Federal judge strikes down Michigan law

A federal judge has barred enforcement of a century-old law cited by authorities in Kalamazoo to limit the use of graphic signs during anti-abortion protests. Officers told anti-abortion advocates that they were violating the state statute with a graphic display of an aborted fetus. The women held a sign on a public sidewalk with a color photograph of a bloody, aborted female child's head being held by surgical equipment. The sign upset a passerby who stopped and asked that it be taken down as nearby children passed on a school bus. The advocates refused, and the passerby struggled with one of the women and tore the sign. The anti-abortion protesters called police, who later told them they were violating a state statute on public displays of signs.

Michigan Senate passes drilling ban

The Michigan Senate voted Wednesday to ban new drilling for oil and natural gas under Michigan waters of the Great Lakes. The Senate passed a bill to prohibit slant drilling under the lakes from wellheads onshore. Opponents argued Michigan needs the oil and natural gas lying under the lakes, and there is no scientific reason not to drill wells for it. The bill returns to the House, which overwhelmingly passed it, for consideration of minor changes. Gov. John Engler has opposed it, but a spokeswoman said he expects it to pass and become law. Michigan is the only state bordering the Great Lakes that allows companies to drill at an angle under the lakes from onshore points.

GM asks state for permission to increase plant's emissions

General Motors Corp. is asking state officials for permission to increase emissions at a mid-Michigan assembly plant, but some area residents say the fumes already coming from the plant are making them sick and oppose any increases. The Detroit-based automaker wants to increase emissions at the Saginaw Street Craft Center to build the Chevrolet SSR and as many as three more vehicles. The state Department of Environmental Quality is expected to approve the company's air permit within the next several weeks. The DEQ says that even with the increased emissions, the Lansing area falls within state and national air-quality standards. The state agency also says odors should not increase. If approved, residents and environmental groups say they may appeal to the U.S. Environmental Appeals Board in Washington, D.C. Under GM's proposal, maximum emissions at the Craft Center would go from 139 tons a year to 375 tons, a 170 percent increase. The automaker's aging Lansing-area plants, including the Craft Center, are the state's fifth-highest producer of volatile organic compounds, airborne chemicals that can cause smog, according to DEQ records. Also at risk are the jobs of about 400 plant workers who make an average of about $22 an hour. The automaker has considered moving SSR production to another city if the permit is not approved.