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Thursday Afternoon State News Summary Thu, 08 May 2008 14:49:08 (Capitol-No Smoking) The State Senate Has Approved Legislation Which Bans Smoking In The Workplace In Michigan, Including Bars And Restaurants. The Vote Was 25-To-12. The Bill Must Now Go Back To The House For Concurrence On Amendments. Supporters Say Michigan Will Be A Healthier Place If Smoking Is Taken Out Of Places Like Bars And Restaurants. Opponents Say It Should Be The Right Of The Owners Of Establishments To Decide Whether Or Not They Want To Allow Or Prohibit Smoking. (Capitol-Text-Cell Driving) Testimony Opened In A House Committee In Lansing Today (Thursday) To Crack Down On Drivers Who Use A Cell Phone When They Drive. Separate Bills Before The House Transportation Committee Would Prohibit Both Cell Phone Use Unless A Driver Was Using A Hands-Free Device And Text Messaging While Driving. There Would Be Exceptions To The Rules Such As Using Cell Phones To Report Traffic Accidents Or In Cases Where A Person's Safety Might Be At Risk. Some States Already Have Banned Or Limited Cell Phone Use While Driving, But Similar Efforts In Michigan Have Gone Nowhere In Past Years. The Committee Did Not Vote On The Bills And More Testimony Is Slated. (Ingham Co-Serial Killer-Update) An Ingham County Jury Took Just Over Two Hours This Afternoon (Thursday) To Convict A Suspected Serial Killer In The Lansing Area. 28-Year Old Matthew Macon Of Lansing Was Found Guilty Of Killing 41-Year Old Karen Delgado-Yates And 64-Year-Old Sandra Eichorn, Both Of Lansing, Last August. Macon Also Was Convicted Of The Assault On Another Lansing Woman The Same Day That Delgado-Yates Was Killed. He Was Found Guilty On Two Counts Of First-Degree Murder, One Count Of Assault With Intent To Commit Murder, One Count Of Torture And One Count Of Home Invasion. He Faces A Mandatory Life Sentence On The First Degree Murder Convictions. No Date Has Been Set For Sentencing. Macon Also Is Suspected In The Deaths Of Five Other Women Dating Back To 2004. (Mi-Four Dollar A Gallon Gas) Four Dollar A Gallon Gas Prices Are Now A Reality In Michigan. According To 'Triple A Michigan', The Statewide Average For A Gallon Of Premium Gas Is Over Four-Dollars-12-Cents A Gallon While Self-Serve Regular Is Averaging More Than Three-Dollars-74-Cents. The Auto Club Says The Highest Average Gas Prices Among Stations Surveyed Are In The Traverse City Area At More Than Three Dollars-82 Cents A Gallon. Meanwhile, The Web Site 'Michigangasprices-Dot-Com' Puts The Statewide Average At Nearly Three-Dollars-87-Cents A Gallon. The Price At Some Gas Stations In The Metro Detroit Area This Morning (Thursday) Are Three-Dollars-99-Cents A Gallon. Unleaded Regular Is Going For Three-Dollars-90-Cents A Gallon At Service Stations Throughout West Michigan And The Northern Lower Peninsula. (Help From: Mike Paulin, Wtcm, Traverse City) (Wayne Co-Text Scandal Case) New Accusations Of Footdragging Have Been Reported In The Text Message Scandal Involving Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick And His Former Chief Of Staff, Christine Beatty. The Attorneys For Beatty And Kilpatrick Have Filed A Motion With 36th District Court Judge Ronald Giles Because They Still Haven't Received Some Six-Thousand-500 Pages Of Evidence The Prosecution Plans To Use In The Case. Kilpatrick And Beatty Are Accused Of Perjury And Obstruction Of Justice In The Settlement Of An Eight-Point-Four Million Dollar Whistleblower Lawsuit. According To Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, The Documents Have Been Available For Some Time, But The Defense Refuses To Pay The Cost Of One Dollar Per Page. She Has Accused Kilpatrick's Lawyers And His Ex-Top Aide Of Attempting To Delay Their Pending Criminal Case. The Judge Could Rule On May 13th To Suppress The Evidence, Which Could Include Text Message Transcripts. (Wwj, Detroit) (Livingston Co-Double Murder Suspect) A Detroit-Area Man Is Expected To Be Arraigned This Afternoon (Thursday) In Livingston County On Charges Stemming From The Murder Of His Brother And Sister-In-Law. Jerome Kowalski Was Arrested Tuesday Evening At His Warren Home In Connection With The Murders Of 65-Year Old Rick Kowalski And His 58-Year Old Wife Brenda. The Bodies Of Couple Were Found By Their Son In The Kitchen Of Their Oceola Township Home Last Week. Police Say The Couple Had Been Dead At Least A Day. Investigators Have Not Disclosed The Manner Of Death, But Neighbors Assume The Couple Had Been Shot To Death Because Police Were Questioning Them About Whether They Heard Gunshots In The Area. Police Believe The Motive For The Killings Was A Recent Inheritance Left By The Kowalskis Deceased Mother. (Help From: Metro Source) (Saginaw-School District Sues City) The Saginaw School District Will Sue The City Of Saginaw And Possibly Other Entities In Order To Block Construction And Operation Of A Proposed Halfway House For Federal Prisoners. School Officials Say The Location Of The Facility, Just 750 Feet From The District's Arthur Eddy Academy Would Pose A Major Safety Risk. The School Board Believes Approval Of The Halfway House Was Done In Violation Of The City's Zoning Ordinance And Possibly State Law. It Approved A Resolution That Says The Halfway House Project Is Harmful To The Interests Of The School District, Its Students And The Northeast Saginaw Neighborhood. (Wsgw, Saginaw) (Greenville-Human Smuggling) The Owner Of A Greenville Motel Was Sentenced In Federal Court Last Week For His Role In An Attempted Human Smuggling Scheme. 33-Year-Old Kalidas Patel (Kah-Lee-Dus Pah-Tell) Will Spend Six Months Under House Arrest, Pay A 45-Thousand Dollar Fine, Serve Six Years Of Probation And Perform 200 Hours Of Community Service. He Was Charged With Trying To Smuggle Eight Family Members From India Into The U.S. Aboard Jets Owned By Ada-Based Alticor. Patel Faced Up To 10 Years In Prison And A 250-Thousand Dollar Fine For Each Of Eight Counts Of Attempted Alien Smuggling. As Part Of A Plea Agreement, He Pleaded Guilty To Three Counts And The Other Five Were Dropped. (Chip Burch, Wscg, Greenville) (Grand Rapids-Booze Crackdown) An Alcohol Crackdown Is Underway In Grand Rapids, But Officers Are Looking More For The Businesses In Violation Of Liquor Laws Than The Drinkers Themselves. Over The Past Two Weeks, Police Found 14 Out Of 84 Stores And Bars In The Area Served Alcohol To Minors Or Served Alcohol To Customers That Were Clearly Intoxicated. The Crackdown Stems From Recent Violent Crimes In Or Near Establishments That Serve Alcohol. According To Police, The Enforcement Will Continue Through The Summer. (Metro Source) (Mi-Facebook Changes) The Social Networking Site Facebook Has Reached An Agreement With Attorney General Mike Cox And The Attorneys General Of 48 Other States And The District Of Columbia To Make Changes That Better Protect Children From Predators And Inappropriate Content. The Changes Include Providing Automatic Warning Messages When A Child Is In Danger Of Giving Personal Information To An Unknown Adult; Restricting The Ability Of Users To Change Their Listed Ages; Acting More Aggressively To Remove Inappropriate Content And Groups From The Site And Requiring Third Party Vendors To Adhere To Facebooks Safety And Privacy Guidelines. Facebook Has Also Agreed To Participate In A Task Force Headed Up By The Networking Site Myspace On The Implementation Of Age And Identity Verification Software For Social Networking Sites. (Ottawa Co-Gay Murders Trial) Jury Selection Began Today (Thursday) In The Ottawa County Trial Of Two Men Accused Of Killing Two Other Men Over An Apparent Homosexual Love Triangle More Than 20 Years Ago. 54-Year Old Santiago Leos And 46-Year-Old Alfredo Luna Are Accused Of Murdering 20-Year-Old Michael Osborne And His Roommate 42-Year-Old Michael Van Enenaam In A Holland Area Home In March Of 1988. The Victims' Badly Decomposed Bodies Were Found In The Allegan State Game Area Seven Months After The Crimes Took Place. Cold Case Investigators Arrested Leos And Luna Last September Following New Leads In The Case. It's Believed Leos Plotted The Two Murders When His Ex-Boyfriend, Osborne, Started A New Relationship With Van Enenaam. Opening Arguments Are Expected To Begin Friday Or Early Next Week. (Metro Source) (Detroit-Kilpatrick Photo Flap) The Latest Mini-Scandal Involving Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Is Focused On If The Mayor Was Photographed With Others Wearing A Dress In A 1984 School Play. Last Month, 'The Hill', A Washington-Based Newspaper, Printed A Story And The Photo Saying The Mayor Was Wearing A Wig And In A Red Dress During The Performance Of "Little Annie" At Dwight Rich Middle School In Lansing. Kilpatrick's Name Was In The Playbill And He Attended The School That Year While His Family Was Living In Lansing. Shortly After The Photo Was Seen, 'The Hill' Reporter Betsy Rothsein Said She Received A Number Of Phone Calls From The Mayor's Office. Kilpatrick Spokeswoman Denise Tolliver Has Reportedly Said The Mayor Denied He Was In The Show And Did Not Participate. (Wwj, Detroit) (Ann Arbor-Best Sandwich) Oprah Winfrey's Search For America's Best Sandwich Makes A Stop In Ann Arbor. The Famed Dining Spot Zingerman's Deli Will Have Its Number 97, "Lisa C's Boisterous Brisket," Hand-Pulled Beef In Barbecue Sauce On A Challah Bun, Scrutinized On Tomorrow's (Friday) Show That Is All About Sandwiches. Oprah's Food Correspondent Gayle King Visited Zingerman's Last Month During Her Countrywide Sandwich Sampling Tour. Zingerman's Managing Partner Grace Singleton Told The 'Ann Arbor News' That On A Scale Of 1 To 5, King Gave Them A 5. (Help From: Metro Source) (Detroit-Grenade Detonated) Detroit Police Detonated A Live Grenade Today (Thursday). The Grenade Was Lying In The Middle Of A Road On The City's West Side. The Bomb Squad Detonated The Device Inside Patton Park Startling Some Neighborhood Residents. However, Nobody Was Hurt During The Incident. (Metro Source) |
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