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.
Outspoken political consultant Sam Riddle refused his last chance at two plea deals Monday and will be the first figure accused of being involved in Detroit and Southfield bribery scandals to go to trial.
FBI officials allege that Riddle negotiated and arranged bribes for convicted Detroit City councilwoman Monica Conyers and in a separate charge, arranged bribes between a jewelry store owner and convicted Southfield city councilman William Lattimore. Conyers and Lattimore pleaded guilty as well as two Synagro figures; consultant Rayford Jackson and former executive James Rosendall.
With two separate trials pending in federal court, Riddle shunned the advice that presiding U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn gave his lawyers to “keep his fingers off the keyboard and his mouth closed” with information about his trial, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press.
Instead, he updated his Twitter and Facebook page with rebellious posts, claiming that if a judge can stop him from using social networking sites then they can stop anyone. “I will Go Straight To Jail Before I Get Off This Keyboard – If They Stop Me from Tweeting Or FaceBooking You Are Next,” Riddle posted as his Facebook status Monday evening. He made his rounds on Twitter, too: “I will continue to speak out –Shut me Up and u are next- Judge made Fieger takes his ads off air,” he tweeted Tuesday morning, referring to prominent attorney Geoffrey Fieger who went through a highly publicized trial in 2008 before being acquitted.
An active social networker, Riddle updates his Facebook and Twitter pages frequently, especially with personal information and opinions about his indictments. Now that he has two upcoming trials, his active web updates may raise questions about the role of social networking sites and legal proceedings.
Riddle’s trial for the Synagro case begins on Jan. 4 with Judge Cohn presiding and his trial with the Southfield case will begin on Feb. 2, with U.S. District Judge Marianne Battani presiding.
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