Category: Breaking News Written by AJ Williams, Chronicle Web Editor

Opening statements started today in the corruption trial of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Prosecutors begin to outline how city contractor and co-defendant Bobby Ferguson, made millions of dollars through rigged bids. Allegedly assisting in these fraudulent bids along with Kwame Kilpatrick were co-defendants, Victor Mercado and Kilpatrik’s father Benard Kilpatrick.

Among the allegedly bids they profited from, according to prosecutors, was in connection with a Sterling Heights sewer collapse in 2004 that took months to repair. Defense lawyers tried unsuccessfully to have this trial moved out of Detroit, arguing that heavy media coverage of the case had tainted the jury pool. Judge Nancy Denied a motion for a change of venue on Thursday.

The Kilpatricks are also accused of shaking down contractors who wanted business from Detroit city hall. All of the defendants have pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering, bribery and extortion. Kilpatrick was mayor until 2008 when he resigned in the unrelated text-messaging scandal.

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Category: News Briefs Written by mlive

 

DETROIT, MI - The Detroit Public Schools tentatively has surpassed anticipated fall enrollment, according to the district. 

 

As of Tuesday, 51,674 students had attended classes in the district's 100 schools. The district's fiscal year budget is based on fall term enrollment of 49,852 students.

The district says attendance was 90 percent Tuesday as 46,668 students made it to class, the Associated Press reports.

Detroit Schools has been pushing to increase enrollment and attendance in all of its schools.

A new automated calling system which notifies families of a student's absence in even one class each day has logged more than 177,000 calls and 41 attendance agents are addressing truancy.

 

About 66,000 students attended Detroit schools last fall. That number was down from 104,000 in 2007 and 168,000 in 2000.

“I continue to witness that attitudes are different across our schools this year,” Emergency Manager Roy Roberts said. “This is based on an overall positive direction moving forward, a smooth start operationally and academically for the new school year, a comprehensive effort in late summer aimed at ensuring parent and family readiness for the first day of school, and other new attendance initiatives.”

 

Along with the automated calling system, some 50 ministers' wives and widows participated in their new presence mission at DPS schools on Opening Day. Doors knocked on this August by Detroit Parent Network parent organizers and parent volunteers exceeded 2,000, and more than 100 events were covered by DPS enrollment teams during a several-week Back-to-School period. 41 Attendance agents have begun addressing truant children.

 

Roberts encouraged the parents and guardians of students who have not returned to classes this fall or whose attendance has lagged to act now to take advantage of the instruction taking place at this valuable time of the academic year.

 

Final count data for the October 3 and upcoming Winter term Count dates and 10-day reporting windows that follow is based on the number of FTE (full-time equivalent) students. The actual FTE could be less than “head count” enrollment, for example, for a high school level student not attending full schedule.

 

http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2012/09/call_system_ministers_wives_he.html

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Category: News Briefs Written by WDIV

 

DEARBORN, Mich. -

The Islamic Center of America is organizing a Rally Against Hate event to combat hate with goodwill, fellowship and peace, the center said.

 

The rally will take place at the group's center in Dearborn today at 3 p.m.

 

The ICA said the organization was motivated to plan the event by recent world events and film and cartoons about the Prophet of Islam.

 

"The level of freedom to express one's views in any country is judged by how all expression is protected, including abhorrent speech that is considered hateful. However, those who produce and promote expression that is hateful and which has no redeeming value, other than to promote division and encourage bigotry, should be put on notice that good people of faith will not stand idly by and allow hate to triumph over truth, love and respect," organizers said

 

ICA leaders said the purpose of the event is to convey the message that "every faith tradition has a place at the community table to engage in civil dialogue and the exchange of ideas in a civilized way, as was the tradition of the founders of all the worlds great faiths."

 

ICA's web site says one of the group's purposes is to "educate the American society about Islam and the Arab culture."

 

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/news/Islamic-group-plans-Rally-Against-Hate/-/4714498/16680652/-/tf6fil/-/index.html

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Category: Breaking News Written by WDIV

 

DETROIT -

A federal judge has denied a request that the trial of Kwame Kilpatrick be moved out of Detroit.

 

The paperwork for a change of venue was filed Thursday morning,

 

A jury was selected Wednesday for a Detroit trial. The 12 jurors include four African-American women, one African-American man, one Hispanic woman, two white men and four white women.

 

Alternates include: two white men, one white woman, two African-American women and one African-American man. Those jurors will decide if the former mayor was running a criminal enterprise with family and friends which included taking cash bribes, kick backs, vacations, private jets and more in exchange for getting contracts in the city.

 

Other defendants in the case include Kilpatrick's dad Bernard Kilpatrick, his childhood friend Bobby Ferguson and ex-Detroit City Water boss Victor Mercado.

 

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/investigations/Change-of-venue-in-Kwame-Kilpatrick-trial-denied-by-federal-judge-in-Detroit/-/1719314/16679282/-/dakdlgz/-/index.html

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Category: Breaking News Written by Financial Post

 

The Canadian Auto Workers hammered out a four-year tentative agreement with General Motors Thursday under the threat of a strike if a deal wasn’t reached by the end of the day.

 

Ken Lewenza, CAW president, said the GM deal follows the same pattern established in the tentative agreement achieved with Ford Motor Co. earlier in the week.

 

The union will now turn its attention to talks with Chrysler, the last of the Detroit Three without a labour pact.

 

 

“We have Ford establishing the pattern. We’ve got General Motors agreeing to the pattern and tomorrow we go to work with Chrysler,” he said at a late-night news conference announcing the GM pact.

 

The CAW extended talks with both GM and Chrysler Monday after reaching a tentative agreement with Ford Motor Co. ahead of its midnight strike deadline.

 

Both automakers had agreed in principle to follow the Ford deal, but the union reserved the right to serve 24-hour strike notice if it felt the talks had stalled with either automaker.

 

Mr. Lewenza said he hoped strike notice wouldn’t have to be served at Chrysler.

 

“As long as we’re making progress we’re not interested in pulling the trigger,” he said.

 

 

 

Similar to the Ford contract, the GM agreement lowers entry-level wages for new employees to roughly $20 an hour from $24 and extends the period of time it takes new employees to reach peak pay levels of $34 an hour to 10 years from six.

 

The deal foregoes cost-of-living increases until June 2016, and employees instead will receive a $3,000 lump-sum payment in year one and $2,000 in the subsequent three.

 

The new hires will also be moved into a cheaper hybrid pension plan.

 

In exchange, the CAW said GM has committed to a third shift at its flex plant in Oshawa, Ont., which he said would help the union maintain full employment levels at the company by the end of the contract.

 

The CAW will hold a ratification vote on the Ford agreement this weekend, and hopes to take the GM contract for similar vote as soon as possible, Mr. Lewenza said.

 

The union turned the pressure up in the talks with GM Thursday morning by saying if it didn’t have a deal by the end of the day it was prepared to serve 24-hour strike notice.

 

Mr. Lewenza upped the anti just after 1 p.m. by saying if GM didn’t address the outstanding issues within “two hours,” strike notice would be served.

 

But both parties returned to the bargaining table until shortly before 8 p.m.

 

Mr. Lewenza said the primary sticking points were issues of employment security, and the union’s efforts to put further restrictions on GM’s temporary worker program.

 

Mr. Lewenza said the new contract addresses both those issues, including putting restrictions on the temporary workers so they can only be used for their original intentions, such as during the launch of new vehicles.

 

http://business.financialpost.com/2012/09/20/caw-reaches-tentative-agreement-with-general-motors/

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Category: Breaking News Written by WWJ

 

DETROIT (WWJ) - Detroit police are searching for a gunman after a 2-year-old boy was shot on the city’s east side Thursday night.

 

Reports say the baby was shot while sitting in the back seat of a car near Lillibridge and Canfield streets. The boy’s mother drove to a nearby housing complex and called 911.

 

The child was rushed to Children’s Hospital and was last reported in serious condition.

 

Investigators say an argument among some adults preceded the shooting. No other details were released.

 

Police are now looking for the person who shot the toddler.

 

Anyone with information is asked to call Detroit Police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.

 

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/09/21/police-2-year-old-boy-shot-in-detroit/

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Category: Breaking News Written by WWJ

 

DETROIT (WWJ) - Four Detroit firefighters are recovering after they were injured during a house explosion on the city’s northeast side Thursday night.

 

The Detroit Fire Department said its crews were battling a fire at a house on Lamont Street, near East McNichols and Ryan roads, around 9 p.m. when the explosion occurred.

 

The injured firefighters were taken to Detroit Receiving Hospital with minor burns and cuts and are expected to be okay.

 

The house is thought to have been vacant.

 

Fire officials say a natural gas leak is the suspected cause of the explosion. An investigation is ongoing.

 

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/09/21/4-detroit-firefighters-hurt-in-house-explosion/

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Category: News Briefs Written by WDIV

Michigan Lt. governor, federal highway administrator to attend ceremony

 

The $230-million Gateway Project in Detroit is set to open to traffic on Friday.

 

The project will allow traffic from the Ambassador Bridge to merge straight into nearby freeways once it is completed.

 

MDOT hired a private construction company to do the work after the Detroit International Bridge Company lost control of the contract for failing to meet court orders in March.

 

In January, Wayne County Judge Prentis Edwards briefly put 84-year-old billionaire bridge owner Manuel "Matty" Moroun and his top executive in jail for contempt of court.

 

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/Gateway-Project-at-Ambassador-Bridge-set-to-open-for-traffic-on-Friday/-/1719418/16677950/-/foufya/-/index.html

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Category: Breaking News Written by Christy Strawser, WWJ

 

Photo Credit: Google Street View

 

Detroit (CBS Detroit) Google’s mapping truck caught a disturbing image at what appears to be the same home where a 1-year-old girl was found dead inside a closet at her grandmother’s house in July.

 

No one’s been charged in that case.

 

But the same distinctive yellow brick house with the green porch is featured in a Google maps image of a Detroit neighborhood.

 

Only in the Google image, a group of young men stand ominously on the porch, one clutching what appears to be a shotgun. One of the men appears to point the gun at the Google truck in the final shot. 

 

Maryland meteorologist Jacob Wykoff, who was recently in Detroit on a business trip, spotted the Google maps image, and said he could hardly believe it.

 

“I was actually just there in July,” Wykoff said. “It’s certainly uneasy to see that type of stuff, I guess it happens in any major city, but Detroit sort of has a reputation now … That he actually points the gun at him?”

 

 

If the gunman was ever identified, is this a crime?  Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said not necessarily.

 

Worthy said a lot of questions would need to be answered.”Was it this person’s home? Because you do have a right to bear arms in your home. Certainly it looks like he’s on a porch that’s attached to a home, so that would not be a legal issue. Is this person an adult or a juvenile?”

 

Worthy said, in certain circumstances, even pointing a gun at someone is not illegal, if you feel threatened.

 

Google has a distinctively decorated mapping truck heading through metro Detroit with a camera mounted on top to perfect its satellite maps, with the goal of creating a 3-D map of every place in the world.

 

In this case, the truck was at Brinker and Robinwood in Detroit when the camera captured the young people with the weapon. The gun holder appears to follow the driver with the weapon — and points it at the truck in the final shot.

 

The home is identical to the place where baby Zyia Turner was discovered dead in a closet, with her cause of death undetermined. At the time, her father said his brother was watching several children Friday at the home near 7 Mile Road and Conant when she went missing.

 

There have been no arrests in connection with Zyia’s death. Police said family members have been cooperative.

 

But will this image available to anyone trying to plot out a route in Detroit put another black eye on the city?

 

Worthy said the image just “adds another layer” to the poor opinion many already have.

 

Marc Hoffman wrote on Facebook, “If I was the driver, I would refuse to drive down any of those streets.”

 

Merry Campbell hopes Google re-shoots the image for the sake of the city. “It’s a shame the image is being shown,” she wrote on Facebook. “It gives a terrible impression of the city, which already has a bad reputation, as it is. I hope that whoever is in charge at Google maps will reshoot it!”

 

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/09/20/google-maps-catches-teens-with-gun/

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Category: Breaking News Written by AJ Williams, Chronicle Web Editor

The hearing to request a change of venue for the Kilpatrick corruption trial is scheduled for today at 2p.m. before U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds. Judge Edmunds stated that she thought the motion was premature, however, she would still hear the case.

Attorney John Shea, who represents contractor Bobby Ferguson, says recent media coverage is to blame for the request. “That went into jurors’ background and jurors in past cases and their families causes us to be very concerned that jurors may feel intimidated. It’s a jury intimidation issue more than anything else,” says Shea.

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