Ann Arbor
City Council asks for sale of fossil fuel holdings
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — The Ann Arbor City Council has approved a proposal asking a board to sell off fossil fuel-linked investments in its $429 million municipal pension plan.
The Michigan Daily reports the resolution that passed Monday was softened from a previously discussed one, using the word “request” instead of “urge.”
The city’s Energy Commission had wanted the council to pass a resolution directing the pension board to sell holdings in the top 200 publicly traded fossil fuel companies.
The University of Michigan campus community already aims to make a 90 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Kingsford
State issues ‘infidel’ plate to Michigan war vet
KINGSFORD, Mich. (AP) — State officials say they’ve defused a controversy and issued a personalized license plate to an Upper Peninsula man who wanted to use a variation of the word “infidel.”
Iraq war veteran Michael Matwyuk of Kingsford says the plate was rejected because officials feared it would offend people. But the secretary of state’s office says it was simply an oversight and issued the plate a month ago.
In a court filing Monday, the state wants a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.
When the lawsuit was filed, the state noted that Michigan law bars plates that might be offensive. Matwyuk says soldiers were repeatedly called “infidels” or non-believers by enemies in Iraq.
Meade Township
Police try to return headstone found at home
MEADE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — State police want to return a marble headstone to its proper place after it was found at a home in Huron County, and the agency said Tuesday it is seeking tips from the public.
The gray headstone with the name “Edith” engraved on the front was found recently in Meade Township, about 100 miles north of Detroit, The Huron Daily Tribune reported. It stands about 2 feet high and is about 15 inches wide, police said.
The homeowners contacted the state police post in Caro on Oct. 9 about the headstone. Investigators also are trying to figure out why it was taken and why it was dumped, said Trooper Dale Brywig.
“It appears to be the result of mischievous behavior,” Brywig told the newspaper. “At this point, there is no reason to believe it’s anything more serious than a prank.”
The removal of a headstone from a grave, however, could be considered malicious destruction of property, larceny, or both.
“We really just need to find out where it came from and go from there,” Brywig said.
Any with information about the headstone may contact the Michigan State Police Caro Post at 989-673-2156.
Coldwater
Sheriff ending night patrols amid budget cuts
COLDWATER, Mich. (AP) — A southern Michigan sheriff says he’s discontinuing night and overnight patrols because of budget cuts put into place earlier this year.
Branch County Sheriff John Pollack made the announcement at a Monday night county government meeting. In a statement, officials say Michigan State Police are expected to help provide the county with 24-hour law enforcement coverage.
The sheriff’s department had been covering the Monday-Friday day shift and the midnight shift each day with four deputies per shift. Pollack says safety was a concern, because sick days, vacation time and other factors sometimes left only one or two deputies on duty.
Under the plan, the sheriff’s department will staff a shift 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and state police will cover the remaining time.
Mount Clemens
Timeline could be set for new sentences in slaying
MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (AP) — A timeline could be set this week for handing down new sentences for two men convicted of abducting and killing a customer at a Detroit-area sandwich shop.
The Macomb Daily of Mount Clemens reports lawyers are expected to appear Wednesday before Judge Diane Druzinski in Macomb County Circuit Court to schedule evidentiary hearings in the case involving Robert Taylor and Ihab Maslamani.
The Michigan appeals court said in March that Taylor and Maslamani were entitled to new hearings because the U.S. Supreme Court struck down mandatory no-parole sentences for murder committed by teenagers. Taylor was 16 when Matt Landry was abducted outside an Eastpointe Quiznos in 2009.
Landry’s body was discovered in a Detroit house. Prosecutors say Masalmani, then 17, shot Landry while Taylor helped abduct him.
