Governor Rick Snyder has signed into law a bill that makes Michigan the 31st state to give motorcyclists the option of wearing a helmet. Under the bill, motorcyclists can ride without a helmet if they’re at least 21 years old, carry additional insurance and have passed a motorcycle safety course or have had their motorcycle endorsement for at least two years. Some motorcyclists have been pushing for repeal of the helmet requirement for more than four decades. Some safety officials and insurance groups have objected to the repeal of the law, saying it will lead to more carnage on the roads and higher insurance costs for non-riders. Supporters of the repeal have argued that there have not been problems in other states where there is no helmet requirement.
Michigan originally implemented a helmet-use law in 1967 to comply with U.S. Department of Transportation requirements for federal funds. That requirement is no longer in place. With today’s change, Michigan joins the Great Lakes States of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Pennsylvania that have repealed or amended helmet-use laws to give riders a choice.
A Boston, Massachusetts-based investor group has announced plans to purchase Manistique Papers. MPI Acquisition, LLC, has reached an agreement to purchase the assets of the Schoolcraft County mill. No details of the pending purchase agreement have been released, but reports say the paper mill is expected to operate with the same production and management teams. Final approval is expected next week with the sale closing some time in early May.
The man dubbed the “underwear bomber” has been moved to a Supermax Prison in Colorado. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to blow up a detroit bound jet Christmas day 2009 with explosives hidden in his underwear and he was sentenced to life in prison without parole in February. Abdulmutallab was originally sent to a high security prison after his sentencing. He is now housed in the same facility as Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols, shoe bomber Richard Reid and Ted Kaczynski known as the Unabomber.
