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.
On Monday, Oakland County Judge Edward Sosnick ruled that the bargain basement sale of the former home of the Detroit Lions — $583,000 for a stadium that cost $55.7 million to build 35 years ago — should proceed despite the efforts of a rival buyer to have an injunction placed on the sale.
And the Pontiac Silverdome post-game show continues today, with some colorful analysis by Al Lewis of Dow Jones Newswire.
In his story, Lewis lays out the longer view on the precipitous fall — in monetary and civic pride terms — of the suburban stadium that over the years has hosted (in no particular order) Elvis, Led Zeppelin, the Detroit Pistons, Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant, and Pope John Paul II.
(It was the pontiff, Lewis informs us, who pulled the largest Silverdome crowd with 93,682 souls in attendance.)
From the story:
Pontiac, the great Ottawa chief, is history.
Pontiac, the automobile, will soon be history, too, as General Motors Co. discontinues the line.
Pontiac, the Detroit satellite city, is facing 35 percent unemployment, a $6 million budget deficit, and a $103 million debt load. It needs to get the empty Silverdome’s $1.5 million annual operating costs off its books and onto the books of someone who also can pay taxes.
The soon-to-be new owner of the Silverdome, Andreas Apostolopoulos, CEO of Toronto-based Triple Properties Inc., told Lewis’ Wall Street Journal colleague Alex Kellogg that people shouldn’t think his $583,000 purchase of the stadium is that good a deal.
From Kellogg’s Tuesday story:
“It’s not what you pay for the property, it’s what you’re going to have to spend to fix it,” he said. “It will take time and a lot of money.”
And fixing it won’t necessarily mean that the Silverdone will soon become a pro soccer venue.
From Lewis’ story:
Some media reports have indicated that Apostolopoulos wants to use the Silverdome for soccer games, but the developer told me that’s just one of his ideas. ”There are all kinds of different ideas,” he said. “We’re going to ask the people in the area what they would like to see. Nothing is sure yet.”
Here’s an idea: How about new reality TV show? “Flip This Superdome.”
Not funny.
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