The Michigan Messenger

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The Michigan Messenger going forward

By Staff Report | 11.16.11

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 [...]

Colorado-based abstinence program provided false and misleading information to Michigan students

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By Todd A. Heywood | 11.16.11

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.

Class action lawsuit filed against MERS over unpaid taxes

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By Todd A. Heywood | 11.15.11

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.

Schuette fights important mercury regulations

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By Eartha Jane Melzer | 11.14.11

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.

Posts Tagged Security

Battle Creek Enquirer photographer notes media access issues

By Todd A. Heywood | 08.13.10 | 10:12 am

It appears the Michigan Messenger is not the only news outlet covering the oil spill in Calhoun county to run into access issues and concerns. In Friday’s paper, the Battle Creek Enquirer notes in a caption to a photo that it had a hassle taking a picture of a skimming operation:

Enbridge, law enforcement still keeping media away

By Todd A. Heywood | 08.02.10 | 12:44 pm

On Sunday evening, Michigan Messenger was initially denied access — again — to a key oil spill site after attempting to record video of the Kalamazoo River where it crosses under 15 Mile Rd, the same site where we recorded video on Tuesday showing dramatic ribbons of oil and heavy sheen on the surface of the river as it passed under the bridge.

Even dogged by controversy, Sovereign Deed moves forward with plans in Petoskey area

By Eartha Jane Melzer | 06.12.08 | 7:35 pm

Federal agency clears way for Emmet County’s negotiations with tarnished disaster-response privateer The Federal Aviation Administration has granted Emmet County the right to lease some of the Pellston airport for commercial use, reviving concerns in the Petoskey area about a controversial company that has pursued space at the airport for a training center. The FAA [...]

Gun threat heightens security at Jackson Community College

By Minehaha Forman | 04.26.08 | 10:05 am

Jackson Community College (JCC) is responding to reports that a man revealed a gun on campus Tuesday and said he was looking for a student at the Da Vinci High School Institute. The campus is not shut down but is now on a heightened security alert. There will be extra patrols during school hours and [...]

Detroit needs 500 new police but recruiting is ‘stymied’

By Minehaha Forman | 04.21.08 | 9:48 pm

The Detroit Police Department (DPD) wants to hire 500 new officers but is having trouble meeting recruitment goals, according to 2nd Deputy Chief James Tate, head of the police department’s public information office. The recruitment effort, which was put into effect in June last year, has been stunted by the meager advertising budget and a [...]

Fear and failure haunted Sovereign Deed, say ex-employees

By Eartha Jane Melzer | 03.12.08 | 7:28 am

Company insiders say job-starved Michigan was poised to make a bad investment When Sovereign Deed LLC came to Emmet County last year advertising a plan to invest millions and create jobs with a privatized disaster-response service, state legislators and the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance put together a tax-financed incentive package worth $19 million. Then troubling [...]

Sovereign Deed Founder Acknowledges Lying about Military Record

By Staff Report | 03.07.08 | 10:00 am

Barrett Moore, founder of a private disaster response firm seeking tax breaks to establish operations in northern Michigan, has acknowledged for the first time that he lied about his military service and was once convicted of criminal fraud in Australia. In a commentary published in the Petoskey News-Review Thursday, Moore repeated claims that his firm, [...]

Ex-general steps down as public face of Sovereign Deed

By Eartha Jane Melzer | 02.06.08 | 4:46 pm

Resignation follows report that his CEO lied about his own military record. Retired Brig. Gen. Richard W. Mills has left Sovereign Deed, the company that is seeking public funds for development of a national disaster response center in Northern Michigan. Mills served as deputy commander of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command before joining Sovereign [...]

Messenger story ‘defamatory,’ says Sovereign Deed attorney

By Staff Report | 01.22.08 | 7:00 am

Michigan Messenger’s reporting on Barrett Moore, founder of the Sovereign Deed private security firm, is “unscrupulous and defamatory,” says the firm’s attorney in a letter sent to Michigan Messenger last Friday. The letter demanded that Michigan Messenger remove from its Web site a story headlined “Sovereign Deed CEO lied about military service, records show.” Sovereign [...]

Hypocrisy and Ambition: What the Barrett Moore Story Says About America

By Ed Brayton | 01.17.08 | 9:34 pm

[COMMENTARY] “An ounce of hypocrisy is worth a pound of ambition,” a famous publisher once said. Hypocrisy and ambition, alas, are the dominant themes that have emerged from Michigan Messenger’s months-long investigation into Barrett Moore, the chief executive officer of Sovereign Deed, the private security company looking to set up its headquarters in Pellston, Michigan. [...]