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News | Michigan

MICHIGAN

Nazi rally costs add up

Ken Osborne
April 28, 2006

The April 22 neo-Nazi rally cost the Michigan State Police and Lansing police a total of $258,390.55, most of which was related to overtime expenses for police officers. In addition, the city-sponsored diversity rally cost about $13,000 to hold, said Randy Hannan, deputy chief of staff for Mayor Virg Bernero. About $5,000 of that money will be paid for through private fundraising, with the rest paid by the city of Lansing, Hannan said. "It was worth every penny," Hannan said.

MICHIGAN

WEB EXTRA: Mich. residents to march for American dream

Corinne Devries
April 28, 2006

Citizens from across the state of Michigan will meet at the Capitol building at 2 p.m. on Saturday to march for the American dream. "The rally is to impress upon our elected officials to stop the outsourcing of American jobs, the need for universal health care, a secure life for our senior citizens and a better future for our children and grandchildren," said organizer Art Reyes, of Flint.

MICHIGAN

CSI: East Lansing

Gabrielle Russon
April 28, 2006

At a crime scene, it appears to be just a table. Yet with the MSU police department's new technology, it could hold key evidence invisible to the naked eye. On Thursday, crime scene investigators learned how to use a mini crime scope — a bright light with a pair of goggles designed to find hidden evidence.

MICHIGAN

WEB EXTRA: MSU student devotes time to hurricane cleanup

When you follow Aaron Preston's big brown eyes in conversation, whether it's about his trips to Hurricane Katrina-ravaged Mississippi or his upbringing on a farm in Quincy, Mich., you notice they twinkle. Then you notice that the environmental and economic policy junior talks with his hands, moving them up and down, from side to side, rhythmically, to articulate his points.

MICHIGAN

WEB EXTRA: 3 Michigan cities to offer Chinese-immersion preschool programs

Nicole Ellefson's wristwatch alarm goes off at 7 p.m. everyday — sometimes she forgets that she set it in the first place. "I always tell my daughters that it's seven in the morning in Beijing," Ellefson laughs. Beginning next fall, both East and West will overlap in the same classroom. A Chinese Immersion Program for Lansing, East Lansing and Bay City schools will be established for preschool-aged children.

MICHIGAN

E.L's downtown neighborhood grows up

Bob Darrow
April 27, 2006

Drive down Grand River Avenue and you'll see a narrow strip of one- and two-story brick buildings — bookstores, bars, bong shops and burrito joints — about what you'd expect in a midsize college town. For better or worse, that's been the character of East Lansing's downtown for decades. Not for much longer.

MICHIGAN

E.L. project wins housing loan

Ken Osborne
April 27, 2006

East Lansing was awarded a $1.5 million Community Development Block Grant, or CDBG, loan guarantee on Wednesday to redevelop the 600 block of Virginia Avenue. The loan guarantee means that the U.S.

MICHIGAN

Cheaper to read

Ken Osborne
April 26, 2006

Books are just one of many expenses college students have to meet as they pursue their education. However, students could be receiving at least a little relief — 6 percent to be exact — if a bill providing a sales tax exemption on college textbooks becomes law. House Bill 5568 provides for an exemption for the sales tax on a textbook required for taking a course at any institute for post-secondary education. Rep.

MICHIGAN

Lansing plays host to 2nd annual pro-choice rally

Melanie Thomas
April 26, 2006

Posters with pictures of aborted fetuses and some with the words "Students for Choice" adorned the lawn of the Michigan Capitol on Tuesday for the 2nd annual Michigan March for Choice rally. The rally aimed to show legislators that the majority of Michigan voters are pro-choice, said Sarah Scranton, executive director of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Michigan, one of the groups that sponsored the event. MSU international relations and economics senior Katie Wilcox held pro-life signs with the MSU Students For Life protesting the rally.

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.