MSU
Movies improved by grant
A $25,000 grant from AT&T helped the Campus Center and RHA Movies in Wells Hall by offering students what was missing - better picture and sound quality.
MICHIGAN
E.L. school board to hear students concerns about ban
East Lansing High School students will be exercising their right to speak to the school board at 7:30 p.m.
MICHIGAN
City briefs
Church to hold MLK service tonightPastor’s United will be holding a birthday observance Tuesday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
MSU
Mild weather is coming
As the weather takes a milder turn in the next couple weeks, Michigan residents can expect a break from the harsh conditions many come to expect from the early part of the year. But this kind of weather isn’t unusual for this time of year, said Walt Felver, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids.Temperatures are still around average for the month. “We often have a mild period in January,” Felver said.
MICHIGAN
Church to hold MLK service tonight
Pastor’s United will be holding a birthday observance Tuesday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
MSU
Scientists seek longer strawberry season
MSU researchers are trying to fill fields and grocery stores with strawberries - even when the red fruit is out of season. Researchers are investigating the possibility of cross-breeding wild strawberries with conventional short-day breeds to produce a new variety of strawberry that can produce fruit throughout the growing season. Instead of the usual short growing season consisting solely of the beginning of summer, these strawberries would produce fruit from spring through fall. The primary trait researchers are hoping to adapt into the strawberries is a resistance to a particular fungus that causes a condition called black root rot.
MICHIGAN
Council will consider E.L. development committee
East Lansing City Council will vote on a proposal to form a committee for the City Center II project Tuesday.If passed, the City Center II Project Development Committee will coordinate the project’s development and inform the East Lansing Downtown Development Authority and the Planning Commission of any progress.City officials say there are interested developers and businesses for the project, but have not made any official commitments.Councilmember Vic Loomis developed the proposal and will serve as liaison to the planning commission for the committee.He said both city center projects involve the public and private sector and the committee was developed with that in mind.“It will define the nature of the project, how large it will be, what will it entail and how to go about attaining the retail,” Loomis said.Loomis said if the council ratifies the proposal Tuesday, then the committee will meet on Wednesday or Thursday.“I think it is going to be ratified Tuesday night, at least at our work session, everyone was comfortable with it,” he said.Mayor Mark Meadows will serve as liaison to the East Lansing Downtown Development Authority for the committee.
MSU
Campus briefs
Trustees discuss advising, student trends MSU’s Board of Trustees met Thursday and Friday to discuss new projects to be implemented at the university. University officials have money from the state for a new medical scanner.
MICHIGAN
Plan offers money for city cleanups
Just a decade ago, the store fronts at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Larch Street would have deterred most families from stopping and spending an afternoon in the area.“It was literally adult entertainment,” said Darla Bowen, director of marketing for the Lansing Lugnuts.But the site, formerly polluted by leaking storage tanks and visual eyesores, now houses Oldsmobile Park, 505 E.
MICHIGAN
City briefs
Student ‘perfect’ on admission exam After grading 391,000 ACT college admission exams from high school students around the county, 12 students in the nation discovered they can claim perfection.
MICHIGAN
Annual plan decreases natural gas prices
Consumers Energy recently filed its annual plan with the Michigan Public Service Commission to predict natural gas prices for the upcoming billing year. The plan would fix the upper limit of natural gas at 35 cents per 100 cubic feet, a decrease from the 46.9 cents per 100 cubic feet rate ceiling for the current budget year. The proposed drop comes as a surprise to customers, who recently saw rates increase for the month of January, said Amanda D’Angelo, a international relations senior. “Yeah, it’s high,” she said.
MSU
Excessive grooming has genetic link
Spending an hour primping in front of the mirror may not be in vain. Recent research said primpers might be using a survival gene. The gene, Hoxb8, is found in all mammals and is responsible for grooming, hygiene patterns and controlling body parts. Mario Capecchi, professor of genetics at the University of Utah School of Medicine, said when mutated in mice, the gene caused them to excessively groom themselves, creating bald spots and skin wounds. “In terms of genetics, humans and mice are almost identical,” Capecchi said.
MSU
Student group cautions against targeting Muslims
Although some Muslim groups on campuses experienced prejudice after President Bush seized the assets of a group he says is connected to terrorist activities, MSU’s Muslim Students’ Association has not been targeted.In November, Bush confiscated assets of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, one of the largest Islamic charities in America.
MICHIGAN
Proposal would double speeding fines in state
Lead-footed drivers beware. A recent proposal that would double fines for speeding in residential areas may give drivers an expensive incentive to slow down. The proposal was introduced last month by state Rep.
MICHIGAN
Secretary of State tries to shorten office lines with updated system
Students and residents may find the wait a little more bearable at the Secretary of State office with new technology. The Department of State began installing a $7.4 million computer system in branch offices Thursday. All branch offices should have the new windows-based technology installed by May. The offices were originally on a computer system that, in some branches, dated back to 1984, said Elizabeth Boyd, spokeswoman for the Secretary of State. “The technology we’d been using wasn’t even supported by the manufacturer anymore,” she said of the old disk operating system.
MICHIGAN
Class teaches lessons with The Simpsons
The day is here when students can learn about religion through the animated eyes of Bart, Lisa, Marge and Homer from television’s award-winning cartoon, “The Simpsons.”The two-credit course, “Animated Philosophy and Religion,” offered this winter at Siena Heights University in Adrian, relates philosophical and religious aspects to themes and ethics explored in “The Simpsons.”“We know a lot about the show, which makes it easier to relate themes and ethics to the characters,” said Kimberly Blessing, assistant professor of religious studies.“For example, during one episode, Lisa is thinking about converting to Buddhism.
MSU
Campus briefs
ASMSU to offer free bluebooks to studentsASMSU, MSU’s undergraduate student government, provides free bluebooks for all students on a continuous basis.
MICHIGAN
E.L. looks at $695,875 in cuts
East Lansing will be voting Tuesday to make cuts in the budget. These cuts may stop the East Lansing Planning Commission meetings from being aired on cable television until the next fiscal year. The city is making a total of $695,875 in cuts, which may eliminate overtime for the police department and delay plans for city sidewalks. The cuts were made because statewide sales revenue, which is given to communities in the state, is down, said City Manager Ted Staton. Staton said he thinks every item on the list will get cut.
MSU
U takes stand, installs waterless urinals
Visitors to the men’s bathroom in Bessey Hall might find themselves scratching their heads and wondering what to do - the urinals that men have grown accustomed to are gone.In place of the usual porcelain receptacles are three unassuming bowls with no connections or handles anywhere near them.
MICHIGAN
GM opens half-billion dollar plant in Lansing
Lansing - Eleven years and a half-billion dollars in investments later, General Motors Corp.