Early voting ends Sunday in Oakland County for three communities — Clawson, Ferndale and Madison Heights — with special elections on Tuesday.

Early voting hours on Saturday and Sunday are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. There will be no county-run central voting site for this election at Waterford Oaks County Park.

Voters can cast ballots early at municipal sites, by absentee ballot at their city clerk’s office or in person on Election Day, Tuesday, May 6, when polls will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

All absentee ballots must be returned to the municipal clerk’s office by 8 p.m. on election day.

Clawson

Voters will decide two city charter amendments.

Proposal 1, if approved, would maintain the city council at four members plus the mayor. If the proposal is defeated, the council will expand to six seats plus the mayor, as stated in the city charter approved in 2023.

Proposal 2, if approved, would set terms of office for the city council members to four years, with elections every two years. If defeated, the three candidates with the most votes win 4-year terms and the candidate with the fourth highest vote wins a 2-year term of office.

Early voters can cast their ballots at the Troy Community Center, (use the east entrance), 3179 Livernois Road in Troy.

On Tuesday, voters will find an information booth outside City Hall, 425 N. Main St. hosted by a group called Clawson Votes Matter. Sam Paulus of the Paulus Group said the main effort of Clawson Votes Matter is to get the city council to pass a cannabis ordinance and create a process for retailers to set up shop.

Voters approved legalizing marijuana sales with 3,826 yes votes and 3,270 no votes. The yes votes represent just under 54% of those who cast ballots.

Paulus said the council’s delay is a form of ignoring the voters’ wishes. He said the same was true for Tuesday’s ballot proposals aimed at reversing a charter amendment approved by voters in 2023.

City officials did not respond to questions from The Oakland Press.

Ferndale

City voters will be asked to approve a 10-year, 5.4 millage to replace money lost through the Headlee Act rollbacks. If approved, the city would receive nearly $5.4 million starting in 2026.

Taxes on a property with a state-equalized value of $150,000 would increase by $174 a year, or $14.52 each month.

Voters in the Ferndale public school district will decide a 30-year, $114.8 million bond question. The money would be used to pay for additions and renovations to Ferndale’s middle/high school buildings as well as for new equipment, furniture and upgrading fine art spaces and athletic fields and improved technology.

The district serves Ferndale, Oak Park Precinct 9 and Precinct 10, Pleasant Ridge, and Royal Oak Township Precinct 1.

Early voters can cast their ballots at the Hazel Park Community Center, 620 W. Woodward Heights Blvd. in Hazel Park or Oak Park Community Center, 14300 Oak Park Blvd. in Oak Park.

Madison Heights

Voters in Madison Heights’ Lamphere school district – those living in Precincts 5 through 9 – will decide a 30-year, $85 million bond proposal.

If approved, the bond will increase property taxes on a home with a state-equalized value of $200,000 by $415 a year or $34.58 each month.

The district will use the money for remodeling facilities, buying new equipment and furniture, upgrading playgrounds, athletic fields and adding secure entrances at school buildings. A gym will be added to the high school and district technology will be upgraded, including equipment for the middle-school robotics program.

Early voters can cast their ballots at the Leo Mahany/Harold Meininger Senior Community Center, 3500 Marais Ave. in Royal Oak.

Learn more at https://www.oakgov.com/government/clerk-register-of-deeds/elections-voting/voter-information or contact your municipal clerk’s office.

By Julia Cardi, The Detroit News

The first of three men charged in connection with the killing of an Oakland County sheriff’s deputy in 2024 will spend between five and 20 years in prison after his sentencing in a Detroit courtroom Friday.

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Charise Anderson ordered Karim Moore, 19, to spend at least five years in prison after he pleaded guilty in March to conducting a criminal enterprise, receiving and concealing a stolen motor vehicle, and felony firearm in connection with Deputy Brad Reckling’s death.

Recking, 30, was killed June 22, 2024 while he and other members of a cross-jurisdictional task force investigated a Chevrolet Equinox stolen from an Oakland County waterpark. Reckling allegedly was shot three times while tailing the car in Detroit, working undercover.

The Wayne County prosecutor’s office charged three people, including Moore, in connection with Reckling’s death. Anderson sentenced Moore to two years for the felony firearm count and between three and 20 years for the criminal enterprise count. Those two sentences will run consecutively, which brings the minimum time Moore will spend in prison to five years. Anderson sentenced Moore to one to five years for the stolen motor vehicle charge.

Prosecutor Matthew Penney said in court he hoped Friday’s sentencing would be the first step in allowing Reckling’s family to “turn the page” in their lives after his killing. He acknowledged they still have a long road ahead of them, with the cases of two other people charged in connection with Reckling’s death still yet to reach resolutions.

“This is just the first step in a much longer process that this poor family has been enduring for the last 11 months,” Penney said.

More than a dozen supporters of Reckling sat on one side of the courtroom, including his widow, Jacqueline. The couple had three small children and a fourth on the way when Reckling died.

Wearing a white dress shirt, bow tie, sneakers and ankle monitor, Moore did not make a statement to the court. He appeared with his defense attorney, Adam Clements, who characterized Moore as someone who has accepted accountability for what he did and has been cooperative in showing up to court. He has not posed an ongoing danger to his community and even found a job, Clements told the court.

“This young man will have an opportunity, when he gets out, to try to turn his life around.”

Clements had requested Moore be sentenced under a law targeted at young defendants that would have made him eligible for release after three years.

“He’s accepted accountability for his actions. He was wrong, and he embraced that,” Clements told The News in an interview after the sentencing.

Reckling’s family did not speak at the sentencing or to reporters afterward.

A separate case against Moore accusing him of resisting arrest has been dismissed.

Deputies escorted him out of the courtroom to begin his sentence. He was not handcuffed.

Ramon DeBose, 18, of Clinton Township is accused of killing Reckling. Marquis Goins, 18, of Detroit, also faces charges as an accessory. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said DeBose drove the SUV, and Goins and Moore rode as passengers at the time of the shooting.

Judge Shawn Jacque in Detroit’s 36th District Court ordered DeBose in March to stand trial. DeBose faces life in prison if convicted.

jcardi@detroitnews.com

©2025 The Detroit News. Visit detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Sheetz, the popular gas station and eatery moving into southeastern Michigan, has gained approval from Orion Township for a new location on Lapeer Road.

Last August, the township’s Planning Commission approved the special land use and site plan for a 24-hour gas station and restaurant with a drive-through window.

Sheetz, though, is still working to meet the conditions of the approval and will need a formal engineering review, said Tammy Girling, the township’s director of planning and zoning.

The property at 4160 S. Lapeer Road is on a busy stretch of M-24, south of Silverbell Road. It has been vacant for years, Girling said.

Sheetz’ proposal did not generate opposition, she said.

The company did not say when construction would begin on the Lapeer Road location or when it would open.

Sheetz has encountered opposition from nearby residents in many Oakland County communities where it has tried to locate, including Royal Oak, Wixom, Madison Heights, Rochester Hills and Waterford Township. Residents say they fear additional traffic, noise, crime and light pollution, as Sheetz outlets are open 24 hours.

In Farmington Hills, the City Council rejected a proposed location at 12 Mile and Middlebelt roads. The Planning Commission approved a location at Grand River Avenue and Middlebelt.

Around the tri-county area, Sheetz says it has recently gained approval for locations at 48825 Van Dyke in Shelby Township and at 7565 Haggerty Road in Van Buren Township.

In Roseville, a proposal at a former church has spurned supporters and opponents and even potential legal challenges.

Sheetz plans to open 50 to 60 stores in southeast Michigan in the next five to six years.

Sheetz opened its first Michigan store last August on Wick Road, near Detroit Metro Airport, in Romulus, and has two stores under construction at 29225 Smith Road, Romulus, and in Chesterfield Township on 23 Mile Road east of I-94.

Other Sheetz locations that have been approved:

— 8200 Telegraph Road, Taylor
— 20623 Eureka Road, Taylor
— 45011 Garfield Road, Macomb
— 28030 Gratiot Ave., Roseville
— 31925 Van Dyke Ave., Warren
— 19001 E. Nine Mile Road, Eastpointe
— 2103 W. Michigan Ave., Ypsilanti
— Southwest corner of 14 Mile and Utica roads, Fraser
— 45075 N. Gratiot Avenue, Macomb
— 5970 12 Mile Road, Warren
— 29455 Grand River Ave., Farmington Hills
— 39471 W. 12 Mile Road, Novi.

Later this year, Sheetz will be hiring employees for these future locations, with each store expected to employ about 35 people; most will be employed full time.

The company operates over 750 stores in Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and North Carolina.

Sheetz plans to open at least 2 Oakland County locations next year

Sheetz breaks ground on second Downriver location

President Donald Trump’s campaign has released details about a rally scheduled for Tuesday in Macomb County to celebrate the 100th day of his second term.

The campaign said in an email the event will be held at 6 p.m. April 29th at the Sports & Expo Center on the South Campus of Macomb Community College on 12 Mile and Hayes roads in Warren.

Tickets for the rally, which is open to the public, are available here.

Doors are set to open at 1:45 p.m. Remarks by various elected officials will begin at 6 p.m. followed by Trump’s comments, according to the campaign.

Last week, the White House announced Trump’s visit to Michigan, his first since being elected president to a second, nonconsecutive term in office. He won the state of Michigan in both the 2016 and 2024 elections, but lost the state and the election in 2020.

Trump to hold rally in Macomb County to celebrate his first 100 days in office

The past three months have seen the president’s whirlwind approach to covering trade, international alliances and a tariffs program that has led to consumer confidence plummeting, stock markets convulsing and investors losing confidence in the credibility of Trump’s policies.

Since taking office for his second term, the president has been looking to overhaul the federal government as he attempts to cut jobs and agencies, end diversity programs, deport immigrants and launch hefty tariffs that have threatened to upend the global economic order but which he says are needed to force fairer trade deals.

In a news release, organizers said the MCC event is intended to be a “celebration of the most successful and monumental first 100 days of any administration in history.”

Macomb County was one of the southeast Michigan communities where voters favored Trump.

In November 2024, he won Michigan’s 15 electoral college votes, flipping the state again in a victory over Democrat Kamala Harris.

In Macomb, voters chose Trump over Harris, 284,660 votes to 214,977 votes, for a nearly 14-percentage point victory margin.

Trump’s favor in Michigan has wavered over the years, but his supporters have kept the vote counts close. He defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by 10,704 Michigan votes in 2016 and then lost to Democratic nominee Joe Biden by 154,188 Michigan votes four years later.

His speech is expected to touch on tariffs and an an update on Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township. He has said in recent weeks that he was working with Michigan leaders to keep the military installation  “open, strong, thriving” and hinted about the possibility of new fighter jets coming.

Earlier this month, Trump made reference to Selfridge as he was meeting with Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the Oval Office. Whitmer and other Michigan officials have long pushed for a new fighter mission to replace the outgoing A-10 squadron at Selfridge.

Familiar faces expected to join Trump during rally next week at Macomb Community College

Most Americans expect higher prices as a result of Trump’s tariffs, new poll finds

Prevailing thoughts from Lions’ 2025 draft class, and what might come next

Macomb County All-Academic Banquet brings out the best in all

The only thing worse than the need for community food pantries is having a pantry and not being able to store perishable goods.

That’s what makes the food pantry grant for a new refrigeration unit offered by the United Dairy Industry of Michigan in collaboration with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM), Blue Cross Complete of Michigan and the BCBSM Foundation such a blessing.

“Last year we served 75,665 people and because of the refrigeration unit we were able to store milk between pantry days for emergency food,” said Sue Ostosh, executive director of Harvest Time Christian Fellowship Church’s pantry and among the organizations that have received the grant that’s now open for new applicants.

Emergency food as Ostosh explained is a term that pantries use for people who are in a crisis situation.

“They have no food in the house. No food in the cupboards. Their children are hungry and they don’t know what to do,” Ostosh said. “We probably serve three to five families in this situation every week.”

Harvest Time in Warren is one of 179 organizations in 54 counties that have received a grant to help people facing food insecurity, which includes about 14% of people in Michigan or one in seven Michiganders, according to a report by Feeding America. Older adults, seniors over the age of 60, are also at risk with a food insecurity rate of 6.5%.

According to the BCBSM, the situation is even worse for children, with nearly one in six lacking enough to eat and more than 20 counties having 20% or more kids without reliable access to healthy food.

“When families have consistent access to fresh, nutritious foods like milk, cheese and yogurt it supports their health, development and well being,” said Amiee Vondrasek, health and wellness senior manager for the United Dairy Industry of Michigan, in a news release. “Through this grant program, we’re proud to partner with organizations across Michigan to ensure food pantries are equipped to provide the dairy foods their communities want and need, especially for children and seniors facing food insecurity.”

Todd Anderson concurred.

“Access to fresh produce is critically important for growing children and families who are making ends meet with fewer resources,” said the market president for Blue Cross Complete. “Having these basic needs met creates a positive shift in a person’s overall health and wellbeing. It helps bring them out of survival mode, and that ripples out and allows whole communities to thrive.”

The refrigeration units cost $7,000.

In addition to the refrigeration unit, food pantry grantees will also receive personalized technical assistance to enhance pantry operations and $250 in dairy match funding to purchase additional eligible dairy products for their pantry.

“Food pantries play a vital role in providing individuals and families with access to nutritious food and BCBSM and the BCBSM Foundation are proud to offer resources to help expand their reach and impact,” said Tiffany Albert, senior vice president of community relations for BCBSM. “By investing in food pantries, we can address the immediate need of our communities and equip pantries with the necessary resources, tools and support to serve those in need for years to come.”

Ostosh, whose pantry in Warren serves families in Macomb and parts of Oakland and Wayne counties, said she appreciates what BCBSM is doing.

She just wishes more companies were doing it.

“I could use another refrigerator,” she said. “Even a walk-in cooler or freezer would be great.”

Grant applications are due June 22. They must be submitted using the online application.

For more information and to apply visit the Food Pantry Grant Program site at milkmeansmore.org/dairy-in-the-community/food-pantry-grant-program/

Harvest Time Christian Fellowship Church food pantry is 8204 East 9 Mile Rd., in Warren.

The De La Salle Pilots baseball team is having fun.

And why wouldn’t they? After a pair of 15-0 run-rule wins over Avondale on Saturday, the Pilots are 12-2 with 10 of their wins coming against Catholic League rivals Brother Rice, U of D Jesuit, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and Detroit Catholic Central.

It’s been a striking difference from last season, when the Pilots finished 17-19.

So what’s changed?

“I think we all bought in this year,” said senior Mason Pilarski. “I mean, we kind of all came together as a group.”

The buy-in has circulated around new head coach Dan Cimini, who took the DLS head coaching job after winning the Division 1 state title last season as the skipper for Northville.

“‘Everything counts’ is his motto,’ Pilarski said.

“He’s instilled what he’s about – winning and everything like that. And he’s really put it there, and we’ve all bought in.”

Cimini is familiar with both De La Salle and the Catholic League – he won five state championships as the head coach at Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, where he dominated the Catholic League and battled against De La Salle annually. He’s also an eastsider with friends who are Pilot grads.

It helps that there’s plenty of talent on the roster.

Pilarski, a Western Michigan commit, is the team’s top pitcher and is a fixture at the top of the lineup. His 17 RBIs are a team-high and he’s yet to allow an earned run in 18.1 innings pitched.

JJ Jurczyk leads off and is a rangy outfielder who is a soccer state champion with DLS.

Vito Zito is an anchor behind the plate, catching most of the team’s games. He’s hit four home runs and nine of his 14 hits have gone for extra bases, good for a 1.166 on-base plus slugging.

“I keep telling these guys, you know, care about the guy next to you,” Cimini said. “Maybe it’s not your day, someone else will pick you up, and that’s what we’re doing, passing the baton to whoever that day is going to be helping us.”

It’s not just the top of the lineup that opponents have to sweat, either. In their second win over Avondale on Saturday, their 7-8-9 hitters – Mason Stempin, Mark Gerardi and Pashk Daka – went 5-for-5 with two doubles, both by Girardi, and a no-doubter home run by Daka.

On the mound, Dylan Leupke’s ERA is a minuscule .545 in 25.2 innings of work with 38 strikeouts. Jurczyk’s is 2.58 with a team-high 45 punchouts in just 21.2 innings.

All of those guys are returners. Clearly, the talent has been there – Cimini is unlocking it. And it starts with belief.

“He (Cimini) instilled confidence on us,” Zito said. “Last year was hard for us, losing a lot of games. We came in here, he kind of set the standard for us, and we’ve just been playing to it now and having fun.

“It’s a great feeling. I mean, since day one he was saying this is a spot we’re going to be in. And I mean, he spoke into existence, great guy. He’s always picking us up.”

The state is taking notice. In the recent MHSBCA statewide poll, the Pilots were ranked as the best of the best, the cream of the crop – the No. 1 team in Division 1 – just a few weeks into the season.

“(I expected it) Maybe not this early, but I mean, we all knew that we had something special here, especially with them coming in,” Pilarski said. “I wasn’t really expecting it this early, but it’s pretty cool.”

De La Salle, Romeo ride strong starts to rise in new Macomb County baseball rankings

An emphasis on “doing the little things” has made waves for the team. It’s not just about hitting the ball hard and throwing strikes – they work counts, go first to third on hits, field the ball cleanly and hammer the details that other teams don’t.

For Cimini, who is one of the most accomplished baseball coaches in Michigan across the last two decades, it’s something he knows sets the good teams apart from the great ones.

Photos from De La Salle baseball’s 15-0 win over Avondale on Saturday

“I just really wanted them to understand that, you know, with hard work and preparation and do the little things that we talk about – the little things are, what win championships and what win games,” Cimini said. “And I don’t know if they did a lot of that stuff last year. I mean, they did some of it, but now they’re doing it all.

“Our goals are (to) win a Catholic League championship, and then, you know, see what we can do in the playoffs and hopefully be at Michigan State again. That’s my goal every single year as a coach, and I think these guys now believe that they can do that same thing, so that’s cool.”

The Pilots last won a state championship in 2016.

By Anne Snabes, The Detroit News

The Rev. Lorn Snow, a Jesuit priest in Detroit, felt a sense of loss for himself and the Catholic Church after hearing the news that Pope Francis had died.

But that sadness later turned to two other feelings, he said.

One was joy, since Francis’ death was amid the Easter season, which is the “highest moment in the life of the church,” said Snow, the pastor of Gesu Catholic Church in Detroit. On Easter, Catholics celebrate the rising of Jesus from the dead after his crucifixion.

“And I just thought it was so beautiful that the Risen Jesus came for Pope Francis in the midst of our Easter season — our resurrection,” he said. “And, you know, he shares in that resurrection now.”

The other feeling was gratitude. Snow said he is thankful for the pope’s years of “shepherding us” and caring for “not only the church, but really in a deep sense, for the world.”

Faith leaders in Metro Detroit are reflecting on Pope Francis’ life and legacy following his death Monday morning from a stroke and heart failure, as well as his Saturday funeral mass. Some Catholic priests remember Francis’ authenticity, his concern for the Earth and the example he set for older adults who are aging.

Some Protestant pastors remarked on his care for the poor and the marginalized, and a local rabbi called him “such a devoted, sincere, humble man.” An imam in Detroit praised Francis’ attention to the Palestinian people in Gaza.

The Rev. Elbert Dulworth, pastor of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Rochester, said he was excited to see a pope who “seemed to kind of bring people together.”

“As someone coming from a Protestant denomination, I felt like he really was a pastoral leader for not just the Catholic Church, but for all of us in the Christian church, kind of calling us together ― a more unifying presence for us,” Dulworth said.

Tens of thousands of people came to St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican to pay their respects to Francis, who lay in state for three days. His funeral Mass was Saturday morning in St. Peter’s Square.

‘In touch with his people to the very end’

The Rev. Terry Kerner, pastor of St. Kateri Catholic Church in Dearborn, noted that on Easter Sunday, Francis ministered to the people in St. Peter’s Square, including blessing babies.

“He was in touch with his people to the very end,” he said.

Francis was “a beautiful example of aging” and how to grow old in “a gracious and faithful way,” Kerner said. His parish has a lot of elderly parishioners, he said.

“I just think his life spoke to them by his example and his writings,” Kerner said.

He said Francis’ message was that the elderly have gifts for the young, and the young have gifts to give to the elderly.

“Nobody is disposable,” Kerner said, adding that seniors are “certainly a gift” to the church and humankind.

He noted that he doesn’t know anyone who disliked Francis.

“They may not have agreed with some of his policies,” Kerner said, “but it was hard to dislike him, because he’s just so authentic and genuine and loving.”

His concern for the environment

In 2015, Pope Francis released an encyclical — which is a letter — on the environment called Laudato Si’. In the letter, Francis called for a global dialogue about how people are influencing the future of the planet through their actions.

Gesu Catholic Church’s Snow said his church is considered a Laudato Si’ parish. Gesu promotes environmental justice and is trying to reduce waste coming from the parish and its grade school.

“It will be his great legacy, I think, as pope — is his care for creation,” Snow said.

At Gesu, students compost in the lunchroom, and the school gives leftover food to local farmers. When the parish provides coffee and donuts to parishioners on Sunday, they don’t use Styrofoam or other plastics.

The parish also has solar panels on its school buildings and electric vehicle charging stations in its parking lots.

“We’re doing everything possible we can,” Snow said. “We don’t use pesticides on our property. … All our landscaping are natural plants that would be here in Michigan, and we don’t utilize any things that would harm the Earth.”

The Rev. Faith Fowler, the lead pastor of Cass Community United Methodist Church and executive director of the nonprofit Cass Community Social Services, said Francis’ stance on the environment resonated with her. She said there should be “a planet for future generations.” Her organization has installed solar panels on its campus, and it harvests rainwater and is replacing grass with native plants.

“I’m a firm believer that although the planet belongs to God, we have the responsibility of being good stewards of what we’ve received, what we’ve been blessed with, and that we should pass it on to future generations as best we can,” Fowler said. “And I think I mirror the pope in that love for the environment and the understanding that we should be good stewards.”

His care for the poor

Fowler said many members of her church are poor, and “they too are feeling diminished” by Francis’ death.

“He was somebody who stood up and stood with and ministered to and was ministered by poor people,” she said. “And that’s not always true in the church ― any church. The higher you climb, the more distant you are from people who are discounted by the larger society. He was a man who stayed connected and stayed caring and reminded the church to be less worried about the things we worry about most of the time.”

She said Cass Community United Methodist Church works with people who need food, shelter and clothing. She said the gestures of Pope Francis’ ministry, including visiting a prison on Holy Thursday last week, were “very inspiring.”

“I really looked up to him,” Fowler said.

Kerner said Francis reminded the Catholic Church of “an incredibly important mission” that it has to the poor and the marginalized.

“We are at our best when we’re serving the poorest and the most vulnerable,” he said.

LGBTQ+ issues

Dulworth, pastor of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, said he was thankful to see Pope Francis take a step in reaching out to the LGBTQ+ community.

Catholic teaching on LGBTQ+ issues didn’t change during Francis’ tenure, including the prohibition on same-sex marriage, but Francis conveyed through his actions and remarks that he wanted the church to be a more welcoming place for LGBTQ+ people.

Fowler said she “sensed the position” that Francis was in, because many churches in Africa are more conservative than churches in the U.S., Germany and other places.

“And yet they were all a part of his church, so how you maintain unity is a tough call,” she said, adding that progressives “probably didn’t get everything they wanted.”

Fowler said she would have loved to have seen Pope Francis allow women to be ordained as priests or deacons. He did, however, appoint women to top Vatican positions, including Sister Simona Brambilla, the prefect of the department responsible for all the Catholic Church’s religious orders.

Muslim and Jewish leaders share their perspectives

Imam Imran Salha of the Islamic Center of Detroit said he offers his condolences to “my Christian brothers and sisters.”

“And I pray that God replaces him with many others to follow in his example of compassion and wisdom and clarity of choice,” he said.

In Pope Francis’ last speech, which Archbishop Diego Ravelli read aloud on Easter Sunday, he called for a ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas militant group in Gaza. He also urged Hamas to release the dozens of Israeli hostages it is holding and condemned growing global antisemitism.

Salha said Francis “always recognized the people of Palestine and their suffering on their occupation.” He said the pope regularly called people in Gaza to check in on them.

Rabbi Asher Lopatin, director of community relations for the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor, called Francis “such an incredible man.” He said Francis showed care for immigrants, the weak and the environment, and showed “respect for every human being.”

“These resonated very much with the Jewish community,” he said.

Lopatin, who is the rabbi at Kehillat Etz Chayim in Oak Park, added that the Jewish community appreciated Francis’ denunciation of antisemitism and the love he showed for the hostage families.

“However, I think in the life of the pope, of Pope Francis, all the values that he had could have been reflected in a stronger, more robust support for the Jewish state” and for the struggle that the Jewish state has with “all its enemies,” he said.

He said calls for a ceasefire have to be coupled with a demand for Hamas to release the hostages. Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and killed around 1,200, mostly civilians. Some hostages have been released, some of whom were dead, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Some hostages were rescued by Israeli military forces. The bodies of more than 40 hostages were retrieved by Israeli forces.

Lopatin said he thinks Jews expected Francis to “be more of a voice” for getting the hostages released.

“But … there’s always more to do, and I hope the Catholic Church takes from his teachings and becomes that voice of support for the one Jewish state,” he said.

asnabes@detroitnews.com

If you are looking for a new abode that feels like you are able to be away from home, perhaps this residence should be on your search list.

Located at 26918 Koerber Street, St. Clair Shores, the four bedroom, five bathroom home is available for $1,650,000.

“One of a kind beautiful lake front home on Lake St. Clair! It’s truly a dream home where you can Vacation all year long boating, swimming, fishing, ice fishing, watching freighters going by and seeing the glowing St Clair light…. just dreamy,” says Shelly Mueller, the realtor with RE/MAX Advisors handling the listing.

Each bedroom has its own bathroom, which adds to the customizable feel. There is a wet bar upstairs and a laundry area on each level which adds to the ease of  entertaining and living in the home. The home has 5,200 square feet of living space.

There is also a three and a half car attached garage and a 1,700 square foot detached heated four car garage/barn, which only expands the options available with this property to suit it to fit needs.

For the water fun outside, there is a 200 foot steel dock,10,000 pound electric hoist and  ATV ramp.

Plenty of chance to relax inside and out with views and activities for everyone.

The home is viewable on Zillow here: zillow.com/homedetails/26918-Koerber-St-Saint-Clair-Shores-MI-48081/83625427_zpid

— Macomb Daily staff 

A developer of the proposed mixed-use project on the former Kmart headquarters in Troy hinted this week that the project may be dead.

“I’m a little bit fit to be tied. Maybe we’ll see you again and maybe we won’t,” said Nate Forbes, managing partner of The Forbes Co., after the city’s Planning Commission postponed a decision Tuesday, April 22, that would have moved the project forward.

Through a spokesperson, the company declined further comment.

The commission voted 7-1 to postpone a decision on a concept development plan for the site.

Commission member Toby Buechner cast the dissenting vote.

“I want it to go through, so I’m saying, ‘No,’ ” he said.

The Forbes Co. is partnering with Stuart Frankel Development Co. on the project at the former Kmart Corp. headquarters on Big Beaver Road at Coolidge Highway. The sprawling building was demolished in late 2023 and early 2024 after sitting vacant for 17 years.

Several commission members said the plans as submitted by the partnership, Forbes Frankel Troy Ventures, were not specific enough.

The partnership proposed up to 750 residential units, 500,000 square feet of office and 300,000 square feet of retail space, as well as a 250-room hotel.

“There has to be a little bit more specificity on the uses for us,” said commission Chairwoman Marianna Perakis. “For me, it’s a total free-for-all,” she said of the submitted plans.

She said she wanted to know, at the least, the minimum amount of the development to be dedicated to residential use.

“We don’t have a clear picture” of the entire development, said commission member Jayalakshmi Malalahalli. She said she wanted more assurance that the retail portion would not include uses such as drive-through establishments.

“We’re going to have to have a little bit of faith in each other,” Forbes said, adding that his company owns the Somerset Collection shopping center next to the site, and the new development would follow the same standards on aesthetics and type of uses allowed.

He said the new development would be “very Cranbrook-esque,” with high-quality brick, stone and metal used.

The Forbes Frankel partnership first appeared before the Planning Commission about eight months ago, and made several changes, such as increasing the size of a park on the site, he said.

The Forbes Co. bought the vacant Kmart site in 2009 for $17.5 million. The company has been paying taxes, cutting the grass and providing security on the site since then, and wanted to move forward on the new development, Nate Forbes said at the meeting.

The Forbes Frankel partnership paid for the demolition, according to a release from the city.

The headquarters opened in the early 1970s. It closed in 2006, when Kmart merged with Sears Holdings Corp. and moved most operations in Troy to the Sears headquarters in a Chicago suburb.

The University of Michigan bought about 11 acres of the roughly 40-acre site for a multi-speciality health facility that would provide diagnostic and therapeutic services and ambulatory surgery.

Michigan Medicine, the health arm of UM, said in a release last year that it plans to expand clinical services and increase patient access in Oakland County.

Under the Michigan Constitution, UM is exempt from local zoning ordinances. Its portion of the development can not be reviewed by the  city, but plans do have to abide by state laws governing fire codes and other safety regulations.

University regents recently approved the schematic design. The 224,000-square-foot, four-story building is expected to open in spring 2027, according to a release from Michigan Medicine.

No trial in child pornography case for Troy man

Oakland County development project receives $131 million brownfield incentive from state

The Aug. 5 primary ballot in some communities reflects an increase in interest in running for local office.

In Pontiac, for example, six candidates have filed to run for mayor, up from five in 2021. In Southfield, three candidates are running for mayor.

Pontiac

Six filed for the Pontiac mayor’s seat being vacated by Mayor Tim Greimel, who is running for the District 10 Congressional House seat.

Pontiac’s mayoral candidates:

•  Gill Garrett, Oakland County Sheriff’s deputy and former school board president.

•  Mark E. Holland, Sr., a former city councilman and former deputy mayor who ran for the District 9 commission seat in 2017 and for Pontiac’s school board in 2012.

•  Mike McGuinness. Current city councilman and board president.

•  Deirdre Waterman, former two-term Pontiac mayor.

•  Kermit Williams, Oakland Forward’s executive director and former city councilman and board president.

•  Wendell Woods, former teacher

Three are running for Pontiac’s new at-large council seat: Adrian Austin, Marcus Bowman; Rev. William Parker, Jr., an incumbent councilman; and Sennel K. Threlkeld, an Oakland County Sheriff’s deputy who works in Pontiac.

Sixth District candidates are Cassandra Bradford, Regina K. Campbell and Troy F. Craft. Craft is currently a Pontiac school board trustee.

Southfield

Long-time Mayor Ken Siver has two opponents for the next 4-year term: Sylvia Jordan who has served 17 years on the council and has previously run for the mayor’s seat, Ryan Foster, who has run for council twice, state senator once and last year campaigned for Congress.

Early voting starts Saturday for a handful of Oakland County communities with measures on the Tuesday, May 6, ballot.

Voters can cast ballots in person on Election Day, early at municipal sites or by absentee ballot.

There will be no county-run central voting site for this election at Waterford Oaks County Park.

Early voting hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday through May 4. Thursday’s early voting hours are noon to 8 p.m.

Election day hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. All absentee ballots must be returned to the municipal clerk’s office by 8 p.m. on election day.

Clawson

Voters will decide two city charter amendments.

Proposal 1, if approved, would maintain the city council at four members plus the mayor. If the proposal is defeated, the council will expand to six seats plus the mayor, as stated in the city charter approved in 2023.

Proposal 2, if approved, would set terms of office for the city council members to four years, with elections every two years. If defeated, the three candidates with the most votes win 4-year terms and the candidate with the fourth highest vote wins a 2-year term of office.

Early voters can cast their ballots at the Troy Community Center, (use the east entrance), 3179 Livernois Road in Troy.

Ferndale

City voters will be asked to approve a 10-year, 5.4 millage to replace money lost through the Headlee Act rollbacks. If approved, the city would receive nearly $5.4 million starting in 2026.

Taxes on a property with a state-equalized value of $150,000 would increase by $174 a year, or $14.52 each month.

Voters in the Ferndale public school district will decide a 30-year, $114.8 million bond question. The money would be used to pay for additions and renovations to Ferndale’s middle/high school buildings as well as for new equipment, furniture and upgrading fine art spaces and athletic fields and improved technology.

The district serves Ferndale, Oak Park Precinct 9 and Precinct 10, Pleasant Ridge, and Royal Oak Township Precinct 1.

Early voters can cast their ballots at the Hazel Park Community Center, 620 W. Woodward Heights Blvd. in Hazel Park or Oak Park Community Center, 14300 Oak Park Blvd. in Oak Park.

Madison Heights

Voters in Madison Heights’ Lamphere school district – those living in Precincts 5 through 9 – will decide a 30-year, $85 million bond proposal.

If approved, the bond will increase property taxes on a home with a state-equalized value of $200,000 by $415.00 a year or $34.58 each month.

The district will use the money for remodeling facilities, buying new equipment and furniture, upgrading playgrounds, athletic fields and adding secure entrances at school buildings. A gym will be added to the high school and district technology will be upgraded, including equipment for the middle-school robotics program.

Early voters can cast their ballots at the Leo Mahany/Harold Meininger Senior Community Center, 3500 Marais Ave. in Royal Oak.

Learn more at https://www.oakgov.com/government/clerk-register-of-deeds/elections-voting/voter-information or contact your municipal clerk’s office.

By Hannah Mackay, The Detroit News

A search warrant affidavit for the West Bloomfield home where three siblings died in a fire in February revealed that the first 911 call came from the family’s 16-year-old daughter, who told authorities, “there’s no way for us to get out.”

The affidavit sheds new light on the Feb. 2 fire that killed Hannah, Jeremiah, and Jacob Oliora, ages 16, 14, and 12, and why the siblings, one of whom had nonverbal autism, weren’t able to escape.

The investigation into the fire, meanwhile, is ongoing, according to West Bloomfield police. The West Bloomfield police and fire departments have denied Freedom of Information acts requests related to the fire and its investigation.

Police executed a search warrant at the Oliora home on Feb. 4. No findings have been submitted to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, according to Police Chief Dale Young.

According to the affidavit, Hannah told 911 dispatchers that the fire started in the living room. Authorities haven’t revealed what caused the blaze.

After the fire, police interviewed the parents, Don and Liz Oliora, the next day and learned that Jeremiah had been diagnosed with nonverbal autism. He’d previously attempted to climb out of a second-story window of the home on Pembury Lane and left the home unsupervised through the front door. He was found in their neighborhood by a passerby, according to the documents.

To prevent similar incidents from happening again, the parents told police they installed window locks and an interior front door lock. The key to unlock the front door was kept in a lockbox inside, near the home’s garage. Only the parents and their oldest daughter had access to the lockbox, according to court documents.

Hannah’s initial 911 call came in around 8:05 p.m. on Feb. 2. Her father had left the home around 2:40 p.m. to work for DoorDash, and her mother left at the same time for work as a nurse, according to the documents.

At 7:10 p.m., Hannah called her father to ask about the family’s dinner plans. She told her father that she would start cooking hamburgers for her and her brothers, and her dad said he would come home after completing a few more DoorDash stops.

Liz was working when she was told about the fire by a neighbor and the police. She told police that her three children were inside and that she was on her way home, and called her husband to alert him at 8:27 p.m.

When police arrived on the scene of the fire and learned about the children trapped inside the home, they attempted to extinguish the flames in the back of the house but couldn’t.

Firefighters then arrived and were able to enter the home and extract the kids. One was found right behind the front door, while another was in an upstairs bathroom, according to the documents.

Hannah and Jeremiah were taken to Detroit Receiving Hospital, while Jacob was taken to Henry Ford Hospital in West Bloomfield, but all three succumbed to their injuries.

An autopsy by the Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office revealed that Jacob’s preliminary cause of death was accidental and due to smoke and soot inhalation, according to the court documents. Autopsies for his brother and sister had not been conducted when the search warrant affidavit was filed.

When firefighters entered the home, they could hear the ignitor of the gas stove clicking, according to the documents.

hmackay@detroitnews.com

Pontiac schools are moving ahead with plans to  reshape the district for the future.

At an April 14 special meeting, Interim Superintendent Kimberly Leverette walked the board through a plan for how students and programs will be relocated as part of Phase I.

“This plan is about what we can provide for the whole child,” Leverette told the board. “The rigor and academic outcomes that we want for all kids is absolutely possible. The way we have been doing it is not working. We must do something different.”

An earlier proposal to shift all International Technology Academy students grades 7-12 into Pontiac Middle School and High School was changed.

According to the district, the technology academy is “a specialized school program within the district that emphasizes STEM education and diverse learning experiences, and preparing students to become global citizens.” It serves K-12 students.

Students from the technology academy will now merge with students from International Language Academy and all classes will be located in the Whitmer Human Resource Center.

The language academy is a dual-language K-5 elementary program within the district.

According to the presentation, the combined program, to be called the “ITA at WHRC”, will have 438 students, including 50 kindergarteners. The number could be  expanded in the future based on space in the Whitmer building.

The PEACE Academy, which offers pre-school and before/after school care programs, will relocate to the Whitmer building from Frost Elementary.

PEACE will have 20 classrooms in the south wing of the building and their own secure entrance.

Six classrooms will relocate to Herrington Elementary and four special education classrooms will move from Whitmer to Rogers Elementary and Herrington.

The PEACE would also shift from four days a week of instruction to five days and expand classroom sizes from 16 to 18 students.

The estimated cost of moving the PEACE program, located at 723 Cottage, to the Whitmer building is $788,555.

The current PEACE building would be emptied  and its future use to be determined. The district would save $172,000 annually by closing the building.

The plan, which takes effect this fall, could be voted on at the board’s April 28 meeting.

There will be a public forum on the Phase I plan from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on April 24 at the Pontiac High School auditorium.

Waterford Township hired two companies to complete its $33 million community center.

In back-to-back votes Monday evening, township trustees voted unanimously for the architecture-engineering firm Neumann/Smith of Southfield and construction manager Frank Rewold & Sons of Rochester.

The two other finalists, IDS of Troy and Clark Construction of Auburn Hills, could be reconsidered should contract negotiations with Rewold and Neumann/Smith fall through.

Voters approved a $36.4 million bond for the project in November.

The township purchased 51 acres of land on OCC’s Highland Lakes campus at 7350 Cooley Lake Road. The community center outdoor space will include accessible restrooms, a playground, softball field, shuffleboard and bocce ball courts, a dog park and trails connecting to Hess-Hathaway Park.

Most classes continue at OCC’s Highland campus through the end of the fall semester. Health science classes continue through the end of 2027. Work starts in 2026 to convert the existing building to a community center.

Waterford Twp. trustees to sign community center contracts

Former Central Michigan head football coach, Michigan offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Mike DeBord died Tuesday from complications due to a stroke he suffered in 2021.

DeBord was 69.

“The world lost a great man today,” Tyler DeBord wrote. “He taught me so much in life, I am so grateful the good Lord blessed me with the best dad! He was a man of faith, an unbelievable dad, husband, grandpa, and man! For all his successes in life, he always stuck to his small town roots and never forgot where he came from. He had a great sense of faith, work ethic, love for family, football, and life. His loss will be felt by many because of the impact he had on everyone he touched. He loved fiercely, and we loved him!”

DeBord, a native of Muncie, Ind., started four years on the offensive line at Manchester College where he was a captain in 1977. His coaching career began in 1982.

He made stops at Eastern Illinois, Ball State, Colorado State and Northwestern before joining Lloyd Carr’s staff at Michigan. DeBord was the Wolverines’ offensive line coach from 1993-1996, then became the offensive coordinator from 1997, when he helped lead the program to an unbeaten season and the AP national championship, through 1999. He left Michigan to become head coach of Central Michigan from 2000-2003.

“It is with deep sadness that we learned of the passing of Mike DeBord, a respected leader and valued figure in Central Michigan football history,” Central Michigan head football coach Matt Drinkall said in a statement to The Detroit News. “You still hear stories from his former players about the impact he made on their lives and our community. His legacy as a coach, person and mentor will forever be remembered.”

DeBord returned to Michigan in 2004 and was on the staff through 2007 when Carr retired.

Jon Jansen, a two-time captain and integral part of the national title team, was close with DeBord, who coached him at Michigan. Jansen, now the analyst on Michigan football radio broadcasts and a radio host in Detroit on The Ticket 97.1 FM, also was a frequent visitor at CMU when DeBord was head coach and would speak to the team.

“Mike was one of the great leaders,” Jansen told The Detroit News on Tuesday. “He cared about you as a player and 100% attribute a ton of my success and my life to the energy he put into me. He was just like everybody on Lloyd’s staff — he was such a good man and cared about you as an individual, whether it was going to class, making the right decisions. He was somebody that was always there no matter the situation.

“He was one of the best men I have ever known.”

After Carr’s retirement, DeBord then coached in the NFL at Seattle and Chicago and in 2013 returned to Michigan as sports administrator for Michigan’s Olympic teams. He went back to college coaching at Tennessee in 2015 and then Indiana in 2017 where he was associate head coach and offensive coordinator. He retired briefly from coaching and returned to help coach the San Diego Fleet.

In 2020, he was hired by former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh as an offensive analyst at Michigan.

“Football, to me, coaching football’s an addiction,” DeBord told The Detroit News in 2020. “You’ve got to be addicted to it.”

He was explaining why he couldn’t stay retired and away from the game.

“I always loved the meetings and the coaching on the field — that’s why you coach,” DeBord said as he discussed why he returned to be an analyst. “I would say this is taking care of a part of me. I told Jim when I came to talk to him, ‘I love Michigan. I love Michigan football.’”

After a year as a Michigan analyst, DeBord was named offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Kansas in the February 2021. He suffered the stroke later that year. Deb DeBord, his wife, died last June from cancer.

Tyler DeBord said in his post that funeral arrangements are pending.

By Luke Ramseth, The Detroit News

Two major Stellantis parts plants in Metro Detroit are preparing for a combined 330 temporary layoffs scheduled to begin on Monday and last several weeks.

The staffing cutbacks — about 170 at the Warren Stamping plant and 160 at the Sterling Stamping plant — are tied to the automaker’s decision to idle two  assembly factories in Canada and Mexico impacted by President Donald Trump’s new 25% tariffs on imported vehicles. Stellantis said last week that it expected about 900 workers in the United States to be laid off due to the new tariffs, with additional cuts coming at transmission and parts plants in Kokomo, Ind.

Both Metro Detroit stamping facilities are especially impacted by the Windsor Assembly plant closing because both supply parts for the Chrysler minivans and Dodge Charger electric muscle cars made there, said Romaine McKinney III, president of United Auto Workers Local 869, which represents about 800 workers at the Warren Stamping plant. McKinney said the plant also is affected by the nearby Warren Truck Assembly plant, which will soon pause production for several weeks due to engine shortages.

With the additional cuts this week, McKinney said more than 260 union members at the Warren Stamping will be temporarily laid off following previous cutbacks.

“They’re terrified,” McKinney said of the members. “They’re in an uproar because they knew it was coming, they could see it coming — but it’s reality now.”

McKinney has mixed feelings about Trump’s tariffs. Right now they are fueling coming layoffs and leading to lower morale among the members. And the tariffs are set to push up prices on various goods, which also won’t be good for UAW members.

Yet he also supports the goal of bringing back manufacturing work to the U.S.— even Warren Stamping has plenty of space where it could rebuild assembly lines and add staff to increase parts output, a projects he estimates might take a year at the soonest.

“It’s just so early in the game,” McKinney said, and it’s unclear how the tariff strategy will all shake out.

Warren Stamping worker Daiquiri Harris said the automaker’s layoffs caught him off guard. He knew job cuts were possible due to tariffs but figured his plant had already seen such deep cuts recently, it wouldn’t be able to reduce its workforce much further. The 47-year-old said he wondered why General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. hadn’t yet announced similar cutbacks yet due to tariffs, and whether Stellantis may have been looking to cut back production and staff anyway.

Harris said he’s torn about the White House’s tariff strategy.

“It’s tough, man,” he said. “I know they want to bring the manufacturing back and this is how they propose to do it. But I don’t know. Maybe in the long run, this’ll work out and we’ll all look back at it and be glad it happened. But for right now, it’s not looking good.”

Democratic U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar of Detroit joined a handful of supporters in front of Stellantis’ Detroit Assembly Complex-Jefferson plant on Friday afternoon to discuss Trump’s tariffs and the automaker’s plans to temporarily trim jobs in response. He argued tariffs can be helpful to the United States if used judiciously and strategically — but the Republican president’s onslaught of new levies on nations, the auto industry and more was instead a “macho, bully approach to dealing with the economy.”

Thanedar acknowledged this approach might work in some instances, scaring certain countries or companies to change their practices. But he said it also appeared set to damage the interconnected auto industry, which he noted sends parts back and forth to be manufactured and assembled between countries.

The congressman also questioned whether Stellantis really needed to idle plants and cut its workforce in response to the new tariffs, a sentiment that has been echoed in recent days by UAW officials.

“These 900 jobs that they are cutting, supposedly a temporary job (cut) … is that really a result of these tariffs or is this where a company is taking advantage of the situation to trim and cut some of the workforce?” Thanedar asked. “If that’s what they are doing, Stellantis should not be doing that.”

Thanedar said he had not discussed the tariff issue with Stellantis. The automaker declined to respond to his comments. But executives have said the company needs to pause production and shipments due to the new 25% tax, and as they seek to work out new levies with the Trump administration.

UAW retiree and former engine plant worker Willie Wyatt, 85, who attended Thanedar’s gathering on Friday, said he watched many good auto jobs leave the Detroit area over the years. But he’s not convinced Trump’s tariffs will bring them back. He said he’s worried the tariffs will just raise prices and lead to more layoffs for the autoworkers that remain.

“Them companies don’t leave and say, ‘I’m gonna build a new plant tomorrow and come back here,'” Wyatt said. “Donald Trump’s term is supposed to end in three or four years from now. It takes you two to three years to build a plant.”

lramseth@detroitnews.com

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The founder of Auto Workers for Trump 2024 in Macomb County thanked President Trump and predicted auto plants will reopen over the next few years during a brief speech at the president’s “Liberation Day” at the White House.

Brian Pannebecker attended the event Wednesday in the Rose Garden along with many top federal officials and 20 Michigan UAW members. Pannebecker cited the group of auto workers, who responded with cheers, during his remarks after Trump invited him to the podium on stage.

“We support Donald Trump’s policies on tariffs 100%,” Pannebecker said, pointing to the group, which included Chris Vitale of St. Clair Shores. “In six months or a year, we’re going to begin seeing the benefits. I can’t wait to see what’s happening three-four years down the road.”

In asking him to come on stage, Trump said, “He’s been a fan of ours and he understands this business a lot better than the economists, a lot better than anybody.”

Pannebecker started his comments by noting he is from “north of Detroit, Macomb County, the home of the Reagan Democrats.”

“My first vote for president was for Ronald Reagan,” he said. “I thought that was going to be the best president ever in my lifetime. That was until Donald J. Trump came along.”

He described metro Detroit as a region of closed and idle auto plants.

“My entire life I have watched plant after plant after plant in Detroit and the Metro Detroit area close,” Pannebecke said. “There are now plants sitting idle, there are now plants under-utilized. Donald Trump’s policies are going to bring product back into these under-utilized plants. There’s going to be new investment, new plants built.”

After he left the stage, Trump said of Pannebecker, “He got it right from the beginning; he got it before almost anyone else, and they (referencing the auto union members in the audience) did, too.”

“You’re going to be happy very soon,” the president assured.

Pannebecker, a New Baltimore resident and Sterling Heights native, is a retired auto worker who spoke at a Trump rally last November and has organized many pro-Trump events in recent years.

Vitale is a St. Clair Shores city councilman and recently recent Stellantis employee who was one of the 20 UAW members invited to attend the ceremony

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Vitale said before the event Wednesday morning from Washington D.C.. “They were looking for some autoworkers to show support, and I was picked to be one of them.”

Vitale said he is a strong supporter of Trump’s plans to heighten tariffs and has campaigned for them in the past. Like Pannebecker, he said he believes in the long run they will benefit the United States.

“My feeling is that the rest of the world is in a panic over these because they’ve been doing them to us for the past 60 years,” he said. “I would say in a year from now a lot of them probably won’t even be in place because the idea is to get those foreign governments to take down their tariffs on American products, level the playing field, so to speak, which is something I’ve been advocating for since 2008. Not looking for special treatment, just looking for equal treatment.”

He called the part of the negative reaction to tariffs “hair lighting on fire … nothing more than drama” because most products from Canada and Mexico initially will be exempt as part of the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement. He called those reactions “scare stories.”

He said the explanation to support the tariffs is complex.

“What Trump is doing is fundamentally the right move,” he said.

Vitale paid for his trip, he said.

Vitale, who said he remains a member of the UAW, said he tested prototype drivetrains the last 10 years of his career at the Tech Center in Auburn Hills, and prior to that worked at other facilities for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Chrysler.

He was elected to City Council in November 2011 and was last re-elected in November 2023.

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By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump declared on Wednesday a 10% baseline tax on imports from all countries and higher tariff rates on dozens of nations that run trade surpluses with the United States, threatening to upend much of the architecture of the global economy and trigger broader trade wars.

Trump held up a chart while speaking at the White House, showing the United States would charge a 34% tax on imports from China, a 20% tax on imports from the European Union, 25% on South Korea, 24% on Japan and 32% on Taiwan.

The president used aggressive rhetoric to describe a global trade system that the United States helped to build after World War II, saying “our country has been looted, pillaged, raped, plundered” by other nations.

Trump declared a national economic emergency to launch the tariffs, expected to produce hundreds of billions in annual revenues. He has promised that factory jobs will return back to the United States as a result of the taxes, but his policies risk a sudden economic slowdown as consumers and businesses could face sharp price hikes on autos, clothes and other goods.

“Taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years,” Trump said in remarks at the White House. “But it is not going to happen anymore.”

Trump was fulfilling a key campaign promise as he imposed what he called “reciprocal” tariffs on trade partners, acting without Congress through the 1977 International Emergency Powers Act in an extraordinary attempt to both break and ultimately reshape America’s trading relationship with the world.

The president’s higher rates would hit foreign entities that sell more goods to the United States than they buy, meaning the tariffs could stay in place for some time as the administration expects other nations to lower their tariffs and other barriers to trade that it says have led to a $1.2 trillion trade imbalance last year.

The tariffs follow similar recent announcements of 25% taxes on auto imports; levies against China, Canada and Mexico; and expanded trade penalties on steel and aluminum. Trump has also imposed tariffs on countries that import oil from Venezuela and he plans separate import taxes on pharmaceutical drugs, lumber, copper and computer chips.

None of the warning signs about a falling stock market or consumer sentiment turning morose have caused the administration to publicly second-guess its strategy, despite the risk of political backlash as voters in last year’s election said they wanted Trump to combat inflation.

Senior administration officials, who insisted on anonymity to preview the new tariffs with reporters ahead of Trump’s speech, said the taxes would raise hundreds of billions of dollars annually in revenues. They said the 10% baseline rate existed to help ensure compliance, while the higher rates were based on the trade deficits run with other nations and then halved to reach the numbers that Trump presented in the Rose Garden.

In a follow-up series of questions by The Associated Press, the White House could not say whether the tariff exemptions on imports worth $800 or less would remain in place, possibly shielding some imports from the new taxes.

Based on the possibility of broad tariffs that have been floated by some White House aides, most outside analyses by banks and think tanks see an economy tarnished by higher prices and stagnating growth.

Trump would be applying these tariffs on his own; he has ways of doing so without congressional approval. That makes it easy for Democratic lawmakers and policymakers to criticize the administration if the uncertainty expressed by businesses and declining consumer sentiment are signs of trouble to come.

Heather Boushey, a member of the Biden White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, noted that the less aggressive tariffs Trump imposed during his first term failed to stir the manufacturing renaissance he promised voters.

“We are not seeing indications of the boom that the president promised,” Boushey said. “It’s a failed strategy.”

Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., said the tariffs are “part of the chaos and dysfunction” being generated across the Trump administration. The chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee stressed that Trump should not have the sole authority to raise taxes as he intends without getting lawmakers’ approval, saying that Republicans so far have been “blindly loyal.”

“The president shouldn’t be able to do that,” DelBene said. “This is a massive tax increase on American families, and it’s without a vote in Congress … President Trump promised on the campaign trail that he would lower costs on day one. Now he says he doesn’t care if prices go up — he’s broken his promise.”

Even Republicans who trust Trump’s instincts have acknowledged that the tariffs could disrupt an economy with an otherwise healthy 4.1 % unemployment rate.

“We’ll see how it all develops,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. “It may be rocky in the beginning. But I think that this will make sense for Americans and help all Americans.”

Longtime trading partners are preparing their own countermeasures. Canada has imposed some in response to the 25% tariffs that Trump tied to the trafficking of fentanyl. The European Union, in response to the steel and aluminum tariffs, put taxes on 26 billion euros’ worth ($28 billion) of U.S. goods, including on bourbon, which prompted Trump to threaten a 200% tariff on European alcohol.

Many allies feel they have been reluctantly drawn into a confrontation by Trump, who routinely says America’s friends and foes have essentially ripped off the United States with a mix of tariffs and other trade barriers.

The flip side is that Americans also have the incomes to choose to buy designer gowns by French fashion houses and autos from German manufacturers, whereas World Bank data show the EU has lower incomes per capita than the U.S.

“Europe has not started this confrontation,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “We do not necessarily want to retaliate but, if it is necessary, we have a strong plan to retaliate and we will use it.”

Italy’s premier, Giorgia Meloni, on Wednesday reiterated her call to avoid an EU-US trade war, saying it would harm both sides and would have “heavy” consequences for her country’s economy.

Because Trump had hyped his tariffs without providing specifics until Wednesday, he provided a deeper sense of uncertainty for the world, a sign that the economic slowdown could possibly extend beyond U.S. borders to other nations that would see one person to blame.

Ray Sparnaay, general manager of JE Fixture & Tool, a Canadian tool and die business that sits across the Detroit River, said the uncertainty has crushed his company’s ability to make plans.

“There’s going to be tariffs implemented. We just don’t know at this point,” he said Monday. “That’s one of the biggest problems we’ve had probably the last — well, since November — is the uncertainty. It’s basically slowed all of our quoting processes, business that we hope to secure has been stalled.”

By David WelchBloomberg

Brittany Humphries and her husband Jon Bassford are what sales people at car dealerships might call motivated buyers. The couple, who live in suburban Maryland outside Washington, DC, moved swiftly to lock in purchases this year to avoid the risk of paying thousands of dollars more once Trump administration policies on electric vehicles and tariffs fully kick in.

The couple’s story presages a buying boom as people rush to get ahead of the 25% tariff hike on imported vehicles that President Donald Trump announced on March 26, which is set to go into effect on April 3.

By the end of February, Humphries, 38, had traded in her 2022 Hyundai Kona crossover for a new $44,000 Acura Integra compact and her 42-year-old husband swapped his Acura MDX SUV for a lease on a $72,000 all-electric ZDX SUV.

Those transactions helped power strong first-quarter new car sales ahead of White House moves to disrupt the auto industry’s status quo.

“We just don’t want to be part of Trump’s game,” Humphries said.

The promised tariffs could jack up sticker prices once current inventories are depleted.

The first indication of a wider upswell in demand will come Tuesday, when major automakers such as General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. release new car sales data for the latest quarter. Tesla Inc. is expected to detail its global delivery numbers for the period on April 2.

Trump told reporters at a White House briefing on Friday that Americans shouldn’t rush out to buy cars ahead of the tariffs. But that doesn’t appear to be deterring motivated buyers.

“Savvy consumers are likely attempting to get ahead of future uncertainty surrounding auto pricing levels by taking advantage of March deals,” Chris Hopson, principal analyst at S&P Global Mobility, said in a statement. “Downside risks to the auto demand and production environment abound as consumers face potential higher auto prices as a result of expected tariffs.”

Import models – including those shipped from Canada and Mexico – make up about half of overall US sales. And many vehicles made in the US use a lot of imported parts. But it’s unclear exactly how much of a levy will be charged on specific vehicles and also how much of that extra cost – which is estimated to be as much as $12,000 for some models – will be born by consumers. The burden from previous tariff hikes and Covid-era supply chain disruptions was spread out among automakers, parts suppliers and car buyers over a period of years.

Cars already are more expensive than just a few years ago, giving pause even to some affluent buyers. Average new vehicle transaction prices hit $47,373 in February, according to car-shopping website Edmunds. Fear that prices can only go up with Trump’s latest tariffs is driving more people to move up their timeline for buying a new car, said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at market research firm AutoForecast Solutions.

“The idea that cars might be more expensive in April has been all over the news,” he said.

A similar trend boosted car sales in the final quarter of 2024 as buyers rushed to sign paperwork for electric vehicles eligible for tax credits Trump has started to curb. That helped automakers end 2024 on a bullish note, with sales up 2.2% to 15.9 million vehicles for the year, marking the highest level since 2019, according to Wards Intelligence.

Edmunds projects first quarter sales will continue that upward trend, rising 1% to 3.8 million vehicles – the strongest start to the year since 2021. That number likely reflects some sales pulled forward by trade policy concerns, but also reflects healthy overall demand and supply in the market, according to Jessica Caldwell, an analyst at Edmunds. Price hikes and inventory disruptions tied to trade policy may start to weigh on auto sales beginning in April, she said.

“If you’re looking to buy a car in the next, I’d say, month, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get a car as soon as possible,” Caldwell said in a Bloomberg TV interview.

Most major automakers sell vehicles sourced from multiple countries, with some brands more dependent on foreign-made models than others. Many of the cheapest vehicles are imported, something that could soon put many cars out of reach for entry-level buyers.

Faith Johnson, a 30-year-old dental assistant living in metro Detroit, has been looking to buy a new car because her current vehicle, a used Ford Explorer, is having engine trouble even after $5,000 in repairs. She’s been saving for a down payment on a new car since November, and has about $2,000 in cash saved up so far.

“Things are just super expensive,” said Johnson. “Now you have to come up with even more money because of the tariffs? That is insane.”

Researcher Cox Automotive projects sales growth to continue into the first three months of 2025, with a seasonally-adjusted annualized sales rate of 15.8 million vehicles. Prior to Trump’s tariff announcement, Cox expected 16.3 million vehicles would be sold for the full year. But that may drop once tariffs are imposed.

“It will be a squandered opportunity as we were poised for continuing growth” this year, Jonathan Smoke, Cox Automotive chief economist, said in a March 26 webcast. “Our quarterly survey of dealer sentiment showed positive momentum at the end of 2024.”