Finding Warmth in the Snow

Good afternoon, Michiganders!  

The solstice has not yet arrived, but winter is certainly here.  As our days get colder, remember to spread warmth to one another.  Help a neighbor shovel or brush off their car.  Give some of your extra hats, scarves and mittens to someone who might need them a little more.  Look up when you are in a public place and smile.  Open your heart to give and to receive the kindness of others.  

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Section 298: This is an initiative by Lt. Gov. Calley to improve systems and access to care for people with physical and mental disabilities.  Currently, this section of the 2017 State Budget is being reworked so that it better reflects the goals set by Lt. Gov. Calley to ease access to care, opportunity, and quality of life.   The Core values of Section 298 include Person-Centered Care, Family Drive and youth guided, Promoting Independence, Full Community Inclusion, Personal Satisfaction, and Meaningful Participation as defined by that individual.  

Lt. Gov. Calley states that “in the sprit of open and transparent dialogue…”  anything discussed in meetings regarding Section 298 will be posted on here (click for link) The first draft is set to be submitted on January 15.

http://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/0,5885,7-339-71550_2941_76181---,00.html
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdhhs/Core_Value__FINAL_521963_7_535656_7.pdf

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Ever considered becoming a Foster Parent?  Feeling like you don’t understand the process or it is too daunting to get started?  The state foster care program has Foster Care Navigators, experienced foster parents who will set up a meeting with you to talk about the process and answer your questions.  Interested?  Text FOSTER to 517-742-3110. 

Next month, I will be doing a post specifically focused on kids in Michigan.  

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Pipeline Progress!

The Michigan Pipeline Safety Advisory Board has hired consultants for  full risk analysis of Enbridge Line 5.  The Oil and Water Don’t Mix Coalition is asking that at least 7 public hearings be held throughout the state once the results from the analysis are complete, that the reports be disclosed well in advance of the meetings, and that the public hearings are well publicized and scheduled far in advance.  On the currently timeline, public review should begin in the summer of 2017.  We plan to be ready.  

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Other good water news, Congress approved funding for Flint!  There is still a long, long way to go (an estimated 28,000 lines still in need of replacement), but there is finally more federal money coming in.  

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There were lots of little things I wanted to share in this post.   Today, I want to focus not just on the steps we have left to reach our goals, but the flights of stairs behind us.  Some baby steps, some giant leaps, but we have come a long way, and we should be grateful to all those who have fought before us.  So now is a time to reflect, but also a time to move forward.  We are the ones we have been waiting for.  Michigan is going to grow and change, and I would like to see it change for the better.  I would like to see a state that is thriving, active, engaged, and passionate.  Let’s make ourselves America’s Golden Glove.  

Warm Wishes. Peace, love, celebration and acceptance, Until next time,

Annalise

Upcomings of Interest

December 26, 2016 

Grand Rapids African American Museum & Archives Royal Opening Celebration

https://www.facebook.com/events/643295019182773/

Dec. 31- January 8
Guided Trail hikes at Stateparks #shoeyear

• Maybury State Park Dec. 31 (10 a.m.) 
• Island Lake Recreation Area Jan. 1 (1 p.m.)
• Waterloo Recreation Area Jan. 1 (11 a.m.)
• Yankee Springs Recreation Area Jan. 1 (1 p.m.)
• Ludington State Park Jan. 7 (6 p.m.)
• Rockport Recreation Area Jan. 7 (noon)
• Sleeper State Park Jan. 7 (6 p.m.)
• Straits State Park Jan. 7 (5 p.m.)
• Mitchell State Park Jan. 8 (1 p.m.)

January 5, 2017 

Sister’s Circle

Sister Circles exist to welcome our newest sisters in West Michigan, listen to their definition of success, and become their ally in reaching their goals. All members benefit from mutual exploration of each other’s cultures, goals, and dreams. 

If you're interested in learning more about our Sister Circles program, including a brief overview and basic training to get started, come join us from 7:30-8:30 pm, January 5th!

January 14, 2017

PLAN B: A Planned Parenthood Benefit 

Multi band concert in Downtown Grand Rapids at the Pyramid Scheme

March 7-9, 2017

2017 FLINT WATER INFRASTRUCTURE SUMMIT; A NATIONAL CONVERSATION,

RIVERFRONT BANQUET CENTER, FLINT, MICHIGAN. The Flint Water Crisis has

prompted local, state and national conversations about the urgent need for reinvestment in

critical water infrastructure. Co-Sponsored by the City of Flint and the State of Michigan,

the Flint Water Infrastructure Summit will address this need and highlight water

infrastructure issues in cities where populations have declined, share lessons learned from

the City of Flint, and propose solutions with a focus on new technologies. The Summit will

provide relevant and timely information to municipal and local officials, city councils and

elected officials, community leaders, utility directors, water system superintendents,

municipal planners and engineers, drinking water operators, consultants and service

providers. Attendees will include individuals involved in the operation, maintenance,

design, management or administration of a municipal water supply, as well as local elected

officials and community leaders from around the country. Information Contact: Bryce

Feighner, Office of Drinking Water & Municipal Assistance, 517-284-6544 or email at

feighnerb@michigan.gov. More information is available at MDEQ’s Events Web Page

(www.michigan.gov/deqevents).

May 31-June 2, 2017
GREAT LAKES AND ST. LAWRENCE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE CONFERENCE,

COBO HALL, DETROIT, MICHIGAN. The first ever Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Green

Infrastructure Conference will draw up to 1,000 engineers, landscape architects, water

quality professionals, government officials (local, state, provincial, and federal), developers,

planners, academia, drain and road agencies, conservation and non-profit organizations,

and interest groups from around the Great Lakes basin in Canada and the U.S. This is the

first conference to focus on using green infrastructure across the landscape with a primary

goal to protect the surface waters in the Great Lakes region. The conference location is in

the middle of the Great Lakes chain, and at the forefront of many innovative green

infrastructure projects. Much of Detroit is being recreated from the ground up. They are

finding ways to reduce the burden on combined sewers for less than the cost of storing

and treating combined effluent. They are making neighborhoods feel safer and more

inviting and increasing green acreage over the top of thriving industry. These efforts are

clearly linked to the Great Lakes, by reducing nutrient inputs to Lake Erie, and all Great

Lakes’ and St Lawrence waters downstream. This conference will include over 80

speakers to address topics such as green infrastructure technology, economics, local

government/public works, and multi-jurisdictional/regional scale issues. The third day of

this conference will offer four concurrent bus tours of local points of interest highlighting

what Detroit is doing in terms of Green Infrastructure, Stormwater Management, and CSO

Control. The Conference will feature valuable networking opportunities and an exhibitor

area as well. Information Contact: Dave Drullinger, Office of Environmental Assistance,

517-284-6855 or email at drullingerd@michigan.gov. More information is available at

MDEQ’s Events Web Page (www.michigan.gov/deqevents).

Things to Do!

I've decided that this blog will be a great forum to share things I have heard about that we can do as a state to keep moving forward :)   If you have news or events that you would like to share, please send them along.  It is my goal to post once a week with things to do, places to go, and good news of the good work being done in our communities.

I want to start with some good news out of Lansing!

LANSING—Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette today praised the Michigan House and Senate for the passage of three House sponsored bills that are designed to put human traffickers in jail for longer and help victims of trafficking.

“The primary role of government is to protect citizens from harm. The more cases of human trafficking we investigate and the more victims we discover, the more we realize just how damaging this horrific crime is, harming virtually every aspect of a victim's life,” said Schuette. “The passage of these house bills will better protect and help human trafficking victims heal which is incredibly important.”

The bills passed today were part of the legislative fight against human trafficking and now await the governor’s signature:

HB 5542, sponsored by Rep. Laura Cox, will make it easier for victims of human trafficking to expunge local ordinance prostitution violations resulting from human trafficking from their criminal record.

HB 5543, sponsored by Rep. Gary Howell, will allow expungement of local ordinance prostitution violations of juveniles convicted of human trafficking related crimes.

HB 5544, sponsored by Rep. Nancy Jenkins, will increase the penalty to 15 years for human trafficking involving commercial sex, also known as sex trafficking.

(From a press release by The Michigan Attorney General's office.  http://www.michigan.gov/ag/0,4534,7-164-60857---,00.html)

So here are some actions for this week: 

1.     Senate Bills 437-438 would establish a grid charge on net metering and devastate the small-scale solar market throughout Michigan. We believe that customers should be able to produce their own energy and allowed to either use that energy themselves or sell it back to a utility company at full price, not a wholesale price. If you agree, click here to call your State Representative and tell them to vote NO on these bills!

2.     Senate Bill 853 would preempt local units of government from regulating single use plastic shopping bags. Sierra Club opposes SB 853 because we support the right of cities, counties and townships being able to take action to ban or tax single use disposable containers. The bill has already passed both the House and Senate. Call Governor Snyder at his office (517-373-3400) and his constituent relations department (517-335-7858) and tell him to veto Senate Bill 853!

3.     Senate Bills 1162-1163 would create a carve out for the AK Steel company to claim tens of millions in tax credits for their Dearborn Works plant without ensuring the plant is in full compliance with all air quality and environmental standards. This plant received countless environmental violations in recent years and is one of the worst polluters in Wayne County. Call your State Senator and tell them to "Vote NO on Senate Bills 1162 and 1163 unless environmental compliance is required." 

4.     House Bill 5987 proposes to push back requirements for egg-laying factory farms to phase out confinement cages five years later than the current law requires. Michigan's powerful agribusiness industry is breaking an agreement among all interest groups struck in 2009 to give these operations 10 years to eliminate these inhumane cages that also aggravate public health and environmental problems with factory farms. The bill would also create a new board of industry experts to determine what is best for animal enclosures.  Call your State Senator to urge him/her to vote no on HB 5987.

5.    Senate Bills 39-40 would establish new restrictions on the state's ability to acquire public land and manage existing land to protect or enhance biological diversity and ecosystem health. It guts the science-based definition of conservation of biological diversity and eliminates requirements to manage tree plantations in accordance with established sustainable forestry principles. Further, the bill would inhibit the state from limiting the access or use of specific areas of public lands. Designating and restricting uses of lands are critical tools that the state uses to protect public safety, avoid conflicts between visitor types, and safeguard ecologically sensitive habitats. Call your State Representative and tell them to "vote NO on Senate Bills 39 and 40!".

More good news! 

"Veteran-Friendly Employers honored; 76 companies hired more than 2,700 veterans this year

Gov. Rick Snyder joined MVAA Director James Robert Redford to recognize the state’s top companies dedicated to veteran employment during the 2016 Veteran-Friendly Employer Awards and Recognition Breakfast. Seventy-six organizations earned either bronze-, silver- or gold-level status as determined by their dedication to connect with and hire veteran talent."

From the December 2016 MVAA Newsletter.  For more information, visit: https://www.michiganveterans.com/p/Certified-Veteran-Friendly-Employers 

Upcoming Events! 

Sandy Hook Remembrance Ceremony
December 11, 2016 at 6:30 PM.  Saint Mark's Episcopal Church134 Division Ave N, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503

Public Meeting about Line 5, the oil pipeline that runs through the Straights of Mackinac.  

December 12, 2016, meeting is at 1:30 PM. 7109 West Saginaw Highway, Lansing, Michigan 48917, Lake Michigan Hearing Room, first floor. 

*** I am organizing a carpool from Grand Rapids for this event! **** 
https://www.facebook.com/events/253837308368876/

Grand Rapids Women's March on Washington!  
January 21, 2016 at 10:00.  Fountain Street Church

Human Trafficking Commission Meeting (Open to the Public)
January 25, 2016 time TBA

Michigan Attorney General’s Office

G. Mennen Williams Building, 525 W. Ottawa St.

1st Floor Training Room, Lansing, MI 48909

An introduction to our cause

Dear Michigan, 

I wanted to start this blog because I love this state.  I believe that this state has the potential to be everything the American dream can promise.  I believe that we have the most beautiful land in the country, land that needs our protection.  We are a state that is home to wonderfully diverse groups of people living passionately, and that is wonderful, but sometimes makes it difficult to feel unified.  Though we have a hundred ways to speak today, sometimes it is hard to feel like our voices are being heard or to feel like they make a difference.  As I watched the election coverage, I was fascinated by Michigan's sudden rise to the spotlight, and the obvious division among my neighbors.

As we seek to understand the ever unfolding events and implications of this presidential election season, I want you to know that I'm sorry for the days when I did not listen, for this days when I was blinded by my own passions and desire to heal the world, to heal it in the ways that I think it needs healing.  I am sorry for believing that there could only be one solution and contributing to the divides between us.  It is uncertain what can be changed at anytime soon at the national level, but maybe if we being to listen to each other as neighbors, we can begin to make changes here.  It is the streets of our cities where we may feel unsafe, where we carry out our daily tasks, seek jobs and seek community.  It is our street corners and our grocery stores where the fast changing world meets us face to face.  

Our information about the world beyond what we see comes from dozens of people who claim to be truth-tellers, but we wonder how two truth tellers can proclaim two different truths.  Our mind seeks to reconcile these truths and chooses the one it feels most comfortable with, the one that makes us feel the safest.  Meanwhile, as we hold our truth, the world around us proclaims a million others and we become withdrawn, hardened and defensive.  The color and vibrancy of life drains away, leaving and black and white image with few shades of gray.   Here we stand on opposite sides of the same picture one proclaiming “Duck!” and the other “Rabbit!”

The problem is, neither one of is wrong, and we are both right.  

We fixate on trees and forests, and not the path we are walking.  

We are in a strange place, Michigan.  But in that place, we have the chance to create something new and wonderful.  

What I ask is this, sit with your anger, and sit with your pain.  Ask yourself what is the change you seek?  When you think you have found the answer sit with it again, and again, until you can express it without venom, without malice, and without blame.  We know those things make it difficult for your audience to hear you, and we are all guilty of them.  Blame is not productive, it is another wedge in the wounds of the unheard, of the lost, disheartened and disenchanted.   When you can say what you want to see, write your own “Dear Michigan” letter.  Send it to me at togethermichigan@gmail.com.   It doesn’t have to be long, but as we bring our voices together, I think we will find that we have more in common than we thought.  Here is my first.  

Dear Michigan, 

I would like to live in a place where everyone has access to clean, safe drinking water.  

I would like to live in a place where all marriages are recognized and protected as equal.  

I would like to live in a place where immigrants, non-English speakers, non-Christians, people who identify as LGBTQ+, people who seem a little different, Christians, women, and children can live free from fear of violence or persecution.