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.
While many heaved a sigh of relief when the Detroit mayoral scandal came to a close last week with Kwame Kilpatrick’s resignation deal, the drama in Detroit City Hall is far from over, thanks to Monica Conyers, who seems to be filling the drama vacuum.
With Kilpatrick out of the picture, Detroit’s new mayor is City Council President Kenneth Cockrel Jr., with Monica Conyers second in command as council president pro tempore.
Things got started in earnest in February when Detroit police filed a report on Conyers after she threatened to shoot a staffer to the mayor, DeDan Milton.
Then in April, Conyers made a splash that got the attention of national media after she instigated a shoutfest during a City Council meeting during which she called Cockrel “Shrek.”
More recently, in August, police were called to the Magnolia Hotel in Denver, Colo., where Conyers was staying during the DNC. The Denver police said they were responding to a “disturbance” Conyers caused in a heated argument with hotel staff about the size of her room.
Conyers denied the whole thing. For their part, Denver police confirmed that the incidents happened.
But now that Cockrel has moved up to the mayor’s office and Conyers is City Council president — to the chagrin of other council members and some Detroit residents — the council is mulling over a decision on whether or not to hold a special election that may cost the money-strapped city at least $3 million. But it would take Conyers down from her high roost with the city.
So is it worth $3 million to get Conyers out?
That’s a sticky question. I don’t think that Detroit needs another high-ranking city official marring the city’s image across the country. But then again, $3 million is a lot of money for a city that can’t afford to pick up bulk trash more than a couple times a year or cut the grass on city land or complete other basic considerations.
If nothing else, the drama seems to be keeping people entertained. And next year’s election will offer a chance to turn the page on the days of an unstable Detroit City Hall.
But as all the chaos that took place over the past few months shows, anything can happen.
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