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News | Michigan

MICHIGAN

Vigil held to mourn U.S. casualties

About 20 people gathered at the intersection of Grand River Avenue and Abbot Road for a vigil marking the 1,000th U.S. troop death in Afghanistan. The Peace Education Center and the Greater Lansing Network Against War and Injustice organized the event.

MICHIGAN

IHOP fundraiser benefits local children

IHOP restaurants nationwide partnered with the Children’s Miracle Network to offer free short stacks of pancakes and encourage people to donate money that would have been spent on them to the nearest Children’s Miracle Network-affiliated hospital.

MICHIGAN

Lansing police chief Alley set to retire

Lansing police Chief Mark Alley announced Tuesday he is retiring on March 12. Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero said in a statement he will name an interim chief in the coming days, and the department plans to do a national search for Alley’s replacement.

MICHIGAN

Hannah offers exercise lessons

Free Zumba and lap swim sessions will be available for East Lansing residents for the next three Saturdays. The sessions are part of the Mayor’s Blues Community Challenge, which encourages community members to be fit and active.

MICHIGAN

E.L. looks to save with new council procedures

The East Lansing City Council plans to approve all city liquor licenses based on the recommendation of the East Lansing Police Department at its work session, 7 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall, 410 Abbot Road. Councilmember Nathan Triplett also will present five council operational changes and council members will consider increasing taxi company license fees.

MICHIGAN

911 call center creates expenses for E.L., Lansing

A new joint 911 call center is being re-examined by the city of East Lansing. The contract for the new call center, which will consolidate the two current 911 centers into one, is being contested by city officials from East Lansing. City Manager Ted Staton said the city is upset because Ingham County officials are asking the city to pay pension costs for former workers — a cost the county used to carry.

MICHIGAN

Bill seeks more HPV coverage

New legislation proposed in a Michigan Senate committee would require health insurance providers to cover testing for human papillomavirus, or HPV. Insurance providers would be required to cover the HPV test, which exposes a virus that is linked to cervical cancer, under a two-bill package sponsored by state Sen. Martha Scott, D-Highland Park.

MICHIGAN

State plans to create student networking site

Facebook and Twitter are almost as popular as Solo cups on college campuses, and the Michigan Department of Treasury and the Michigan College Access Network will take advantage of the online networking trend to ease some student stress as soon as September. The two are creating a networking Web site called the Michigan College Access Portal, or MiCAP, to help students transition from high school to college and from college to career.

MICHIGAN

Lawmakers consider new avenues to reinstate Mich. Promise

A bill introduced in the Michigan House of Representatives on Wednesday that would revive the Michigan Promise Scholarship as a forgivable loan is receiving mixed reactions from students and state lawmakers. The bill, introduced by state Rep. Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, would reinstate the Michigan Promise Scholarship as a forgivable loan with the requirement that recipients stay in Michigan for five years after graduation.

MICHIGAN

E.L. denied $25M grant to improve rail station

The city of East Lansing will not receive the $25 million it requested from a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER, grant to renovate the Amtrak station on Harrison Road. The grant would have upgraded the Amtrak facility and created a public parking structure, a project which city officials view as essential to redeveloping the Trowbridge corridor.

MICHIGAN

Bill aims to make scholarship a loan

A plan to replace the Michigan Promise Scholarship as a forgivable loan was introduced Wednesday in the state House of Representatives. House Bill 5849, proposed by state Rep. Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, would grant students the Michigan Promise Scholarship as a loan with the requirement that they stay in Michigan for five years after graduation.

MICHIGAN

Granholm begins work on reform

Gov. Jennifer Granholm issued an executive order Wednesday to trigger portions of a health care reform plan she announced earlier this month. The executive order cleared the way for university, public school and local government officials to participate in a health care plan that currently is offered to state employees.

MICHIGAN

Mardi Gras event features local talent

There was a little piece of Louisiana in East Lansing on Tuesday. In a crowded room at All Saints Episcopal Church, 800 Abbot Road, Wess “Warmdaddy” Anderson’s smooth jazz filled the air as it mingled with the scent of Louisiana gumbo, the signature dish of Gumbo and Jazz, 1133 E. Grand River Ave.