Monthly Archives: May 2020

(May 6, 2020 7:16 AM) The Consumers Energy Foundation is giving $200,000 to The Jackson Community Foundation (JCF) and the Enterprise Group (EG) of Jackson to create grants for small businesses affected by COVID-19 pandemic in Jackson County.  The focus will be given to businesses owned by women, minorities and small businesses who have not received support from other funding sources. This grant represents a portion of $1.8 million Consumers Energy Foundation has granted to nine organizations throughout Michigan. The two organizations will work together to make grants to Jackson County small businesses. “Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and have been significantly impacted during this unprecedented time,” said Brandon Hofmeister, president of the Consumers Energy Foundation. “Consumers Energy is committed to helping Michigan’s small business community succeed now, more than ever. We are making an investment in our communities, business owners, workers and their families, and a commitment to help power through together.” “The Enterprise Group thanks the Consumers Energy Foundation for their support of small business in Jackson County. The resources the Foundation have committed to support small business, and minority and women owned enterprises, are critical in meeting their operational expenses during the COVID crisis…

(May 6, 2020 6:28 AM) The Michigan Department of Corrections is reporting as of 9:00 PM Tuesday, there are 2,073 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases at facilities throughout the state.  Of that statewide total, 938 of the confirmed positive cases are at Jackson facilities. The Department says they have now started a system of expanded testing and began testing all prisoners at Cotton Correctional Facility last week.  The facility has a designated quarantine unit and positive prisoners are being transferred to the unit. Of 1837 prisoners tested at Cotton, 673 are COVID-19 confirmed positive.  37% of those tested are positive. There have been a total of 47 deaths of prisoners who had tested positive for COVID-19, 17 of those deaths were among prisoners at Jackson facilities.  In Jackson, there are 177 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases at Parnall Correctional Facility, 55 at Charles E. Egeler Reception and Guidance Center, 33 at Duane Waters Health Center and 673 at G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility. Among staff, there are a total of 293 COVID-19 positive cases statewide.   In Jackson, there are 74 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases among employees at Parnall Correctional Facility, 1 at Cooper Street Correctional Facility, 27 at Charles E. Egeler…

(May 5, 2020 10:06 PM) Governor Gretchen Whitmer today signed Executive Orders 2020-73 and 2020-74, which extend two Executive Orders signed last month to help protect the health and safety of all Michiganders during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.   The orders:  Continue to temporarily allow e-signatures on official documents and remote notarizations to avoid unnecessary in-person contact.  Continue to temporarily suspend licensing, decal and trip permit requirements used by the Department of Treasury to collect taxes owed by motor carriers.   The new orders take immediate effect. Executive Order 2020-73 (motor carriers) continues through June 2, while Executive Order 2020-74 continues through June 30.   “As we continue to flatten the COVID-19 curve, we must take all measures to avoid in-person contact and ensure we can transport front-line personnel and essential supplies quickly, efficiently and where they’re needed most,” Governor Whitmer said. “These executive orders will help us slow further spread of this deadly disease and protect Michigan families.”    Executive Order 2020-74 temporarily suspends requirements for in-person notarizations, and allows transactions that require a notary to be completed via two-way, real-time audiovisual technology. The order also extends the validity of notary commissions until June 30, 2020. It also permits the use of electronic signatures in all cases, except in…