Detroit 300 beefs up patrols in response to 9-month-old’s shooting death

The Detroit 300, a community activist group, announced today it will be setting up weekly community patrols in the city’s most violent areas in response to the recent murder of a 9-month-old boy. More

Ex-Cockrel aide sentenced to 5 months in corruption probe

A former Detroit City Council aide caught on FBI surveillance video pocketing cash from a contractor has been sentenced to five months in federal prison. Federal prosecutors were pushing for up to 16 months in prison. More

Major snowstorm headed for Metro Detroit; 6 inches or more expected

The season’s first big snowfall, long dreaded and never wanted, is supposed to arrive Thursday night, according to the National Weather Service. More

Review team recommends EM reinstatement in Highland Park Schools

Detroit— Highland Park Emergency Manager Jack Martin may be a step closer to being reinstated, following an open meeting of a state-led financial review team Wednesday afternoon. More

Detroit mobster, tied to Hoffa case, dies

Vito “Billy Jack” Giacalone, one of the area’s most notorious organized crime figures and a suspect in the unsolved disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa, has died. More

Pair arrested in murder-for-hire plot

Police are investigating a murder-for-hire plot involving an inmate at the county jail, Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham said today. More

Driver hurt as overturned truck spills dirt on Lodge in Detroit

Detroit— A truck carrying dirt on the southbound Lodge overturned late Wednesday morning near the Elmhurst Street exit, Michigan State Police said. More

Videos of brawl at MotorCity Casino go viral

MotorCity Casino's low-price buffet featured an all-you-could-eat slugfest between two groups of women early Friday morning and it's getting a lot of attention on YouTube. More

EM law opposition confident

Detroit — While state officials weigh an emergency manager for the city, a petition drive to derail the intervention will culminate next Wednesday when organizers deliver more than 215,000 signatures in Lansing. More

Changes in DEQ regulations proposed

A state advisory panel has proposed hundreds of changes to the way Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality does business. More

Multiple agencies probe shooting of Detroit baby

Detroit — Federal and state officials are aiding Detroit homicide investigators in the aftermath of a Monday shooting that left a 9-month-old boy dead and the community outraged. More

Harper Woods in bind over cost of public safety; eyes tax levy

Harper Woods — A budget crunch, along with growing crime and looming public safety layoffs, is forcing city officials to make tough choices about the future of the city’s police and fire departments. More

Citizens Group of Plymouth Township backs off support for tax

Plymouth Township — Determined to save fire service, a group of residents petitioned and took legal action to finally get a special assessment district on the ballot. More

3 accused of West Bloomfield attack charged with ethnic intimidation

Bloomfield Hills — Assault charges were upgraded Tuesday to felony counts of ethnic intimidation for three West Bloomfield men accused of attacking and shouting slurs at an African-American man last year. More

GOP optimistic in heavily Dem Oakland County state House district

Pontiac — A Republican teacher will battle a longtime Democratic county commissioner at the polls Tuesday to fill a vacant state House seat. More

Bing to name new DDOT head

Detroit — Mayor Dave Bing plans today to name a longtime transportation veteran to lead the troubled Detroit Department of Transportation. More

Briefs: Man gets life for causing fatal crash in carjacking

A 38-year-old Detroit man was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday for running a red light during a June 9 carjacking and causing a crash that killed a 48-year-old woman in another vehicle. More

Retiree ‘jack of all trades’

Carl Miller rarely met a machine he couldn’t mend. “He just had a really good keen sense for what it would take to fix it — whether it be a car or a sewing machine or motor,” said his son, David Miller. “He just was constantly fixing things.” More

Ann Arbor Marathon planned for June

Ann Arbor— There's a new marathon planned for Michigan this year. More

Authorities: Man bludgeoned to death at Calhoun County home

Pennfield Township— Authorities say a 51-year-old man was bludgeoned to death by another man at a home in southern Calhoun County. More

Man dies after apparent shooting at Traverse City-area gun range

Blair Township— Authorities say a man died following an apparent shooting at a Traverse City-area gun range. More

Sault Ste. Marie man pleads guilty in explosives case

Traverse City — A Michigan man accused of buying and hiding more than 4,000 pounds of explosives with enough potential firepower to equal the Oklahoma City bombing has pleaded guilty to one count, though his attorney insisted Wednesday that his client had no violent intentions. More

Muslim school sues Pittsfield Twp. over denial of project

Detroit — A Muslim school filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against Pittsfield Township officials for turning down its request to build a new school in the area. More

SUV crashes into West Bloomfield Twp. beauty salon

West Bloomfield Township— The fire and police departments are responding to a crash Wednesday morning in which a sports utility vehicle was driven into a beauty salon. More

Police highlight conflicting accounts in murder trial

Mount Clemens— A New Haven police Sergeant on Wednesday rehashed the conflicting accounts of a woman accused in the November 2010 killing and sexual assault of her two-year-old stepdaughter. More

For Paczki lovers, standing in line is worthy tradition

With a line wrapping around the corner on Joseph Campau Street this morning, paczki lovers earned their sugar-coated delights with patience. More

• Hamtramck paczki hail the arrival of Fat Tuesday

Signature collection begins to recall Ficano in 'uphill battle'

Recall efforts against Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano began in earnest last week, but their chief organizer says union leaders who vowed to help have cooled on the campaign after winning a new contract. More

• Berman: Ficano has been asleep at the switch

Mild winter still not one for the record books

With apologies to Bill Shakespeare, this has not been “the winter of our discontent.” So far, the winter of 2011-12 has been one of mild temperatures and little snow, although it’s not going to be one for the record books. More

Detroit baby 43rd homicide victim in bloody start to year

A toy Jeep lay among shards of broken glass Monday in the front yard of a home on the city’s west side, where a shooting left a 9-month-old boy dead and an outraged community searching for ways to stop the violence. More

• Editorial: Save the babies, stop the shooting

Decision on Hackel's ethics appointees moved to Thursday

Mount Clemens— Officials on Tuesday postponed a decision on whether or not to approve County Executive Mark Hackel's five appointees to the county's Board of Ethics. More