State Roundup

Detroit Casinos work to bank on social media DETROIT (AP) -- Detroit's three casinos are using social media to compete for customers among themselves and nearby Caesars Windsor in Canada. The casinos are sending messages about jackpots and promotions and responding to queries via Twitter and Facebook. One aim is to provide a new level of customer service in an increasingly competitive gambling market, The Detroit News reported Tuesday. MotorCity Casino Hotel has more Twitter followers and Facebook fans than MGM Grand Detroit or Greektown Casino Hotel. MotorCity's president and CEO Gregg Solomon said social media has become "a huge area of our efforts" in the past year and a half. "People are looking for that instantaneous update about what's going on where," he said. Greektown said social media is becoming a more important part of its marketing mix. "We find this type of media to be a great way to listen and often to engage with all gaming customers," said spokeswoman Lloryn Love. MGM Grand has been using social media to interact with customers in recent years. When Henry Balanon of Detroit tweeted that he was enjoying a night at MGM Grand, he didn't expect the casino to take notice. But the casino's social media team saw the message and responded, and left a lasting impression on the 29-year-old iPhone app developer. "When we got back up to the room, we had cookies and treats and a handwritten note waiting for us," he said. "This was like two years ago. It still sticks with me to this day." Jackson Utility expands options for customer-owned solar JACKSON, Mich. (AP) -- Consumers Energy says it's is expanding options for customers interested in developing their own renewable energy sources. The unit of Jackson-based CMS Energy Corp. announced Tuesday that it's increasing its Experimental Advanced Renewable Program that provides for the long-term purchase of renewable energy generated by customer-owned solar energy systems. Consumers Energy says more than 100 locations in Michigan's Lower Peninsula already have solar energy systems under this program. The utility says the Michigan Public Service Commission recently approved an expansion plan for the program. Details are on the company's website. Ann Arbor U-M asked to pay for game day traffic services ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- Ann Arbor wants the University of Michigan to pay for traffic services to deal with tens of thousands of fans on football Saturdays. AnnArbor.com reports that the school has until Aug. 26 to strike a deal with the city to reimburse it for costs associated with traffic management during the Wolverines home football games and other special events at Michigan Stadium. Ann Arbor City Council voted Monday night on a resolution to set the deadline. An email seeking comment from the school was sent Tuesday morning by The Associated Press. The university and the city have an arrangement for police and fire services on game days, but the school doesn't reimburse for traffic management. The season's first home game is Sept. 3. Traverse City US: Ex-Munson accountant embezzled $1.1 million TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) -- Federal prosecutors say an ex-accountant for Munson Healthcare embezzled $1.1 million from the Traverse City-based hospital company. The U.S. Attorney's Office filed a felony information Wednesday against Susan J. Morrison, saying she stole the money between Oct. 7, 2007, and April 28, 2011. She's charged with wire fraud and money laundering. She began working for Munson in 2000. Prosecutors say Morrison transferred money from Munson bank accounts to her own account at Traverse City State Bank. They say she made false recipient accounts to cover up the theft. Federal court records don't show if Morrison has a lawyer. The Associated Press on Monday evening left a message seeking comment with a phone number listed for her. Prosecutors seek to seize bank accounts and sports trading cards from Morrison as restitution. Grand Rapids Man charged with threatening letter carrier GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) -- Federal prosecutors have charged a Grand Rapids man with threatening to cut off the head of a letter carrier. Authorities say 26-year-old Kenneth Labron Bell was upset the letter carrier didn't deliver a check he was expecting. The Grand Rapids Press reports the carrier explained he could only deliver the mail he was given. Bell is accused of continuing to harass the carrier and punching and kicking a postal service vehicle during the Aug. 4 incident. Prosecutors have filed a criminal information against Bell, who was ordered to remain in custody. A message seeking comment was left by The Associated Press on Monday for Bell's lawyer, Sean Tilton. Lansing Ads, crackdown aim to curb drunken driving deaths LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- A new advertising campaign will warn about an upcoming statewide drunken driving crackdown that begins Friday and runs through Sept. 5. The "Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest." campaign and stepped up enforcement are part of a federally funded program run through the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning. The state says the official launch for the ad campaign is Monday. The state says the aim is to reduce alcohol-involved fatalities when they are at their peak from June to September. Plans call for the ads to be concentrated in the Detroit area, the Flint, Saginaw and Bay City areas and in western Michigan. They include ads on broadcast TV, cable and radio, as well as websites. Billboards featuring the message also are part of the effort. Ann Arbor U. of Mich. ends El Salvador program after robbery ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- A University of Michigan internship program based in El Salvador has been cancelled after three participants were robbed at gunpoint and had their passports taken, the school said. The students in the Global Intercultural Experience for Undergraduates program were robbed July 29 in San Salvador, The Michigan Daily reported. No one was injured, but the students and others involved in the program were sent home. "We were very concerned and wanted to make sure that our students were safe at all times, and we felt it was imperative that they return and get out of that unsafe situation," school spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said. The Ann Arbor school required 14 students and two faculty leaders to leave the country because criminals were suspected to be targeting the local agency they were working with, Fitzgerald said. Students were reimbursed for the shortened trip and granted the opportunity for full academic credit, he said. Manish Patel, a senior who was part of the team that travelled to El Salvador, wrote in an email that the group was upset with the decision to end the trip. After the decision, he said group members signed waivers so they could attempt to remain in El Salvador. "It was hard to hear that after a small robbery incident, the university would go so far as to suspend our trip," Patel wrote. He said members of the group wanted to continue their work without university permission and affiliation after the program was cancelled. But since the students had left on a school-affiliated trip, the school said it would be liable if anything were to happen. Published: Wed, Aug 17, 2011