State Roundup

Grand Rapids Ex-library employee fired in 2008 for book sues GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) -- A former library employee in the Lake Michigan resort community of Ludington who was fired in 2008 for writing a book that describes a range of unpleasant patrons is suing. The Grand Rapids Press reports (http://bit.ly/qsPjuJ ) Monday the federal lawsuit claims "Library Diaries" author Sally Stern-Hamilton was "fired for engaging in protected speech." A scheduling conference for the lawsuit filed last month is Sept. 14 in Grand Rapids. Using the pen name Ann Miketa, Stern-Hamilton wrote the book she described as a fictional account based on her on-the-job experiences. The town in the book is called "Denialville." A message seeking comment was left Monday by The Associated Press with lawyer Kathleen Klaus, who represents the Mason County District Library and two officials named in the lawsuit. Coldwater Man acquitted in retrial over teacher-wife's death COLDWATER, Mich. (AP) -- A southern Michigan man who won a new trial after being convicted of killing his wife on their young son's birthday has been found not guilty. Forty-two-year-old Tom Foley testified for several hours Thursday at the Branch County courthouse in Coldwater and denied killing his wife, Dee Dee Foley. A jury acquitted him Saturday. The path for a new trial was cleared after the Michigan Supreme Court declined to take an appeal from the prosecutor. Dee Dee Foley was a popular teacher in the Union City school district. The 41-year-old was fatally shot in 2009 in Branch County's Girard Township. Tom Foley was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison, but the trial judge and appeals court granted him a new trial. Ionia 10 years later, opposition to concealed guns fades IONIA, Mich. (AP) -- Ten years after Michigan expanded the right of law-abiding adults to carry firearms, some of those who opposed the change say the dangers they feared didn't come to pass. About 276,000 Michigan residents now have concealed weapons permits, according to figures obtained from state police. That's up from about 52,000 people 10 years ago. The first year alone, 53,000 permits were approved, Booth newspapers report. State police records show 2 percent of concealed weapons license holders have been sanctioned for misbehavior. "I think you can look back and say, 'It was a big nothing,'" said Ronald Schafer, Ionia County prosecutor and president of Michigan's prosecutors' association, which led opposition to the law change in 2001. Until July 2001, people seeking to carry concealed weapons had to show a local gun board why they needed them. Since then, adults without felony records have been entitled to concealed weapons permits. Michigan Catholic Conference President Paul Long helped lead opposition to the law change. Asked last week about its effect, he said: "In all honesty, I don't give it much thought. It just hasn't been much of an issue." The Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police vigorously opposed the changes, and its leaders also say the group's concerns haven't materialized. "There haven't been as many incidents as we feared," Executive Director Tom Hendrickson said. "It really hasn't been an issue ... because so many superseding issues came along. In the total scheme of things, it just faded away." Washtenaw County Prosecutor Brian Mackie said he still wants strengthened screening for mentally unstable applicants, but he also acknowledged that most of his concerns haven't materialized. "We've done better than I thought," Mackie said. "We've had far fewer violations by (permit) holders than I feared we would." A gun rights advocacy group said the past decade has vindicated its position. "The debate is pretty much over, and we won," said Steve Dunn, a member of the board of the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said that the problems with gun violence don't tend to come from licensed gun carriers. "My position was, and still is ... that the people we have a problem with aren't the people who are willing to follow the law and go through the hoops and training," Bouchard said. Houghton Michigan Tech scientists investigate mini-quakes HOUGHTON, Mich. (AP) -- Researchers in Michigan's far north are working in South America to investigate the links between small earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that can disrupt global air travel. Michigan Technological University geologist Greg Waite is focusing on "mini-earthquakes" within or beneath the Villarrica volcano in Chile. It's troublesome itself and is near to the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcano, whose eruptions disrupted airplane schedules. The assistant professor says the volcano he and his students from the Houghton campus are investigating offers a window on volcanic behavior because it's possible to view its bubbling lava from relative safety. Waite says graduate student Josh Richardson was able to record about 19,000 mini-quakes in about a week during a recent field trip. A $415,000 National Science Foundation grant funds the research.Ø Published: Tue, Aug 2, 2011