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News | Michigan

MICHIGAN

Wal-Mart looks to 'super'-size in Okemos

Corinne Devries
April 26, 2006

The Wal-Mart in Okemos is trying to expand into a Super Wal-Mart, but many residents in Meridian Township are worried an even bigger version of the retailer will push out smaller businesses in the area and add traffic to an already congested area. Wal-Mart employee Roxanne Launstein, 22, hopes the store will be able to expand. Wal-Mart has requested a permit from Meridian Township to allow the store to expand by nearly 49,500 square feet, stay open 24 hours a day and also add a drive-through pharmacy to the store.

MICHIGAN

Police encourage creation of UMADD

Melissa Domsic
April 26, 2006

Police and university officials hope to start a university chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MADD, to get students involved in prevention and education activities. "It's one thing for the police to talk about the dangers; it's another thing to hear it from your peers," MSU police Inspector Kelly Beck said. East Lansing police Chief Tom Wibert said he hopes to establish a student organization with police officers as resources. Wibert and Beck met with Mary Ann Bair, the MADD Michigan program director, earlier this month to discuss starting a UMADD chapter at MSU. Bair could not be reached for comment. When Wibert became police chief last May, he said he made drunken driving prevention a priority.

MICHIGAN

Wal-Mart pays out $1.5M in violation of Mich. item-pricing regulation

Gabrielle Russon
April 25, 2006

Missing price tags will force Wal-Mart to pay a $1.5 million settlement, the Michigan attorney general's office announced Monday. It is the largest fine issued for violating a Michigan law which requires stores to label prices on most of their merchandise. "This is an issue that faces every retailer in the state of Michigan," said Wal-Mart spokesperson John Simley. Simley said that Wal-Mart stores contain hundreds of thousands of items. "That's an awful lot of items to have a price sticker on," he said.

MICHIGAN

Flowers used to protest war

Ken Osborne
April 21, 2006

Last month while protesting the war in Iraq outside Congressman Mike Rogers', R- Brighton, Lansing office, Terry Olson came up with an idea. "Right in the middle of the week — it was a long, hard, grind of a week — I looked up and saw the flower shop and thought it would be nice to do something positive to deliver our message," said Olson, who is a member of the Greater Lansing Network Against War & Injustice, or GLNAWI. So Olson walked about a block from Rogers' office to Bancroft Flowers & Gifts, 1417 E.

MICHIGAN

Levin wins kudos for vigilance, expertise

Ken Osborne
April 20, 2006

U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., was named one of the nation's 10 best senators in this week's edition of Time magazine. The piece on 71-year-old Levin is titled "Carl Levin: The Bird-Dogger." It describes the senator as "pudgy, balding and occasionally rumpled, and he constantly wears his glasses at the very tip of his nose." But the article goes on to state, "Still, the Michigan Democrat has gained respect from both parties for his attention to detail and deep knowledge of policy, especially in his role as a vigilant monitor of businesses and federal agencies." The Michigan Democratic Party issued a statement of congratulations to Sen.

MICHIGAN

E.L. police report 3 prowlers in April

Melissa Domsic
April 20, 2006

There have been three reported cases of prowlers in East Lansing neighborhoods in the past three weeks, police said. A 20-year-old Tecumseh man was arrested for prowling and disorderly conduct when caught opening the screen to a basement window at a house on Michigan Avenue at 5:30 a.m.

MICHIGAN

Universal state health-care plan promoted at rally

Erin Ruth sat among the crowd at "The Power of Prevention, A Prescription for a Healthier Tomorrow" health-care rally in front of the Capitol Building Wednesday afternoon, holding a sign reading "46 million uninsured." Ruth, a second-year medical student at MSU and president of the MSU chapter of the American Medical Student Association, or AMSA, said the number of Americans who are medically uninsured is exponentially increasing. "We've never seen a rise so rapidly at any point in the last 100 years," she said. Sponsored by the MSU College of Human Medicine Chapter of the American Medical Student Association, the rally addressed the possibility of having universal health care in Michigan. Sen.

MICHIGAN

Courtroom apparel important, judge says

By Jason Chapman For The State News East Lansing Judge Richard Ball has overseen trials during which defendants were dressed in tattered bloody shirts and pants, and even soiled clothing. He's seen other judges send people home for wearing bare midriffs, make people spit gum into Kleenex and refuse to go on with cases because of skirts being too short. While people who were just arrested don't have much control over their appearances, those who do might have a better outcome in court if they take the initiative to look presentable in front of a judge, court officials said. "You need to show that you have respect for the court even if you don't," Ball said.

MICHIGAN

Firefighters quickly douse Okemos flames

Melissa Domsic
April 19, 2006

Firefighters were able to extinguish a fire that spread over part of an Okemos house, yard and surrounding forest Tuesday afternoon. There were no injuries and the fire was under control within 50 minutes, said Meridian Township Fire Department Battalion Chief Rocky Larner. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, and property owners would not comment. Larner said he did not know an estimated amount of damage. While firefighters secured the house and surrounding area, tankers carrying thousands of gallons of water waited at the end of the long driveway in case more water was needed. Since the rural area doesn't have fire hydrants, volunteers from the Ingham County Tanker Task Force will haul as much as 30,000 gallons of water to the scene of a fire, said Don Gailey. Gailey organized the task force more than 10 years ago. He waited in a large red tanker truck, which holds 3,000 gallons, in case more water was needed Tuesday afternoon. Gailey, a retired Mason resident who's been a volunteer fireman for nearly 50 years, organized the task force after realizing the need for organization at a large fire about 15 years ago. There were tankers before, he said, but they weren't organized.

MICHIGAN

Michigan Democrats aim to host 'O8 primary

Ken Osborne
April 19, 2006

Michigan could be one of the first states to host a Democratic presidential primary in 2008 if an application submitted by the Michigan Democratic Party is accepted by the Democratic National Committee. Last month the Rules and Bylaws committee of the Democratic National Committee, or DNC, created up to four open spots between the set first caucus in Iowa and the period in which any state can hold its caucus or primary. The Iowa caucus will be followed by one or two available spots for other states to house caucuses before New Hampshire holds its own primary.

MICHIGAN

Council wants student input on noise policy

Bob Darrow
April 17, 2006

East Lansing's City Council will seek student input on proposed changes to the city's noise ordinance during a public hearing Tuesday on campus. The revised ordinance would eliminate jail time as a penalty for loud parties. The proposal would add drinking games to a list of indicators police use to write party noise tickets. Tuesday's council meeting begins at 7:30 p.m.

MICHIGAN

Upgrading East Lansing

Gabrielle Russon
April 14, 2006

Soccer players might soon be able to see million-dollar renovations to the East Lansing Soccer Complex from the East Lansing Planning Commission's proposals, which include improved lighting for the fields. The commission annually releases a list of suggestions to the East Lansing City Council on how to improve the city in the Capital Improvements Program. The council uses the Capital Improvements Program to help plan the budget, ultimately deciding whether to approve the funding. The $1.4-million soccer renovations, as well as road maintenance on Abbott and Chandler roads for $2 million, are some of the proposals in the program. Some of these ideas, however, might not come to light due to lack of funding to finance the entire list, said City Manager Ted Staton. "There's no way all these things will happen," Staton said.