The southbound lanes of the Independence Bridge will reopen at 9 a.m. today following about two weeks of construction work. The northbound lanes of the bridge are now expected to close for two weeks for similar work. Crews have been performing hydro demolition of the bascule lift spans meaning deteriorated concrete on the bridge is being removed and replaced. The Independence Bridge runs across Truman Parkway and connects Woodside to Wilder Road. City officials have said the type of work on the bridge and the size of the equipment made it impossible to keep the lanes open.

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A Bay City pastor has shed some light on a man charged with threatening to bomb an Art Dore-owned business, claiming the incident resulted from the defendant's mental disabilities. Pastor Darrel Tacey said he has known Christopher C. Northcott, 51, for four or five years. Northcott is charged with a six-year felony count of false report of a bomb or harmful device and a misdemeanor count of malicious use of a telecommunications device.
"He attends a lot of churches, not on regular basis, but he pops into several in Bay City," said Tacey, of Calvary Chapel Open House, 1301 Leng St. Chris is a tender-hearted man with good intentions, but he has some mental and emotional difficulties.

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The Dow Bay Area Family Y is scheduled to host a dedication ceremony at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at the new facility. Community leaders are scheduled to speak during the ceremony. Those on the line-up are Dom Monastiere, Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Management Officer for Chemical Bank; Bo Miller, director of Corporate Citizenship and president of the Dow Chemical Company Foundation; Chris Shannon, mayor of Bay City; and Scott Carmona, president of the Dow Bay Area Family Y Board of Directors. In addition, three Bay City students will read excerpts from their winning essays about why the new Y will benefit the community.

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Stephen P. Ashley Jr. showed little emotion Tuesday as he listened to a friend testify how he gunned down a man in a drug-deal gone bad. Ashley, 21, sat beside attorney William Brisbois Jr. and Jeffrey Rupp as orange-jumpsuit clad codefendant Kaleb S. Rosin recalled the events leading up to the slaying of Lonnie L. Houston Jr., a 27-year-old father of five. Rosin, 20, said he and Brett E. Vaughn, 21, accompanied Ashley to a Kawkawlin-area trailer park the night of Nov. 13, where Ashley purchased a .22-caliber pistol from a 16- or 17-year-old in exchange for 100 and some cocaine. Ashley at some point called Houston and asked him to meet in the area of the Meijer in Hampton Township, on the pretext of buying more drugs from him, Rosin said. Ashley already owed Houston money for cocaine, Rosin said.

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Prosecutors this week plan to unveil some of the evidence they believe proves a Bay County funeral home manager embezzled thousands from her customers. Erica C. Kaznowski, 41, is to appear for a preliminary examination before Bay County District Judge Dawn A. Klida at 9 a.m. Tuesday. State Attorney General Bill Schuette contends Kaznowski used her position as manager of Stapish Cederberg Funeral Homes to scam 436,000 from at least 89 customers between 2005 and 2011. The customers had purchased prepaid funeral services from the company, which has locations at 805 E. South Union St. in Bay City and 955 Pine Road in Hampton Township.

Bay City Commissioners voted Monday night to allow for lower bids on city projects by throwing out the prevailing wage ordinance. Prevailing wage is the hourly wage paid to the majority of workers and laborers in a particular area and expertise. Commissioners we spoke with say following prevailing wage causes many companies to put in higher bids for city contracts because companies have to hike up employees wages to meet the city's ordinance and they say in these cash strappped times it's costing too much. More than a hundred local union workers showed up at the commissioners meeting to protest the vote to repeal the prevailing wage ordinance.

The National Weather Service expects temperatures in Bay City to reach the upper 40s today, with lows tonight dipping to the upper 20s. Tomorrow, a high temperature in the low 30s is predicted. Rainfall is expected to transition to snow tonight, with scattered snow showers  beginning around 7 p.m. Little accumulation is expected. "The elevated temperature is rare for January," said Amos Dodson, National Weather Service meteorologist. "Average temperatures are usually in the upper 20s for highs, but we've already had two 50 degree days this month."

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Two area teens are charged in connection with vandalism at a Pinconning golf course, and charges are pending against three others. Bay County Prosecutor Kurt C. Asbury's office on Tuesday issued warrants against four men and a juvenile. Tyler A. Spencer, 19, and Daniel S. Christian, 19, voluntarily appeared for arraignment before Bay County District Judge Dawn A. Klida on Thursday and Friday, respectively. Each is charged with two counts of malicious destruction of property between 1,000 and 20,000, motor vehicle theft, larceny in a building and breaking and entering with intent all felonies with Spencer also facing one misdemeanor count of possession of marijuana.

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The former YMCA building in Bay City could soon be off the real estate market and become an expansion of the Bay City Academy charter school. Local entrepreneur and eye doctor Steve Ingersoll is working with Y officials to reach a deal on the 57,000-square-foot building at the corner of Columbus and Madison avenues. Ingersoll said the plan now is to renovate the old Y building and open it as a general education charter school in 2013. "There will be lots of renovations at the Y, lots of reconfigurations," Ingersoll said.

Breast cancer threw Ann Hoppe into a horrific whirlwind of oncology appointments and chemotherapy, but the American Cancer Society gave the Akron woman back a piece of herself her image. "I was worried about losing my hair, what my face would look like," Hoppe said. Life doesn't stop when you have cancer. I still have to go to work, to my daughters games. Hoppe attended a two-hour Look Good...Feel Better session, a free program for women undergoing cancer treatment. Lead by a volunteer, licensed cosmetologist, Look GoodFeel Better sessions aim to teach women beauty techniques to help them deal with side effects of chemotherapy and radiation.