State Roundup

ST. MARTIN ISLAND
Chopper returning from training rescues pilot

ST. MARTIN ISLAND, Mich. (AP) - Authorities say they rescued a man whose small plane crashed into Lake Michigan at a small island off of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says a helicopter crew from its Office of Air and Marine was returning Saturday evening from training in northern Michigan when a mayday call was heard from a pilot. The crew responded to St. Martin Island.

Customs and Border Protection says pilot Robert Kelly of Canada was spotted getting out of the plane and his wife was circling the crash site in another plane.

The crew landed on a rocky beach. Kelly had only minor injuries.

The Customs and Border Protection helicopter crew involved is assigned to the Great Lakes Air and Marine Branch at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in suburban Detroit.

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PARK TOWNSHIP
Man survives plane's crash landing on beach

PARK TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - Authorities say a 66-year-old man walked away with only minor injuries after crash landing a small plane on a Lake Michigan beach.

WGHN-AM reports Steven Stam told officers he was flying Sunday evening along the lakeshore in western Michigan when the plane's engine began having trouble. He brought the plane down in dune grass in Ottawa County's Park Township, near Holland State Park.

TV stations WOOD and WZZM reported that Stam also was involved in a September 2009 crash while trying to land at Park Township Airport. He wasn't hurt in that crash.

Jackee Thompson told MLive.com "something didn't sound right" before Sunday's crash. She says "the next thing you know, everyone is running to the crash site."

The Detroit News reports the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.

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PORT AUSTIN
Six arrested for illegally entering Reef Lighthouse

PORT AUSTIN, Mich. (AP) - Authorities say six people have been arrested for illegally entering the Port Austin Reef Lighthouse in Lake Huron.

The Huron County sheriff's department says the intruders recently used kayaks and other personal watercraft to get to the lighthouse, which is more than 2 miles from land. The department says one partially climbed the lighthouse wall and got a ladder, which was tossed down for the others.

The sheriff's office says eight people were involved in all. Five were booked for misdemeanor illegal entry and one was booked for misdemeanor obstruction of justice. They were released on bond.

Sheriff Kelly J. Hanson says there have been other recent problems with recreational boaters in the area. A statement from his office says "disrespectful and inconsiderate behavior ... will be dealt with accordingly."

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DETROIT
City officials using private email for public business

DETROIT (AP) - Detroit officials including Mayor Mike Duggan say they sometimes use private email accounts to conduct public business and are defending the practice as convenient and appropriate.

The Detroit Free Press obtained records through the Freedom of Information Act showing that Melvin Butch Hollowell, the city's top lawyer, used his Gmail account and city-issued email account to communicate about negotiations for a pending Riverside Park land deal.

The city's 2013 email policy prohibits workers from sending, receiving or forwarding "confidential or sensitive City of Detroit data and information through non-city of Detroit email accounts." The policy lists Gmail as an example of a non-city account.

Hollowell said the Gmail messages, including one that contained a draft of a contract with the Detroit International Bridge Co., didn't violate the city's policy because they weren't sensitive or confidential. Duggan said in an email that Hollowell's Gmail messages were acceptable.

Hollowell said he used his Gmail account during the Riverside Park negotiations because he cannot access his work email account from his home computer. Detroit City Council is expected to vote Tuesday on the land deal, which is expected to bring park improvements while giving the owners of the Ambassador Bridge city-owned land that could be used for a planned private bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.

Open records experts said the practice is perilous, potentially making it more difficult for the city to access public records stored on employees' personal email accounts and easier for public officials to delete emails that are subject to the state's Freedom of Information Act.

"It sends a signal to the public that business is being conducted outside the scope of the public records law," said Michael Reitz, executive vice president of the conservative Mackinac Center for Public Policy think tank and a board member of the Michigan Coalition for Open Government.