MICHIGAN

Board of Water & Light seeks rate hike

Jacob Carpenter

January 27, 2009

The Lansing Board of Water & Light will restart the process of approving a 2.5 percent rate increase after a paperwork mistake, the utility’s board of commissioners decided Tuesday. The board of commissioners held a public hearing to discuss the proposed rate hike Monday, but confusion over whether the company filed necessary paperwork 45 days before the session led to the scheduling of another public hearing on March 18.

MICHIGAN

Business survives despite hardships

Pat Evans

January 27, 2009

After Libby Woodbury signed the lease in April to a new building for her business, Lite-R-Side Catering, 1331 E. Grand River Ave., everything went smoothly for about a month. Then, in May, it seemed like the world fell on the shoulders of the already emotionally strained Woodbury.

MICHIGAN

State Sen. makes governor bid

Nick Krizinski

January 27, 2009

State Sen. Tom George, R-Kalamazoo, officially established his campaign to run for governor Monday. George, who represents Michigan’s 20th district, was elected to the state Senate in 2002 after serving a term with the state House of Representatives.

MICHIGAN

Whooping cough on the rise in Mich.

Pat Evans

January 27, 2009

Incidents of whooping cough in Michigan more than doubled during the second half of 2008. There were 210 reported cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, from July through December, up from 92 cases in the first half of the year.

NEWS

Plans for Delta Triangle won't oust students

Jeff Kanan

January 26, 2009

Its ideal location on Michigan Avenue between Grand River and Harrison avenues makes it a popular spot for students, but the quiet, old-style neighborhood of Louis Street and Michigan Avenue will have a new look in coming years.

NEWS

GM cutbacks lead to loss of 1,200 Lansing jobs

Pat Evans  and  Nick Krizinski

January 26, 2009

If Jim Caudy has any reason to be positive about the potential he could lose his job, it’s that he’s already started weighing his options. “I’ll probably be laid off fairly soon,” said Caudy, an MSU alumnus and electrician in General Motors Corp.’s Lansing Delta Township Assembly plant.

MSU

New technology could help autistic with interaction

Mallory McKnight

January 26, 2009

Recognizing facial expressions, posture, speech patterns and interacting with others are some things most people do every day without even thinking. But for a person with autism, these everyday actions are incredibly frustrating, and occasionally impossible.

MICHIGAN

Job search Web site hacked, user info stolen

Brittany Shammas

January 26, 2009

Monster.com is alerting job hunters of a hack-in that involved the theft of personal information, the Web site announced Friday — raising concerns for widespread identity fraud.

MSU

RHA brings Death Cab for Cutie to Breslin

Chris Vannini

January 26, 2009

A string of music artists coming to campus continued Monday when the Residence Halls Association, or RHA, announced Death Cab For Cutie will perform April 18 at Breslin Center.

MICHIGAN

'Scammers' use charities' names to solicit money

Kyle Feldscher

January 26, 2009

Prenursing sophomore Jen Ung was surprised by the suspicious man who knocked on her door Wednesday afternoon in Abbot Hall asking for donations to his church. “He had one tooth and just looked really sketchy,” Ung said. “He gave this whole speech about his church that he was raising money for. … It kind of sounded like a scam.”

NEWS

IBM to begin operations at MSU later this spring, create 1,500 jobs

Jeff Kanan  and  Justin Harris

January 26, 2009

Although information technology jobs have become synonymous with outsourcing, MSU and IBM reversed that trend two weeks ago when the computer company announced an agreement to establish a programming center on campus.

NEWS

No bigger a year for Biggby

Pat Evans

January 25, 2009

Changing the name of his coffee franchise from a potentially offensive moniker to one simply referring to the big “B” on the shop’s paper cups wasn’t a problem for Biggby Coffee founder and CEO Bob Fish.

MICHIGAN

Trial begins for man charged in assault

Kyle Feldscher

January 25, 2009

The trial for the man charged with the assault of a female student last fall begins today at the Veterans Memorial Courthouse, 313 W. Kalamazoo St., in Lansing.

MSU

MSU government laws may give faculty more voice

Kayla Habermehl

January 25, 2009

The long march toward updating a set of bylaws that could change the structure of Academic Governance continued last week as Faculty Council began sifting through related documents.

MSU

RHA approves spring semester budget

Chris Vannini

January 25, 2009

With more than $100,000 left over from last semester’s budget, the MSU Residence Halls Association hopes to present more concerts and improve existing programs. The surplus, which is not uncommon, was due to some projects falling through, RHA President Mark Dobson said.

NEWS

3 students arrested in Gaza protest

Allison Bush

January 23, 2009

When three college students gathered Thursday outside the office of Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., they were hoping to speak with Levin about his support of Israel. Instead, they were arrested.

NEWS

A mother's search

Jacob Carpenter

January 22, 2009

Dozens of pages with hastily scribbled notes are crammed into a leather-covered binder on a table in Nancy Cotter’s house. Inside are records of every phone call, every inquiry, every plea she has made to answer the question that has devastated her for more than a year: How did her daughter, Rylan, die on Jan. 7, 2008?

MSU

Researchers: Farming practices could reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Pat Evans

January 22, 2009

Two recent studies by MSU researches could advance the biofuels industry. Chemical engineering and materials science professor Bruce Dale and his team of researchers found evidence against previous arguments that producing biofuels creates more greenhouse gas than it offsets.

MSU

MSU police win traffic safety prize

Kyle Feldscher

January 22, 2009

By working with community groups and cracking down on traffic violations, MSU police earned the 2008 Excellence in Traffic Safety Award from the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police, or MACP.

MICHIGAN

New Lamprey control method

Kayla Habermehl

January 22, 2009

Star-crossed sea lampreys might soon have a serious case of heartbreak. Researchers Weiming Li and Nicholas Johnson and their team have found a way to synthesize the pheromone, or chemical, that attracts female lampreys to male lampreys. They hope to use it to lure the females into traps to help control the lamprey population, Johnson said.