Flint Doctors urges people not to drink water | Page 16 | Emergency Preparedness | Forums

Racketeering? Nice.

A federal racketeering lawsuit by hundreds of resident in Flint, Michigan, is alleging the city’s two-year water crisis was the result of an“intentional scheme” crafted by state officials and Michigan’s governor, Rick Snyder, to balance the city’s budget.

In a press conference announcing the 17-count racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations (Rico) complaint on Wednesday, attorneys said the state of Michigan ran Flint’s day-to-day operations through an emergency manager, who prioritized balancing the city’s budget through a cost-cutting measure: switching Flint’s water source in April 2014 from Lake Huron, which serviced the city for more than 50 years, to a local river.

The decision, estimated at the time to save the city between $1m and $2m annually, sparked a cascade of problems for the cash-strapped city, when the state department of environmental quality didn’t require the river water to be treated with corrosion control agents, which allowed lead to leach off pipes and flow into households.

“They wanted to save money,” said attorney Chet Kern, of New York-based Bern Ripka LLP, which also represented thousands of workers in World Trade Center environmental litigation.

The potential class-action suit, which names more than 400 plaintiffs, said Michigan had the option to use “time-tested, well-honed” federal bankruptcy protections for Flint, rather than appoint an emergency manager with a mandate to balance the books. John Clark, an associate with Bern Ripka, said that decision was driven by state officials’ fear of succumbing to municipal bankruptcy.

more http://www.theguardi.....ick-snyder

reminds me of Mr Burns promising to eat the mutant fish

FLINT, MI -- Gov. Rick Snyder says he will drink Flint water for the next 30 days.

He made the promise while visiting a home in Flint's college area Monday to talk to homeowners about the Flint water crisis and to see if their water filters were working.

"I'm going to start drinking this at home and work," Snyder said of gallons of water his team collected from the home. "I'm going to be drinking Flint water for the next 30 days or so."

Snyder was in Flint April 18 for a press conference and to visit a home on Brookside Drive near Court Street where his team collected the gallons of water for Snyder to drink.

"It was really interesting Cheryl was concerned about did the filters really work," said Snyder after visiting the home. "When I can, I take the opportunity to talk to people. I do that in many cases."

http://www.mlive.com.....ink_f.html

can you imagine if he ends up in the hospital afterwards?