State Roundup

Flint Police: Man, 76, apparently slain during B&E FLINT, Mich. (AP) -- Police say a 76-year-old Flint man was killed after he apparently returned home to find a breaking-and-entering in progress. The Flint Journal reports (http://bit.ly/qVVUOz) Lonnie C. Thomas came home Friday afternoon to find two men inside his home. Police say he may have been fatally shot. Thomas was found early Saturday after family members became concerned and called police. A 19- and 17-year-old were arrested after one of them was found in Thomas' truck. The young men were jailed pending formal charges. Farmington Hills Wife kills husband; fatally shoots herself FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- Authorities are investigating the weekend slaying of a suburban Detroit man and a suicide by his wife in their home. Farmington Hills police tell the Detroit Free Press that 52-year-old Lisa Mazzola shot 53-year-old Robert Mazzola to death before fatally shooting herself. A friend of Lisa Mazzola called police after no one answered the door Friday night. The family's vehicles were parked outside their condo about 16 miles northwest of Detroit. Officers forced their way into the home and found husband and wife shot in the head. A note was in Lisa Mazzola's waistband and a handgun next to her body. The couple was going through a divorce and financial problems. Police say Robert Mazzola had returned Friday to meet with his wife after moving out about five days ago. Detroit ACLU gets $390K grant to help shape school reform DETROIT (AP) -- The W.K. Kellogg Foundation has awarded the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan a $390,000 grant to help reduce the numbers of students suspended or expelled from schools and referred to criminal courts. The grant is for two years and is part of the ACLU's efforts addressing school policies that lack due process protections for children. A 2009 ACLU report documented a trend where disciplinary policies were pushing students out of school. The Kellogg grant will be used to continue that work. The ACLU also will work with parents, students, teachers and school leaders on disciplinary policies. ACLU of Michigan Executive Director Kary Moss says the grant will "work to reduce the likelihood that these children will end up with a criminal record rather than a high school diploma." Adrian Recall fizzles after petitions miss deadline ADRIAN, Mich. (AP) -- An effort to recall a state lawmaker from Lenawee County has failed after organizers missed the deadline to get petition signatures to the Michigan secretary of state. Rep. Nancy Jenkins' foes claim they had plenty of names to force a recall election in November, but the petitions didn't get to Lansing by Friday. Jenkins, R-Clayton, said she was told that the person with the petitions suddenly had a family member in a car wreck and couldn't drive to the Capitol. She said she's praying for the family. Recall leader Victoria Powell told The Daily Telegram in Adrian that a "trusted person" didn't submit the petitions. "One has to wonder the reason behind this failure to act responsibly. . The petition sheets remain with one person," Powell said. Jenkins, who was elected for the first time last November, said she's pleased to avoid a recall election, although opponents still could get her on the ballot next February. Her critics don't like her support of a new law that gives broad powers to emergency managers who oversee troubled local governments and school districts. "I was going to have to go into campaign mode, which would have distracted me from the work in Lansing," Jenkins said, referring to the possibility of facing a recall election this year. Published: Tue, Aug 9, 2011