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.
Yesterday the Detroit Free Press reported that recent rains have contaminated Detroit area waterways with billions of gallons of untreated sewage and industrial waste. Today the Detroit News has a story about how many people are fishing — and eating — from these same waters. Though state advisories warn people to limit their consumption of fish from area waterways, some report that the down economy has more people fishing in order to feed their families.
Donna Terek writes that fishing the Detroit River is a popular local tradition.
[Richard Ford] 38, also was introduced to this fishing spot by his father. He joins a group of a dozen or more ranging in age from 12 to 70 who hang out at the corner every day, talking fish, talking trash, catching bass. They’ve brought a bulky coffee table down and made a filleting table out of an overturned, rusted steel barrel. The older guys relax under a grass-skirted umbrella. When it’s been a productive day, they fire up a turkey fryer, batter their fillets and drop them in hot oil. The fish come out crispy and hot, and disappear in minutes.
Carlos Parker plies the end of the dock near the lighthouse. Parker speculates this year’s increase in fishermen at the spot might be due to the economy. “People are finding out you can buy a license and possibly feed your family for the summer — or for the season.”
But he points out that for some anglers the point is the feel of the prey tugging the line and the art of landing it. “Many of these anglers are just here for the sport,” he says, “and they’ll give their fish away.”
According to the Michigan Department of Community Health no one should eat any carp, catfish or large whitefish from the Detroit River because of chemical contamination.
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