About L.A.W.


  • MOTTO: Qui male agit odit lucem. ("He who does evil despises the light.")

  • PUBLISHER: Local Area Watch, Inc. ~ a Michigan non-profit corporation ~ Copyright 2002-2007

  • STAFF: William Tingley, Executive Director ~ Bridget Tingley, Editor ~ Mary Hines, Office Manager ~ Robert Harrison, Photographer

  • CONTACT INFO: Local Area Watch Inc. ~ 1009 Ottawa Avenue, N.W. ~ Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503 ~ ph 616-458-3125 ~ fx 616-454-9958

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Categories

Highlights

  • Bio-Tech Blather
    Watch your wallets, boys and girls. The politicians and the corporate panhandlers are about to put a big bet on the bio-tech boom with your tax dollars and charitable donations.
  • Dumping Scandal FAQ's
    Answers to the main questions about the dumping of hazardous waste at the Monroe Avenue Water Filtration Plant and other dumpsites.
  • Gutless U-M Caves on Bronzes
    Art endures, if obscured, in that grotty little fiefdom of intellectual poseurs and petty inquisitions that has become the University of Michigan.
  • Kent County Medical Examiner Compromised
    In a glaring conflict of interest, Kent County Medical Examiner Stephen Cohle whitewashes autopsies that could have revealed misconduct by Spectrum Health and Laboratory Pathologists, a staffing firm Cohle owns and operates.
  • Living Wage Kills Jobs
    City pols support a Marxist policy that, like all Marxist policies, hurt the very people they say it will help.
  • Local Prof Sez We're Bible-Beating Bigots
    Outspoken GVSU professor Ben Rudolph gets it wrong when he concludes that River City's "conservative" values are wrecking the local economy.
  • Lost Cause
    A story of how River City lost its way to a secure economic future.
  • Mayor Heartwell: The Best Investment in Town
    The mayor takes a campaign contribution from a lobbying firm and then awards it a $70,000 city contract.
  • Poison
    The nasty nature of the 26,000 tons of poison that The Boardwalk's developers dug up and then dumped upon the rest of us.
  • The Fixer
    A four-part series about the local attorney behind the demise of Autodie, Butterworth Hospital, Amway, and Old Kent. Warning: Strong accusations of corruption, greed, and skullduggery. Not for the feint of heart.
  • The Flying Monkey Brigade
    Lysenkoists now rule and dictate what citizens will and will not discuss as science in the public square -- especially, the public school classroom.
  • The Pig in the Python
    The dirty little secret behind the success and failure of every school reform that the education establishment, the public school bureaucrats, and the teachers unions will never reveal.
  • The Problem With Teachers
    Why teachers are the professionals least suited to run a school district -- or even a school.
  • Thirty-Six Bucks
    Balancing the City budget: Maybe it's time for those making a living on the taxpayer's dime to give up a little instead of sticking it to the taxpayer one more time.
  • Urban League Takes a Wrong Turn
    The Grand Rapids chapter of this venerable civil rights organization took a step backward with its dubious report finding institutionalized racism in area police forces.
  • When Will It Stop?
    Enough of the repulsive tactic of accusing everyone of bigotry who doesn't kowtow to the racemongers.
  • Who Tickets the Cops?
    State highway patrolmen flout the law on our freeways.
  • Yeah, and Summer is Hotter Than Winter
    The Grand Rapids Press ignores science to promote feel-good politics on the environment and becomes the watchdog that doesn't bark.

Archives

More...

Quick Links

Government Links

Media Links

Public Interest Links

« AVENUE OF ASH | Main | METRO BOONDOGGLE BONDS SOLD »

Mar 28, 2005

RIVER OF CORRUPTION: THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE (UPDATE)

[Note:  Click here for the original article in this continuing series.]

Today I learned that Assistant City Attorney Daniel Ophoff is acting as the spokesman for the defendants in the hazardous waste lawsuit we filed against the developers of the Boardwalk project, the recently completed residential-commercial project on Monroe Avenue north of downtown.

Crocodile_nastyOn the taxpayers' dime, Ophoff is now speaking to the local court on behalf of private parties, including Pioneer Incorporated, Dykema Excavators Inc., 940 Monroe L.L.C., and Superior Environmental Corporation.  All of these companies have been identified as participants in a conspiracy to remove the hazardous waste underlying the Boardwalk project site (see "Poison" for details) and passing it off as clean soil to evade the state's hazardous waste storage, transport, and disposal regulations (see "Dumping Scandal FAQ's" for details).

Why has the City Attorney's Office volunteered to act as a spokesman for these polluters?  What is the justification for the taxpayer subsidizing the legal expenses of private parties who have been videotaped and photographed in the act of violating the state's hazardous waste management laws?  Why won't the City Attorney or the City Commission respond to these questions?

Click here to e-mail Mayor Heartwell and the City Commission to demand an explanation for the defense pact the City Attorney's Office has made with the Boardwalk developers.

Posted by Wm Tingley on Mar 28, 2005 at 07:19 PM in Project: Hall of Shame |

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451e55369e200d83544a31e69e2

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference RIVER OF CORRUPTION: THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE (UPDATE):

Comments

Verify your Comment

Previewing your Comment

Posted by:  | 

This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.

Working...
Your comment could not be posted. Error type:
Your comment has been posted. Post another comment

The letters and numbers you entered did not match the image. Please try again.

As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.

Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.

Working...

Post a comment