Traverse City Record-Eagle

Michigan

June 30, 2009

Michigan in Brief: 06/30/2009

Woman drowns at crowded wave pool

ROCKWOOD -- A funeral is planned Wednesday for a 20-year-old woman who drowned at a crowded southeastern Michigan wave pool.

Lisa R. Cox, of Lincoln Park, drowned Saturday at the Lake Erie Metropark wave pool in Rockwood.

Huron-Clinton Metroparks spokeswoman Denise Semion tells the Detroit Free Press 13 lifeguards were working at the pool when Cox drowned. Cox was swimming with friends from work at Famous Hamburger in Allen Park.

Semion says the pool ranges in depth from an inch to eight feet.

She says the 353,000-gallon pool has a capacity of 1,400 people and it was busy Saturday.

The pool reopened Saturday after Cox's death.

The funeral is at St. Cunegunda Church in Detroit.

Dogfighting charges filed against 3 men

DETROIT -- Three Michigan men have been charged with dogfighting crimes, less than two weeks after agents seized 49 dogs in Lenawee and Huron counties.

U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg says it's the first time federal dogfighting charges have been filed in Michigan's eastern district, which covers Detroit and 34 counties.

The defendants are B. Jay Rodriguez, of Adrian, Martin Phillips, of Bad Axe, and Joshua Gates of Blissfield. They're charged with conspiring to train and sell pit bulls and sponsoring dogs in fights.

Gates is in custody until a court hearing Tuesday. His lawyer's name wasn't on the court docket. Rodriguez and Phillips make their first court appearance Tuesday. Their phones were unanswered.

The maximum penalty is five years' imprisonment.

Body pulled from gravel pit

DELHI TOWNSHIP -- Dive teams have pulled the body of an 18-year-old Lansing man from a small lake in Ingham County.

WILX-TV says authorities believe Daniel Grayson Jr. drowned Sunday in Cedar Lake. The lake is in a gravel pit in Delhi Township, near Lansing.

The sheriff's department says five young people were swimming in the gravel pit when two of them began having trouble, and Grayson was unable to make it to shore.

The Capital Area Regional Dive Team began searching Sunday night and found the body Monday afternoon.

An autopsy is being conducted.

Great-grandson to be tried in death

GRAND RAPIDS -- A Grand Rapids judge has ordered a 22-year-old man to face a murder trial in the beating death of his 80-year-old great-grandmother.

District Judge Michael Christensen ruled Monday there's enough evidence for Ryan James to stand trial on a second-degree murder charge in the death of Ruth Boyd.

She was found in her home Nov. 3 dead from a beating to the head.

Defense lawyer Helen Nieuwenhuis tells The Grand Rapids Press authorities haven't presented a believable account of James's role in the case.

The defendant remains at the Kent County jail.

Text Only
  • State abortion proposals await votes

    Rallied by the approval last fall of a state law banning so-called "partial birth" abortion, Michigan abortion opponents are pushing for more in 2012 — from a "Choose Life" fundraising license plate to a ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

    Continued ...
    Feb 12, 2012 7:14 am 2 Photos
  • U-M requests security review

    University of Michigan officials said they have ordered an outside review of campus security in the wake of a botched response to child pornography found on a medical resident's computer flash drive.

    Continued ...
    Feb 12, 2012 7:14 am
  • Region in brief: 02/12/2012

    New state park opens near Alpena; Weather causes crashes statewide; GVSU to base charters in Detroit; and more.

    Continued ...
    Feb 12, 2012 7:14 am
  • Detroit Symphony claims record with webcast

    The Detroit Symphony Orchestra said Saturday its latest "Live from Orchestra Hall" webcast drew the largest audience of any live online performance by a U.S. symphonic group.

    Continued ...
    Feb 12, 2012 7:14 am
  • Inmates moved after crane collapse

    Western Michigan authorities said they have transferred about 175 inmates from Kent County jail in Grand Rapids following a crane collapse that damaged a large part of the complex.

    Continued ...
    Feb 12, 2012 7:14 am
  • February 11, 2012
  • Detroit-area author Zaslow killed in car accident

    Best-selling author Jeffrey Zaslow was killed in Antrim County on Friday when he lost control of his car on a snowy road after promoting his latest book in northern Michigan.

    Continued ...
    Feb 11, 2012 7:14 am
  • Pot law may see ballot

    A state appeals court said Friday that Detroit officials and a judge in 2010 illegally blocked voters from considering whether to ease penalties for marijuana possession, a ruling that could pave the way for the measure getting on the ballot this year.

    Continued ...
    Feb 11, 2012 7:14 am
  • February 10, 2012
  • Public safety gets a boost in budget

    Michigan's depleted law enforcement ranks would get a financial boost with a budget plan laid out Thursday by Gov. Rick Snyder, an attempt to start reversing steady declines in officer numbers over the past decade.

    Continued ...
    Feb 10, 2012 7:24 am 1 Photo
  • Gov. ties extra school cash to learning

    Gov. Snyder said Thursday that Michigan should capitalize on its brightest economic outlook in a decade by opening its checkbook to school districts — but only those that can show their students actually are learning from year to year.

    Continued ...
    Feb 10, 2012 7:24 am 1 Photo
  • Details of Gov. Snyder's budget plan

    Highlights of Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's $48.2 billion budget proposal for the fiscal year that starts in October.

    Continued ...
    Feb 10, 2012 7:24 am
  • Nice, snowy day for a ... bike ride?

    You're not much of a skier, and snowmobiling isn't your idea of fun either. Is there any other reason to take a winter trip to the cold, snowy Upper Peninsula? Actually, there are many.

    Continued ...
    Feb 10, 2012 7:24 am 1 Photo
  • February 9, 2012
  • It's official: Wings, Leafs at Big House

    Next year's Winter Classic could set an attendance record when the Detroit Red Wings will face the Toronto Maple Leafs.

    Continued ...
    Updated Feb 9, 2012 2:24 pm
  • Ford execs to retire

    Ford says two top executives who helped lead its comeback are retiring.

    Continued ...
    Feb 9, 2012 9:37 am 1 Photo
  • Asset limit hits families

    The 2010 Buick Enclave parked in her garage kept Michigan resident Renee Moore from getting food stamps for two months last year, even though her family's income had dropped to below the poverty level.

    Continued ...
    Feb 9, 2012 7:24 am 1 Photo
  • Moroun puts up white flag in bridge flap

    Hoping to keep two executives out of jail, the company that controls the Ambassador Bridge said Wednesday it will comply with a judge's order to complete construction of a major project.

    Continued ...
    Feb 9, 2012 7:24 am