The Neighborhood Newsroom

By: Aly Bates This upcoming Tuesday, April 2nd at 2:30pm the twice impeached former President Donald Trump is scheduled to make a stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan at the Devos Place. This visit comes after the murder of local Grand Rapids woman, Ruby Garcia sparked controversy surrounding immigration policies.  March 22nd, 2024 Garcia’s lifeless body was discovered on the side of the US 131. The murderer, Brandon Ortiz-Vite, had been illegally residing in the United States after being deported back in 2020 and according to court documents Ortiz-Vite fatally shot Ruby before leaving her body on the side of the road, running her over as he drove away in her vehicle. He turned himself in a couple of days later, confessing to the murder. The announcement of Trump’s visit to the river city was accompanied by a statement from Republican Party Chair Pete Hoekestra, who recently, highlighting concerns regarding illegal immigration stating, “ West Michigan Suburban families are now facing the...

A water main break near Leonard St NE and Union Avenue NE has caused over 20,000 homes and businesses in the Grand Rapids area to experience a water crisis, leaving community members frustrated and struggling without access to safe drinking water. It all started on Sunday, March 17th, when a water main broke in a remote area. Around 1:30 pm, an emergency alert notified residents East of 131 and North of Hall Street of the water boil advisory. Although the broken main has since been fixed, the city is still in the process of flushing the system and testing the water for safety. Officials state that this entire process could take days. And warn that its unlikely that the issue will be fixed by Wednesday. Residents affected by the crisis have been urged by city officials to boil their water for at least two minutes before using it, to kill any harmful bacteria. To attest to the importance of boiling the water, a resident who unfortunately consumed the contaminated water on accident has re...

             Author: Aly Bates A prominent Black family from West Michigan finds themselves in the midst of a legal battle after a confrontation with their white neighbor escalated to a series of false accusations and wrongful arrests. Suriya Davenport and his two sons SuSu and Majer, faced a traumatic ordeal of being arrested on felony trespassing charges all while standing on their own property. It all started on Sunday, March 10th, 2024, when Suriya Davenport confronted his neighbor, who was allegedly causing damage to his property's driveway with a tractor that he borrowed from  another neighbor. Part of the confrontation was captured on a video that was shared via facebook. The video vividly depicts the neighbor using an orange tractor to dig up the Davenports’ driveway. As Suriya demands that the neighbor gets off of his property, the situation took a turn when the neighbor reportedly ran over Suriya's foot.         ...

  Ryan Gainer, A 15 year old who was on the autism spectrum, lost his life on Saturday, March 9th 2024, after being shot an unknown number of times by an unnamed San Bernardino County Deputy in Apple Valley California. The incident unfolded during what has been described as a mental health crisis that Ryan was experiencing at the time. a mental health episode which included assaulting family members, and causing damage to property. Two San Bernardino Deputies responded to the call. Body cam footage captured the incident as one of the deputies entered the home asking about Ryan's whereabouts. Suddenly, Ryan emerged from around a corner, carrying what appeared to be a gardening tool. The deputy immediately pulled his gun out in response to Ryan approaching, with the tool raised. The officer then turned and ran away, with Ryan following. The body cam footage was stopped right before shots were fired, leaving the events that ultimately lead to Ryan's death unclear. Following the sh...