About L.A.W.


  • MOTTO: Qui male agit odit lucem. ("He who does evil despises the light.")

  • PUBLISHER: Local Area Watch, Inc. ~ a Michigan non-profit corporation ~ Copyright 2002-2007

  • STAFF: William Tingley, Executive Director ~ Bridget Tingley, Editor ~ Mary Hines, Office Manager ~ Robert Harrison, Photographer

  • CONTACT INFO: Local Area Watch Inc. ~ 1009 Ottawa Avenue, N.W. ~ Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503 ~ ph 616-458-3125 ~ fx 616-454-9958

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Categories

Highlights

  • Bio-Tech Blather
    Watch your wallets, boys and girls. The politicians and the corporate panhandlers are about to put a big bet on the bio-tech boom with your tax dollars and charitable donations.
  • Dumping Scandal FAQ's
    Answers to the main questions about the dumping of hazardous waste at the Monroe Avenue Water Filtration Plant and other dumpsites.
  • Gutless U-M Caves on Bronzes
    Art endures, if obscured, in that grotty little fiefdom of intellectual poseurs and petty inquisitions that has become the University of Michigan.
  • Kent County Medical Examiner Compromised
    In a glaring conflict of interest, Kent County Medical Examiner Stephen Cohle whitewashes autopsies that could have revealed misconduct by Spectrum Health and Laboratory Pathologists, a staffing firm Cohle owns and operates.
  • Living Wage Kills Jobs
    City pols support a Marxist policy that, like all Marxist policies, hurt the very people they say it will help.
  • Local Prof Sez We're Bible-Beating Bigots
    Outspoken GVSU professor Ben Rudolph gets it wrong when he concludes that River City's "conservative" values are wrecking the local economy.
  • Lost Cause
    A story of how River City lost its way to a secure economic future.
  • Mayor Heartwell: The Best Investment in Town
    The mayor takes a campaign contribution from a lobbying firm and then awards it a $70,000 city contract.
  • Poison
    The nasty nature of the 26,000 tons of poison that The Boardwalk's developers dug up and then dumped upon the rest of us.
  • The Fixer
    A four-part series about the local attorney behind the demise of Autodie, Butterworth Hospital, Amway, and Old Kent. Warning: Strong accusations of corruption, greed, and skullduggery. Not for the feint of heart.
  • The Flying Monkey Brigade
    Lysenkoists now rule and dictate what citizens will and will not discuss as science in the public square -- especially, the public school classroom.
  • The Pig in the Python
    The dirty little secret behind the success and failure of every school reform that the education establishment, the public school bureaucrats, and the teachers unions will never reveal.
  • The Problem With Teachers
    Why teachers are the professionals least suited to run a school district -- or even a school.
  • Thirty-Six Bucks
    Balancing the City budget: Maybe it's time for those making a living on the taxpayer's dime to give up a little instead of sticking it to the taxpayer one more time.
  • Urban League Takes a Wrong Turn
    The Grand Rapids chapter of this venerable civil rights organization took a step backward with its dubious report finding institutionalized racism in area police forces.
  • When Will It Stop?
    Enough of the repulsive tactic of accusing everyone of bigotry who doesn't kowtow to the racemongers.
  • Who Tickets the Cops?
    State highway patrolmen flout the law on our freeways.
  • Yeah, and Summer is Hotter Than Winter
    The Grand Rapids Press ignores science to promote feel-good politics on the environment and becomes the watchdog that doesn't bark.

Archives

More...

Quick Links

Government Links

Media Links

Public Interest Links

« SOX FOR TAXPAYERS | Main | THE PROBLEM WITH TEACHERS »

Oct 19, 2005

GET YOUR FIFTH THIRD NEWS HERE!

Fifth_third_logo_5A rumor broke yesterday that Fifth Third Bancorp of Cincinnati (ticker symbol: FITB) has become a takeover target after CEO George Schaeffer has managed to halve its stock value over the past three years since the trouble-plagued acquisition of our very own Old Kent Bank & Trust.  Scuttlebutt has it that U.S. Bancorp of Minneapolis and Wells Fargo & Co. of San Francisco are in the market.  On the news Fifth Third's stock bounced up a couple of bucks.  Who knows, with good management the big bank from Cincinnati may very well be a bargain.

For those visiting about website for the first time looking for news behind all of the takeover speculation, here are links to some previous articles we ran on Fifth Third:

FIFTH THIRD CFO TAKES THE FALL - Why Fifth Third's new CFO isn't responsible for Schaeffer's mismanagement of the bank.

A BANK JOB, INDEED - The chain of events that followed from our report to the feds on the shenanigans involved in Fifth Third's acquisition of Old Kent.

DID FIFTH THIRD ABET ILLEGAL DUMPING SCHEME? - How Fifth Third/Old Kent cooperated with its development company to facilitate the illegal removal of contaminated soil from an urban brownfield.

THE FIXER, PART IV (PYRAMID DUST) - The background on how Old Kent got sold out to Fifth Third on the cheap.

All of our stories on Fifth Third can be found under the category "Banks".  If you have any news for us regarding Fifth Third, feel free to post comments to the relevant article or e-mail us at info@localareawatch.org.  Thanks.

Posted by Wm Tingley on Oct 19, 2005 at 01:31 PM in Banks |

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451e55369e200d83494382c69e2

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference GET YOUR FIFTH THIRD NEWS HERE!:

Comments

Look at flight of captial from major corps and institutions in Toledo ohio

Posted by: doc | Nov 04, 2005 at 10:51 AM

Verify your Comment

Previewing your Comment

Posted by:  | 

This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.

Working...
Your comment could not be posted. Error type:
Your comment has been posted. Post another comment

The letters and numbers you entered did not match the image. Please try again.

As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.

Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.

Working...

Post a comment