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.
Detroit’s interim mayor, Kenneth Cockrel Jr., and businessman Dave Bing will square off for the first time tonight in a television debate broadcast on WADL-TV. With less than six weeks left until the May 5 special election to fill out the remainder of ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s term, here are a few things to watch for that may determine who comes out on top.
How hard will Bing go after Cockrel, considering Cockrel’s advantage as an incumbent and his recent big endorsements from the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the police officers union?
Will Cockrel attack Bing’s credibility? Cockrel may go after Bing for allegedly lying about receiving a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University in the 1960s when he didn’t complete the degree until 1995. Furthermore, Cockrel could hit Bing for going back on his word to debate the mayor after promising not to debate him unless Cockrel disclosed his personal finances.
On the flip side, look for Bing to attack Cockrel for not releasing his personal finances — and maybe drawing a parallel to the tarnished Kilpatrick.
Will Bing cast his lot with opponents of the plan to transfer Cobo Hall to a regional authority that would fund its expansion and renovation, a plan that Cockrel fully supports? Thursday, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Isidore Torres will hear the Detroit City Council’s plea for an injunction against that plan.
Justin Miller is a political journalist based in Wayne County who has worked for Real Clear Politics, blogged for The Atlantic and covered the 2008 elections in Ohio for The New York Observer’s Politicker.com network of state politics news sites.
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