C 3,
2
NEWS
BRIEFS
CITY COPS TO
TRADE IN
REVOLVERS
CKOF
I ORITIE
JUDICIAL PICK
&..IIII"'IIo.L'II'-l'.IU'IIG - Out of th 19
jud Gov. John Engler p-
pointed to tate courts all have
been white and only 0 judi i I
ve gone to women.
The State Bar e lima 16
percent of Michgan' 28,
la ye are women d 5 per­
cent are minorities.
Criti contend the governor
n't tried.bard enough to find
minority I wye for the bench.
"I find it very hard with the num­
ber of African- American
lawyers that the Engler ad­
ministration can't find people
who are qualified," said Camille
Stearns Miller of Detroit, pre i­
dent of the predominately Black
Wolverine Bar As ociation.
ROYAL OAK FIR
DECERTIFIED
Summ -Harrison Metal
Products Inc., a Royal Oak metal­
stamping company bas been
decertified a minority supplier
to Ford Motor Co. State Repre-
entative Charlie Harri on is the
BI k half of the firm, allowing
it to be labeled, "minority".
Donald Nick;a wbite partner is
being investigated.
Those who know Nick say he
is the main force behind Summa­
Harrison. These sources describe
Nick as a flashy businessman
with deep political clout in
Royal Oak.
According the the Crain's
Business list of Black-owned
businesses, Summa- Harrison
posted 1990 sales of $25 million.
NO JUVENILE
CE TER
Aocodring to a published
report, Wayne County officials
have quietly docided not to
build a voter approved juvenile
center, although property taxes
were increased to pay for it.
Riverview aty Councilman
Donald capezza has brought the
'forgotten' juvenile center to the
attention Wayne County Com­
mis ion Chairman Arthur Black­
well, asking that ci ties get �ome
f their money back.
County officials admit the
juvenile training center idea is
being abandoned because of
their own poor planning. They
also admit they have yet to
deliver the ne to taxpayers and
city officials.
Detroit police officers will be
trading in th�ir service revolvers
for semi-automatic pistols. The
City Council authorized the gun
purchase and agreed to sell the
department's old weapons to a
dealer in Vermont.
The council voted unani­
mously to spend $769,000 on
new 4O-caliber pistols. Council
President Maryann Mahaffey
cast the lone dissenting vote on
whether to sell the old guns.
Councilman Gil Hill, a retired
police commander, said he is
a Bed the guns will be old to
a reputable dealer and will not
end up in the hands of criminals.
"For good or for bad, people
probably will not want to buy
these outdated guns. They're out
there buying classier and more
po erful weapons," he said.
The sale of more than 8,400
. police department revolvers and
shotguns over the next two years
will bring the city nearly
$812,000.
ADVERTISE
loophole in
Michi I m y 10 hunareas
of elon to h ve their felony
firearm convicti e
Under t loophole almo t 500
felo either convic ed or indic d
on ion 0 firearm could be
freed from fede pri n, includin
o multi-convicted felo with
much 50-year ente
t ovember, convi ted In December, p. Pmy Bul-
pi t, indicled for felony pos - lard, D-Ann AIbor, introduced 0
ion 0 semi- u tic ritle in bill designed to cl loophole
·W yne County, hi indictment and in early January, p. chael
di missed in federal court. Fed rat ye, R-litcbfield, introducod 0
la revo es the right of convicted more. On Jan. 27, the Ho e
felo to po all firearms, un- Judiciary Committee de all
I they expressly have th t right the bill and.beard timony from
restored. A conviction i punish- everal federal gene .
able by up to a 10-year entence. Several ey· till need to
However, Michigan law auto- be resolved before the bills can be
m tically tore felon' right to reported out of commitlee. While
vote, hold public office and it on a both sets of bills reinI a period
jury upon relea e from pri on. of disability before lelo could
Michigan law revo ed a felon' firearms, the debate
right to own a handgun for eight over how long the period hould be
years, but last March that prohibi- and whether there hould be a dif­
tion was dropped. A felon' right ference for felons convicted of
to po a long-gun has never violent and non-violent crimes.
been probibited and i utom t- Rep. John Strand, R-Lapeer, a
ically restored upon release from committee member, said be ba DO
prison.
c
State fund could
help Detroit sewers
By JENNA BECK
Caplt!l � S.vlt»
LAN NO - TIle money from a
po ible new tate revolving fund
could provide opportunities for im­
provement to Detroit's combined
sewer overflow (CSO) by offering
money at a reduced rate.
"It is easier for the city to bond
and bill than other communities, so
we wouldn't want to overload tbe
revolving fund, but we're at that
point that every little bit makes a
difference," said David Fisher, assis­
tanct director of waste water opera­
tions in Detroit.
The House has helped lessen the
burden for cities like Detroit to find
money to make improvements to
their sewer system.
The House has passed a set of
bills that allowed $200 million ob­
tained over 10 years to be used in
correcting communities' combined
sewage overflows, like Detroi t.
THIS MONEY will be diverted
from the Strategic Fund, part of the
Natural Resource Trust Fund, and
put into a revolving fund for correct­
ing sewer ,stems in communities.
Detroit wants to use the money to
start some of tI)e improtements they
would like to make. 1be money will
let Octroi t get a foothold on the prob­
lem, which will let Detroit's waste
water operation find the real coits
and benefits, Fisher aid.
Seventy communities around
Michigan have similar systems.
During heavy rains, if the drain gate
are open, untreated sewage flows
into rivers and streams or, if the drain
gates are closed, raw sewage backs
up in basements.
The estimated co t to fix the over­
flow in Michigan is $2 billion to $3
billion.
Many areas had been renewing their
systems over the years with the help
oLfederal fund, b t now, th e
fwlds are drying up, be said.
Al Gruebner, Mount Clemens
city impector, said tbe town baa a
combined sewage overflow, but in
orne parts the pipes have been
separated.
In his 21 years with Mount
Clemens, Gruebner has seen his
city's system overflow once, and that
was about 15 years ago. After that,
the city began to change over to
separate sewage systems.
Anything we can separate, we are
eparating," Gruebner said. But he
added there are some areas that are
too difficult and and too cosUy to
correct.
THE TWO MOST common
ways of fixing the CSOs is to either
separate the pipes, or to dig a huge
retention basln. The basin will hold
the water during heavy rains until the
system can handle the load.
"When the water exceeds the
tank, the untreated water is disin­
fected," Rick Moore, water resource
pecialist at Michigan Urban Con­
servation Cubs, said.
Although Mount Cemens is not
largely affected, there is still concern
for health matters.
"This sewage gets into the river
and then the lake for drinking water,
which is an health issue," Rep.
Sharon Oire, D-Mount Clemens,
said.
The revolving fund will also
enable the state to use money for
other thi ngs because the com­
muni ties will have to pay back the
fund.
The returned money will be used
for storm runoff facili ties once is has
been paid off, DeBaussaert said.
.
IIWhen the water exceeds the tank,
the untreated water is disinfected.1I
-Rick Moor
Twenty million dollat'S every year
will come from the Strategic Fund,
which pays for loans to high-ri k
companies that have trouble obtain­
ing bank financing. That money will
be placed in a revolving fund.
REP. KEN DEBFAUSSAERT,
D-New Baltimore, id the money
from the revolving fWlds will only
help fill in the gap where the federal
government left off. .
DeBeaussaert id the bill make
money avail ble to correct the CSOS.
The te' revolving fund will
help solve some of the state's en­
vironmental problems, but the state
has to do something about its neigh­
bors.
"If I could wave a. magic wand
over ttx: Southe t area and solve all
our problems, we wouldn't be
making a difference, because of
Canada," Fisher aid. "Maybe if
Canada did something about their
waste, then yes, Detroit could make
a difference," be dded.
HIS EXCEl..IENCY mRA DEQUENE KA, ipIl or to e United Sta fro the repa
Sea ( t) preseDt for ceremooJes beld Feb. 19, to formal, dedICate The Afrlcaa Be
CuJtan.I Cea Of the Detroit Public Schools. The CeDter created based 0 . A6icu
prladple of MAA T - TDrtb, Order, Barmony, Ba ace d Ju ). "Stude. of eYeI'J
edmk aroup are eDUtled to iDfomation whlcb can be to � a baIaoce the 1)I'Ie.e.lIlllGe
. 1liItorJ, phy and phUosopby taught in our schoo ," re a plague t Cell
balaace caa be die park which WUllead to greater understandio �een the varlo e aroa
1a oar COIDDIUlty, our dty, our DadoD and the world. Catherince BlackweD aad School Superba
dent Debonab McGrlrrUsten the the Amb ador' remarkds. (Photo by N. Scott)
to explorin
erent optio Ion
en re compellin the 0
can get moved through the
lature quickly.
However, Rep. Jam c uti,
-MidI nd, nother committee
member, aid would like the bil
imply to clo the loopho . "It
orked perfecU y ell under the old
ys m," McNutt . d, referring to
the tim w n p ecutio ere
mainl y handled by federal agen­
ci
L ILLS
have the dvanta of m lng the
tate law more in p with the
federal I w , th y 0 crea con­
fusion over who will decide hen
or if felons should be able to again
carry guns, McNutt id.
But the feder 1 government
looks to tate law to ee who' can
and cannot po se firearms, 0
guidelines must be provided, Geller
·d.
However, many felo already
convicted under the federal
have good chance of geHin their
dismissed. Even if legisla­
tion were p sed today, it could not
be used against someone convicted
yesterday, Geller said.
o DO ve been con-
victed of three violent or drug f­
ficking crim and felony firearm
po es ion receive an dditional
IS-year mandatory ntence, la­
Forest explained. If the firearm
conviction is thrown out, the man­
datory additional sentence could
also be jeopardized.
"It's frightening situation," aid
Jennifer Mulhern Granholm, is­
tant U.S. District ttomey. But if
the Legislature mov quickly, the
courts may likely be persuaded the
Legislature never intended allow
multi-convicted felons to oossess
all manner of firearms. If courts
are persuaded, many conviction.
could be upheld. " Acti speak
louder than word ," he concluded.
conviction rate, felony PQ\II�.sl
i 0 fairly Y to pro .
you're felon and you have a gun,
there . n't much of a de ," La­
Fors t d.
The bills will be de led gain
at a uent committee meeting,
but the committee 0 unlikely to try
and h a bill through, Geller d.
loophole w creattd beea
leal lators were tryin to et
firearm I w drafted at the I t
min • 1ky re blXDed
aDd, be said, they will not ant it to
n gain.
Lawmakers consider
limi ing lawyer
By PAm JABROCKJ
CtpfIIl Nm! I!ryIo!
receive 20 percent rather than 33.3
percent.
But some are.against the contin­
gency fee policy altogether, ying
that this method of payment leads to
unnecessary claims.
"The contingency fee is a bad
thing," said Michigan Attorney
General Frank Kelley.
Kelley said it encoura litiga-
tion in general, including clal
a Inst the state. .
lANSING-Filing suit again t
olbers has become such common
practice that you can now let your
fingers do the walking-free-to
s� the process.
"Call Lee Free" is the slogan ed
for a toll-free call in a widely­
televised commercial, advertising
the services of penonal-injury attor­
ney Lee Steinberg.
But the days of prosperity for
these lawyers may be limited if a
legislative proposal changing the
contingency fee policy passes the
HoUle.
The bill, which would decrease
the percenta e of a settlement that
lOCI to the attorney, passed the
Senate and was ent to the. House
Judiciary Committee.
"WE SPEND 40 percent of all
our lawyers' time on ui 15 against the
tate, and we win 90 percent of
them," he id. "Does that tell you
that m ybe some of them are vexa­
cio or without foundation?"
The number of litigations involv­
ing the state has n arly doubled in the
past couple of years, from 22,278
ca es in January 1990, to 40,716
cases in November 1991.
Tho e figures incl ude cases in'
which the state i the defendant
well as the plaintiff.
About 10,000 of tho claims in­
volve child abuse cases in Detroit, a
new tate re ponsibility acquired
after January 1990. Most of these
cases involve the tate plaintiff.
The tate is currently defending
BASED ON CURRENT contin­
gency fee laws, many people tan ue
without paying lawyers up front, but
must sign over one-third of the �t­
dement to the auomey.
The bill would allow the fees to
be ssed according to a liding
scale. For a $1 million or greater
settlement, the attorney would
i elf against almost 8,000 �Iaims. :
STEINBERG WORKS on a
contingency ba is and aid the
proposed change in contingency few
would hurt hi busirlC but would
also hurt low and middle-income
people.
"In many , you couldn't sue
at all," he ·d. "You'd be out of
luck, and that' not right."
