Capacity limits lift at Comerica Park, lawsuit says vision specialist molested kids, Jan. 6 report released

TUESDAY NEWS HIT - Comerica Park and the Detroit Tigers are about to celebrate round two of the opening day Tuesday.

Their home game against the Seattle Mariners will be their first without any capacity restrictions. That means instead of 8,000 fans dotting the arena, crowd numbers could reach as high as 40,000 or more.

And in the spirit of shedding the restraints initiated due to the pandemic, people can get free tickets to the game if they get vaccinated that day as well.

"Our players love playing in front of our home fans, we always have. Obviously, it's been a little limited so far this season with weather and with protocols, but any time you get a chance to play in front of your home crowd, and as it can grow and get bigger and the environment's better, I think our guys will be fine," said Tigers manager A.J. Hinch.

Outdoor capacity restrictions were lifted for events and businesses on June 1. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the plan in May after shifting course away from the original Mi Vacc to Normal schedule. 

However, Comerica Park hasn't been filled because the Tigers' last home game was May 30. Their series against the Mariners will be the first played in front of an unrestricted crowd. 

"Live Major League Baseball there's nothing like it," said George Brown, who picked up tickets at the box office Monday afternoon. He's been a lifelong fan.

But the return of the downtown energy in Detroit will also bring a lot of badly-needed income to businesses. Kyra Spires who works as a tour guide for the Detroit Rolling Pub said business was steady through the pandemic. But "I know it will be booming now that the Tigers are opening back up."

"It's beautiful to see Detroit is coming back to life again, coming back from last year," she said. 

For this week's games, anyone unvaccinated can get a shot and score two free tickets to the game. 

RELATED: How to score 2 Detroit Tigers tickets for free

The Detroit Tigers are doing a BOGO deal and are partnering up with McLaren Health. Anyone who schedules an appointment or walks in to get a shot will also receive two vouchers for tickets to that day's game or a future game. They'll also receive a $10 gift card to Meijer. 

The pop-up vaccine clinic, which will be held at the Fox Theatre, will be administering shots three hours before the start of each game this week.

Tuesday's game will start at 7:10 p.m.. Matthew Boyd will be pitching for the Tigers against Marco Gonzales for the Mariners. 

Kids sexually assaulted by vision specialist, lawsuit claims

Garden City and Livonia schools are both under fire after failing to report claims of sexual abuse by a vision specialist who allegedly molested kids who are visually impaired during private sessions at the districts.

Garden City let the individual go for unrelated reasons after a mother reported her legally blind 8-year-old daughter had been assaulted. "She was like, ‘Mr. (name) did something inappropriate to me’ and my heart shattered," Danica Petty said. In one case, he's accused of massaging a child's breasts and putting his genitals in her hand. In a 2019 case, he allegedly put his genitals in a second girl's hand and near her mouth.

Even after he was let go from Garden City, Livonia schools kept him on until a few months ago. Now they say he's on leave. "The employee who is named in the allegations is currently on administrative leave and has been on leave for several months."

Garden City police investigated the man after the first complaint, but never charged him due to insufficient evidence. But the criminal case has been reignited after the second accusation. Attorneys for the case believe the crimes were going on well before the first two complaints. 

Top Detroit Democrat gives praise for Chief James Craig

As the political winds continue blowing through Michigan, Chief James Craig's star is shining bright in the Republican side of the state. It's also getting some unlikely praise from sources on the other side of the political aisle. 

State Rep. Tenisha Yancy, the Democratic chair of the Detroit caucus has "nothing that I can say negative about him or his run for governor."

It may be the heat of the political moment, but seldom does opposition parties offer much of anything positive for their adversaries. And while Yancy did also say she agrees with the governor in many regards, she also said doesn't "have as good of a relationship with Whitmer."

As the shape of the Michigan gubernatorial race starts to form, statements like these could play a large part in the messaging behind campaigns for the next couple years.

Vigil honors young mother killed in Waterford apartment fire

An aspiring nurse and mother to a 2-year-old that died in an apartment fire in Waterford this weekend was honored at a Monday night vigil. 

"I would give my life just have her back, I really would," said Tammy Gibson, mother to Brianna Johnson. "Just a tragedy to lose her the way that I did. Nothing could prepare me for (something) like that."

Johnson lived on the third floor of the Glengarry Apartment complex. Firefighters were unable to reach Johnson before the fire engulfed the residence. Her son would normally have been with Johnson that evening, but instead was spared when he stayed at his dad's house instead.

The cause of the fire is still being investigated. If you would like to help the family, donate to the GoFundMe HERE.

Attorneys say DPSCD still hasn't made appropriate changes after student died of seizure

It's been nearly three years since Carl Johnson, a special needs student with autism, died after having a seizure on a school bus. Attorneys with the Bernstein Law Firm say the Detroit school district has still not made any changes to the procedure to keep the incident from happening again.

"You would assume that they would jump on this and fix the problems," said attorney Mark Bernstein. "But we have not seen any evidence they are making the necessary changes to protect these vulnerable students."

Johnson died after arriving at school 10 minutes before class began. However, he was not allowed to go inside for the first day of the district's extended year program. "So now you effectively restrained this child on a bus, he's on a hot bus, it's not very well ventilated, and then he has the seizure and nobody provides medical attention," said attorney Joe Ceglarek.

The Bernstein law firm says there should have been a nurse on the bus when Johnson was picked up since the district knew he was prone to seizures. "You would assume that they would jump on this and fix the problems," said attorney Mark Bernstein. "But we have not seen any evidence they are making the necessary changes to protect these vulnerable students." The district declined to comment on the case.

What else we're watching

1. A video surfaced online this past weekend of a man hanging and dancing on the roof of a car on I-94. The incident is part of a string of dangerous stunts taking place on highways.
2. A report completed by the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy will be presented at a subcommittee meeting today. The report was issued after two dam caused catastrophic damage to a mid-Michigan city last year.
3. The state will provide a presentation on a massive I-275 project tonight that's expected to take the next four years to complete. You can find out more here.
4. Ford has introduced another new truck model - the 2022 ‘compact but mighty’ Ford Maverick. 
5. Electric vehicle makers have a problem: slow charging times. It's one of the biggest barriers to helping the new era of technology flourish.

Live on FOX 2

Daily Forecast

Temperatures will keep up Tuesday but not before rain and potential thunderstorms roll through in the mid-to-late afternoon. We'll be playing hopscotch with humid weather and rain most of the week.

Senate report details failures around Jan. 6 attack at US Capitol

A Senate investigation of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol has uncovered broad government, military and law enforcement missteps before the violent attack, including a breakdown within multiple intelligence agencies and a lack of training and preparation for Capitol Police officers who were quickly overwhelmed by the rioters.

The Senate report released Tuesday is the first — and could be the last — bipartisan review of how hundreds of former President Donald Trump’s supporters were able to violently push past security lines and break into the Capitol that day, interrupting the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory.

It includes new details about the police officers on the front lines who suffered chemical burns, brain injuries and broken bones and who told senators that they were left with no direction when command systems broke down. It recommends immediate changes to give the Capitol Police chief more authority, to provide better planning and equipment for law enforcement and to streamline intelligence gathering among federal agencies.