Daily Briefs . . .

Holiday Hours


The Third Circuit Court Civil, Criminal and Family Divisions and the 36th District Court will be closed Monday, Jan. 18 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

 

Bills to restructure Detroit K-12 district finally proposed


LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Legislation to overhaul Detroit’s troubled school district by splitting it has finally been introduced, more than eight months after Gov. Rick Snyder first proposed the restructuring.

The main bill unveiled Thursday includes $250 million to launch a new district, but the question of paying off $500 million in operating debt for the old district remains unsettled. Lawmakers have balked, especially if it means using money that other K-12 districts would receive.

The legislation does not include Snyder’s proposal to create a commission that could close or reconfigure low-performing schools, including independent charters.

The new district would initially be overseen by a board of five gubernatorial appointees and four mayoral appointees until voters elect a board in November. But a commission now overseeing the city post-bankruptcy would hire the superintendent.

 

Lansing settles lawsuit in crash involving officer for $875K


LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The city of Lansing has agreed to settle a second lawsuit connected to a 2009 crash involving a Lansing police officer.

The Lansing State Journal reports the $875,000 settlement with Jason Giffen brings the total to be paid by the city to nearly $1.9 million, with a third lawsuit pending.

The latest settlement was approved Wednesday in Ingham County Circuit Court.

Details of the settlement were revealed during discussions about the agreement before Brian Bez, Giffen's attorney, requested Judge James Jamo make them confidential, barring city officials, Giffen and his mother, Linda Giffen, from discussing the settlement.

The city previously reached a $1 million settlement in 2013 with Christopher Morofsky, who along with his brother and Giffen were in a car struck by the officer’s car.

 

Michigan professor pleads guilty to sex charges in Florida
 

WESTON, Fla. (AP) — A Michigan professor who authorities say traveled to South Florida to have sex with a 14-year-old boy has pleaded guilty.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports 51-year-old James Cavalcoli, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, pleaded guilty Wednesday to attempting to coerce or entice a minor to engage in sexual activity and traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

Authorities say Cavalcoli had made arrangements to meet with an undercover Florida Department of Law Enforcement agent, whom he believed to be the boy's father. He was arrested Aug. 7. At the time, officials say Cavalcoli was employed as an assistant professor at the University of Michigan.

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