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Tuesday Afternoon State News Summary Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:51:44 EDT (Mi-Casino Proposal Lawsuit) Plans Have Been Announced To File A Lawsuit That Seeks To Stop A Casino Expansion Proposal From Reaching The Statewide Election Ballot. Protect Mi Vote Says It Will Ask The Michigan Court Of Appeals To Issue An Order Directing The Secretary Of State To Reject The Ballot Petitions Submitted By Citizens For More Michigan Jobs And Not Allow The Proposed Constitutional Amendment To Go Before Voters In November. The Coaltion's Legal Counsel John Pirich Says The Language In The Amendment Was Very Poorly Drafted And Includes Not One Or Two, But Numerous Substantial Constitutional Violations. The Proposal Would Authorize New Privately Owned Casinos In Eight Locations In Michigan And Eliminate The Constitutional Requirement That All Gaming Expansions Be Approved By Both A Statewide And Local Vote. It Also Makes Amendments To The Voter-Initiated Michigan Gaming Control Act Including Changing The Definition Of Casino Gaming To Allow For Nearly Any Form Of Gambling To Occur At The Properties Designated In The Proposal. (Mi-Fish Kills) The Department Of Natural Resources Says The Drought And Extreme Heat This Summer Are Killing Fish Across Michigan. Numerous Fish Kills Have Been Reported All Over, And When Water Temperatures Go Up, Oxygen Levels Decrease. Dnr Fish Production Manager Gary Whelan Says Water Temperatures Last Week In The Lower Shiawassee River, As One Example, Were Nearly 90 Degrees Killing Off Some Northern Pike. More Fish Kills Are Expected As The Heat Continues To Bake Michigan. The Fish Killed Typically Range From The Dozens To The Hundreds. The Dnr Says The Overall Effects Of Such Events Are Often Very Local In Nature And May Not Significantly Change Overall Fish Population Numbers But It Will Take Some Time To Fully Evaluate. Officials Say Anglers Can Help By Being Extra Careful In Handling And Unhooking Fish That Are To Be Released To Keep Stress To A Minimum. The Dnr Suggests Not Fishing In The Hottest Part Of The Day And Not Keeping Fish In Live Wells For Too Long. Fishing In The Early Morning Is Generally Considered The Least Stressful For Fish. (Battle Creek-Woman Found Dead-Update) Police In Battle Creek Say A 26-Year-Old Woman Was Found Dead In Her Home Yesterday (Monday) And They Are Calling Her Death Suspicious. Authorities Say Jennifer Joostberns Was Found Dead By Her Father Because He Had Not Heard From Her, And Went To Her Home. He Discovered The Back Door Had Been Forced Open And Found Joostberns Dead In The Basement. Police Have Not Yet Determined A Cause Of Death And Have Not Referred To The Death As A Homicide. An Autopsy Is Scheduled. According To The 'Battle Creek Enquirer,' Joostberns Was Involved In An Argument With Her Boyfriend That Turned Violent Early Saturday. At The Time, A Warrant Was Being Sought Against The Man And He Had Not Been Found. Anyone With Information Is Asked To Call The Battle Creek Police Department Or Silent Observer. (Wbck, Battle Creek) (Wayne Co-Bashara Bound Over) The Husband Of A Murdered Grosse Pointe Park Woman Has Been Bound Over For Trial On A Solicitation Of Murder Charge. Robert Bashara Is Accused Of Hiring A Hit Man To Kill The Handyman Charged With Murdering His Wife. Joseph Gentz Has Admitted That He Killed 56-Year Old Jane Bashara In January And Told Officers Robert Bashara Offered Him To Pay Him For Murdering Her. Bashara's Arraignment In Wayne County Circuit Court Is Scheduled For July 31st. He's Being Held On A $15 Million Bond. (Metro Source) (Detroit-Lottery Winner Sentence-Update) A 25-Year Old Lincoln Park Woman Who Collected Food Stamps After Winning A Nearly Million-Dollar Lottery Prize Has Avoided Jail Time. Amanda Clayton, Who Pleaded No Contest To Welfare Fraud, Was Sentenced Today (Tuesday) To Nine Months Probation. In Addition, Shes Required To Have A Job And Pay Court Costs. Clayton Already Repaid The State Approximately 55-Hundred Dollars For Food And Medical Benefits. Clayton Admitted She Kept Receiving State Benefits After She Won Over 700-Thousand Dollars On The Michigan Lottery Game Show Make Me Rich. Michigan Lawmakers Have Since Amended State Law And Lottery Officials Are Now Required To Share Information With The Department Of Human Services About Winners. (Help From:Metro Source/Wwj, Detroit) (Schoolcraft Co-Sexual Assault) A Search Is Underway For A Man Who Raped A Chicago Woman Over The Weekend In Schoolcraft County In The Upper Peninsula. 27-Year Old Battle Creek Native Jenn Gibbons Was Rowing The Perimeter Of Lake Michigan To Raise Money And Awareness For Breast Cancer Survivors When She Was Attacked On Sunday In An Area South Of Gulliver Along Lake Michigan In Mueller Township. Michigan State Police Troopers Believe The Suspect Is Not From The Area And Traveled A Significant Distance To Get There. He's Described As A While Male In His 30s, Between Five-Feet-Eight Inches And Six Feet Tall With Short Hair And Light-Colored Eyes. The Suspect Was Wearing A Grayish Green T-Shirt, Jean Shorts And Tennis Shoes. He May Have Been Driving A Bright Yellow Jeep Wrangler With A Spare Tire That Had A Yellow Smiley Face On It. Gibbons, A Former Michigan State University Crew Team Member, Said In A Post On Her Website That She Will Resume Her Trip Next Week With Additional Security And Precautions. (Emu-Etter) An Eastern Michigan University Business School Professor With A History Of Sexual Harassment Will Remain On The Job. Accounting Professor Edwin Etter Has Been Suspended And Denied Tenure Twice For Sexually Harassing Students, However He Will Spend One-More Year On Campus And Draw A Salary Of Nearly 120-Thousand Dollars. Etter Taught A Full Schedule Of Classes Last Year And Was Awaiting A Decision Regarding His Tenure, Which Was Denied By Emu Provost Kim Schatzel (Schat'-Zull) In March. School Officials Say That Etter Will Spend The Upcoming School Year Doing Mostly Administrative Work. (Metro Source) (Saginaw-Police Shooting Investigation) Saginaw Officials Are Taking Action After Residents Expressed Their Anger About The Police Shooting Of A Homeless Black Man. City Manager Darnell Earley Announced That The City Will Conduct An Internal Affairs Investigation Into The Shooting, Which Killed Milton Hall On July 1st. Earley Says The City Will Have To Wait To Begin Its Probe Until A Current Michigan State Police Investigation Has Concluded. Earley Says Those Results Will Give The City A Starting Point In Which To Investigate The Actions Of The Officers Involved, And The Policies Of The Department. One Of The Questions He Wants Answered Involves Why The Majority Of Video Equipment Installed In City Police Cars Was Not Working On The Day Of The Shooting. The City's Director Of Public Safety, Phil Ludos, Will Be Heading Up The Investigation. (Wsgw, Saginaw) (Dearborn-Shooting Death Arrests) Police In Dearborn Say Four People Have Been Arrested And Charged With The Murder Of A 45-Year-Old Man. 26-Year-Old Charles Jackson, 28-Year-Old Zelda Taylor, 28-Year-Old Iashia Knox And 28-Year-Old Kristen Holmes, All Of Detroit. All Are Charged With Felony Murder, Punishable By Life In Prison Without The Possibility Of Parole, Armed Robbery And Conspiracy To Commit Armed Robbery, Both Punishable By Life Or Any Number Of Years In Prison. Hassan Jaber Was Killed Inside His Home On Dearborn's East Side On July 15th. Police Said Jaber Was Found With Some Obvious Trauma Although They Would Not Elaborate. All Four Defendants Will Remain In The Wayne County Jail, Having Been Denied Bond. They Are Due Back In Court On August 3rd. (Wwj, Detroit) (Kent Co-Flag Burner-Update) A Man Who Was Arrested In Ottawa County For Burning An American Flag On The Hudsonville City Hall Flagpole Is In Trouble With The Law Again. William Howertown Is In The Kent County Jail, Accused Of Burning A Flag At A Grandville Comerica Bank Branch And Setting A Sign On Fire In The Yankee Candle Company In Rivertown Crossings Mall. Earlier This Month, The 57-Year-Old Postal Worker Pleaded Guilty To Misdemeanor Charges In Connection With The Flag Burning Howerton Has August Court Appearances In Both Ottawa And Kent Counties. (Greg Ghering, Wood, Grand Rapids/Metro Source) (Auburn Hills-Chrsyler Investment) Chrysler Has Informed Employees At Its Mack Engine Plant In Detroit That It Is Considering A Plan To Invest Nearly $200 Million To Build Its 3.6-Liter Pentastar V-6 Engine. Reports State That The Investment Would Create About 250 New Jobs. Chrysler Produces The 3.7-Liter V6 Engine For The Jeep Liberty And Ram 1500 At The Mack Avenue Plant, But This Type Of Engine Will Be Discontinued And Replaced By The 3.6-Liter Pentastar V6. Chrysler Already Produces Pentastar V-6 Motors In Trenton, And In Saltillo, Mexico. The News Comes On The Heels Of Reports By Chrysler Two Weeks Ago That It Plans To Close The Mack Avenue Ii Plant In September, But The 200 Workers There Will Be Offered Jobs At Other Facilities. Some Of Those Workers Could Be Employed On The New Pentastar Line. (Help From: Wwj, Detroit) (Alger Co-Camp Crash Death) Jury Selection Got Underway Today (Tuesday) In The Trial For A 48-Year Old Man Accused In A Single Vehicle Crash On Private Property In The Upper Peninsula Last Summer That Left A Woman Dead. Thomas Murdock Of Munising Faces Charges Of Involuntary Manslaughter, Operating While Impaired, Third Offense And Possession Of Marijuana. State Police Say 44-Year-Old Lisa Ann Hardwick Of Munising Was Struck By Murdock's Pick-Up Truck June 20, 2011 As He Was Backing Up At A Camp On His Property In Alger County's Autrain Township Near West Branch Lake Along The Alger-Delta County Border. If Convicted, Murdock Could Receive A Maximum Of 15 Years In Prison. (Mi-Illegal Video Poker) Two Men Have Been Convicted For Their Roles In An Illegal Video Poker Operation In Flint-Area-Bars. 55-Year Old Michael Krempski Of Grand Blanc Admitted To Heading The Operation By Running Illegal Casinos Using Video-Poker Machines Throughout Genesee County. He Pleaded Guilty To Two Counts Of Violating The Gaming Control And Revenue Act And Paid A 200-Thousand-Dollar Fine, The Largest To Date For This Type Of Criminal Violation. Kremski Was Also Sentenced To Five Years Probation And Will Forfeit An Additional $80,000 To The Michigan State Police. His Employee, 54-Year Old Robert Murray Of Flint, Pleaded Guilty To One Count Of Violating The Same Law And Will Serve Three Years Probation And Pay A Ten-Thousand Dollar Fine. Kremski Sold The Video Poker Machines And Assisted The Bar Owners With Cash Flow By Providing Bags Of Money For Large Jackpots. Murray Would Travel From Bar To Bar, Collecting Cash From The Machines And Splitting The Proceeds 50-50 With The Bar Owners. Several Bar Owners Previously Pleaded Guilty For Their Roles In The Operation. (Um-Solar Car Wins) The University Of Michigan Solar Car Team Won Its Fourth Consecutive American Solar Challenge Over The Weekend. The U-M Car, Quantum, Crossed The Finish Line Sunday Afternoon In St Paul, Minnesota 10 Hours And 18 Minutes Ahead Of Second-Place Iowa State University, Breaking Its Own National Record For Margin Of Victory Set In 2008. The Eight-Day, Biennial 1,650-Mile Competition For Solar-Powered Vehicles Started July 14th In Rochester, New York. This Is The Seventh North American Title For The U-M Team, Which Won The Inaugural Event In 1990 With Its First Car, The Sunrunner. The U-M Solar Car Team Has Finished Third In The World Solar Challenge Five Times, Most Recently In 2011. |
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