Meijer Leading Charge on E85 and Biodiesel in Michigan

by: petrolcide

Thu May 15, 2008 at 15:35:12 PM EDT

Record-Eagle Rakes McManus, Land Over the Coals

by: PerfectStormer

Mon Apr 28, 2008 at 11:29:43 AM EDT

From the Record-Eagle's editorial page:

Rodgers said that under the state campaign finance act, only the secretary of state can seek a criminal investigation of possible violations. But given Land's longtime links to Meijer and her seeming laissez-faire attitude about the whole episode, it would be a wonder if she pushed to know more than she's been told.

For the record, Terri Land has received $9400 from Meijer employees and PACs since 2001, and Mike Cox has received over $16,000.

Every indication is that Land will send out a sternly-worded press release about the sanctity of the election process and then levy a paltry -- and given Meijer's colossal income, anything less than a few millions would be paltry -- fine.

At which time we'll all be shocked...shocked, I tell ya.

Michelle McManus doesn't get off easily, either:

Incredibly, that's also the attitude of state Sen. Michelle McManus, R-Lake Leelanau, who uttered one of those totally inane assertions that serve only to change the subject: "Campaign finance laws are about transparency, they are not about criminal action," she said. Right. Except when they are about criminal actions, of course. That's why state law, as weak as it is, allows the secretary of state to ask the attorney general to conduct criminal probes of suspected campaign law violations.

Go. Read the whole thing. The Record-Eagle's editorial staff is awesome, and the editorial is worth a read.

Meijer "may" have admitted wrongdoing in press release

by: PerfectStormer

Tue Feb 05, 2008 at 12:56:42 PM EST

WOOD-TV 8 is reporting that Meijer has issued a press release wherein, although it stops short of actually admitting wrongdoing, admits that wrongdoing "may" have occurred in the Acme recall scandal. 

Following an internal investigation Meijer released a statement saying, "Meijer may have violated the Michigan Campaign Finance Act in relation to efforts surrounding a 2005 referendum election to overturn a moratorium on the develpment of "big box superstores" in Acme Township".

In the statement Meijer also said, "Meijer also potentially violated the Michigan Campaign Finance Act by providing corporate funds to support a recall election of Township officials held in 2007."

Meijer and dirty politics

by: yvette248

Mon Dec 24, 2007 at 06:40:53 AM EST

Looks like Meijer is the latest to be caught in the political scandal machine. Apparently the firm spent tens of thousands of dollars to illegally (or at least unethically) fund a recall campaign in Northern Michigan.

Retail giant Meijer Inc. has acknowledged funding a failed recall effort targeting elected officials in this northern Michigan community that followed years of zoning disputes about a planned store.

Meijer paid a public relations business at least $30,000 in an effort to remove the board for Grand Traverse County's Acme Township, the Traverse City Record-Eagle reported Sunday, citing its review of records in the case.

"Prior to this month, senior company officials believed that no financial contributions had been made to a local taxpayers group," Meijer said in statement Saturday. "New information indicates otherwise."

The public relations business crafted recall language, devised election strategy, wrote campaign literature and used local residents as figureheads, the newspaper said. The contributions weren't reported to the state.

Maybe we should start a Shop Progressive campaign and start taking our dem dollars to Kroger?