News@noon: A raid, a rebuild and Adele
Today is Monday, March 27, 2017, and the Michigan State Police and FBI are conducting a joint investigation involving Sen. Bert Johnson, according to police. Search warrants were served Monday morning at his residence in Highland Park and office in Lansing, state police spokeswoman Shannon Banner said in an email.
Here's what we know so far. We'll keep you updated as we learn more.
Buying Detroit
At first, the Home Team Detroit development group considered buying every property in the city headed for this year’s annual county tax foreclosure auction. Instead, the real estate group is settling for a swath of the northwest side that covers 25 square miles and 24 neighborhoods. That’s an area larger than Manhattan.
A Corvette SUV?
What if Chevrolet made a Corvette SUV? Maybe that’s not so far-fetched. Corvette is a singular car within Chevrolet, and in many ways is a performance brand unto itself. Almost every performance brand now has its own crossover; the most prominent of which is Porsche’s money-machine, the Cayenne.
If Corvette did make an SUV, what would it look like? Detroit News presentation editor Jamie Hollar drew his own concept car, shown here. And The Detroit News talked to ex-GM big wigs, auto analysts and car enthusiasts for their ideas on what the high-performance SUV should be.
Rebuilding the Wings
The NHL playoffs begin April 12, but for the first time in a long time, the Red Wings aren’t going to be there. And the streak of 25 consecutive seasons of the Red Wings reaching the playoffs will come to an end. So what’s the plan to fix it? How do the Red Wings, and Holland, make sure it doesn’t happen again next spring, once the team is in Little Caesars Arena? It's already begun.
Getting ready for Opening Day
- Seven weeks of Tigers spring camp are wrapping up. Good news for those counting hours until Opening Day can be bad news for players who had hoped they could yet help a big-league team from Detroit.
- Mark Lowe was Sunday’s heavy casualty as a batch of cuts and minor-league assignments hit TigerTown. The toughest cuts are still to come.
- A week from now when the Tigers open the season in Chicago, Matthew Boyd might find himself a couple of states away putting on a noticeably different cap than the Old English D. That would be for no fault of his own. The pitcher who was one of the least exciting members of a class of players who joined the Tigers organization at the trade deadline in 2015 has proven to be a steady yet backburner acquisition.
Bankole on Detroit demolitions
"Detroit’s demolition program continues to be a scandal that raises questions about the fiscal knowledge and the management skills of those designated to run it.
Unless Mayor Mike Duggan overhauls the administrative structure of the program jointly run by the Detroit Land Bank Authority and the Detroit Building Authority, it will continue to generate embarrassing headlines for the city."
Honoring Rich Fisher
Funeral arrangements for longtime Detroit news anchor Rich Fisher have been announced. Fisher died Friday, March 24, 2017, of cancer of the esophagus, his family said. He was 67.
A visitation is set for 3-8 p.m. Wednesday at Lynch & Sons Funeral Home, 1368 N. Crooks in Clawson. A memorial service is 11 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home.
Beaten to death
The Wayne County Prosecutor has charged a 36-year-old Detroit man in the Friday fatal beating of his mother, officials said. Raymond Mealy has been charged with first-degree murder and is scheduled to appear Monday in 36th District Court in Detroit for a hearing on the case.
Kushner and Russia
President Donald Trump’s son-in-law has volunteered to answer questions before the Senate Intelligence Committee about arranging meetings with the Russian ambassador and other officials, the White House confirmed Monday.
Jared Kushner has agreed to speak to the committee, which is conducting an investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, including whether there are any ties between Trump associates and the Kremlin, the White House said.
Adele's last tour?
Adele fans who didn’t catch her on her world tour that’s winding down may be out of luck in the future. The New Zealand Herald reports Adele told the audience during Sunday night’s show in Auckland that “touring isn’t something I’m good at” and she doesn’t know if she “will ever tour again.”
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