Ford, Subaru, VW win insurance industry picks
WASHINGTON (AP) - Ford, Subaru and Volkswagen lead the insurance industry's annual list of the safest new vehicles. That's according to a closely watched assessment used by car companies to lure safety-conscious consumers to showrooms. The Virginia-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety awarded its "top safety pick" today to 19 passenger cars and eight sport utility vehicles for the 2010 model year. Ford Motor Co. and its Volvo unit received the most awards with six, followed by five awards apiece for Japanese automaker Subaru and German automaker Volkswagen AG and its Audi unit. Chrysler Group LLC received four awards followed by two each for Honda Motor Co. and General Motors Co. Toyota Motor Corp., BMW AG, Mazda Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. were shut out in the annual IIHS review.
DETROIT AIRPORT-LOTTERY
Arriving soon at Detroit airport: Lottery, taxis
ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) - Officials say newly approved contracts will generate revenue for Detroit Metropolitan Airport, allow travelers to play state lottery games and stabilize taxi service. Wayne County Airport Authority officials said contracts approved yesterday will allow travelers to play instant lottery tickets, Daily 3 and Daily 4, Club Keno, Classic Lotto 47 and Mega Millions. Officials estimate the contract will generate $1.8 million over five years. The Detroit News says the authority also approved a contract that ends a dearth of metered taxis at the suburban Detroit airport. The deal is expected to generate $5.5 million in its first four years and $10.03 million if three one-year options are exercised. The authority also approved a $75,000 contract to install five electricity-generating wind turbines. --- Information from: The Detroit News, http://www.detnews.com
RAINS-WAFFLE SHORTAGE
Ga. storms leave Kellogg short of waffles
ATLANTA (AP) - The Kellogg Co. says the heavy rains that brought floods to parts of metro Atlanta in September contributed to problems that led to a continuing shortage of its Eggo brand frozen waffles. Michigan-based Kellogg says it temporarily halted production of the waffles in September at the Atlanta plant because of flooding there. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Kellogg says the Atlanta facility is back in production, but that equipment at the company's waffle bakery in Rossville, Tenn. requires extensive repairs and improvements and several lines there are out of operation. Kellogg spokeswoman Kris Charles told the newspaper the company is working to restore Eggo inventories to normal as quickly as possible. --- Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com
UNEMPLOYMENT-MICH
Michigan prepares to detail October jobless report
LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan officials are expected today to release the state's unemployment report for October. Nationwide unemployment climbed to 10.2 percent last month. Rates will vary widely by state. Michigan had the nation's highest jobless rate at 15.3 percent in September. The state has led the nation in unemployment for nearly four straight years in large part because of problems in the auto industry.
GANG-TEEN SLAIN
Pontiac teen to be sentenced in Ala. teen's death
PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) - A Michigan teen who police say shot and killed a 14-year-old from Alabama outside a church is scheduled for sentencing. Eighteen-year-old James Cecil Willis III of Pontiac is scheduled to appear today before Oakland County Circuit Judge Wendy Potts for sentencing. Willis pleaded no contest last month to second-degree murder and felony firearm. Under a plea agreement, he is set to spend 17 to 35 years in prison. He could have gone to prison for life without the possibility of parole if convicted of first-degree murder, an option for jurors under the original charge of open murder. Police say Willis was a member of the Goon Squad gang and fired a gun into a crowd outside a Pontiac church in 2008. Dawan Allan-France Roberson of Akron, Ala., was killed.
BEER-TEAMSTERS-SETTLEMENT
Michigan beer distributors to pay out $41 million
DETROIT (AP) - The National Labor Relations Board says an illegal arrangement by five southeastern Michigan beer distributors has resulted in back pay for Teamsters members totaling $41 million. About 2,000 workers will share in the award, one of the largest ever made by the NLRB in a bad-faith bargaining case. The NLRB says the distributors made an illegal pact in contract negotiations with Teamsters Local 1038. Each company declared a bargaining impasse and imposed a new contract with "substantially" lower wages and fewer benefits. Four of the distributors agreed to settlement terms by 2003, but Hubert Distributors Inc. continued fighting the award in court. Its last appeal was rejected in 2006, and the last of the settlement money was paid out in September. A message seeking comment was left with Hubert Distributors after business hours yesterday.
MOTOR CITY YEAR
New book features 365 images of Detroit area
DETROIT (AP) - There's a new book out featuring 365 images that showcase a year of life in the Detroit area. Photographer John Sobczak was scheduled to discuss his book "A Motor City Year" during an event this evening at the Detroit Historical Museum. It was recently published by Wayne State University Press. Sobczak's photos include the Thanksgiving Day parade in Detroit, vendors at the city's Eastern Market and the Woodward Dream Cruise, as well as less familiar scenes such as robots working on an assembly line. Sobczak is expected to discuss how the images demonstrate the texture of life in the Detroit area.
