State Roundup

Ann Arbor
Univ. of Michigan launches $100M data initiative

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - The University of Michigan has announced plans to invest $100 million over the next five years into its new Data Science Initiative.

It will involve hiring 35 faculty members, supporting data-related research and providing opportunities to students pursuing careers in data science. The school also plans to expand its research computing capacity, as well as strengthen its data management, storage, analytics and training resources.

The goal of the initiative is to enhance opportunities for student and faculty researchers to tap into the potential of big data from a wide spectrum of fields ranging from medicine to transportation. All academic units on the university's Ann Arbor campus are supporting the initiative.

An inaugural symposium will be held Oct. 6 to mark the launch of the Data Science Initiative.

Sturgis
County sees 3 homicides in recent weeks

STURGIS, Mich. (AP) - Police are investigating three recent homicides in a southwestern Michigan county that has seen few killings in the past decade.

The Sturgis Journal reports the homicides in recent weeks are among 10 killings in the past 10 years in St. Joseph County. The county has a population of roughly 61,000 people.

A 24-year-old man was fatally shot on Aug. 20 in Three Rivers, and a man was found dead along a road on Aug. 31 in Florence Township with a gunshot wound to his head. A 71-year-old man was found dead on Sept. 1 in his home in Constantine Township.

St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough says the deaths aren't related or random. He says police are working to solve the killings.

Detroit
UAW president hasn't picked an automaker target

DETROIT (AP) - With just a week left before contracts expire with Detroit's three automakers, the United Auto Workers union says it hasn't chosen a target company.

But President Dennis Williams said Monday he'll pick between Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler before the contracts end on Sept. 14.

A target company becomes the focus of bargaining and could be hit with a strike if negotiations stall. A deal with one company also sets a general pattern for the others, although there currently are substantial differences between the three automakers.

Speaking after Detroit's annual Labor Day parade, Williams didn't address whether the contracts would be extended and gave no details about how the talks that cover about 140,000 workers are progressing.

"Everybody says to me 'Dennis, have you picked a target?' Yes. General Motors, Ford and Chrysler," Williams said to applause during a post-parade speech. But afterward he told reporters that he would choose a single company by the time the current four-year contracts end.

This year's talks are expected to be the most contentious in years because all three companies are healthy and making money. The union wants a piece of the profits in the form of hourly pay raises for longtime workers who haven't had one in a decade. It also wants to close the gap between entry-level workers who make about half the $29 hourly wage of veteran employees.

But companies want to cut labor costs to stay competitive with foreign automakers. All but Fiat Chrysler have costs that are higher than foreign companies with U.S. factories, according to the Center for Automotive Research. Companies want to stick with profit-sharing instead of increasing hourly labor costs. During the past four years, workers at all three companies have gotten healthy annual checks.

Williams has said he doesn't want a strike, but unlike four years ago, the union can stop work at any of the three companies. In 2011, strikes were prohibited at GM and Chrysler under the terms of their government-funded bankruptcies.

To fund some of the union demands, Williams has proposed a giant health care pool to save money for the union and the three companies. Currently a union-run trust pays most health insurance costs for about 600,000 retirees and their spouses, and the companies fund health care for about 551,000 hourly and salaried workers and their families.

Bay City
Kindergarten tea­cher marks 45 ears in classroom

BAY CITY, Mich. (AP) - Kristin Brashaw has trouble sleeping before the first day of school. An anxious student? No, an eager teacher.

When classes began Tuesday, it marked Brashaw's 45th first day of school in the Bay City district. She teaches kindergarten at Hampton Elementary in Hampton Township.

Brashaw, who turns 66 this week, says her fears evaporate when the door opens and her students walk in. She says, "They become my babies."

Brashaw tells The Bay City Times that she almost retired five years ago but withdrew her retirement papers at the last minute. She says her job is to get kids to read and write and introduce them to basic science and math.

How long will Brashaw stay in the classroom? She says she's aiming for 50 years.

Published: Wed, Sep 09, 2015