The Associated Press ( AP ) selected the state 's top news stories as follows : 1 . The July 16 decision by Consumers Power to shut down the Midland Nuclear Power Plant which was 85 % complete , but had experienced massive cost overruns and total costs in excess of $ 3.6 billion ; 2 . ( tie ) The takeover of the Michigan Senate by Republicans in February 1984 following special elections to replace two Democratic Senators ( Philip Mastin and David Serotkin ) who had been ousted in 1983 recall elections targeting legislators who voted in favor of a 38 % income tax increase ; 2 . ( tie ) The resurgence of the automobile industry , including increased sales and profits and the announcement by Mazda that it would build a $ 450 million plant in Flat Rock , Michigan ; 4 . The United Auto Workers ' six-day strike against 17 General Motors plants in September ; 5 . ( tie ) The defeat of Proposition C , a ballot initiative dubbed " Voter 's Choice " which would have rolled back taxes to 1981 levels , required voter approval for future tax increases , and reduced Detroit 's non-resident income tax ; 5 . ( tie ) The resurgence of the state 's economy , including a decline in unemployment and a state budget surplus of $ 282 million ; 7 . The sentencing of Upjohn heir Roger A. Gauntlett , age 43 , to " chemical castration " ( through five years of treatment with Depo-Provera ) for the repeated rape of his teenage stepdaughter . ( The Depo-Provera aspect of the sentence was later reversed on appeal . ) 8 . ( tie ) The tarnishing of Detroit 's image due to violent outbreaks in October , including a shooting death and other violence amid the celebration of the Detroit Tigers ' October 14 victory in the 1984 World Series , and hundreds of fires set in Detroit on October 30 , " Devil 's night " ; 8 . ( tie ) The federal civil rights trial , following protests over lenient state court sentencing ( probation and fines ) , of Chrysler plant superintendent Ronald Ebens and his stepson , Michael Nitz , in the racially motivated Murder of Vincent Chin , a Chinese American man who was beaten to death in June 1982 with a baseball bat after an altercation at the Fancy Pants Lounge , a Woodward Avenue strip club . Ebens was convicted on June 28 in the federal case and sentenced on September 18 to 25 years in federal prison . ( The appellate court later ordered a new trial that resulted in Ebens ' acquittal on May 1 , 1987 . ) 10 . ( tie ) The comeback of Chrysler Corporation after repaying federal loan guarantees in 1983 and achieving record earnings of $ 803 million in the quarter from April to June 1984 ; and 10 . ( tie ) The House of Judah controversies , including the trial and conviction of three members of the religious camp in South Haven arising out of the July 1983 beating death of 12-year-old John Yarbough , the conviction of another member for raping a 13-year-old girl , the removal of 66 children from the camp , and the death of two other children in a mobile home fire in October 1984
Murder of Vincent Chin
Murder of Vincent Chin
1984 in Michigan