I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
LANSING — The members of Michigan Pride Inc. are sighing with relief today, after their permit to shoot off fireworks later this month was approved Monday by the Lansing City Council. The group will host the fireworks display on Saturday, June 28, as part of the 20th anniversary lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender statewide pride event in downtown Lansing. The council also made sure a request to extend the hours the group could be in the park, from 10 p.m. until midnight, was approved.
But the fate of the show had been up in the air, as city officials raised concerns about the location and timing of the fireworks. Both Lansing Fire Chief Tom Cochran and Parks and Recreation Director Murdock Jemerson initially opposed the fireworks show. The two cited two concerns. First, they were very concerned about allowing fireworks to be shot off in Riverfront Park, something the city has been attempting to discourage for many years. Secondly, they said they could not give permission to fire the fireworks from a bridge in the park because it was not owned by the city.
City Assessor’s Office records show the pedestrian bridge spanning the grand river in the park is owned by the Pennsylvania and Norfolk Southern railroads in Roanoke, Va. However, the city of Lansing has done significant capital improvements to the pedestrian bridge for its annual outdoor musical festival Common Ground. The city now maintains the bridge.
Continued -The concerns from Cochran and Jemerson were raised only after the Lansing fire marshal had met with Justin and Michael Matthews, the owners of Defying Gravity Fireworks in Canton, Mich. The pair received the approval of the fire marshal, which then led them to apply for the display permit. The Matthews told Jemerson, before a Lansing City Council meeting, that they had been trying to meet with him for weeks.
“Are you aware that I have tried to contact your office for the last several weeks, and I have been treated very badly?” Matthews said, his voice cracking with emotion he later said was frustration. “I had no problems meeting with you all.”
With the passage of the resolution by the council, Jemerson and Cochran met with the Matthews, and after nearly an hour of conversation, they approved the location and time of the shoot, as the fire marshal had originally approved it.
“We are OK with this, this one time,” Jemerson said, stressing the word “one.”
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