On Friday, September 30, 2011, elected officials from Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw, and Wayne Counties, and the City of Detroit, announced the formation of "Regional Partners Advocating Transit Here (R-PATH), a bi-partisan, volunteer group that will push for the creation of a regional transit authority and, ultimately, a regional mass transit system.

Leading up to the announcement was a presentation by transportation officials from Denver, Colorado, highlighting how Denver overcame significant challenges to develop a $1.67 billion light rail and bus system serving the eight county area surrounding Denver. Since the system opened in 2006, ridership in Denver is up 16% over initial estimates, and officials estimate that for every $1 invested in the transit system, $4 comes back to the local Denver economy.

For more details regarding legal issues surrounding public transit authorities and systems, please contact Mark Koerner at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Hubbard Shareholder Andria Ditschman is slated to moderate a discussion concerning the guidelines surrounding the Economic Vitality Incentive Program (EVIP) on Thursday, October 6, 2011, at the Michigan Municipal League's (MML) Annual Convention, which will be held at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The EVIP guidelines were issued by the Michigan Department of Treasury this past summer. Andria and Speaker Tony Minghine, Associate Executive Director & COO of the MML, will provide an explanation of the EVIP requirements, and instructions for how to use the templates developed for the program. Attendees will learn how to create a dashboard and a citizen guide regarding the program.

For more details regarding EVIP, please contact Andria Ditschman at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

On September 21, 2011, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) joined other Federal offices speaking on matters related to medical marihuana.  The Bureau's memo came in response to numerous inquiries from gun dealers.  It stated that guns or ammunition cannot be sold to registered users of medical marihuana.

"There are no exceptions in federal law for marihuana purportedly used for medicinal purposes, even if such use is sanctioned by state law," said the letter by Arthur Herbert, ATF's assistant director for enforcement programs and services.

Federal firearm licensees, or FFLs, can't sell a gun to someone who answers "yes" on a required form that asks whether the buyer is a controlled substance user.  In its memo, ATF takes the position that there are no exceptions in federal law for medical marihuana users even if the use is sanctioned by state law. But, the restrictions do not end with whether an express declaration has been made on an application or not.  According to the letter signed by Arthur Herbert, licensed dealers can't sell a gun or ammunition if they have "reasonable cause to believe" the buyer is using a controlled substance.  That includes if the buyer presents a medical marihuana card as identification, or talks about drug use, having a medical marihuana card or a recent drug conviction, ATF spokesman Drew Wade said Wednesday.

The ATF memo can be reached through this link: ATF Memo 092111 .