text: I think “Lean Over” is still available though, and may be suitable for the new direction Fox is headed.
  It’s not just the river slipping away. And CNN and MSNBC will be happy to tell you “all that is to be known” just like the New York Times and Washington Post gives you all the news they see fit to print.
  Travis Randolph is part of the group petitioning the state to allow a vote to merge three West Michigan communities.
  This week there will be an important hearing for those hoping to merge three West Michigan communities. A group of citizens is asking the state to allow the cities of Saugatuck, Douglas and Saugatuck Township to merge into one city.
  Together, the three local units of government serve a little more than 5,000 people. The group supporting the merger points to an independent study that says it would save local taxpayers a million dollars a year.
  On Wednesday the State Boundary Commission will decide if the petition to merge the municipalities is legal. A report from staff at the state’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory affairs shows that it is.
  If the commission agrees, they’ll schedule a public hearing before voters would decide on the merge.
  There are at least two other times a merger has happened in Michigan since the late 1960s. One was a small community in the western Upper Peninsula. The other was the City of Battle Creek and Battle Creek Township. A state staffer says the request is “uncommon”.
  This Wednesday, Flint City Council will consider whether consolidation could be in the city's future.
  The Flint Journal reports that a council committee will take up a resolution this Wednesday, with a final decision from council coming next Monday:
  Government consolidation in Michigan has been a hot topic since Gov. Rick Snyder told local communities that they would lose out on additional state aid unless they showed a commitment to share services with others to save taxpayer dollars.
  Snyder set a Jan. 1 deadline for governments to submit consolidation plans if they want to receive a share of a $200-million pool of funds.
  Several local communities, including Burton, Clio, Davison and Davison Township, have already joined the initiative.
  The consolidation initiative is known as Future Genesee and the Journal reports it includes the communities of Burton, Clio, Davison and Davison Township.