Gubernatorial campaign costs top $25M

Total spending for the gubernatorial race is approximately $25.9 million and growing as Michigan's Nov.

Professors create urban plans for Mich.

A new book written by MSU professor Kenneth Corey and associate professor Mark Wilson helps outline a course for Michigan communities to change their planning strategies to create jobs and wealth. Corey and Wilson, professors of geography and urban and regional planning, wrote the book in an effort to educate individuals and to create awareness for a knowledge-based economy.

Jazz ensemble will hold open auditions

The MSU School of Music will be holding open auditions to fill tenor and bass positions. The Vocal Jazz Ensemble will perform various styles of jazz, from bebop to Brazilian and contemporary jazz.

Hubbard assault case in district court again

The two men charged in connection with an alleged Feb. 23 assault at South Hubbard Hall will appear in district court Friday for a continuation of their preliminary examinations, according to court records. This will be the third time the men — MSU student Albert Robinson and nonstudent Joel Hamlar — will appear for this type of hearing, as the other two examinations were adjourned. Robinson and Hamlar were two of three assailants arrested in connection with an alleged assault in which three South Hubbard Hall occupants were threatened.

Revolution in cultural studies

When Dionicio Valdés was at the University of Minnesota in 1984, he dreamed about the day universities in the United States would have a Chicano and Latino doctoral program. Valdés tried to create a program at Minnesota for more than 20 years while he worked as an assistant professor in Chicano studies.

MCRI opponents protest downtown

With agitated drivers honking behind them, students protesting the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative rallied on Grand River Avenue Thursday evening. Engineering junior Andrew Hoyles helped organize the rally against Proposal 2.

Students can register to vote, tailgate simultaneously this weekend

MSU student groups and the Michigan Department of State are teaming up for the third consecutive year to combat low voter turnout among students by deploying a mobile Secretary of State office on campus Saturday. The office will register students and nonstudents to vote before the Oct.

Capturing the culture

Lansing — Known for its mitten shape, freshwater lakes and two battling Big Ten universities, photojournalist Colin Finlay believes one of Michigan's most defining features is its status as the nation's automotive capital. Focusing the photo shoot on the local auto industry, Finlay, a renowned photographer, led a group of Lansing Community College photography students through a General Motors Corp.

Organic restaurant offers healthy fare

Down the street from the bars, a bright orange sign appeared, signaling the arrival of a new business selling organic and locally grown food to downtown East Lansing. Green River Café opened three weeks ago at 211 M.A.C.

Police briefs 09/07/06

Mich. teachers strike for salary increases

MSU education officials say there's no in-school preparation for teacher strikes, even as Detroit Public School teachers and Eastern Michigan University professors walk the picket line. Students majoring in education learn about union issues when they intern at a school, said Barbara Markle, assistant dean of K-12 outreach in MSU's College of Education.

Students to research excessive gaming

Correction: Ben Medler should have been quoted as saying "digital immigrants." Correction: All quotes attributed to Brian Magerko should be attributed to Ethan Watrall. With online gaming increasing in popularity, MSU researchers are trying to determine if excessive gaming is an actual addiction. A group of MSU students have opted to do research on addictive gaming.

Bookstore kicks off Spartan Appreciation

The Triple Goddess Bookstore, located on the corner of Hamilton and Okemos roads, will hold its annual Spartan Appreciation Event from 11 a.m.

Bailey Scholars to sponsor conversation

The Bailey Scholars Program will be sponsoring the MSU Colloquy on Seeking Meaning, Purpose, Authenticity and Integrity Within the Larger MSU Community: Connecting the Inner and Outer Journeys. The first phase of the event will be Sept.

Program doubles education

Children can learn a lot from one teacher, but for Russ Stolberg's eighth-grade science class at Olivet Middle School in Olivet, students will be treated to two. MSU's Kellogg Biological Station, or KBS, will be holding a program over the course of the next academic year that allow doctoral students an opportunity to work in K-12 level science classrooms across the state, including Stolberg's. "If one teacher does not explain something that well, this gives us the opportunity to turn to someone else and have them explain it better, said Trisha Funk, one of the eighth-graders in Stolberg's class.

Police briefs 09/06/06

Campus debates culture, religion's roles in evolution

A campuswide debate about whether a person's views on evolution were determined by culture or religion was sparked after an MSU professor concluded Americans are less likely to accept the idea of evolution than people in other countries. Jon Miller, an MSU Hannah Professor of Integrative Studies, published a study in the Aug.

Innovations: Living language

Name: Deogratias Ngonyani, associate professor Department: Department of Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic, Asian and African Languages Type of research: Language documentation Date of research: Ngonyani said he plans on leaving for Tanzania sometime this month and will be there for nine months. He has done this type of research with two other African languages, but they were more vibrant in the number of speakers and locations in which they were spoken. Basics of the project: Ngonyani is focused on collecting information about Kikisi, an African language facing extinction, and what functions it performs. The language is only spoken among members of the community and is not written, he said. "Kikisi is spoken by less than 10,000 people, and the number of speakers are decreasing over time," Ngonyani said. Ngonyani will be collecting information about the language by writing down oral traditions, songs and folk tales.

MSU Webmail offers spam-blocking feature

Advertisers selling body-part enhancers and other prescription medications are clogging up some MSU Webmail inboxes, but university officials say there are ways to reduce the number of junk e-mails. MSU Webmail has a spam filter called SpamAssassin that helps cut back on the amount of spam actually making it into students' inboxes, said David Gift, vice provost for libraries computing & technology. In order to enable spam filters, users have to log into their account and click on the "preferences" link, Gift said. Webmail users have four options in blocking spam.

Family-owned photo studio opens in E.L.

Click. Click. Click. Mark Fedewa had a reputation as "the photographer" in high school, when he snapped pictures of pretty girls for his friends or athletes for the yearbook. "I had my camera around my neck most of the time," Fedewa, 42, said about his youth in Lansing.