Free Republic

FLINT, MI -- Flint isn't alone when it comes to battling high rates of arson. Although Flint led the nation in per capita arsons for cities with at least 100,000 in 2011, some cities across the nation, and particularly the Midwest, are dealing with elevated arson rates, according to the most-recent data released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Like Flint, many of the other cities experiencing high arson rates also have a plethora of vacant homes. Here is a brief statistical look at the cities with the highest arson rates in the country: 1) Flint Population: 102,357 Total arsons:...

FLINT, MI – Matthew Dewayne Williams became Flint's record-setting 67th homicide victim in 2012 when he died five months after he was shot at a Flint gas station. Williams was critically injured when he was shot Nov. 6 at a BP gas station at Clio Road and Myrtle Avenue. Williams, 24, was taken to Hurley Medical Center in a personal vehicle. Flint police released his name to the media the next day. Michigan State Police said Williams died earlier this month – becoming Flint’s record-setting 67th homicide for 2012. “This stat is affirming that the gun violence in Flint is...

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., is adding his name to the list of possible Republican contenders for the Wolverine State's open-seat Senate race in 2014. "I am giving the Senate race serious consideration," he said in a statement. The House Intelligence Committee Chair is considered a top-tier GOP candidate, but some have doubted his interest in the race due to his high-ranking position in the lower chamber. A number of big names on the Republican side have already taken their names out of the running following Sen. Carl Levin's Thursday announcement that he would not seek re-election. Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich.,...

PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WJBK) - A federal judge is expected to make a decision this week that could eventually overturn on Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage. Judge Bernard Friedman of the U.S. District Court is expected to hear arguments on the legality of the ban during a hearing Thursday morning at Wayne St. University. A lesbian couple from Ferndale, April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse, originally filed suit last year in their fight to jointly adopt their three special needs children. "There's no way for them to both adopt the children together as a couple which leads to endless complications," said...

DETROIT -- Everybody got their five minutes with Dave. Everybody got to pet the bunny. Everybody but poor ol' me. After his Wednesday State of the City speech, Mayor Dave Bing's men passed him around to the media, each outlet getting a whopping five minutes to feed Hizzoner carrots -- five minutes is an old-school political way of keeping the q & a superficial. That's how you interview Hollywood starlets, not serious public servants. My bosses nominated me for the chore. But Dave was a scared rabbit. Dave said no. Dave's guy told my boss: "This is not the right...

LANSING, MI — The Lansing Police Department's second gun buyback program earned more than 100 guns Saturday, an achievement officers called "a great success." About 128 guns were purchased from the official sale, Lansing Police Department public information officer Robert Merritt said. He estimated most of the guns collected at Saturday's sale, held at Lansing's Tabernacle of David church, were hand guns. Several long guns and two assault weapons were also collected. The city's first gun buyback returned about 100 firearms and was held in August after Lansing Eastern High School student LaVon Wilson, 16, was killed in a July...

........... We know Schauer, having watched him as a state senator and congressman representing Jackson County for a total of eight years. So, at the risk of speculating too much — Schauer has only put out signals he will run — here are sone thoughts on his potential candidacy. — He is a tough campaigner. Schauer singlehandedly rewrote Jackson County's electoral map in 2002 when he comfortably defeated Jackson County politician Mickey Mortimer for the Senate. Schauer did so even though he lived in a different county and was running in a district that narrowly leaned Republican. By the time...

MELVINDALE, Mich. (WJBK) -- It's a video seen all over the world. An attack on a Fox News contributing reporter at the right to work protest in Lansing earlier this week was caught on video. Now, one of the union members seen in the footage is speaking out to FOX 2. By now, almost everybody knows who he is, reporter Steven Crowder, the guy who got sucker-punched outside a pitch tent where the pro-right to work crowd had gathered. (See the video above in the upper right corner) "I'm under rested and overworked right now and still tough enough to...

Six newly refurbished, bi-level commuter rail cars made their first test run from Pontiac to Jackson and back Tuesday night, passing through Ann Arbor. Officials involved in the Ann Arbor-to-Detroit commuter rail initiative are hoping to hear back sometime next week whether the cars passed the test, which is required to be cleared for service. And if that happens, the public could be invited to ride demonstration trains starting next year. "Things seemed to go well," said Carmine Palombo, director of transportation programs for the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments. Tuesday's train, led by an Amtrak locomotive, made stops in...

Another Michigan freeway shooting took place Monday morning on southbound US-23 just north of I-96, according to media reports. Within minutes of those reports, Michigan State Police converged on southbound US-23 near North Territorial Road in Washtenaw County. The Associated Press reported police were not confirming a new shooting and there were no injuries immediately reported Monday. Traffic was backed up on US-23 southbound as police reportedly closed a lane and were investigating multiple vehicles. Officers were observed taking a driver into custody at gunpoint at the location a few miles north of Ann Arbor at about 9:20 a.m., according...

On Nov. 6, Washtenaw County voters will fill the first vacant circuit court judge position in nearly two decades. With your vote, you may help to decide the futures of dozens, if not hundreds, of young women dealing with unwanted pregnancies, even those resulting from rape or incest. How can this be? Aren’t these matters determined by the Michigan Legislature and federal and state appellate courts? In fact, whether a minor obtains an abortion may be determined by the decision of a single judge, acting under a state law that gives virtually total discretion to the judge. There is a...

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (WJBK) - A city officials says more than 800 of the 1455 absentee ballots mailed out earlier this month were unaccounted for nearly two weeks before Election Day. Auburn Hills City Clerk Terri Kowal says the issue came to light after less than half of the mailed ballots, which were sent out on Oct. 3, were returned as of Monday. "We do know that at least 650 did receive them because they have been returned," said Kowal. "Most voters immediately return their ballots so we have reason to be concerned about the 800 not returned, especially considering...

This Nov. 6, Michigan voters will have the opportunity to decide on a number of proposals on the statewide ballot including Proposal 5, which is commonly referred to as the 2/3 Amendment. Michigan taxpayers should vote yes on Proposal 5 to make it more difficult for politicians in Lansing to take away their hard-earned money through tax increases. It is time for us to demand more accountability from our elected officials. The 2/3 Amendment does that. The 2/3 Amendment isn’t complicated. It requires a two-thirds vote of the Michigan House and Senate to increase or create new taxes. If legislators...

A new study by a University of Michigan professor shows Americans between the ages of 32 and 52 - a group referred to as Generation X - have said they don’t really care when it comes to matters of climate change and the environment. Jon D. Miller directs the Longitudinal Study of American Youth at the U-M Institute for Social Research and released a quarterly report this week. The research has been funded by the National Science Foundation since 1986. Generation X, which consists of people born between the years of the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, apparently cares much...

Michigan Catholic Conference Files Lawsuit Against Federal Government Over HHS Mandate Complaint Cites First Amendment Religious Liberty Violations FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, May 21, 2012 (Lansing, MI)—Michigan Catholic Conference today filed documents in U.S. District Court as a plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging the mandate established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that requires many faith-based employers to provide in their health benefit plans abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization and artificial contraception, all of which the Catholic Church finds morally objectionable. The nine-count lawsuit asserts violations of the First Amendment’s Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses, the Administrative Procedures Act,...

Here is proof that no one is immune from the violence in Detroit. It turns out pastor and gospel singer Marvin Winans is the city's latest crime victim. The reverend says he was roughed up at the gas pump. Thieves robbed him and then carjacked him. They're still on the streets with his luxury SUV. He stopped at pump number one to refuel at the Citgo at Linwood and the Davison on the city's west side. Winans, founder on Detroit's Perfecting Church, walked inside the Citgo and noticed a dozen young men in the gas station's lobby. As Pastor Winans...

25-year-old Ann Arbor man is challenging U.S. Rep. John Dingell for his seat, claiming the long-time congressman isn't progressive enough.Daniel Marcin, who is pursuing a doctorate in economics at the University of Michigan, filed nearly 1,800 petition signatures with the state on Monday to appear on the ballot.Running as a Democrat, he'll face Dingell, D-Dearborn, in the Aug. 7 primary, competing in Southeast Michigan's newly drawn 12th District."I'm definitely to that guy's left," Marcin said of Dingell, attacking the 85-year-old congressman's record on environmental issues, same-sex marriage and tax policy."John Dingell acts like he's Mr. Senior Congressman," Marcin said. "If...

FLINT TOWNSHIP, Mich. - Should Flint Township change its name? Some residents believe the community's reputation suffers when people don't make a distinction between the township and its neighbor, the city of Flint, which is known for a high crime rate and chronically poor finances. A state-appointed emergency manager now runs Flint. "I think the issues with Flint are Flint's issues, and they are made Flint Township's by simply having Flint in the name," Chuck Hughes, a former township treasurer, told The Flint Journal. "We're at the mercy of Flint to fix their image." Hughes, township Supervisor Karyn Miller and...

Embezzlement charges have been filed against four Warren employees accused of misusing municipal credit cards. Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith said Wednesday he issued warrants for Ronald Joseph Dicicco, 44, Robert Lee Diolordi, 61, Dustin Lial Leutzinger, 40, and Michael Thomas Lonchar, 47. Diolardi and Leutzinger face one count of embezzlement by an agent or trustee of $1,000 or more but less than $20,000. The felony offense is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Leutzinger served as a paid “on call” firefighter for the city of Center Line for several years and recently resigned....

One of the big pushes from Romney surrogates in Michigan is that due to sites like Daily Kos and a Santorum robocall, that 100-120,000 democrats voted in the Michigan primary to create mischief like the case with McCain in 2000. The source that is used is exit polling from CNN. I do not begrudge the surrogates for using exit polling as a source. On a lot of things, it is good. I think the polling was close with a lot of factors. That aspect I am doubting. I also highly suspect that it is being used as quasi-justification for awarding...