Lansing
Michigan says CIA owes state over $20,000 in taxes
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Treasury Department says the CIA has failed to pay more than $20,000 owed in state income taxes.
The department has filed three tax liens against the agency for state income taxes withheld from employees’ paychecks. A lien gives Michigan a legal claim to a debtor’s property until the alleged debt is paid.
The liens say the agency failed to pay 10 bills between March 2011 and December 2013, according to The Lansing State Journal. They were recorded in increments of $2,735 in February 2012, $11,066 in June 2012 and $7,041 in March 2014.
CIA spokesman Ryan Trapani said it’s unlikely the agency would “have something in our name to create a liability in Michigan.” He said the claims might have originated with an anti-government group, adding there are several fake CIA websites on the Internet that give wrong information about agency activities in Michigan and other states.
Curtis Hertel Jr., who serves as the Ingham County Recorder of Deeds, said “there is no doubt the liens are legitimate.” He said the person who recorded them is a state Treasury employee.
Treasury officials can’t speak publicly about individual tax cases under Michigan law.
Centreville
Former teacher charged in sexual assault case
CENTREVILLE, Mich. (AP) — A former teacher in southwestern Michigan who was arrested over the weekend at his home is facing charges including sexual assault.
WLKM-FM and the Three Rivers Commercial-News report 59-year-old David D. Wing of Three Rivers was arraigned Monday after being arrested Saturday. He was jailed on $100,000 bond.
A person who answered the phone at the office of lawyer Ron Grubbs, who represents Wing, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Grubbs didn’t want to discuss the case.
A court affidavit says Wing this year allowed a 16-year-old child to engage in an activity for the purpose of producing child sexually abusive material. Second-degree criminal sexual conduct charges in the case stem from 2008-2009, as well as this June and July.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 24.
Harrison Twp.
Official: Show won’t include wing walker stunt
HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — This year’s air show at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan won’t include a wing walker performance after an experienced stuntman died while doing an aerial stunt during the last show at the base in 2011, an official said.
Technical Sgt. Dan Heaton of the guard’s 127th Wing in Macomb County’s Harrison Township told The Macomb Daily of Mount Clemens that base officials decided not to bring back the stunt this year — and possibly may never host it again.
“For the safety of the public and the base community, the decision has been made to not have a wing walker performance in this year’s show,” Heaton said. “There are enough other performances taking place for everyone’s enjoyment.”
Todd Green, 48, of Ann Arbor, fell Aug. 21, 2011, after trying to grab a helicopter’s skid from his perch atop a small plane. Scores saw the wing walker fall about 150 feet and land about 1,500 feet from the crowd.
Green apparently missed a cue and tried to move before the helicopter was in position, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report. Base officials waited for the results of the report before making their decision, Heaton said.
Green was an experienced stuntman. His father was prominent aerial stuntman Eddie Green, who was inducted into the International Council of Air Shows Foundation Hall of Fame in 2006.
The 2014 Selfridge Air National Guard Base Open House & Air Show takes place Sept. 6-7. A big attraction will be the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels. The show marks the first time since 2005 that the Blue Angels will perform at the airfield about 20 miles northeast of Detroit.
Also, the Selfridge Museum will be open during the open house. It contains 35 full-size aircraft, cockpit simulators and other attractions.
Flint
City settlement to pay golf cart company $69,500
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Flint has agreed to pay a golf cart company $69,500 to settle a lawsuit that said the city’s former state-appointed emergency manager shouldn’t have ended its contract.
The Flint Journal reports Pifer Inc. of Holly sued the city in 2013, saying Michael Brown violated the state constitution when he cancelled the city’s lease of 100 golf carts for its municipal golf courses.
Brown said at the time of the 2012 order that the contract was providing a financial disincentive for outside companies as the city sought contractors to take over operation of its courses. Flint now contracts with private and nonprofit groups to run golf operations.
Current emergency manager Darnell Earley signed a resolution last month authorizing settlement of the case involving Pifer.
Detroit
Tiger Stadium site redevelopment plans move ahead
DETROIT (AP) — Detroit officials have approved a preliminary agreement to redevelop part of the former site of Tiger Stadium that would include a youth baseball field and offices.
The city’s Economic Development Corp. on Monday announced the agreement with nonprofit youth sports organization Detroit PAL and the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy.
Detroit PAL would build a new headquarters at the site near the youth baseball field, which would roughly cover the same area used by the Detroit Tigers for their field. Two additional areas will be kept open for possible future residential, retail or commercial redevelopment.
Tiger Stadium opened in 1912 as Navin Field. The Tigers left for Comerica Park after the 1999 season. The last portion of the stadium was demolished in 2009, but people still use the field.
Flint
Court won’t stop cops bias lawsuit
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — A federal appeals court won’t stop a lawsuit against the city of Flint, which is accused of discriminating against white police officers.
Fourteen officers are suing Flint. They say they were illegally punished after complaining that black officers became sergeants in 2011 and 2012 despite failing to pass an exam.
The lawsuit names Flint, former Chief Alvern Lock and a police captain. The appeals court says the case can go forward at this early stage. It says the lawsuit has enough information to raise a “plausible” inference that police department policies led to discrimination and retaliation.
The court last week affirmed a decision by Detroit federal Judge Paul Borman.
