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News | Michigan

MICHIGAN

Laws against drunken intruding may be lessened

Kris Turner
October 17, 2006

East Lansing is easing up on drunkards who wander into the wrong house. Currently, wandering into someone else's home after a night of drunken debauchery can send someone to jail with a felony charge on his or her criminal record. But if the City Council amends a few city laws at its meeting tonight, East Lansing's lushes could instead stagger away with a fine or 90-day misdemeanor. This way, the police department can forward the information to the East Lansing city attorney, and any cases will be handled on a local level, instead of going to circuit court. Police now have to fill out paperwork for the Ingham County Prosecutor's Office and wait for charges to be issued for these cases. "It streamlines the paperwork," East Lansing Deputy police Chief Juli Liebler said of the amendment. There were about five instances of intoxicated people entering the wrong residence during Welcome Weekend, and it happens at least a couple of times each weekend, Liebler said. "We've had people come in and make themselves a sandwich or get in somebody else's bed," she said.

MICHIGAN

Rogers wants initiative to create jobs

Lindsey Poisson
October 17, 2006

U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers says he will pursue alternative energy and reforming health care if re-elected by Michigan voters on Nov.7. Serving as Michigan's 8th Congressional District representative in Washington, D.C., since 2000, Rogers said despite the work he's done in his term, there's more to do. The federal government reported a 4.6 percent national unemployment rate, 6.1 million jobs created in the last three years and the nation's deficit was cut in half, Rogers said. Michigan's unemployment rate is about 7.1 percent. "If you look at the national economy, Michigan is way behind," he said.

MICHIGAN

Students push for 69th candidates to discuss issues

Kris Turner
October 16, 2006

Eminent domain and increasing higher education funding are two issues students say they want addressed by candidates running for the 69th District seat in the state House of Representatives. The 69th District covers East Lansing, Meridian Township and Williamstown Township.

MICHIGAN

Word on the weather

Did the October snow affect your plans today? "No, we've all lived in Michigan long enough to know what to expect." Katie Jacquemin hospitality business senior "I am enraged by the snow.

MICHIGAN

Mich. experts push for alternative fuels

Gabrielle Russon
October 13, 2006

Lansing — Researchers and employees in fuel-related industries met Thursday to discuss possibilities in limiting Americans' dependence on foreign oil. A volatile Middle East and declining supply of fossil fuels has pushed alternative fuels into viable public policy options.

MICHIGAN

Meadows stresses education, economy

Kris Turner
October 13, 2006

Mark Meadows is eager to reform higher education, improve Michigan's economy and protect the environment. As the Democratic contender for the 69th District seat in the state House of Representatives, Meadows says he wants to make education more affordable. The 69th District covers East Lansing, Meridian Township and Williamstown Township. "Higher education funding is critical to the future of the state and is really going to be what brings us out of our economic doldrums," he said.

MICHIGAN

Knowles pulls for younger crowd

Kris Turner
October 12, 2006

John Knowles says he's a man of the people. Hoofing around East Lansing to garner votes in the upcoming election, the Republican candidate for the 69th seat in the state House of Representatives says he's not worried about getting the conservative vote on Nov.

MICHIGAN

Union members demonstrate against workers without credentials

Kris Turner
October 11, 2006

A contractor hired to change the lighting in buildings around campus used uncertified electricians to do a majority of the work, according to a letter sent to MSU officials by an electrician's union Tuesday. Tom Eastwood, assistant business manager of IBEW Local 665, the union based in Lansing, said of the 22 electricians working on the project from November 2003 to July 2004, only one had the correct certification to be doing the job. "State law requires there be licensed supervision at all times on a project," Eastwood said.

MICHIGAN

Teen teaches duct tape skills

Tara Thoel
October 10, 2006

Haslett — Blue, green, pink, yellow and black rolls of duct tape rested on two tables as more than a dozen middle school students listened intently. Soon, those rolls were transformed into rainbows of wallets and bookmarks. William Beacom, a 16-year-old from Midland, performed his duct tape show Monday afternoon at the Capital Area District Library branch in Haslett. "I've always been kind of crazy, and this is just (one of) those weird things that I've done and (it) turned out to be a job for me," Beacom said. For five years, he taught himself how to make other various items out of duct tape, such as vests, shoes, hats and a carryall bag he is now creating. Beacom makes $75 a show, plus mileage. Ann Chapman, head librarian of the Haslett library, said the duct tape show was the first of a once-a-month craft day for students. Most of the students came after their school day at Haslett Middle School and said the duct tape show would be interesting and fun. "It's something to occupy me while I'm waiting for my mom — it's productive and it's fun," said Matthew Britton, a seventh-grader at Haslett Middle School.

MICHIGAN

Pizza House delivery man robbed at gunpoint

A carryout of a different kind occurred Oct. 3 when a Pizza House delivery man was robbed at gunpoint of $175 in cash and two pizzas outside Deerpath Apartments in East Lansing, police said. At about 4:10 a.m., the 31-year-old delivery man was making his last delivery of the night when two men with guns approached him from behind as he tried to buzz into the building, East Lansing police Det.

MICHIGAN

Organization gathers donations, food for local people in need

Sarah Harbison
October 10, 2006

Carl Berggren is 52 years old. He suffers from bipolar disorder and lives on a fixed income. Right now, he's taking classes at Lansing Community College in hopes of eventually working with substance abuse victims. For Berggren and 50,000 others in the Lansing area, programs like the Michigan Harvest Gathering make life a little easier. "It's beautiful to be able to turn to an organization when things are tight," Berggren said of the fundraising campaign to raise $350,000 and 500,000 pounds of food for food banks throughout the state. "It's people helping people," Berggren said. The 16th annual Michigan Harvest Gathering began in September and runs until Nov.

MICHIGAN

City continues to work with development firm

Kris Turner
October 9, 2006

Although the job history of a company working on the East Village project wasn't made explicitly clear to some of the area's property owners, the business will continue doing preliminary studies for the project. Representatives from The Pierce Company of San Diego, Calif., didn't mention in some meetings with East Village property owners and city officials that they weren't working on a similar redevelopment project at San Diego State University.

MICHIGAN

Appreciating Autumn

Laura Leebove
October 9, 2006

Dressed in jeans, a button-down shirt and red suspenders, Cliff Welsch grabbed two heaping handfuls of apples, which would be pressed into fresh cider Saturday at the Student Organic Farm Harvest Fest. Welsch guided people through the cider-making process using a wooden press he and his wife, Margaret, bought 30 years ago.

MICHIGAN

MCRI sides square off, challenge its merits

Kristyn Peterson
October 6, 2006

Lansing — Opposing sides of a Michigan ballot proposal to ban some state affirmative action programs squared off Thursday in Lansing. The Inforum Center for Leadership sponsored a Michigan Civil Rights Initiative debate at the Lansing Sheraton hotel between MCRI Executive Director Jennifer Gratz, who supports the initiative, and Bruce Courtade, a Grand Rapids lawyer who opposes it.

MICHIGAN

Career Gallery offers jobs in, out of state

Gabrielle Russon
October 6, 2006

To stay or not to stay? That's the question many MSU students must ask themselves after the annual two-day Career Gallery ended at Breslin Center Thursday. Sixty-four percent of last year's graduates who were in-state students remained in Michigan, said Phil Gardner, director of research at the Collegiate Employment Research Institute. "It's slowly gone down," Gardner said, adding that the figure was about 75 percent in the late '90s. This year's graduating class must make a similar decision. During the Career Gallery, students eyed 355 different companies that offered different location possibilities across the country. Chris Terrell, who attended the job fair, lives in a townhouse with three roommates who are all business majors.

MICHIGAN

Cheney talks terror, tax cuts

Alex Altman
October 6, 2006

Bath Township — Vice President Dick Cheney said the United States must reject any strategy that hinders the war on terror Thursday afternoon during a Republican fundraiser in Bath Township, located seven miles north of East Lansing. "Terrorists are still trying desperately to commit acts of violence," Cheney said.