MICHIGAN
Unemployment rate may keep rising
Michigan's unemployment rate jumped in December, and analysts predict the rate will continue to rise.
MICHIGAN
LCC trustees face lawsuit over meeting
For months, tensions have mounted on the Lansing Community College Board of Trustees — tensions that may have driven the board into an illegal closed session. The internal drama has led some trustees to publicly criticize board leadership and decision-making, even causing one trustee to resign from her position as vice chairwoman. And on Tuesday, a former trustee filed a lawsuit against the board for allegedly violating the state's Open Meetings Act, which requires all publicly elected bodies to conduct meetings open to the public. "It's a great concern to me when the public's business is not conducted in public, and it should be a concern to every taxpayer," said Todd Heywood, who served on the LCC board from 2001-03. Heywood charges in court documents that the board held a meeting in September at which a majority of members were present without adequate public notice. He also alleges that board Chairman Chris Laverty illegally moved the board into closed sessions. The State News was unable to reach Laverty for comment. If found in violation of the act, the board could be fined and ordered not to violate the act again with an injunction, said Herschel Fink, a First Amendment and media lawyer. An injunction would take another legal step in preventing the government body from meeting in secret by formally ordering it not to violate the act again or risk additional penalties such as jail time. "If the government is able to act behind closed doors, there are no checks and balances," Fink said.
MICHIGAN
Mock fire raises awareness
The room was typical. A dirty mattress and an old wooden desk were crammed into a space smaller than a prison cell, and stains on a tattered La-Z-Boy chair made the site eerily similar to a standard dorm room or rental home. As East Lansing firefighters dropped a burning flare into a trash can filled with old newspapers, a vivid message was delivered. "If your smoke detector goes off because of a fire, you have 90 seconds to get out of the room," said Gerald Rodabaugh, East Lansing's fire inspector.
MICHIGAN
Beaner's trainees use faux facility
Tucked away on the third floor of a Fifth Third Bank in East Lansing is a training center for Beaner's Gourmet Coffee employees. It's there that they learn to work the cash register, make well-known drinks and deal with the hassles of being a barista.
MICHIGAN
E.L. heroes rewarded
One person pulled an elderly man from a burning vehicle, another saved his girlfriend from the clutches of an attacker and another fought off a violent rapist. These former or current MSU students were honored alongside police officers Thursday night at the Hannah Community Center, 819 Abbott Road, during the East Lansing Police Department's annual awards ceremony. Josh Burda, a physiology senior, was honored for pulling a man in his 70s from a car that exploded no more than 10 seconds after saving him, he said. "I was just driving and saw there was a guy pulled over, an old man, and I swear that there was a little bit of smoke inside the car.
MICHIGAN
U.S. House cuts loan interest for students
The legions of people fearing post-college debt breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday, when the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a proposal to lower the interest rates of student loans. The legislation, which passed 356-71, could decrease the current 6.8 percent interest rate on Federal Stafford Loans.
MICHIGAN
Bernero to focus on high-tech industry
Creating high-tech jobs in Lansing will be the focus of Mayor Virg Bernero's second year in office. He will detail his plans during his State of the City address at 7 p.m.
MICHIGAN
Photo marks city's anniversary
Almost 700 people took to East Lansing's streets Wednesday afternoon — but it wasn't to cause trouble. An army of about 180 residents adorned with Spartan-green raincoats stood stationed on M.A.C.
MICHIGAN
Drivers race to pumps after price drop
This time last year, gas prices averaged $2.20 a gallon. Now, motorists are gleefully rushing to the pump, in awe of some of the lowest gas prices they've seen in a year. "I like (the prices). It helps my bank account," said Andrew Vaneenenaam, a human biology senior, who filled up at the Marathon gas station on Michigan Avenue in East Lansing on Tuesday. Gas prices dropped under $2 a gallon Monday.
MICHIGAN
Volunteers needed for senior program
Volunteers are being sought for the East Lansing Prime Time Seniors' Program to help run its Legacy Project, which aims to bridge the gap between young people and seniors.
MICHIGAN
Partnership to draw businesses to Lansing area
MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon and other key community members announced Tuesday the creation of the Lansing Economic Area Partnership, an organization to foster business growth. "It is hoped that this organization will build avenues for economic development," said Joe Reid, chairman of Capitol Bancorp Ltd.
MICHIGAN
Former trustee files against LCC board
A former Lansing Community College trustee filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the LCC Board of Trustees. Todd Heywood claims that during a 2006 meeting, the board violated Michigan's Open Meetings Act, which requires publicly elected boards to open meetings to the public. According to the lawsuit, trustees asked two LCC employees who were attending the meeting to leave, turning the meeting into a closed session. "When elected officials are willing to violate that sacred trust, it raises all kinds of questions of what the fundamental core of democracy is," Heywood said.
MICHIGAN
Whitmer appointed to Senate groups
State Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, was named lead Democrat on the Education and Judiciary committees in Michigan's Senate earlier this month, and she also will serve on the Agriculture and Finance committees. Whitmer will be responsible for developing policies related to her respective fields.
MICHIGAN
Health classes open
Be And Stay Healthy, or BASH, is offering a six-part community health workshop for East Lansing residents starting Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
MICHIGAN
(SCENE) Metrospace to display new art
An art exhibit featuring technology opens Friday at (SCENE) Metrospace, 303 Abbott Road. It will take place from 6-9 p.m.
MICHIGAN
New housing draws student interest
Several MSU students will call West Village "home" next year, since their parents reserved property in the new residential development. "A lot of parents are interested in buying for their children, so those will be owned by the family, not licensed for rental," West Village spokeswoman Lisa Spaugh said. More than half the properties in the village already have been reserved, and construction begun on the complex.
MICHIGAN
Donations benefit alumni foundation
Noodles & Company, 205 E. Grand River Ave., is donating 10 percent of sales from 5-9 p.m. on Jan.
MICHIGAN
Health screening teaches diversity
Najim Salman walked into the Islamic Center of Greater Lansing for a series of medical tests Monday and left with a smile on his face. "A clean bill of health," he said at the center's 920 S.
MICHIGAN
Winter season kicks off late
Finally. Glazed like a doughnut, a thin shell of ice covered East Lansing on Sunday night, ushering in winter weather.
MICHIGAN
Football player gets jail time
Through tears, former MSU football player Bobby Jones learned he'll be spending the next four weekends in jail Thursday for throwing an empty bottle of Captain Morgan on a 20-year-old woman. The incident happened at the Chandler Crossings apartments on Oct.