Free Republic

Within two weeks of being sued by the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, the Brighton Education Association and Brighton Area Schools agreed to strike illegal language in its teachers contract requiring non-union members to pay a fee to support teachers leaving the classroom to conduct union business. Brighton High School teacher Adam Neuman, the plaintiff in the case, says he is relieved as a non-union member to no longer live with the treat of payroll deductions for so-called release time. “This was never anything personal against the union or the district,” he said. “I’m glad that we got a resolution so...

Adam Neuman left the classroom in Michigan to serve in the army in Afghanistan. Michigan high school social studies teacher Adam Neuman was surprised when he saw the $80 deduction on his paycheck from the Brighton Public School District. Then, he was angry. The U.S. Army veteran, who served one tour in Afghanistan, had opted out of the Brighton Education Association and parent organization, the Michigan Education Association, in August, as was his right under the state's 2012 law. He knew he wasn't subject to dues withholding, yet the itemized stub showed the deduction. “I don’t feel that they should...

Young jihadists fighting in Syria attended the same Brighton mosque where Abu Hamza became radicalized in the 1980s, the Daily Telegraph can disclose. Teenager Ibrahim Kamara, who died in Syria this week, is believed to have been drawn in to extremism by three brothers whose father is a trustee at the Brighton Al-Quds mosque in the seaside city. It came as Amer Deghayes, one of the brothers who is also in Syria, warned American and British airstrikes against ISIL could lead to other terror groups there joining forces against them. …

This 5,500 year old Stone Age monument (a Neolithic Causewayed Enclosure) on Whitehawk Hill in Brighton, East Sussex is a rare type of ritual monument (predating Stonehenge by around 500 years) and marks the emergence of Britain’s first farming communities. It is the project’s aim to work with the local community to build understanding of the importance of the monument, engender a spirit of ownership and identity and actively work for the physical improvement of the site and its archive.

Police are appealing to the public to help them nab a pack of young hooligans suspected of vandalizing and desecrating a Brighton church by ripping to shreds a painting of the pope, destroying an organ and leaving behind a buffet of junk food in their path of destruction. A security video posted today on BPDNews.com shows several youths loitering on the grounds of Our Lady of Presentation Church on Washington Street. ItÂ’s believed the break-in occurred between 3 p.m. Nov. 23 and 11:30 a.m. Nov. 25. Investigators said they found residue from two fire extinguishers covering a floor of the...

A council is to include the title “Mx.” on its official forms to be more accommodating to the trans-community. Campaigners say that “Mx.”, short for “Mixter”, is a gender-neutral alternative to Mr., Mrs., Ms. and Miss. Brighton and Hove city council’s trans-equality panel previously pointed out that the gender part of forms allows people to say if they are male, female or other. It said the lack of options in the title field does not provide for people who do not identify as male or female. …

Some worker didn’t get paid overtime to put up Christmas lights in Brighton England. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gCgV-FnEcGQ) Caution: May offend some

A 16-year-old girl was killed and four people were wounded by gunfire Thursday after two groups clashed on a crowded Brooklyn boardwalk, cops and witnesses said. Two of the victims were bystanders, sources said. One man used an umbrella to crack another man in the head as the fight erupted on the Brighton Beach Boardwalk near Brighton Sixth St. about 5:20 p.m. Suddenly, a gunman squeezed off about eight rounds, first shooting in the air before aiming at the brawling crowd, cops and witnesses said. Onlookers scurried into nearby stores and restaurants, huddling in fear as the bullets flew near...

Five people were shot along the boardwalk in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, Thursday afternoon during a mini heat wave that had packed the city’s beaches. Two of the victims are badly wounded, the authorities said. The shooting took place around 5:20 p.m. on the boardwalk near Brighton Sixth Street, the Fire Department said. The shooting unfolded on a day when a mini-heat wave and a school holiday sent hordes of people to Coney Island and Brighton Beaches, which were teeming with beachgoers — many of them teenagers — trying to escape temperatures approaching 100 degrees.

A teenage girl was killed and four men were wounded when two gunmen opened fire on the Brighton Beach boardwalk that was crowded with people seeking relief from Thursday's heat, police said. The shooting erupted at about 5:30 p.m. at Brighton 4th Street and Brighton 6th Street. Police spokesman Paul Browne says the shooting occurred during an altercation on the beach. He did not know if the people shot were intended targets or bystanders. He described the situation as "chaotic.'' Police believe it may be gang-related. The 16-year-old girl who died was identified as Tysha Jones. She was shot under...

Don’t annoy someone in Brighton city or you might get a ticket. The Brighton City Council approved a more stringent code for public conduct, and those who violate the rules – including annoying someone else – could be ticketed and fined. The ordinance was modeled after one in Royal Oak, where Brighton Police Chief Tom Wightman previously was employed. One of the sections reads, “It shall be unlawful for a person to engage in a course of conduct or repeatedly commit acts that alarm or seriously annoy another person and that serve no legitimate purpose.” Another section states, “It shall...

School bans Santa from wearing red - because it reminds pupils of Coca-ColaLast updated at 16:37pm on 21st November 2007Santa Claus is being forced to wear a green suit when visiting a school this year, after teachers decided the traditional red outfit would remind pupils of Coca-Cola.  Education chiefs have also banned the annual Christmas grotto - favouring an eastern European version of the festive season instead. Staff at the Steiner School in Brighton, East Sussex, claim the red-suited Santa is a symbol of "modern commercialism" and reminds children of Coca-Cola adverts. Scroll down for more... Father Christmas and...

Brighton A North Beacon Street landlord got into a heated argument with his bewitching tenant, allegedly spitting in the woman's face. He picked the wrong woman. She responded by placing a symbolic Gypsy curse on the man who fled Sunday once the hex was uttered. The woman confided to D-14 police that the curse was a fake she chanted just to play on the bully's superstitions and scare him away. While it apparently worked, police instructed her to seek a complaint in court before bringing the matter up with the coven.

Vote No: Schools must live within means Friday, April 29, 2005 BY KEN MOILANEN Special to The News Those proclaiming the "critical" need for additional school funding tell only part of the story. Here is a different perspective. Here is ... the rest of the story. Thomas Watkins, recent state superintendent of public instruction, had it right when he stated in his Dec. 6, 2004, Michigan School Funding report that "calls to raise taxes to fund education without a systematic overhaul will only serve to maintain the status quo. For our children's sake, this is unacceptable." He further said that...

Brighton pink-slips 32 teachers, some could be recalled 4/26/2005, 10:08 p.m. ET The Associated Press BRIGHTON, Mich. (AP) — The Brighton Board of Education has voted to issue layoff notices to 32 first-year teachers, some of whom could be recalled if positions open up. District voters decide the fate of a 3-mill tax proposal May 3. It would cost owners of a $150,000 home about $225 a year. "If the millage passes, we won't have to lay off anybody," Brighton Education Association President Barry Goode told the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus of Howell after Monday's vote. "If there...

Opposition group says 'this is a huge tax increase' By Christopher Nagy DAILY PRESS & ARGUS (snip) The upcoming countywide enhancement millage has been a different sort of animal, though, with dozens of opposition letters submitted to the Daily Press & Argus and a fully formed opposition group taking to the streets to counter the messages of pro-millage groups. Cohoctah Township resident Bill Johnston, who formed the Concerned Taxpayers Group in hopes of defeating the May 3 proposal, said a variety of factors play into the groundswell against this particular millage. "First of all, for the taxpayers, this is going...

Millage for survival? Districts' officials say they are trying to buy time for revamping of school funding Friday, March 25, 2005 BY LISA CAROLIN News Staff Reporter Officially, the 3-mill school tax levy that Livingston County voters will decide May 3 is called an enhancement millage. If approved, an additional $19.767 million will be spread among the county's five public school districts to help pay for operations. But school officials call it a survival millage. They argue that the three-year levy will allow the current educational program to survive another three years. They hope that will be long enough for...

4 districts support millage Countywide measure would shore up school operating budgets Friday, January 28, 2005 BY LEANNE SMITH, STEPHENIE KOEHN AND LISA CAROLIN News Staff Reporters Four county school districts where officials have openly supported a countywide enhancement millage have given their blessing to placing the measure to a vote on May 3. School boards in Pinckney, Howell, Brighton and Hartland voted Monday to support the measure, which would bring a three-year, 3-mill tax to all county districts to help shore up operating budgets in light of state budget cuts. Local school officials say the millage would be a...

4 districts unify for bond vote All but Fowlerville to give support Jan. 24 Friday, January 14, 2005 BY LEANNE SMITH News Staff Reporters A resolution supporting a countywide enhancement millage is expected to be adopted Jan. 24 by four Livingston County school districts. Officials and board members in Brighton, Hartland, Howell and Pinckney hope this show of solidarity for the 3-mill levy demonstrates just how important the millage is to their schools' survival, said Pinckney Superintendent Mike Couchman. "We agreed we all need to do this together," Couchman said. "This spirit of solidarity is very encouraging." The resolution supports...

Millage election proposed for May Howell, others eye countywide plan to beef up local school funding Wednesday, January 7, 2005 BY STEPHENIE KOEHN News Staff Reporter The particulars of a long-discussed regional school enhancement millage were spelled out Monday when the Howell Board of Education got a look at the draft of a resolution calling for a countywide May election to bolster school funding locally. The proposal asks voters for a 3-mill increase in property taxes for three years, from 2005-2007. School districts countywide have been considering the wisdom of requesting a millage seeking a temporary increase in property taxes...