Sunscreen purchase tips

As the weather begins to rise, watch out for sunscreens with harmful ingredients. 

The Environmental Working Group released a 2012 Sunscreen Guide on Wednesday. The study states that twenty-five percent of 800 tested sunscreens are effective at protecting skin without the use of potentially harmful ingredients.

The group recommends that consumers use products labeled broad spectrum, and most dermatologists agree.

Broad spectrum means the product protects against UVB rays that cause sunburns and UVA radiation that causes aging and early skin damage.

Last year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced tighter regulations on the labeling of the products to avoid consumer confusion. The changes require sunscreen labels to identify if they provide broad spectrum coverage on the front label. Brands will not be able to promote products as waterproof or sweat-proof.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed with deciding on a sunscreen. Here are a few tips to finding the best products to protect your family from the sun:

1. Use a sunscreen with a minimum of SPF 15 and a maximum of SPF 50
2. Make sure labels list broad spectrum protection (UVA and UVB)
3. If you’re concerned about potentially toxic chemicals, avoid products containing oxybenzone and retinyl palminate
4. For a more evenly distributed protection, choose lotions over spray sunscreens

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05.16.2012

Medical amnesty bill signed, takes effect June 1

Last week, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed a new bill into law for Michigan which will protect intoxicated minors from receiving a "minor in possession" (MIP) charge if they choose to call for medical help for alcohol consumption. The bill, which will go into effect on June 1, is aimed to "ensure the safety of the youth by removing the fear of penalty when seeking medical assistance" said Snyder.

The law has been in discussions for a few years and was recently pushed by ASMSU (Michigan State's undergraduate student government) and Michigan legislators to be finally be passed. Now that it is signed, it is ASMSU's duty to inform students of what it is and how it effects them. "There should be no question now that picking up the phone and making that 911 call is the right decision," said Dylan Miller, ASMSU's vice chair.

The bill passed Michigan's House of Representatives in March with a 105-4 vote and recently passed Senate, 38-0. The bill, which was signed by Snyder on May 8, will take full effect June 1.

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05.14.2014

No Child Left Behind Waiver

This week, Michigan state education officials are sending a waiver request to Washington, D.C. for some tougher provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act. This is the second waiver that officials have sent since the first proposal was kicked back last month seeking changes to make it better for students and educators.

If this proposal is approved, the state plan would give Michigan a pass on federal requirements that all students reach 100% proficiency in reading and math by 2014. In return for the waiver, Michigan must implement a state system that increases the quality of education and improves student achievement.

Michigan's proposal calls for a "traffic light system" that would label schools based on students achievement. This system would help them determine the worst-performing schools.

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05.14.2012

Say goodbye to unemployment benefits

Eight states will roll off the Federal extended benefits program this week: California, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, Colorado, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

The benefits program provides up to 20 weeks of unemployment check after an indivdual has used their state and federal emergency benefits which together can last up to 79 weeks.

To be eligible for these benefits, a state must show that their unemployment rate is less than 10% higher than it was in at least one of the past three years.  For example, in Michigan the unemployment rate dropped from 10.5 percent in 2010 to 8.5 percent in 2011. This would make Michigan still eligible for the program.

State unemployment rates have been falling as jobless individuals find new positions or exit the workforce.

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05.11.2012

Michigan to collect taxes for online purchases?

Governor Rick Snyder states in a letter to Senate leadership this week that he supports the Marketplace Fairness Act, which is an act that restores states' rights to enforce State and local sales and use tax laws. Snyder has urged the U.S. Senate to pass legislation allowing states to collect sales tax from online and catalog retailers.

Michigan residents are required to pay 6% sales tax on their online purchases through income taxes but a lot of people do not. The Michigan Department of Treasury estimated that Michigan is missing out on over $800 million in sales tax revenue from online and mail order purchases.

The legislation was introduced last September to a committee but it has not moved since then.

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05.11.2012

Michigan State's Derrick Nix is sentenced after pleading guilty to impaired driving charge

College basketball player, Derrick Nix, has been sentenced to 24 hours of community service and a fine of $853 after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of impaired driving.

The junior center for the Michigan State University basketball team was arrested on April 3, 2012 around midnight after he ran a red light on Abbott and Lake Lansing road. He was arrested after officers found marijuana in his vehicle.

Nix pleaded guilty to reduce the charges of a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in jail, a $300 fine, a 180-day driver's license suspension, and four points on a driver's record. In addition to the community service and the fine, Nix must also attend between eight to 12 sessions of an outpatient marijuana-specific substance abuse program and attend a victim impact panel at the East Lansing Hannah Community Center.

Nix was reinstated to the team by Coach Tom Izzo where he will play as a senior next season.

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05.10.2012

77-year-old man accused of ripping off the feds while in prison

Dale Eugene Jenkins, a 77 year old Berrien County man, was only days from completing his prison sentence in Michigan when he was accused of lying in order to collect over $13,000 in Social Security benefits while in prison.

Jenkins was sentenced to prison after he was convicted in 2008 of assault with a dangerous weapon. During his time behind bars this would Jenkins would   be ineligible to receive social security retirement benefits.

The charges show that Jenkins received around $13,600 in benefits during his incarceration that he was not entitled to between July 2008 and July 2011, which amounts to stealing.

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05.10.12

Judge slams 40 years on pastor for raping girl

Timothy Jackson, a 49-year-old pastor was found guilty last month of repeatedly raped a teenage church member. He was sentenced Tuesday morning on multiple counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct against the girl between 2009 and 2010. The girl was 11-years-old when the rapes began.

Judge Michael Callahan of Third Circuit Court said, "The activity you engaged in that you were found guilty of by a jury of your peers is heinous."

Jackson is a pastor at Abundant Life Church on Livernois in southwest Detroit. The victim came forward about the sexual assaults in August 2010.

Before being sentenced, Jackson told Judge Callahan, "I am innocent of all these charges."

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04.17.12

73-year-old granny accused as one of Oklahoma's biggest drug kingpins

This week, police entered Darlene Mayes' home and found four pounds of marijuana, $276,000 in cash and $15,000 bundles of cash stashed away in the home.

Like other drug dealers, Mayes had a team that included her son Jerry, who was arrested. Investigators say her operation spanned four states: Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri. Police believe she supplied 40 percent of the marijuana in that area.

When her home was busted, Mayes initially told the police the money was part of her retirement fund. Her story was suspect when a semiautomatic pistol and a revolver.

Mayes was the mastermind behind the operation but she is not the first grandmother accused of ditching retirement for a second career in drug dealing.

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04.16.12