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Detroit Lighting Fix Stalls In Senate

DETROIT (WWJ) - An effort to rebuild the street light system in Detroit has stalled in the Michigan Senate.

The plan would have set up a commission to earmark taxes and sell bonds to fix the lights in Detroit.  But, following a contentious debate, the Senate failed to take action.

"It just broke down into a bi-partisan bitter fight over this light commission in Detroit," said WWJ Lansing Bureau Chief Tim Skubick. "It was all greased to go as we talked to Dick Posthumus, the governor's lobbyist, earlier today. But once it went into the floor debate, it went nowhere."

The issue won't be taken up again until July 18.

Some Detroit City Council members, last year, said they'd get behind a plan to give away control of the public light system, calling it a "huge problem" for the city.   They said it wouldn't be possible for Detroit to pay for an overhaul of the system given the recent budget crunch.

There are currently more than 40,000  broken lights and poles in the city.

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