Controversial bills that would provide more requirements for voters and third party registrants remain stalled in a House committee after legislators heard testimony about the bills in the Redistricting and Elections Committee on Tuesday morning. Several advocacy groups testified against the bills, including representatives from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
In January, East Lansing Fire Chief Randall Talifarro was placed in charge of both the East Lansing and Lansing fire departments and now spends time working in each division. Talifarro replaced Lansing Fire Chief Tom Cochran after he retired in January. Cochran now provides assistance to the departments on an as-needed basis.
Susan Schmidt, a Democratic candidate for the 69th District House seat, received the endorsement of MSU Trustee Chairman Joel Ferguson on Tuesday.
DNA testing of sexual assault victims throughout the state might be analyzed more quickly and effectively with the implementation of a specialized rape kit testing laboratory, Michigan State Police officials said Monday.
Now a week old, Tropical Smoothie Cafe, 1201 E. Grand River Ave., is going strong, owner Ruth Buko said.
Dave Chou knows what it’s like to be far away from home, without the comfort of a home-cooked meal. Originally from Taiwan, Chou remembers being homesick for his family’s cooking when he went away to college, so he decided to open Chopstix, a new Asian cuisine restaurant housed in the former Asian House building at 1001 E. Grand River Ave.
The East Lansing City Council is scheduled to continue its discussion on an ordinance that could reshape an area redevelopment project at its Tuesday night work session. The work session is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 410 Abbot Road.
A newly vacant spot in the city was occupied by a bit of country Saturday afternoon. Hundreds of community members occupied the space once filled by the East Lansing Barnes & Noble, 333 E.
Students were provided with an alternative viewpoint on celebrity habits, the Obama administration and other issues gripping the nation Thursday evening in Wilson Hall during a presentation from conservative author Jason Mattera.
Students and community members are preparing for a visit from members of the controversial Westboro Baptist Church, who will rally from 8:15-8:45 a.m. Monday at the Union. The group, which is widely known for picketing military funerals in protest of America’s acceptance of homosexuality, also plans to picket at 7:15 a.m. Monday at Eastern High School, 220 N. Pennsylvania Ave., in Lansing, and Central Michigan University at 2:00 p.m.
East Lansing officials spent more than $26,000 in their search for a new city manager before hiring an internal candidate for the vacant position, records show. Pennsylvania-based executive search firm Affion Public was paid $18,000 as part of its contract with the city for the search, while other expenses totaled $8,077 as part of the search process.
They don’t do it for any kind of recognition, but the city of East Lansing decided to recognize some of the “unsung heroes” who contribute to enhancing the way of life in East Lansing at the 24th annual Crystal Awards, Thursday evening. This year, the Crystal Award Selection Committee selected four winners from a group of 32 individuals, organizations and businesses. The 32 candidates were nominated by members of the community and winning the awards were Marsha Bristor, Dr. Dale Bartlett, the Summer Circle Theatre and the Eric ‘RicStar’ Winter Music Therapy Camp.
MSU is inching closer to losing millions in state funding next year as an argument with lawmakers over the university’s student health care requirement escalates.
Students planning to travel along Amtrak’s Blue Water route early next week may experience some service disruptions, the passenger railroad announced in a service notice. The route — which runs from Chicago to Port Huron, Mich. — typically departs from East Lansing at 8:28 a.m., but all stops will run two hours earlier to accommodate work along the track. The change will take place from Monday through Wednesday, with additional work occurring over the next two weeks.
The Taste of East Lansing festival will be held from 5-8 p.m. on Saturday at Parking Lot 1 off of Albert Avenue in the Ann Street Plaza. The event will be hosted by the Community Relations Coalition and will feature a silent auction, live music, raffle and children’s activities.
April snow showers could mean trouble for many fruit growers throughout Michigan after a frost affected some fruit populations earlier than usual, MSU experts said Tuesday. Although the warm spell in Michigan this March was welcome weather for many students, the subsequent snow flurries and below freezing temperatures that occurred for a few subsequent days in April were particularly damaging to perennial fruit populations in the state, MSU Extension educator Amy Irish-Brown said.
A semesterlong class project became a business venture for local business startup Shirtmob when four students conducted surveys to find out where the company’s target clientele stood.
In 1988, East Lansing was named a Tree City USA for the first time. Now, in 2012, the city is sticking to its roots for its 25th consecutive year as a Tree City USA, a national honor given to communities by the Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the National Association of State Foresters and the USDA Forest Service.
Construction on a Lansing outpatient cancer treatment center is expected to start before this fall following a state approval process that drew accusations of tampering by local health care entities. A certificate of need for Compass Health Care’s Compass Cancer Center, 1525 W. Lake Lansing Road, was approved earlier this April by the Michigan Department of Community Health, a move that should allow construction to start before this fall.
In 1988, East Lansing was named a Tree City USA for the first time. Now, in 2012, the city is sticking to its roots for its 25th consecutive year as a Tree City USA, a national honor given to communities by the Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the National Association of State Foresters and the USDA Forest Service. “It’s a great honor, in particular because it’s our 25th year that we’ve been able to receive this designation,” said David Smith, environmental specialist for the city of East Lansing. “It shows that not only the city, but our residents have a commitment to the positive aspects of having trees in our community.”