Lansing has been getting more than its fair share of rain over the past few days, but the city's "rainy day fund" is shrinking. The fund, which consists of money the city has saved during prosperous times, can be used to bridge budget deficits during an economic downturn to ensure continuous government services.
The East Lansing City Council strikes again. Not less than a week after most MSU students have left, they decide to again infringe on student rights. The council has strengthened the discriminatory noise ordinance and removed only the borderline unconstitutional jail time clause.
Voters are less likely to vote in favor of the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, or MCRI, when the proposal language states it will "ban affirmative action programs," a research company discovered. The MCRI proposal will end preferential treatment for minorities in government and university programs if it's passed in the November election.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm is losing her ambition. It wasn't more than three years ago when the newly elected governor made the commencement speech for the graduating class at the University of Michigan.
The MSU Formula Racing team unveiled its new race car on Monday after more than a year of design, construction and testing. The green and white race car, No.
Like Shane Krouse's letter implies (Get over it, professor's e-mail overrated issue," SN 5/16), it is true that many issues should be left alone after a considerable amount of time.
Cracking a smile, East Lansing Mayor Sam Singh presented the City Council and finance staff with cigars and boxes of chocolate Tuesday evening. Pleased with budget negotiations for the 2007 fiscal year, Singh said the dedication of the city's employees has made this budget process easy in a difficult financial climate. "We now have a plan to look at good and bad (fiscal) years as we move forward," he said.
Indrek Wichman's explanation and response for his Feb. 28 letter to the Muslim Students' Association, or MSA, ("Prof explains reasons for offensive e-mail," SN 4/28), is a poor excuse for an apology. He seems to have abandoned his explanation that it was a private e-mail, instead justifying his actions with the First Amendment and using the Red Herring fallacy that the MSA attempted to impede upon the free speech of others. The association's actions regarding the cartoons were nothing close to an action against free speech, nor were they a protest in any sense.
Students, faculty and visitors driving through campus may be blinded by orange signs and metal fences this summer before they see Beaumont Tower or Sparty. There are more detour signs on campus than there have been in the past few years, and the number of construction projects taking place is necessary for MSU to proceed with future plans, said University Engineer Robert Nestle. Two railroad overpasses planned for 2008 will bring more traffic and construction to the university for 18 months.
What came first, the noise or the ticket? Lately, it seems hard to tell. Between unnecessarily loud neighbors and overzealous police officers, there are undefined boundaries when it comes to East Lansing's noise ordinance. And with a specific definition of noise given by the city — with sounds ranging from whistling to musical instruments — it seems far too easy to be ticketed for everyday noises. For those of us who aren't police officers, we're quick to empathize with our friends — the down-on-their-luck, struggling students looking forward to the weekend to unwind, only to get a ticket for violating the noise ordinance. For those of us who can relate to the police officers handing out these tickets, it seems viable to want to suppress a certain level of sound at specific times. What it all comes down to is a give-and-take relationship.
All but one of the MSU students implicated in an MSU Federal Credit Union fraud scheme, which took place in mid-March, turned themselves in and are waiting to go to court. The 10 students taken into custody were arraigned between April 27 and May 1 and charged with criminal enterprise. The remaining student still has a warrant out for his or her arrest. Linda Maloney, Ingham County assistant prosecutor, said nine of the students waived their preliminary examinations at the 54-B District Court and will go directly to the Ingham County Circuit Court.
There's been a lot of talk lately about whether or not the United States should be speaking directly to Iran. The issue heated up after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a highly unusual 18-page letter to President Bush last week.
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.
By Jeffrey Joe Pe-Aguirre The State News The Lansing City Council approved a $111.2 million city budget Monday night by a vote of 7-1, but Mayor Virg Bernero already vowed to veto it. Councilmember Kathie Dunbar was the lone objection to the budget, arguing that she didn't want the city to draw from its stabilization fund. The budget stabilization fund, also known as the "rainy day fund," is money saved by the city during previous years.
Professor Indrek Wichman obviously does not get it. In his letter "Prof explains reasons for offensive e-mail," (SN 4/28), he seeks to portray his infamous e-mail as a free speech matter.
Victoria Lucas-Perry was invited to try out for the USA Under-20 Women's National Basketball Team.
The Ride of Silence, an event that commemorates those who have died or have been injured while cycling, will begin at 7 p.m.
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.
MSU head basketball coach Tom Izzo will return to Kuwait this month to coach troops and foster morale as part of Operation Hardwood II. Izzo first visited the Middle East last August and coached the military team Camp Arifjan to a championship in the eight-team tournament. "My first trip was eye-opening in many different ways and cemented the tremendous respect I have for the men and women of the United States armed forces," Izzo said in a statement.
I am writing this letter in regard to the never-ending public ferment associated with the infamous Professor Wichman e-mail. The only reason this issue is still causing an enormous public outcry is because nobody has the sense to drop it.