The state Supreme Court refuses to hear a pre-trial appeal from the man accused of killing five bicyclists near Kalamazoo in 2016. A $97-million bond issue will be on the ballot in the Kalamazoo School District in May. WMU retires number 5 this weekend to honor men's basketball great Manny Newsome.
The man accused of killing five bicyclists and severely injuring four others near Kalamazoo is getting closer to trial. MLive says the State Supreme Court has decided not to hear a pre-trial appeal by Charles Pickett, Junior. His attorney says Pickett should not have been charged with murder after he drove into the group of riders in June 2016. But the Supreme Court says the appeal doesn't raise any issues it needs to consider. Kalamazoo County prosecutors say the ruling clears the way for a status conference to set a trial date.
Voters in the Kalamazoo School District will decide this spring whether to approve a nearly $97-million bond issue. The Kalamazoo Gazette says the school board voted Thursday night to put the issue on the May ballot. The additional money would pay for replacing Edison Environmental Science Academy, build an addition to Phoenix High School and pay for improving and maintaining other facilities in the district. If approved, the bond issue would cost the owner of a $100,000 home an additional $62.50 cents a year.
Several lawmakers want to launch a Congressional investigation into Michigan State University’s handling of the Larry Nasser sexual abuse scandal. The Detroit Newsreports that Democratic Senator Gary Peters and Republican Representative Mike Bishop are among the members of Congress asking for an investigation of MSU along with USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic organization. Nasser also worked as a doctor for the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team. Bishop’s district includes Michigan State’s home of East Lansing, he wrote to House Speaker Paul Ryan and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to request a Congressional inquiry.
Michigan State University’s Board of Trustees is scheduled to meet Friday afternoon. The university says the purpose of the meeting is to discuss MSU’s presidential transition. Lou Anna Simon resigned Wednesday night in the wake of the Larry Nasser scandal. The board could name an interim president Friday.
A new road planned for an expansion of Western Michigan University's Business Technology and Research Park will bear a familiar name. University officials say the street will be named "Robert Jones Way." That's in honor of the former Kalamazoo mayor and state representative, who died in 2010. Western trustees approved the decision Wednesday. The expansion of the BTR Park is on land known as the Colony Farm Orchard along U.S. 131 and Drake Road. The plan has drawn fire from environmental groups who say the area should not be developed. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
A man known as one of Western Michigan University’s greatest basketball players will be honored Saturday. Emanuel “Manny” Newsome’s number 5 jersey will be retired at halftime of the Broncos’ game against Northern Illinois. Newsome averaged over 32 points a game during three seasons at Western. He was also a member of the 1964 Olympic basketball team. After earning both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from WMU, Newsome went on to become the first African-Administrator at the university.