Tallmanok2's Blog

Appeals Court rejects bid to remove judges from Kilpatrick case Doug Guthrie / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- The Michigan Court of Appeals on Wednesday rejected Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's effort to remove every judge in the city's 36th District Court from overseeing preliminary proceedings in the criminal case against Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty.

A three-judge panel declared in an opinion delivered today that the prosecutor's argument -- that there is at least an appearance of impropriety for the entire bench which is deeply entwined in the Kilpatrick dominated politics of the city -- was insufficient to order a visiting judge from outside the community to handle the charges of perjury, misconduct in office and obstruction of justice.

Several of the judges on 30-member bench previously worked in Kilpatrick's city administration. Two judges may be called as witnesses in a preliminary examination on Sept. 22 where Judge Ronald Giles will decide if there is enough evidence to bind Kilpatrick and Beatty over for trial. Giles gave money to Kilpatrick's election campaign and had the mayor as a house guest at his daughter's high school graduation party

"That the judges of the 36th District Court may have relationships with witnesses beyond those prescribed in the court rule does not warrant recusal, in absence of showing bias (and none is alleged), because the role of the judge in a preliminary exam is not to gauge guilt or innocence, and generally does not require making credibility determinations," said the opinion authored by Kirsten Frank Kelly, presiding judge of the panel, which consisted also of Judges Kurtis T. Wilder and Christopher M. Murray.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said the Appeals Court ruling uncovers a problem in the state's justice system and she is uncertain whether she will continue her fight to the Michigan Supreme Court.

"We respect the Court of Appeals and while this is not surprising it is extremely disappointing. If you cannot recuse a judge on these facts, then you cannot ever recuse a judge," Worthy said in a statement released by her office. "This should be of extreme concern to the entire legal community in the State of Michigan, both prosecution and defense. Clearly a rule change is needed. We will have to evaluate whether we will take this to the Supreme Court."

The mayor's lawyers took swipes at Worthy in statements released this afternoon by a public relations firm working with the defense team.

"After hiring former Supreme Court Justice Patricia Boyle, one would have to assume the prosecutor planned on taking this mater to the Supreme Court from the beginning and hypocritically capitalizing on influence herself," said James Parkman.

James Thomas said, "Four different judges have upheld the character and integrity of the 36th District Court so one would think the prosecutor will abandon these reckless attempts to judge-shop."

So the Mayor is Warning the Media Now

What Gall, Kwame has now a days, to think that he can even control how the media works. Now no one even mentioned his name with the Investigation, and he starts throwing smoke. I think we should all trust him, as we know KWAME NEVER LIES

Am I the only one that can't play this game on Sundays? I never have a problem on the weekdays but Sunday it always goes from sign in to the thank-you screens?

FBI PROBES CITY COUNCIL

Some under surveillance in 5-4 approval of sludge-treatment plant; Investigation via wiretap could cast wider net

BY JIM SCHAEFER, DAVID ASHENFELTER and JOE SWICKARD • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS • June 28, 2008

The FBI is investigating some Detroit City Council members in connection with a multimillion-dollar sludge-treatment project the council approved last fall, the Free Press has learned.

Sources familiar with the public corruption investigation said the FBI has wiretapped phones, a move that suggests the probe has been under way for some time.

It was unclear Friday night how far the investigation has progressed, but agents have sought information from several people, including Council President Ken Cockrel Jr., who was interviewed Wednesday, sources said.

Cockrel, who voted against the project, is not a target of the investigation, according to the sources. The sources asked not to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the probe.

Cockrel declined to discuss the interview. He said agents told him he is not a target.

Agents have asked questions about people inside and outside Detroit city government, including Councilwoman Monica Conyers, sources said. Conyers was one of five council members who approved awarding the controversial sludge contract to Synagro of Houston last fall.

Conyers did not respond to phone calls Friday.

Steve Fishman, a criminal defense attorney said to be representing Conyers in the probe, declined to talk, except to express frustration.

"It is extremely irresponsible for anyone to have leaked information to the press about an investigation that may or may not be under way," he said. "If the time comes when I receive information from someone other than a newspaper reporter, I might be able to give an intelligent response."

The sources described the investigation as far-reaching and possibly stretching beyond the council.

In general, the use of wiretaps requires investigators to convince a federal judge the wiretaps will produce evidence of a specific crime.

Detroit FBI spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold said Friday night: "I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation."

U.S. Attorney Stephen Murphy also would not comment.

An executive from Synagro declined to take a phone call from the paper Friday evening.

The Free Press contacted other council members who did not comment. Others could not be reached.

The contract awarded last November to Synagro allows the company to invest $125 million in building a new plant in southwest Detroit that will convert wastewater-treatment plant sludge into fertilizer. Under the plan, Synagro would dispose of 183,000 tons of sludge a year. The city would pay Synagro about $47 million a year to process the sludge, saving the city an estimated $5 million annually.

Plans to turn sludge into reusable material have percolated in the City Council since 1998. The proposal originated with a company called Minergy, which had financial problems that prevented it from following through. Synagro purchased Minergy and took over the plans for Detroit.

Residents in southwest Detroit had fought the plan, fearful it would bring more pollution to the heavily industrialized neighborhood on West Jefferson. The new facility would go up near the city's existing treatment plant.

The plan purportedly would save money by sparing the city upgrades on existing incinerators, which are more than 50 years old.

During hearings on the issue last fall, Conyers asked questions that were critical of the Synagro plan, including why the city couldn't simply build and run the plant itself. Unions also opposed the plan, decrying the loss of city jobs to private-industry workers.

In the end, Conyers was among those who voted to approve the plan, 5-4.

At 4:02 the news took over the air ways to show us The President showing up for a fund raiser. How on earth is this news worthy of disrupting regular programing?  I for one am disappointed that Fox 2 would use breaking news for something this unimportant. What do you think?

Do you think the City of Detroit should sell it's share of the Windsor tunnel to Canada?

 

MANILA, Philippines (June 22) - Rescuers fought the tail of a typhoon swamping the Philippines to reach a capsized ferry Sunday only to find a mystery — scant signs of the more than 740 passengers and crew.

Huge Storm Lashes the Philippines Sulpicio Lines / AP

The MV Princess of Stars passenger ferry, here in an undated photo, capsized Saturday during a typhoon that hit the Philippines. Two men who escaped the sinking ship, which was carrying more than 740 people, said hundreds may have died after being trapped in the vessel.

Only 10 wave-battered survivors are known to have made it to land, just hours after the ferry, brought to a virtual halt by the storm that killed at least 137 people nationwide, suddenly tilted and went belly up in about a half-hour around noon Saturday.

Six bodies, including a man and woman who had bound themselves together, washed ashore on a high tide awash with children's slippers and life jackets.

So where were the rest of the people traveling from Manila to Cebu, relying on ferries as so many do in the sprawling archipelago? Safe on nearby islands where the storm cut off communications? Swallowed by the sea? Or still inside the hulking vessel built to carry 1,992 people?

Relatives wept while waiting for news.

Coast guard frogmen who managed to get to the stricken ship got no response when they rapped on the hull with metal instruments late Sunday, then had to give up for the night due to the strong waves. They hoped to get inside on Monday, likely with U.S. assistance requested by the Philippine Red Cross.

After the storm stymied earlier attempts to reach the ship and kept aircraft at bay, a rescue vessel battled huge waves and strong winds to approach Sunday, more than 24 hours after the ferry lost radio contact. There was no sign of survivors at the site.

"They haven't seen anyone. They're scouring the area. They're studying the direction of the waves to determine where survivors may have drifted," coast guard spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Arman Balilo said.

Officials were checking reports that a large number of survivors might have reached one nearby island and that a lift raft was spotted off another, coast guard spokesman Cmdr. Antonio Cuasito said.

"We can only pray that there are many survivors so we can reduce the number of casualties," he said.

Reynato Lanoria, a janitor on the ship, estimated about 100 people could have survived, "but the others were trapped inside."

"I think they are all dead by now," he told DZMM radio after making it to shore by jumping in the water and reaching a life raft.

Lanoria said he was on the top deck when a crew member ordered people to put on life vests around 11:30 a.m. Saturday. About 30 minutes later, the ship began tilting so fast that elderly people and children fell on the rain-slickened deck.

Passenger Jesus Gica also worried that many people were trapped below when the ship listed.

"There were many of us who jumped overboard, but we were separated because of the big waves," he said. "The others were also able to board the life rafts, but it was useless because the strong winds flipped them over."

The ferry initially ran aground a few miles (kilometers) off central Sibuyan island Saturday, then capsized, said Mayor Nanette Tansingco of Sibuyan's San Fernando.

With the upturned ferry visible from her town, she appealed for food, medicine and formalin to embalm bodies.

Pope Benedict XVI said Sunday he was praying for the victims of the ferry disaster, particularly the large number of children aboard. The Philippines is predominantly Catholic.

The typhoon lashed the central Philippines on Saturday, setting off landslides and floods, knocking out power and blowing off roofs.

In the central province of Iloilo, Gov. Neil Tupaz said 59 people drowned, with another 40 missing.

"Almost all the towns are covered by water. It's like an ocean," Tupaz said.

Packing sustained winds of 74 miles per hour and gusts of up to 93 mph the typhoon shifted course Sunday to the northwest and battered Manila at dawn, dumping heavy rain on the capital. Major streets were flooded, and numerous traffic lights were out.

Anthony Golez, deputy chief of the Office of Civil Defense, said the storm took an erratic path and never slowed down when it hit land with huge deluges of rain.

Rescue vessels aborted an initial attempt Saturday to get to the 23,824-ton ferry. Efforts resumed in stormy weather Sunday, coast guard chief Vice Adm. Wilfredo Tamayo said, although the churning sea kept smaller vessels away. Four coast guard ships and three from the navy were deployed, and the air force was asked to send aircraft as soon as the weather clears.

The ferry — with 626 passengers and 121 crew members on board — was "dead in the water" after its engine failed around noon Saturday, Tamayo said.

About two dozen relatives trooped to the Manila office of Sulpicio Lines, the ferry's owner, some quietly weeping as they waited for news about their loved ones.

"I'm very worried. I need to know what happened to my family," said Felino Farionin, his voice cracking. His wife, son and four in-laws were on the ferry.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who left for the United States late Saturday, talked to officials in a teleconference aired live on nationwide radio Sunday, scolding coast guard officials for allowing the ferry to leave Manila late Friday despite the bad weather.

The typhoon-prone Philippines was the site of the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster when the ferry MV Dona Paz sank in 1987, killing more than 4,341 people.

Council moves to reject sale of Detroit-Windsor Tunnel
Since the Mayor's office wants to sell something to raise the coffers I say why not sell control of the Water to the suburbs?

UN chief: Saudi to boost oil production

AP Posted: 2008-06-15 17:43:44 RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - Saudi Arabia plans to increase its oil production by 200,000 barrels a day next month, the kingdom's oil minister told U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon on Sunday, according to Ban's spokesman.

The U.N. secretary-general met with Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi in the port city of Jiddah during a one-day trip to the world's largest oil producer.

Farhan Haq, a spokesman who is traveling with Ban, said in an e-mail that the U.N. chief said al-Naimi told him Saudi Arabia would increase oil production by 200,000 barrels a day from June to July. In May, the kingdom increased its production by 300,000.

By July, production should be at 9.7 million barrels a day, Haq said.

Ban also said Saudi Arabia understands that the current price of oil, which topped $139 per barrel earlier this month, is not normal, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.

"The king believes that the current oil prices are abnormally high, and he is ready to restore prices to their appropriate levels," SPA quoted Ban as telling reporters in Jiddah. The report carried by SPA was in Arabic, and it did not say what language Ban spoke in.

Saudi Arabia is concerned that sustained high oil prices will eventually slacken the world's appetite for oil, affecting the kingdom in the long run.

The kingdom has called for a meeting of oil producing and consuming countries on June 22 in Jiddah to discuss ways of dealing with soaring energy prices.

The New York Times reported on Saturday, citing unnamed analysts and oil traders briefed by Saudi officials, that a production increase of about 500,000 barrels per day was to be announced following the meeting.

On Saturday, al-Naim's adviser told The Associated Press that the minister would address the production increase reports the next day. But on Sunday, the adviser, Ibrahim al-Muhanna, said there was no meeting to address the reports scheduled.

Further attempts to reach al-Muhanna by phone later Sunday went unanswered.

Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, is concerned that sustained high oil prices will eventually slacken the world's appetite for oil, affecting the kingdom in the long run.

Crude prices have reached record highs, surpassing $139 per barrel on June 6 after surging nearly $11 in the biggest single-day price leap ever.

The prices had receded by Friday, with the benchmark light, sweet crude for July delivery falling $1.88 to settle at $134.86 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, July Brent crude lost $1.84 to settle at $134.25 on the ICE Futures exchange.

The current president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Chakib Khelil, has said that the cartel will make no new decision on production levels until its Sept. 9 meeting in Vienna. OPEC ministers often follow the lead of the Saudis when discussing whether to increase production to take the pressure off rising prices.

Now it's light bulbs

We could all use this.

"State's already poorly maintained roads will crumble further as money dries up"

That's a headline from the Detroit News and the story goes on as were driving less the monies are slowing down to fix the roads.  Now let's all worry about the money, not the Weight Limit's that are higher than the Federal Limit's. If we don't reduce the weight and enforce the limits what's the point in worrying about the roads.  

Monica Conyers' has told you how Detroit is to be handled so if your smart you will do as she says or she will call you names.  She might even drive up to Lansing and punch you out in a bar.  Oh I apologize I forgot Monica is the voice of reason.

Please act in the next day or two as Detroit is in limbo untill you do.

Council trio to gov: Drop mayor action Letter to Granholm says Kilpatrick didn't deceive them on whistle-blower case. Christine MacDonald and David Josar / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- A faction of the City Council opposed to ousting Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is urging Gov. Jennifer Granholm not to remove him, saying they weren't deceived into an $8.4 million whistle-blower settlement at the heart of the mayoral scandal.

Council President Pro Tem Monica Conyers sent a letter May 27 that asks Granholm to refrain from using state powers that allow governors to unseat elected officials for misconduct. The letter disputes the council's claim that Kilpatrick violated the city charter, claiming there is "no factual basis whatsoever" that members were duped into the deal.

That claim is "self-serving for some," an apparent dig at Council President Kenneth Cockrel Jr., who backs Kilpatrick's removal and would temporarily become mayor.

Conyers said she didn't send the letter to support Kilpatrick, but wants the criminal process and panel's in-house forfeiture process to remove him to play out.

"I just want her to proceed with caution," Conyers said. "We just feel that the process should stay at home."

The letter was signed by two other members, Barbara-Rose Collins and Martha Reeves. All three cast votes last month against asking Granholm to remove Kilpatrick or beginning an impeachment-like process. The measures passed 5-4.

The letter included the name of a fourth member, Alberta Tinsley-Talabi, but not her signature. She said she didn't sign on because she didn't think it was warranted, adding "the strongest statement was made (with the vote)."

Another member who signed on, Collins, said she disagreed with much of the "legalese or reasons" included in the 10-page letter, but signed it anyway.

"I don't want the governor getting involved. That's how I feel," said Collins.

Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd confirmed the letter's receipt but declined further comment. Cockrel couldn't be reached for comment, but Councilman Kwame Kenyatta called the letter a "disgrace," saying the city can't wait for Kilpatrick's court case to unfold over the next year or so.

"This is clearly something that was written by the Mayor's Office to defend himself," Kenyatta said. "These (council members) have done nothing to protect the interest of the people."

Kilpatrick's office didn't immediately respond to calls for comment.

Granholm has said little about the flap or pending felonies against Kilpatrick alleging he and former chief of staff, Christine Beatty, lied during a police whistle-blower trial last year, then crafted the settlement to keep secret embarrassing text messages that contradicted their denials of an affair and firing of police officers.

Granholm has initiated a review of the council's request, but political observers have said the governor may be reluctant to wade into the dispute. Both Kilpatrick and Granholm are Democrats and she may be wary of taking action involving a city whose residents still harbor lingering resentments about state actions involving Detroit, the reasoning goes."She doesn't want to get involved, and this (letter) might make it easier for her to proceed more slowly," said Bill Ballenger, editor of Inside Michigan Politics.

But William Rustem, president of Public Sector Consultants, said he doubted the plea would have much difference since it is "only three members."

The letter claims Granholm's intervention is unnecessary because the city is best served by the council "taking care of city business." But it also criticizes the panel's forfeiture process.

It claimed the council has "established a dangerous precedent" that "a simple majority, not even a super majority, is all that is necessary to initiate removal and forfeiture of office proceedings against an elected official in Detroit." It's a view Kilpatrick also has voiced.

The letter is highly critical of William Goodman, the lawyer the council has paid $160,000 to investigate the scandal.

Goodman oversaw three days of hearings that ended in a report claiming the mayor violated three sections of the charter.

The letter claimed the report is "highly selective, predetermined and biased" and could generate "millions in free publicity for (Goodman) and his firm."

Goodman called the letter "inaccurate and incoherent" and said his report is based on the record. Conyers originally suggested the City Council hire Goodman.

"There was no conspiracy to keep the information from City Council," the letter reads. "There was simply no need in the view of the persons directly involved, to disclose embarrassing information, which was discovered after the trial and after the jury verdict. Nor was there any duty to do so, in light of the City Council's established past practice."

The letter claims the city was on the hook for $11.3 million to settle the three whistle-blower cops' lawsuit and the messages weren't the reason the city settled.

Lawyer: Texts not behind deal

A lawyer who represented Kilpatrick at the 2007 trial, Samuel McCargo, also said during a deposition Monday that the messages didn't prompt a settlement.

But McCargo also testified he would not have approved the whistle-blower settlement without a confidentiality agreement to keep them under wraps.

McCargo, paid by the city to represent Kilpatrick in a lawsuit brought by former Detroit police officers Gary Brown and Harold Nelthrope, answered questions under oath for more than eight hours Monday in connection with a Michigan Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press.

McCargo also said during the deposition he decided he could no longer be an effective advocate for Kilpatrick in connection with the text messages because he had been told the messages were not of a personal nature, said James E. Stewart, an attorney for The News who questioned McCargo.

The newspapers are suing the city for release of all records related to the controversial settlement.

Wayne Circuit Judge Robert Colombo Jr.has said a legal motion drafted by police lawyer Michael Stefani that was shown to McCargo on Oct. 17, 2007, was the document that broke a negotiating impasse and triggered a settlement, reached the same day.

But McCargo testified Monday he had already sought approval to negotiate a global settlement when he saw the Stefani motion, said Stewart.

McCargo said in the deposition that he was suspicious of the authenticity of the messages. But even if they weren't real, he said they would embarrass the mayor.McCargo also testified the Stefani motion he looked at was different from the one that was made public after a computer forensic expert removed it from Stefani's computer earlier this year.

Want to do something that won't burn a lot of gas but can bring a family together why not try Edward Hines Park on a Saturday .  

 Saturday in the Park

A six mile section of Hines Drive is closed to automobiles from Outer Drive Road going west to Ann Arbor Trail, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every Saturday from May 3 through September 27, 2008 for walking, cycling, or inline skating. Parking is available at the Nankin Mills Picnic Area [Hines Drive and Ann Arbor Trail].

 I copied that from this website. there is also a dog park and a pool www.waynecounty.com/parks/