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News | Michigan

MICHIGAN

E.L. City Council set to vote on budget tonight

Kris Turner
May 16, 2006

The East Lansing City Council will vote on the 2006-2007 budget at 7:30 p.m. tonight at City Hall, 410 Abbott Road. Because the process went smoothly, Mayor Sam Singh will present council members and finance staff with cigars and chocolate. Highlights from the budget include a pay increase of 2 percent for employees, keeping the cost of health insurance low, restoring 1 percent of the general fund for expenditures for social service agencies and more money for sidewalks. The budget didn't call for any layoffs, cuts to city services or dipping into financial reserves.

MICHIGAN

Dioxins, PCBs to be studied

Amy Oprean
May 16, 2006

The Center for Integrative Toxicology received a $16-million grant from the federal government's Superfund Basic Research Program to study a group of chemicals linked with cancer and birth defects. The program, which is administered by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, will fund the research for the next five years.

MICHIGAN

Gov. goes to Japan, seeks development

Rebecca Mcnulty
May 15, 2006

Gov. Jennifer Granholm left for a trip to Japan on Sunday as part of what she called an investment mission to bring more jobs by foreign businesses to Michigan. Granholm will stay in Japan for three days to talk to business leaders, said Granholm's spokeswoman Heidi Hansen. In her weekly radio address, Granholm said she will meet with 19 companies in Japan that could benefit Michigan. Granholm also said meeting with business leaders could convince companies to come to Michigan. "Japan might be half a world away, but the results of our previous investment mission can be seen in communities all across the state," Granholm said in the address. After the governor's 2005 trade trip there, 10 Japanese companies said they would be expanding in Michigan with investments of $116 million.

MICHIGAN

Nazi rally costs add up

Ken Osborne
April 28, 2006

The April 22 neo-Nazi rally cost the Michigan State Police and Lansing police a total of $258,390.55, most of which was related to overtime expenses for police officers. In addition, the city-sponsored diversity rally cost about $13,000 to hold, said Randy Hannan, deputy chief of staff for Mayor Virg Bernero. About $5,000 of that money will be paid for through private fundraising, with the rest paid by the city of Lansing, Hannan said. "It was worth every penny," Hannan said.

MICHIGAN

WEB EXTRA: Mich. residents to march for American dream

Corinne Devries
April 28, 2006

Citizens from across the state of Michigan will meet at the Capitol building at 2 p.m. on Saturday to march for the American dream. "The rally is to impress upon our elected officials to stop the outsourcing of American jobs, the need for universal health care, a secure life for our senior citizens and a better future for our children and grandchildren," said organizer Art Reyes, of Flint.

MICHIGAN

CSI: East Lansing

Gabrielle Russon
April 28, 2006

At a crime scene, it appears to be just a table. Yet with the MSU police department's new technology, it could hold key evidence invisible to the naked eye. On Thursday, crime scene investigators learned how to use a mini crime scope — a bright light with a pair of goggles designed to find hidden evidence.

MICHIGAN

WEB EXTRA: MSU student devotes time to hurricane cleanup

When you follow Aaron Preston's big brown eyes in conversation, whether it's about his trips to Hurricane Katrina-ravaged Mississippi or his upbringing on a farm in Quincy, Mich., you notice they twinkle. Then you notice that the environmental and economic policy junior talks with his hands, moving them up and down, from side to side, rhythmically, to articulate his points.

MICHIGAN

WEB EXTRA: 3 Michigan cities to offer Chinese-immersion preschool programs

Nicole Ellefson's wristwatch alarm goes off at 7 p.m. everyday — sometimes she forgets that she set it in the first place. "I always tell my daughters that it's seven in the morning in Beijing," Ellefson laughs. Beginning next fall, both East and West will overlap in the same classroom. A Chinese Immersion Program for Lansing, East Lansing and Bay City schools will be established for preschool-aged children.

MICHIGAN

E.L's downtown neighborhood grows up

Bob Darrow
April 27, 2006

Drive down Grand River Avenue and you'll see a narrow strip of one- and two-story brick buildings — bookstores, bars, bong shops and burrito joints — about what you'd expect in a midsize college town. For better or worse, that's been the character of East Lansing's downtown for decades. Not for much longer.

MICHIGAN

E.L. project wins housing loan

Ken Osborne
April 27, 2006

East Lansing was awarded a $1.5 million Community Development Block Grant, or CDBG, loan guarantee on Wednesday to redevelop the 600 block of Virginia Avenue. The loan guarantee means that the U.S.

MICHIGAN

Cheaper to read

Ken Osborne
April 26, 2006

Books are just one of many expenses college students have to meet as they pursue their education. However, students could be receiving at least a little relief — 6 percent to be exact — if a bill providing a sales tax exemption on college textbooks becomes law. House Bill 5568 provides for an exemption for the sales tax on a textbook required for taking a course at any institute for post-secondary education. Rep.

MICHIGAN

Lansing plays host to 2nd annual pro-choice rally

Melanie Thomas
April 26, 2006

Posters with pictures of aborted fetuses and some with the words "Students for Choice" adorned the lawn of the Michigan Capitol on Tuesday for the 2nd annual Michigan March for Choice rally. The rally aimed to show legislators that the majority of Michigan voters are pro-choice, said Sarah Scranton, executive director of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Michigan, one of the groups that sponsored the event. MSU international relations and economics senior Katie Wilcox held pro-life signs with the MSU Students For Life protesting the rally.

MICHIGAN

Wal-Mart looks to 'super'-size in Okemos

Corinne Devries
April 26, 2006

The Wal-Mart in Okemos is trying to expand into a Super Wal-Mart, but many residents in Meridian Township are worried an even bigger version of the retailer will push out smaller businesses in the area and add traffic to an already congested area. Wal-Mart employee Roxanne Launstein, 22, hopes the store will be able to expand. Wal-Mart has requested a permit from Meridian Township to allow the store to expand by nearly 49,500 square feet, stay open 24 hours a day and also add a drive-through pharmacy to the store.

MICHIGAN

Police encourage creation of UMADD

Melissa Domsic
April 26, 2006

Police and university officials hope to start a university chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MADD, to get students involved in prevention and education activities. "It's one thing for the police to talk about the dangers; it's another thing to hear it from your peers," MSU police Inspector Kelly Beck said. East Lansing police Chief Tom Wibert said he hopes to establish a student organization with police officers as resources. Wibert and Beck met with Mary Ann Bair, the MADD Michigan program director, earlier this month to discuss starting a UMADD chapter at MSU. Bair could not be reached for comment. When Wibert became police chief last May, he said he made drunken driving prevention a priority.

MICHIGAN

Wal-Mart pays out $1.5M in violation of Mich. item-pricing regulation

Gabrielle Russon
April 25, 2006

Missing price tags will force Wal-Mart to pay a $1.5 million settlement, the Michigan attorney general's office announced Monday. It is the largest fine issued for violating a Michigan law which requires stores to label prices on most of their merchandise. "This is an issue that faces every retailer in the state of Michigan," said Wal-Mart spokesperson John Simley. Simley said that Wal-Mart stores contain hundreds of thousands of items. "That's an awful lot of items to have a price sticker on," he said.