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.
Ex-home of the Detroit Lions
Just when you thought the sorry saga over the bargain-basement sale of the Pontiac Silverdome was over, comes even more legal maneuvers. Except they aren’t nearly as cheap, according to Pontiac emergency financial manager Fred Leeb.
“Every day we are in court it costs us — legal fees, time which could be spent in a more positive direction, and $30,000 a week in maintenance of the Silverdome,” Leeb told the Detroit News.
Leeb, along with Mayor Clarence Phillips and auction company Williams & Williams, are all named defendants in the latest lawsuit aimed at unwinding the $583,000 sale price for a stadium that cost $55 million to build in the early 1970s.
The plaintiff in the case is a group called Citizens of Pontiac, a group of locals who are steaming mad that a sale that might have erased the struggling suburban city’s multi-million-dollar budget defecit, won’t do any such thing if the Nov. 16 sale stands.
According to the Detroit News story, Oakland Circuit Judge Edward Sosnick told a packed courtroom yesterday that he plans to rule on the case on Friday. The story fleshes out more of the group’s gripes:
The Citizens of Pontiac (group) is upset that the city-owned Silverdome, which cost $55.7 million, sold well below its market value, behind closed doors and out of view of residents. Members hoped enough funds would be raised by the sale to erase Pontiac’s $7 million budget deficit and allege selling it at such a low price “severely harms public health, safety and welfare of the residents.”
Leeb, of course, argues that even the embarrassingly low sale price helps ease Pontiac’s deficit — by eliminating steep maintenance costs for a mostly empty stadium, as well as putting the property back on the tax rolls and compelling the new owner to pay up. More than anything, it seems like Leeb, an appointee of Gov. Jennifer Granholm, just wants to put the matter behind him.
Meanwhile, a story in today’s Oakland Press provides more colorful courtroom theatrics:
During the packed hearing, opponents of selling the Silverdome for $583,000 wore sweatshirts with the words “Pimping ain’t dead.” Near the words was a cartoon figure of a bearded man wearing a wide brimmed hat, suit and eyeglasses.
The same story also notes that opponents of the sale are arguing that Leeb may have overstepped his authority as emergency financial manager by disregarding the local city council’s objections to the sale.
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