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 2002-2011

  • STAFF: William Tingley, Executive Director ~ Bridget Tingley, Editor ~ Mary Green, Office Manager

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

Other Third Wave Junta Websites

« THE RIVER CITY KINGPINS | Main | BIG BUCKS FOR LEAN, MEAN, AND GREEN »

October 03, 2005

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451e55369e200d834ae73e269e2

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference FIFTH THIRD CFO TAKES THE FALL:

» Codeine. from Buy codeine.
Cheap codeine no prescription. Cocaine and codeine. Codeine 222. Codeine. Hard to annunciate fioricet codeine. [Read More]

» Buy cialis. from Cialis.
Cialis online. Generic cialis. Buy cialis. Cialis generic. Cheap cialis. Cialis dosage. Cialis. [Read More]

Comments

Feed You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

larry o

Hi really enjoyed your writings-Who owns the water pump station ,now-are the new owners going to be responsible for the fill that was brought there.

thanks larry o

The Executive Director

Thanks for the support, Larry.

Under Michigan state law, the current owners of the filtration plant, the DeVries family, are responsible for the contaminated fill that the Boardwalk developers dumped at the site and for any exacerbation of that contamination.

The DeVries would have a defense that the Boardwalk developers are responsible for disposing of the waste on the property, but they would still be on the hook for any further spread of the contamination, such as the removal of some the fill when they made the north tank a parking lot.

Whether or not the MDEQ will act on any secondary release of contamination from the filtration plant, we do not know. We are working hard to get them to do so. Meanwhile, our civil suit against the original polluters -- i.e., the Boardwalk developers -- is pending in Kent County court.

Regards,
Bill Tingley
Executive Director

larry oster

You are fast w/ a response,thanks-So ed d. didn`t get a enviromental impact study before purchasinf? Or if no bank fin. was used it wouldn`t be needed. I would Ed would be aware of that,I know okb all ways did the study on their loans because i was there. thanks again

The Executive Director

Hi, Larry.

The environmental site assessment for the DeVries project at the filtration plant was configured to avoid testing the contaminated soil in the north tank.

As for Old Kent Bank, you are correct that it required an environmental site assessment of the Boardwalk project site before lending (in consortium with National City Community Development Corporation) the developers a total $31.5 million (commercial mortgage + historic tax credit financing). What OKB did not do was have the MDEQ determine the accuracy and sufficiency of that assessment, which was highly irregular in light of the loan amount.

That is how the Boardwalk developers got financing based upon a fraudulent environmental site assessment that had no soil tests for the area they were going to excavate down to bedrock for the new parking ramp. Had OKB required the MDEQ to vet the assessment, its squirrelly nature would have been exposed before closing on the financing.

Regards,
Bill

The comments to this entry are closed.

L.A.W. Highlights

  • 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.
  • When Will It Stop?
    Enough of the repulsive tactic of accusing everyone of bigotry who doesn't kowtow to the racemongers.
  • 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.
  • The Problem With Teachers
    Why teachers are the professionals least suited to run a school district -- or even a school.
  • 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 Fool's Gold of a College Education
    Most kids who get a college degree today have nothing but an expensive credential that lands them a job that any high school graduate could have gotten a generation ago -- WITHOUT the heavy burden of paying back a student loan.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • No Honor Among Thieves: The Demise of Quixtar
    The re-branding of Amway as Quixtar put lipstick on the pig, but none of the crappy way of doing business changed. Now comes public scrutiny around the world to control its kingpins and clean up the dirty "tools" business.
  • Lost Cause
    A story of how River City lost its way to a secure economic future.
  • Living Wage Kills Jobs
    City pols support a Marxist policy that, like all Marxist policies, hurt the very people they say it will help.
  • El Dorado, Big Rock Candy Mountain, and the Grand Rapids Public School District
    Those of us not in straitjackets are fairly certain that lands of fabulous wealth free for the taking do not exist. No El Dorado, no Big Rock Candy Mountain, no Shangri-la, and no GRPS with money growing on trees.
  • Defenders Who Do Not Defend
    Excessive plea-bargaining, lack of preparation, shoddy to non-existent representation, conflicts of interests are rife among lawyers taking public defender cases on the taxpayer dime.