Zoning delays East Village rebuilding

East Lansing officials are pushing for redevelopment in the East Village area, but for the time being, they're going to have to put a stop to the very activity they want to promote. The city's planning commission is in the midst of reviewing a new zoning code for the East Village, located south of Grand River Avenue between Bogue Street and Hagadorn Road, and would provide for taller buildings and a mix of retail and residential space not permitted by the existing law. Officials hoped that work on the code, detailing exactly what can and cannot be built in the 35-acre area, would be completed by the time a City Council-imposed construction freeze is lifted. But since the planning commission is still engaged in the review process, it will be almost impossible for the City Council to approve the new code before the moratorium on building in East Village expires May 6.

RHA works to end racism

Racism — not in their halls. Officials from the Residence Halls Association, or RHA, have created a campaign called "Not in Our Hall" to help fight racism in dorms. The program aims to include residence hall student governments to convey the same message — that racism and discrimination won't be tolerated. Vic Maurer, RHA's director of Racial, Ethnic and Progressive Affairs, said the idea came from something Wilson Hall's student government did last year to help stop discrimination against black students. "We decided to make it campuswide," Maurer said, adding that RHA officials wanted it to reflect the different incidents that happened all over campus. Maurer said RHA officials made the program optional for hall governments because it would be more valuable if student leaders took the initiative to start it.

Local bars still under tax probe

Tax investigations into The Dollar Nightclub and Maggy's Sports Grill continue as the Michigan State Police probe further into the two bars.

CATA will not offer services on Sunday

There will be no CATA bus service on Sunday due to the Easter holiday. Many Saturday night routes will conclude earlier than usual.

Police briefs 04/13/06

Word on the street

Are East Lansing noise ordinances coming down too hard on house parties? "If you're trashing public property, then there should be a fine.

Cutting out calories

Students didn't seem to notice the physical changes in cafeteria cook Gilbert Manuell until they saw the picture posted on his sandwich station. "Some students, because they've seen me every day, never paid much attention (to my weight loss) until they saw my picture," said Manuell, who works in Landon and Yakeley halls.

Board to consider student selection for committees

The MSU Board of Trustees will decide today whether or not to transfer power from faculty to student government officials when selecting undergraduate students to serve on academic committees. Robert Murphy, former chairperson for ASMSU's Academic Assembly, said the proposal would amend bylaws of the Academic Governance system that affect both standing committees and ad hoc committees, which are temporary committees formed by administrators to discuss a specific issue that arises throughout the year. Currently, MSU faculty members possess the power to assign students to Academic Governance committees, such as the Executive Committee of Academic Council, which schedules agendas for Faculty Council and Academic Council as well as reviews university legislation. "It's merely correcting a small oversight in the bylaws," said Murphy, of MSU's undergraduate student government.

Student group reaches out to Muslim faculty

The Muslim Students' Association is trying to raise awareness in the MSU community that there are numerous Muslim professors on campus because their achievements often go unnoticed among the larger community, members said. The group will bring together more than 20 Muslim professors Friday for an honorary dinner to build support in the Muslim community and to recognize the professors' academic achievements. "We're trying to show the community that Muslim professors are amongst us, teaching and making contributions," said Abdulahi Sufi, a business administration and prelaw junior and member of the association.

Local spa promotes health, relaxation

Grand Ledge — It was just a birthday gift for a day of beauty treatments at a local salon, but for Sheila Laing, something clicked. Laing, who had worked as an MSU secretary for 14 years and had been an MSU student for more than two years, quit her job and began to chase her long-time dream of starting her own salon business. "I told my husband this is what I wanted to do," Laing said.

Nazis may sue city for counter-gathering

A group of American Nazis might sue the city of Lansing for holding a diversity rally the day of its white supremacist rally later this month, a group spokesman said. The group, dedicated to the preservation of the Aryan race and the establishment of a socialist state in America, is also angry that a fence and metal detectors might be used for security at the National Socialist Movement's rally April 22 at the state Capitol Building. Spokesman Bill White said the diversity rally violates First Amendment rights because it's not neutral, and added that a lawsuit is very probable. "They're doing this to target us and to infringe our exercising of our rights," White said of the diversity rally.

Passover services provided to students

Passover services and Seder dinner will be provided tonight at 7 p.m. at the Hillel Jewish Student Center, 360 Charles St., and at 9:30 p.m.

Police briefs 04/12/06

No. of law school applicants on rise

Applications to the MSU College of Law have almost doubled in the past five years, at a time when law school applications nationwide aren't seeing much of an increase. As of April 7, the college received 2,731 applications for fall 2006 admission — just 10 applications short of the total amount received for fall 2005, according to numbers provided by the law college's admissions office.

Court holds benefits hearing

A Michigan Court of Appeals three-judge panel heard oral arguments Tuesday on whether same-sex couples should receive health care benefits from state entities.

Friday last day to sign up for Safe Place race

The deadline to register for the 12th annual MSU Race for the Place 5K Race, which benefits MSU Safe Place, is Friday. MSU Safe Place is the nation's only on-campus domestic violence shelter and program.

A second chance for Coke

In spite of the University of Michigan's decision Tuesday to begin selling Coca-Cola products on campus after boycotting them since January, MSU students say it won't hinder their campaign against the company. U-M stopped its contract with Coca-Cola on Jan.

Faculty addresses non-MSU work code

A revision to a university policy dealing with faculty's work outside MSU sparked lengthy discussion during Tuesday's Faculty Council meeting. Under the changes, faculty members will now be responsible for reporting to their department administrator about any outside work they do for which they receive financial compensation. The University Committee on Faculty Affairs proposed changes to the university's Outside Work for Pay policy, since the policy hasn't been modified in recent years, committee chairperson Ross Emmett said at the meeting. However, no official authorization from the department administrators is needed and the work only needs to be reported if it deals with the faculty member's academic work at MSU, Emmett said. But several Faculty Council members raised concerns about the vagueness of the policy, such as what type of work qualifies as outside work and what situations are exempt from the policy. "We, as a faculty, have not yet revisited the core of this problem," Dr. Jim Potchen, chairperson of the Department of Radiology, said at the meeting.

Admissions office to accept online transcripts

MSU now can connect directly with instate high schools, speeding up the online application process and saving time and money for the university, admissions officials said. An agreement with ConnectEdu Inc., a Boston-based company providing interactive technology for high schools and colleges, allows MSU to receive high school transcripts online, which is another step in making MSU's application process entirely electronic. "We're already halfway there, but we still rely on high schools to send us the transcript by mail," said Jim Cotter, senior associate director of the Office of Admissions and Scholarships.

Marksmanship club holds open house today

An open house for the MSU Marksmanship Club and air rifle team will be held at 7 p.m. today in the Demonstration Hall Ballroom. Information on the club's activities will be presented, and the air rifle range will be available for those interested. The MSU Marksmanship Club offers different safe firearm activities, including clay targets and training sessions.