The presence of sofas, loungers, and other furniture on the lawns of East Lansing will be addressed at the East Lansing City Council work session tonight.Council members will look at an ordinance that prohibits the placement of inside furniture outdoors when not in use.But some students don’t understand the law’s relevance.
Alcohol use among MSU students has decreased, but East Lansing City Council still acted with the issue in mind Tuesday, turning down one request and narrowly passing another from businesses that cater to students. The council narrowly voted to approve a new East Lansing apartment complex amid concerns from area residents about noise, but turned down a request to increase capacity at a downtown bar. The votes came after a presentation by Jasmine Greenamyer, health education coordinator at Olin Health Center, who told the council 25 percent of MSU students did not drink alcohol in the past month, as compared to 20 percent in 2000.
With the future of her business hanging in limbo, Judy Wang, co-owner of the Blue Note Coffee Café, says she’s thrilled to learn of a new rental assistance program underway in East Lansing.
A discussion at Tuesday’s East Lansing City Council meeting about an increase in noise violations quickly turned into a debate about alcohol issues - with MSU students at the root of the controversy.City police reported a 32-percent increase in noise violations from last year, leaving council members, residents and MSU students debating the cause of the problem and possible solutions.
Defendants no longer have the right to use drunkenness as an excuse for committing a crime, under a law enacted this week by state lawmakers. The law prohibits those on trial from using voluntary intoxication as a defense in murder, child abuse, breaking and entering, armed robbery and assault and battery cases.
Minjeong Kim might have to find a new way to satisfy her appetite for books if Gov. John Engler’s tax-revenue cuts stand. “I love reading,” said Kim, a 6-year-old Whitehills Elementary School student.
Meridian Township officials unanimously approved a version of a land-share agreement with East Lansing on Tuesday night.
The East Lansing City Council will hold a meeting at 7:30 p.m. today in East Lansing’s 54-B District Court, 101 Linden Street, to discuss a possible land-share agreement with Bath Township. Known as a 425 agreement, residents are encouraged to attend.
Lansing - A downtown office and housing development is one step closer to breaking ground after the city council approved the $2.18 million sale of city land for the new home of the Michigan State Police. The council voted 7-0 Monday to sell the land to developers Gary Granger and MSU Trustee Joel Ferguson, rejecting other recent offers of up to $4.2 million.
The East Lansing City Council is set to vote at its Tuesday work session on a land-share agreement with Meridian Township. The proposed deal, known as a 425 agreement, would share tax revenue on 101 acres of Meridian Township land between the township and the city.
Several East Lansing City Council members and residents bickered back and forth over possible improvements to East Grand River Avenue on Tuesday night, but councilmembers OK’d parts of a plan to make the busy street more pedestrian friendly. Improvements to the avenue, from Bogue Street east to the city limits, are set to include pocket parks, irrigated lawns, expanding sidewalks by 3 feet to 8-foot-wide sidewalks and a pedestrian-activated crossing signal at Stoddard Avenue.
The East Lansing City Council is scheduled at its Tuesday meeting to vote on whether to convert Ann Street Plaza, at M.A.C.
Lansing - An Ingham County Circuit Court judge on Friday allowed city council hopeful Kathy Pelleran to be placed on the August primary ballot. Pelleran originally couldn’t be placed on the ballot because she turned in an outdated candidacy form, which she obtained from the city’s Web site. Judge James Giddings ruled Pelleran’s name should be put on the ballot and gave her until 4 p.m.
To the distress of some area businesses, the East Lansing City Council will hike up parking prices to balance its newly adopted $49.95 million budget. The increase in parking fees was part of the 2003 budget the council passed Tuesday night. Stan Blanchard, manager of Chicken Heads, 543 E.
Kathy Pelleran filed the complaint in Ingham County Circuit Court because she was told she cannot have her name put on the ballot because she turned in an out-of-date application she downloaded and printed from the city’s Web site.Pelleran, a Lansing Community College trustee and state director of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, said she isn’t trying to blame anyone, she just wants to fix the situation.“It’s not personal,” she said.
Friends, family and supporters of an MSU professor waited for more than three hours to see the newest member of the Lansing City Council sworn in Monday night.Saturnino Rodriguez, or “Nino” as he is called by friends and fellow council members, was officially sworn in for the at-large council member spot left open by the resignation of Lou Adado.An election will be held in November to permanently fill the seat.
East Lansing School Board members expect Spartan Village Elementary School to close this fall.School board member Barbara McMillan said she suspects the school, located at 1460 Middlevale Road, will close due to budget cuts.Children attending the elementary will be displaced to other schools in the district,The administration delivered 72 recommendations last night to the board to help cut the budget by $3.5 million.Already, 108 part- and full-time employees have been laid off from the East Lansing School District.Spartan Village resident and Lansing Community College student Tendisai Mazhangara was at the elementary school Thursday evening to enroll her 4-year-old daughter for kindergarten, but the school was closed.Mazhangara said she heard about a month ago that the school’s closing was likely.“That would be terrible,” she said.But the board has not yet taken official action on the school’s closing, McMillan said.It is expected to pass the budget by June 10.“Monday we have a public forum and we won’t make any decisions,” McMillan said.Enrollment in the school has dropped from 400 students to just 90 resident students within the past few years, school district Superintendent Tom Giblin said.The rest of the school’s population is made up of school-of-choice students.“Spartan Village is a very special school but we are backed in the corner with a lot of issues,” he said.
City council voted to rezone a recently annexed golf course Tuesday night, in a move that will allow more development. Councilmember Bill Sharp was the only “no” vote on the proposal, which filled council chambers with many residents concerned about future plans for Four Winds Gold Course, 5800 Park Lake Road. The zoning gives the property owner the ability to develop the golf course for single-family homes, apartments or business. Some area residents have expressed concern that the zoning could add 1,000 apartment units to the area, which was once part of Meridian Township. “East Lansing doesn’t care,” Meridian Township resident Kevin Schumacher said.
Lansing City Council will fill a vacant council seat, left by Lou Adado, by May 13.Adado announced his resignation Monday because of the distraction from recent sexual harassment allegations.Three bids have been filed with the city clerk since his decision.Two city employees have accused Adado of the charges.Heather Eman and an unnamed woman have said Adado touched them inappropriately.The council has 30 days after Monday, when they vote to accept Adado’s resignation, to find a replacement.Under the city’s charter, the council must accept any resignation in a formal meeting.“We have been elected to do a job and sometimes that job is not easy,” Councilmember Geneva Smith said.City officials will begin interviewing applicants May 6 for the open position.
Despite a Lansing City Council member’s unexpected resignation Monday, a city employee is still considering a sexual harassment lawsuit against the city.Councilmember Lou Adado announced his resignation at Monday night’s city council meeting, citing negative attention on the city due to two women’s charges that he sexually harassed them.