Meet the Spartans' recruiting class of '06

MSU football head coach John L. Smith announced Wednesday his 2006 football recruiting class, which ranks as the No.

Planning is essential for the perfect bowl party

The expectations may not be high for a Super Bowl party — basically all you need is a working TV — but there are still expectations.

WEB EXTRA: MSU, Lansing center collaborate on land use issues

By Caitlyn Kienitz For The State News The MSU Land Policy Program and MSU Extension have a new partner on campus. The Planning & Zoning Center, a Lansing-based land-use consulting firm, is moving to MSU.

Dept. gives $500K back to E.L.

Excess money from the construction of the new Department of Public Works building will be used to pay off bonds on the money used during construction. When the department moved into the brand new building in April 2005, the project cost $500,000 less than budgeted. "We gave a presentation to the (East Lansing) City Council, and there were several items with unsure costs.

E.L. restricting MSU students' basic rights

The level of police control regarding parties and noise violations has reached a level of absurdity and the new anti-drinking game initiative serves only to harm an already poor student/police relationship. The wording of the existing law leaves too much to police discretion. Last spring, I received a noise violation to the tune of $250 with just eight people in my Cedar Village apartment while watching music videos and playing beer pong at a moderate volume.

City area plans for high-tech future

Lansing and East Lansing officials are taking steps to attract high-tech jobs to the region, a collaboration that's been slow in the making. On Tuesday, area leaders announced a formal agreement creating a Lansing Regional SmartZone, a designation allowing city and state tax dollars to be funneled into technology developments, three years after applying to be a part of the statewide program in 2002.

Police briefs 02/02/06

Writer learns Motown's meaning, history on soulful visit to museum

Driving down I-696 East to Detroit amid speeding traffic, gasps and "wows" come out of my mouth.

Letter writer comes off as hateful, racist

Only for the ignorant and most ardent race haters is there any problem with a holiday recognizing Martin Luther King Jr.

Study: Half of college grads can't balance checkbooks, read newspaper

More than half the students who graduate from four-year universities lack the skills to be considered proficient in literacy, according to a recent study from a national institute. The survey, released last month by the American Institutes for Research — a Washington, D.C.-based social science research organization — tested the literacy of 1,827 students graduating from 80 randomly selected two- and four-year universities. It covered three core areas — prose literacy, document literacy and quantitative literacy — and found that many students could not do basic tasks such as figuring out the cost-per-ounce of various food products in supermarkets. "I would never have expected that because I'm getting a good education here," said MSU psychology sophomore Julia Degreg.

Spartans hit the road to face one of Big Ten's cellar dwellers

The No. 17 MSU women's basketball team takes on Northwestern tonight in the first of two consecutive road games.

Delectable design

Ice cream, chocolate and Spartan spirit sound more like football game fun than an engineering project. But biosystems engineering seniors Matthew Kloes, Kim Lewis, Marc Sawyers and Shelley Vecchio have found a way to incorporate flavor and fun into their senior design project, while still focusing on developing skills necessary for future careers. The four students are working to produce chocolate-covered ice cream bars formed into a Spartan block "S" shape. "It's a pretty interesting project," Kloes said.

WEB EXTRA: Romantic duo produce passionate music

Mi and L'au is a band defined by delicate, melancholy reverberation set off by a twist of European up-bringing. They rise above any bizarre folksy acts or neo-hippy groups because of their strong sense of artistic honesty.

Where we stand

It's been a tough second term for President Bush. Republican finance scandals, Hurricane Katrina and continuing fighting in Iraq made 2005 stressful. Bush tried to push past the rough start and outline his goals for the next few years in his State of the Union address Tuesday. But it was what he didn't mention in his speech that's important. Somewhat surprising was how brief Bush's mention of Hurricane Katrina and the devastation in the Gulf Coast region was.

Women's rights must not be disregarded

Beth Swanson's column, "Not all people fall on one side or another; person's beliefs can vary" (SN 1/26), on people's varying beliefs raises some extremely important points.

Watch football flicks to get amped

Today is Thursday and the Super Bowl isn't until Sunday. So what are you going to do to fill all that time between now and the big game?

Predictions for game have nothing to do with who wins

The Super Bowl brings together two opposing teams of television watchers. There are the folks who love football, who I have designated as The ESPN Couch Potatoes team. And then there are those who hate football, but pay attention to the big game for the flashy commercials, who I will dub The Square-Eyed Surfers team. I do realize that there are plenty of people passive toward the issue of football-watching, but it's a great deal more interesting to focus on the folks who view football as either intrinsically good or evil.

Police gear up for Super Bowl safety

About 100 law-enforcement agencies are combining their resources to keep Detroit safe during this Super Bowl weekend — they've sent divers into the Detroit River checking for explosives, prepared a special response team in case of biological hazards and plan to shut down the surrounding roads. "This is the largest event of its kind that has ever occurred in this area," said Wayne County Sheriff Sgt.

Steelers fans: mix a 2-pint conversion

The Super Bowl will be tackling television sets worldwide in just three days. And the only thing that will impress your friends more than the commercials is a flashy new alcoholic drink dedicated to the projected winners of the granddaddy of all gridiron clashes, the Pittsburgh Steelers.The name of the new drink is "The Steelers' Two-Pint Conversion." Let's step back for a second and think about the demands of a good drink for watching the Super Bowl.

Game day starts with a game face

Struggling with how to support your team for the Super Bowl? Feel like another ordinary face in the crowd?