Panel examines FOIA legislation in Michigan
The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) will host a panel discussion on the Freedom of Information Act on Thursday, December 12 in Detroit.
The event will be held in Room 5A at Crain Communications, 1155 Gratiot. Registration begins at 8 a.m.; the program is scheduled to run from 8:15-9:30 a.m.
The title for the presentation is, “Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): How free is information in Michigan?”
Panelists will include Butzel Long attorney and shareholder Robin Luce Herrmann; Jane Briggs-Bunting, president of the Michigan Coalition for Open Government; and Lisa McGraw, public affairs manager with the Michigan Press Association.
The event is free for SPJ Detroit members; $5 for students; and $10 for others.
For information, call 586.306.2035.
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Police: Man threatened hunter with chainsaw
OCQUEOC TOWNSHIP (AP) — Police say a northern Michigan man threatened a hunter with a running chainsaw during a dispute over where the hunter parked.
The Alpena News reports Douglas Merchant, 57, was arraigned in 89th District Court on a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon following the dispute last month.
According to a report to state police, the dispute began when a hunter was parked on what Merchant deemed to be his private property in Presque Isle County’s Ocqueoc Township, about 85 miles northeast of Traverse City.
Police say he lunged at the hunter with the chainsaw.
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Court hears bias case over wedding cake
DENVER (AP) — A discrimination complaint over a Colorado bakery’s refusal to make a wedding cake for a gay couple is being heard in a Denver court.
At issue in the complaint from David Mullins and Charlie Craig against Masterpiece Cakeshop in suburban Denver is whether religious freedom can protect a business from discrimination allegations from gay couples.
Mullins, 28, and Craig, 33, filed the complaint against Jack Phillips. The couple said that after a few minutes looking at pictures of different cakes at the shop, the couple said Phillips told them he wouldn’t make one for them.
He said making a wedding cake for gay couples would violate his Christian religious beliefs, according to the complaint.
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Court rules negligence not cause of collapse
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court has ruled that negligence was not the cause of the collapse of a third World Trade Center tower several hours after the twin towers were destroyed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan stemmed from several decisions in recent years by a lower court judge who found that a company owned by developer Larry Silverstein and others could not be held liable.
The utility Consolidated Edison Co. had claimed negligence resulted when World Trade Center Tower 7 tenants were allowed to install diesel backup generators. The fuel burned for hours in the 47-story building after hijacked planes struck the two nearby towers.
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