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MICHIGAN

Council approves office park site plan

New office buildings are planned to join the explosion of recent developments in East Lansing's Northern Tier. A roughly 140-acre plot of marshy land covered by leaning oaks, the overgrown remnants of a pine tree farm and plowed earth could make way for a new road as soon as early summer. The site is located west of Coolidge Road, near the Chandler Crossings apartment complexes, and south of East Lansing's Department of Public Works, 1800 E.

MICHIGAN

New rentals at risk in 2 E.L. neighborhoods

Sara Liberacki likes where she lives. The neighborhood is quiet, it's close to campus and her immediate neighbors also are students. The kinesiology senior and three of her friends rent a house on the corner of Linden Street and Hagadorn Road — on the edge of an area that could soon be unwelcoming to such properties. In response to a petition signed by residents of the Southeast Marble Neighborhood, the city is considering blocking any new rental properties in the area bounded by Burcham Drive to the north and Hagadorn Road to the west. A similar proposal for the Walnut Heights neighborhood, directly to the north, is heading to the East Lansing Planning Commission. The East Lansing City Council is seeking public input at its Feb.

MICHIGAN

Gift of Life challenges MSU

By Caitlyn Kienitz Special for The State News Frank Ferro, 47, plays volleyball four nights a week. The game had been his hobby for years, but the games put on hold two years ago when he received a kidney transplant. The Lansing resident received the kidney from his brother Patrick Ferro on January 19, 2004. "Our family's really close," said Ferro, a state of Michigan employee.

MSU

WEB EXTRA: RHA president insists tax increase needed to continue services

The Residence Halls Association needs an increase in its annual student tax to absorb the mounting costs of operation, RHA officials said Wednesday. RHA President Kevin Newman said during his State of the Organization address that all of the students' tax dollars have been well spent, but more money might be needed. "The costs of doing business are constantly rising, and RHA's desire to provide the best possible services to our residents will not ever decrease," Newman said during his address.

MICHIGAN

MCRI proposal sent to Mich. Supreme Court

A proposal to halt the ballot measures made by the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative was submitted to the Michigan Supreme Court this week by Operation King's Dream. The submission was driven by the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, & Immigrant Rights And Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary, or BAMN, a civil rights campaign that supports affirmative action. The motion aims to disallow the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, or MCRI, from appearing on the November ballot.

MICHIGAN

WEB EXTRA: House rep. candidate criticizes government at MSU Democrats meeting

Jim Marcinkowski, a candidate for the 8th district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, criticized the policies of the government at an MSU College Democrats meeting Tuesday night. About 40 students had the opportunity to ask Marcinkowski questions about his stances on issues that mattered to them — the goal of the event, according to MSU College Democrat President Stephen Purchase. "One of the things our organization focuses on is bringing politics to campus," Purchase, an international relations and political theory and constitutional democracy senior said. Marcinkowski, a former CIA agent, criticized the handling of the war in Iraq, but acknowledged it will be difficult to leave. He was also critical of the effect the controversies surrounding secret prisons, prisoner abuse and torture are having on the intelligence community. "When you go to recruit an agent overseas, you have to stand for something," he said. He hopes to see a change in the way lobbying and campaign finance are handled. "This is legal money laundering," he said.

MSU

Housing sign-ups to begin Friday

Christina Commiskey skipped a class last year so she could wait in line for several hours to sign up for the residence hall she wanted. Commiskey, a psychology sophomore, lives in Shaw Hall this year and said it was worth the wait for signing up. "It's really the best place to live on campus," she said. The on-campus housing sign-up process for the 2006-07 school year begins Jan.

MSU

Innovations: Tectonic testing

Names: Assistant Professor Kevin Mackey and Professor Kazuya Fujita Department: Geological sciences Title of research project: Northeast Russia Seismic Project Date of research: Fujita began the project in 1989, and it has continued as an ongoing project.