E.L. building approved after 2-year wait

A four-story building approved last week by the East Lansing City Council, to be constructed between 500 Albert Ave.

Classic Johnny Depp Western 'jaw-dropping'

"Dead Man" makes "Tombstone" look like a leftover pizza without any cheese. Director and writer Jim Jarmusch's 1995 black-and-white Western is almost too good for words, but I'll type on since we don't print pantomime, and I'm a writer. Johnny Depp, the king of cool, plays the lead role of William Blake — a bookish type from Cleveland looking for an accounting job in the ruthlessly rugged West. Things become violent, as they should, and Blake flees to the woods as an outlaw after a night of passion with the lovely Thel Russell — played by Mili Avital.

Vet students raise funds to honor friend

MSU's Pre-Veterinary Medical Association has set up a memorial fund for a 19-year-old MSU student who died in February after she was hit by a car in south campus. The Dannielle Brandt Memorial Fund was founded to honor Dannielle Brandt, a veterinary medicine sophomore who was involved with the club and passionate about animals, association President Aaron Wilkinson said. Brandt, of South Boardman, Mich., was struck by a car at about 10:20 p.m.

Mich. cities plan to cut emissions

Global warming has appeared on the radar in recent years as scientists continually question what could happen if Earth's temperature continues to rise.

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

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.

Group searches for new natural sciences dean

With another college dean leaving at the end of 2006, faculty members are beginning to search for candidates who can fill the position. Dean George Leroi of the College of Natural Science is planning to retire and will step down from his position on Dec.

Brown to enter draft

Since the MSU men's basketball team's early exit from the NCAA Tournament last month, the main question swirling around East Lansing has been whether Shannon Brown would return for his senior season. Now, after about six weeks of contemplation, Brown has made a decision. Kind of. The junior guard announced Monday that he's declared for the NBA Draft, but won't hire an agent.

'Bathroom crawl' important reminder of transgender issue

On April 19, members of Phi Tau Mu — a transgender organization on campus — as well as a number of allied activists participated in what was dubbed a "bathroom crawl." The point of the event was to raise awareness about issues surrounding gender identity.

Fad dieting waste of time, cash

The food pyramid has been around for years. This guide is the key to living a long and healthy life.

Cornerback: MSU will be better than bowl eligible

The MSU football team hasn't been to a bowl game in two years, finishing with a 5-7 record in 2004 and 5-6 in 2005. The consecutive losing seasons and lack of a postseason berth haven't dimmed the players' morale, however.

Extraordinary births

Tucked away in their own corner of the barn, four lambs slept soundly near each other under the careful watch of their mother. "It's hard being center stage all the time," said Holly Glomski, farm manager at the MSU Sheep Teaching and Research Center. The four lambs are one of two sets of live quadruplet lambs born at the center this month.

MSU, China formally declare partnership

Officials from MSU and China's National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language signed an agreement Monday to create the MSU Confucius Institute, which will provide online Chinese language instruction to students across the state. MSU President Lou Anna K.

Moving on up

To attract more customers to his fledgling moving company, 15-year-old Jon Sorber placed an ad in the Okemos Towne Courier, and his mother even drew the logo — two smiling stick figures sitting inside a moving truck. In the advertisement placed in 1981, Sorber and his brother, Brig, identified themselves as "two men and a truck." The company's future name was born, and the logo stuck. Two Men and a Truck has emerged as a multi-million dollar franchise business in the last 25 years.

Prof's e-mail angers Muslims

Members of a Muslim student group want MSU officials to publicly speak out against an engineering professor who sent an "offensive" e-mail message to the organization in February. Indrek Wichman, a mechanical engineering professor, told the Muslim Students' Association that "If you do not like the values of the West … you are free to leave.

So many books so much time

In less than two weeks the nightmare of finals will be over. You will finally be able to cast off your stiff and boring textbooks and curl up with an entertaining novel by the pool or under a shady tree.

'Sentinel' plot had potential, disappoints

After the first five minutes of "The Sentinel," audiences might think they are watching an ultra-creative art film about the night terrors of Secret Service men.

Bike project expands spring service hours

The MSU Bike Project has added additional workshop hours from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursdays to combat the increased need for bikes and bike repairs. The Bike Project is a group composed of volunteers dedicated to promoting bicycling on campus. It offers one-year leases for bikes and provides bike repair services to the MSU community for donations.

The big picture of news

It can be easy to feel like the war America is currently involved in is far away. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to gain a better understanding of the conflict. For most of us, the war in Iraq doesn't drastically affect our daily lives.

Going global

The U.S. government has created a new and extensive plan to combat global terrorism. The plan, which has been approved by Defense Secretary Donald H.

Police briefs 04/25/06