Monday, December 22, 2025

Take a peek behind the curtain and test drive the NEW StateNews.com today!

City

MICHIGAN

Dogs rescued after alleged neglect by MSU vet

Deep brown, watery eyes half full of hope and half full of terror stared up at psychology senior Kate Scanlon as she reached her hand through the bars of the kennel separating her from the Tibetan Spaniel named Cricket.

MICHIGAN

Landlords now required to provide voter registration info

Students are embracing a new ordinance requiring landlords to provide new tenants with voter registration information passed at Tuesday’s regular city council meeting, a move questioned by some landlords. The ordinance is aimed at helping students — who might be moving from on campus to off campus, or from house to house — register to vote, or how to re-register with the change of address.

MICHIGAN

Planned Parenthood closed, sexual health clinics still available

The site of the Planned Parenthood clinic, formerly located at 515 E. Grand River Ave., has been closed since Jan. 31, 2012, but that hasn’t meant a lack of sexual health services for students in the area. Desiree Cooper, director of community and media relations for Planned Parenthood of Mid and South Michigan, said the clinic on Grand River Avenue closed because many of the services also were available within blocks of the clinic at Olin Health Center.

MICHIGAN

Bill might halt increase of blood alcohol content

An extra vodka shot might not be enough to put students behind bars for drunken driving if Michigan lawmakers fail to pass preventative legislation. While most students associate 0.08 grams as the minimum blood alcohol content, or BAC, level to be arrested for drunken driving, the level could increase to 0.10 grams Oct.

MICHIGAN

Contagious Norovirus reaches East Lansing

Norovirus, an illness affecting the stomach and intestines, has been confirmed in Ingham County, according to health department officials. Based on symptoms in tested patients, it is safe to assume the illness has reached East Lansing as well as all other parts of Ingham County, county health department Deputy Health Officer Nancy Hayward said.

MICHIGAN

City Council votes tonight on hookah, Bistro

At tonight’s regularly scheduled East Lansing City Council meeting at City Hall, 410 Abbot Road, council will vote on whether to renovate the former Evergreen Arms apartments and whether to approve a liquor license for the Black Cat Bistro, a high-end restaurant set to be built downtown.

MICHIGAN

DACA students to be issued driver’s licenses as of Friday

Lansing groups gathered Monday to celebrate a victory for what many hope will be the beginning of widespread U.S. immigration reform, starting with students. Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson announced Friday the Department of State will issue driver’s licenses to young immigrants who are part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program implemented last June.

MICHIGAN

Hundreds hear former sex slave speak out

A packed Union lounge Friday night told Malynda Jennings there might be hope for the thousands of children living the life she used to — forced to give oral or physical sex as a child sex slave. Jennings spoke about being trafficked by her parents even before she was 2 years old, in a small, eastern Michigan town to raise awareness about human trafficking in Michigan during the University Activities Board’s Spartans Against Slavery event. “It’s a horrific act that some other people do at the cost of innocence of another person,” Jennings said. “There’s no race, creed or color to it.” About 2,500 suspected incidents of human trafficking, mostly sex trafficking of children, in the U.S. were recorded between January 2008 and June 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. There were about 140 calls to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center from Michigan regarding human trafficking incidents from January to September 2012.

MICHIGAN

Changes come to Stateside Deli: Owner faces challenges revamping the restaurant

Stateside Deli, 313 E. Grand River Ave., might be unrecognizable to students today. Construction projects are scheduled, and now the business will be known as Spencer’s Kitchen and Bar. The restaurant was closed this week for painting and aesthetic touch ups, and it tentatively is scheduled to open today pending the interior renovations are completed on time. If not, students most likely can chow on the famous corned beef sandwiches Monday after continued weekend construction.

MICHIGAN

E.L. bars ‘unlikely’ to face tragedy similar to brazil bar

Long lines at Harper’s Restaurant and Brewpub or Rick’s American Cafe might be daunting for students looking for a fun weekend, but East Lansing officials said they should be thankful because it prevents overcrowding that could lead to dangerous incidents such as the club fire in Brazil. A recent fire at a Brazillian night club left 235 dead, after pyrotechnics lit the building on fire and thousands raced toward a single exit, according to media reports. East Lansing Planning and Community Development Director Tim Dempsey said before any 5establishment opens, owners must go through a thorough review process. He said the design and plans have to be approved, and construction is closely inspected.

MICHIGAN

The golden touch

After working with jewelry since high school, gold smither and Bath Township resident Tom Awrey knows how to repair or craft just about anything a customer brings to him. “I guess I look at it in terms of Christmases. I have 43 consecutive Christmases on the bench,” said Awrey, who works his own jewelry repair business fixing pieces for stores in the Lansing area.

MICHIGAN

Local businesses unscathed by fall quarter, lower-than-average GDP

The road to national economic recovery hit a slight barrier during the end of 2012, according to a bleak gross domestic product report released this week. The economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.1 percent during the last three months of 2012, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. This fourth-quarter report is the worst quarter the U.S. economy has seen in three and a half years. Economic experts expect growth this year to rebound at a rate of 1.5 percent, which still is lower than the pace it has kept during the past three years.