with the similarly named but different Michigan Community Action. They have these proposals in a few different cities in Michigan that would amend the city charters in each city to create these citizens advisory healthcare action committees. Those committees would make recommendations to the federal, state and local governments to address what they say are prohibitive healthcare costs. But it's a little bit of a mystery who's funding this group. Since it's registered as a nonprofit, they don't have to disclose their donors, even as they've attacked some Republican officials.
Begay: It sounds like this committee would be treated like any other commission under the city. Is that right?
Roth: Yeah, that's correct. This would be like any other city board or commission. They would make a biennial recommendation about healthcare costs, but they wouldn't necessarily have a ton of actual hard power themselves.
Begay: This group wants this proposal on the ballot in East Lansing, but they may not be able to. What's the hangup here?
Roth: The governor and attorney general have to review any ballot language before it appears on the ballot. But while the deadline to submit language for the ballot is this week, the governor and attorney general both require that language be submitted to their offices 60 to 90 days in advance. That’s so they have enough time to review it before the deadline to make the ballot. So, while they have the language in time for the later deadline, it's probably facing a dead end with the governor and attorney general who won't approve it this close to the earlier deadline.
Begay: All right. Now, moving on to something else happening this week. It's the last week for the public to provide feedback on a proposed transmission line project that would cut through parts of mid-Michigan, Andrew, what's the latest with this project, and what comes next?
Roth: Yeah, so this transmission line would span about 50 miles, and it would cross 15 localities. The Ingham County Board of Commissioners has passed a formal resolution opposing four of the seven proposed routes because they would cut through a county park in Holt. Ultimately, it's going to be up to the Michigan Public Service Commission to determine the final route. But of course, ITC, the company developing the project, does have some sway in terms of what they recommend to the commission, and that's where the feedback is really going to come into use. They're going to consider that before making that recommendation.
Begay: ITC is accepting public feedback through Friday on its website. Now onto another event happening this week, a local volunteer group is coming together to teach others how to clean tombstones. Andrew, what is this event, and what can people learn?
Roth: The Friends of Lansing's Historic Cemeteries is going to be teaching people about how to clean tombstones, and they're going to be doing it following techniques of "do no harm" that are really recommended by preservationists. That includes things like not making any changes that can't be easily undone in the future. That's a pretty common theme of preservation of any kind, because if preservation techniques advance as technology adapts, if you've made a permanent change to something, then it's permanent. So, you really want to be able to undo any changes you make. And the other thing is that when stone surfaces are roughened, they can capture and hold more pollutants and moisture, and so you really want to use gentle materials and solutions. You don't want to do anything too abrasive that could cause permanent damage to these potentially historic tombstones.
Begay: And that event is happening Saturday morning at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Lansing. Andrew Roth is WKAR's lead politics reporter. Thanks for being here, Andrew.
Roth: Thank you for having me.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
