Burning couches and dispersed tear-gas canisters will forever remain engraved in the memory of former East Lansing City Councilmember Bill Sharp. "The on-going unrest between the students and townsfolk really bothers me," he said.
The Potter Park Zoo in Lansing will feature holiday light displays this season, including lighted lion, bear, llama, giraffe, monkey, fox and penguin structures.
The due date for bulk leaf collection for the city has been prolonged into early December due to inconvenient weather conditions and a behind schedule leaf drop. Residents should rake their leaves to the curb as soon as possible to have their leaves collected by the city.
Campus bus service by the Capital Area Transportation Authority, or CATA, will end at 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Redevelopment plans for the vacant Citizens Bank headquarters and (SCENE) Metrospace art gallery are slated to include the MSU Museum, high-end residential living and office space, and they could be finalized by January. The potential eight- to 10-story structure, located near the intersection of Abbott Road and Grand River Avenue, would most likely include restaurants, three floors of the MSU Museum — to be moved from its on campus location — and loft-style residential units, said the project's developer Scott Chappelle, president of Strathmore Development. The project, previously City Center II, was renamed the Michigan Museum Place, and would have to go before the East Lansing Planning Commission and City Council for approval once plans are finalized.
With the first dusting of snow Wednesday, a Lansing overnight shelter run by Volunteers of America had to have six men sleep on the floor because the shelter was full. "You get a higher demand," said Patrick Patterson, vice president of Lansing operations for Volunteers of America.
A certain smiley face might be frowning this week as many in the MSU community join a national campaign challenging the superstore, Wal-Mart, to become a better corporate citizen. As part of Wal-Mart Higher Expectations Week, more than 1,200 events in each state, including protests, legislative town hall meetings and screenings of a new documentary "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" have been organized, said Nu Wexler, spokesman for Wal-Mart Watch. The nonprofit organization has been working to publicize allegations that the superstore practices discrimination against employees, other corporations and the environment all in an effort to keep prices low. Wexler said the name of the week was a spin-off on a statement once made by Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. "He used to tell his employees that high expectations are the key to everything and we certainly agree," Wexler said.
Millions of dollars in renovations to the Lansing Center will bring more people into the city. At least, that's what the Lansing City Council hopes. "We need to keep the Lansing Center viable," City Council President Sandy Allen said.
Connecting to readers and expanding the content of The State News are just some of the plans Nick Mrozowski would like to implement as the next editor in chief of the paper. Mrozowski, a journalism junior who is the deputy managing editor of the paper, was appointed head of the newsroom by The State News Board of Directors in late October.
The morning-after pill might be available over the counter after congressional investigators questioned the Food and Drug Administration's requirement to consider it a prescription. The independent Government Accountability Office reviewed the FDA's first rejection, uncovering what they called "unusual" decision making.
Lansing's student population could increase if the new Lansing council members have anything to do with it. Newly elected members Tim Kaltenbach and Kathie Dunbar both said they want Lansing to be more attractive to younger people and want to give the city a night life. "I'd like to see our downtown open at night, with galleries and shopping and restaurants and coffee houses that are open," Dunbar said.
"I definitely can't tell you what his name is here. But I think a mayor's job is to be a visionary, to have a focus or vision for his time in office.
A three-story apartment complex with space for 12 occupants will be constructed on Evergreen Avenue where the hollowed remains from a June house fire still stand. Each four-person apartment will include four bedrooms, a kitchen and living space, said the property's owner Matt Hagan, an agent with Hagan Reality Inc. A parking lot for at least 12 cars will be located behind the complex, he said. Hagan owned the house at 404 Evergreen Ave., north of campus near the Valley Court Park, when a June fire caused an estimated $175,000 in damages. Hagan decided to submit plans for a small apartment building because the house would be too costly to repair, and the property's proximity to campus would be attractive to students.
About 25 people gathered outside of The State News, 435 E. Grand River Ave., on Monday in response to Friday's editorial cartoon. From about 1 to 3 p.m., protesters occupied both sides of the street in front of the building chanting, passing out information about the cartoon and carrying signs and an American flag. The cartoon, by State News cartoonist Mike Ramsey, featured a World War II veteran saying "I liberated a torture camp back in '45" to a modern-day soldier. The soldier, shown holding a bloody baseball bat with a nail at the end, responds by saying "I work in one." International relations junior Dave Coogan participated in the protest and said the cartoon's release on Veterans Day was distasteful. "I was really disappointed in The State News," Coogan said.
While deer hunters across the state gather their guns for opening day, legislation in the state House could make it easier for people to transport firearms in their vehicles. According to Michigan law, it is illegal to transport a firearm unless the owner has a hunting license, is traveling to or from a firing range or has a concealed weapons permit. The legislation would amend the state law to allow people who own firearms to transport them in the trunk of a vehicle, while unloaded, without a hunting license or a concealed weapons permit.
By Tara Thoel Special to The State News The contributions that veterans have made to the United States should be celebrated every day, said Capt.
In an effort to better educate consumers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants condom labels to warn that they are not effective in preventing all types of STDs — especially those transferred by skin-on-skin contact. If the aim of this change is to provide better information for condom users, rather than scare people, Olin Health Center Health Coordinator Dennis Martell said he thinks it is a good idea. "Any time you can give knowledge to anyone using contraceptives, it helps them make better decisions," he said.
Michigan senators approved legislation this week to keep governments from seizing landowners' private property for public use. A constitutional amendment passed 35-3 which would change the state constitution to keep governments from forcing private landowners to sell their land to be used by governments for economic development or increased tax revenues.
It's still unclear how Republican Attorney General Mike Cox's admission that he had an extramarital affair, or his accusation that Geoffrey Fieger was going to blackmail him about it, could affect the 2006 attorney general's race. "The big question is whether or not anybody is going to be charged with a crime," said Bill Ballenger, editor and publisher of Inside Michigan Politics, a Lansing-based political newsletter.
Officials at Lansing Community College announced plans Thursday to expand their newly opened east campus by spring semester. Lansing Community College East, 2827 Eyde Parkway, is a two-story facility located south of Hannah Plaza off Hagadorn Road. The eight-classroom second floor opened this fall, and about 500 students are currently enrolled in classes there. The expansion will complete the first floor of the building — adding six more classrooms and pushing the size of the center to 20,000 square feet. The first floor was still under construction Thursday, with unfinished drywall, but should be completed by January. The finished facility will be able to accommodate 3,000 students, but enrollment this spring will likely be closer to 1,000, said Jean Morciglio, LCC's executive director for strategic enrollment management. College officials took a "wait and see" approach to completing the building, Morciglio said.