Ann Arbor schools budget cut vote • Michigan air quality map • Hutch's Jewelry murder trial continues

MONDAY NEWS HIT - As the Ann Arbor Public Schools district works to balance a $25 million deficit, the school board is meeting to vote on upcoming cuts.

Among these cuts include around 100 layoffs, the closure of middle school pools, and the removal of some classes, including language courses and classes with low enrollment.

Parents, students, and staff have all pushed back against potential cuts, and they have shared their thoughts with the board at heated meetings.

The school board will meet at 7 p.m. to vote on the proposal.

Hutch's murder trial continues 

More witnesses are expected to take the stand today in the trial against two men charged in the murder of popular jeweler Dan ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson.

On Friday, Dan's wife Marisa testified about the couple's business, Hutch's Jewelry in Oak Park. She also detailed the day her husband was murdered while she sat next to him in his SUV outside their new pawn shop.

The couple's attorney, Marco Bisbikis, is accused of plotting to have them murdered and hiring Roy Larry to carry out the crime. Both Bisbikis and Larry are on trial.

According to Marisa, cash sales over $10,000 require businesses to file tax forms. Some customers didn't want to provide the information necessary for these forms, such as Social Security numbers, so the business honored the customers' wishes and did not report. That unreported cash was stored in a safe at Hutch's Jewelry before being brought to Bisbikis's law office.

In addition to Bisbikis and Roy Larry, three other men, Darnell Larry, Angelo Raptoplous, and Philip Sumpter, were charged in connection with the murder.

Raptoplous and Darnell Larry both pleaded guilty to solicitation to murder and agreed to testify against Bisbikis and Roy Larry as part of their plea deals to avoid life sentences.

Air quality map shows pollutants in Michigan

Last summer, wildfires in Canada impacted Michigan's air quality, leading to warnings to stay inside and use caution if you have heart or breathing issues.

Metro Detroit was under an Air Quality Advisory on Saturday that has since been lifted, and air quality could again be impacted by fires as the year continues.

According to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System, there are more than 30 active wildfires in Alberta and British Columbia provinces. Other fires have been reported as far east as Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

In the summer of 2023, people who suffer from respiratory illnesses like asthma were told to stay inside due to poor air quality from the wildfires in northern Canada. On one infamous occasion in June, Detroit had some of the worst air quality in the world, and was rated as "very unhealthy."

Check the air quality map at the link below:

Suspect wanted after fleeing Detroit hospital

A suspect is on the run after escaping a Detroit hospital over the weekend.

Detroit police said they arrested Cortez Rabb, 22, and brought him to Henry Ford Hospital on Sunday morning. He was arrested for felonies, though police didn't specify what he did.

While officers were placing him in a hospital bed, Rabb escaped the officers' control and fled from the hospital.

Anyone who sees Rabb is asked to call 911.

2 dead, 13 hurt after drunk driver plows into pedestrians

Police suspect a woman was drunk when she plowed into a group of pedestrians Saturday in mid-Michigan's Watertown Township, killing two people.

The group of people, which ranged in age from toddler to senior, were walking along South Wacousta Road near Corrison Road in the Clinton County township when they were struck around 6:30 p.m. Two people were pronounced deceased at the scene and 13 others were transported to area hospitals with injuries ranging from life-threatening to minor.

The 35-year-old driver fled the scene but was caught several miles away and arrested.

"With heavy hearts, we pray for all of the individuals and families affected by this incident. We are here for all of you," says the Clinton County Sheriff's Office.

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Daily Forecast

The heat continues to start the week.

What else we're watching

1. Michigan gas prices are down from last week. Drivers are now paying an average of $3.55 per gallon for regular unleaded gas.
2. Drones and AI will soon be combined in Macomb County to inspect critical underground infrastructure.
3. Police are investigating a motorcycle crash on Eight Mile near Halsted in Farmington Hills. The crash was discovered early Monday.
4. Buckle up - the click it or ticket initiative begins today, so police will be out looking for drivers and passengers not wearing seat belts.
5. A man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a child is due in court today after his case was bound over to Third Circuit Court last week.

Red Lobster files for bankruptcy

Facing rising costs and an all-you-can-eat shrimp deal that backfired, Red Lobster has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The seafood restaurant chain said in a court filing late Sunday that it has more than 100,000 creditors and estimated assets between $1 billion and $10 billion, according to the Associated Press. The company's estimated liabilities are between $1 billion and $10 billion.

The news comes days after the seafood chain closed dozens of U.S. restaurants, including at least five locations in both California and Florida, and four in both Maryland and Colorado.

The bankruptcy petition was signed by CEO Jonathan Tibus, a corporate restructuring specialist who took the top post at Red Lobster in March.