Court strikes down property assessment
BOYNE CITY -- Another northern Michigan property owner has won a dispute over whether the death of a co-owner triggers an increase in the taxable value of real estate.
The Michigan Court of Appeals says the taxable value of Kevin Klevorn's properties were illegally uncapped after his mother died in 2005. He has a law office in Boyne City and a cabin in Eveline Township in Charlevoix County.
The court says the value could not be uncapped because there was no new transfer of ownership. Klevorn says his property taxes had doubled.
Detroit looks to better use 92 parks
DETROIT -- Detroit is looking for ways to better use 92 of its parks.
The Detroit News reports Saturday that the city may consider adoptions of parks by nonprofits, allowing urban farmers to use the land or sales, but the city isn't actively marketing parks for sale.
The city is also considering potential land swaps with entities such as the Detroit Public Schools.
In 2007, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick first proposed the sale of the 92 parks to raise $8 million. The city has more than 350 parks. The City Council is expected to approve a parks master plan as soon as Tuesday.
Most of the 92 parks have been sporadically maintained.
Artists wrap up filming at ice house
DETROIT -- Two artists have wrapped up filming their creation of an abandoned home encased in ice in Detroit.
Photographer Gregory Holm and architect Matthew Radune early Saturday illuminated the house in the dark so it could be filmed. They also revealed the home's address on their blog, but the post was later removed.
Ice House Detroit is designed to draw attention to the housing crisis that has battered the region and the nation. The project also has included efforts to give back to the community through food drives and feeding the homeless.
School gives tuition break to jobless
WARREN -- Students at a Catholic high school in suburban Detroit can stay in class even if their parents or guardians lose jobs and can't pay tuition.
That's the new policy next fall at De La Salle Collegiate High School in Warren. The all-boys school will forgive tuition if parents become unemployed during an academic year.
The benefit would apply to a specific school year. If parents or guardians pay in advance and then become unemployed, the money would be earmarked for future tuition -- or for college if the student is a senior.
Court: Don't punish homeless offender
LANSING -- The Michigan Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court's decision that a homeless sex offender shouldn't be punished for not registering an address or giving his whereabouts to law enforcement.
The opinion of the three-judge panel was released Tuesday. The Lansing State Journal reports Saturday the office of Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III plans to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court.
Randall Dowdy visited a Lansing shelter off and on until 2006 when he was told he could no longer go there because he was a convicted sex offender.
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