President Bush's proposed Central America Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, passed through Congress Thursday by only two votes, expanding trade into six Latin American countries. Many Michigan legislators are concerned the newly passed agreement will mean fewer jobs in Michigan - much like the 24,000 Michigan jobs lost as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, said Rep.
"They should legalize it, it's definitely not as bad as it's made out to be." Jeff Pink psychology senior "Yes, I don't think there's evidence that it does a lot of harm." Ashley Ballard psychology junior at Western Michigan University "Just imagine if the government made it legal, they could be making the money themselves." Randy Rivas residential building and construction sophomore at Lansing Community College "I have no definite opinion, there's a good and bad side to marijuana, just like everything else." Nicolas Hampton East Lansing resident
An organization pushing for looser marijuana laws released a "Truth Report" in late July in an attempt to dispel the federal government's claims against the drug. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML, wrote "Your Government Is Lying To You (Again) About Marijuana" as an updated response to a letter sent by a White House official in 2002 to every prosecutor in America to convince them to become more harsh on marijuana cases, NORML Senior Policy Analyst Paul Armentano said. "This is a policy on ideology," Armentano said about the government's attacks on marijuana.
Trees now tagged with "do not disturb" signs can be found in many counties in Michigan to detect the emerald ash borer, spotted in a tree in East Lansing. The Michigan Department of Agriculture, or MDA, along with the Michigan Cooperative Emerald Ash Borer Response Project are "girdling" 12,000 ash trees in counties not affected by the emerald ash borer so they can detect and contain the insect, according to the MDA. "Each of those trees is 'girdled,' where they cut a band of the bark off the tree.
Candidates for Lansing mayor and Lansing City Council members and two proposals are items that will be on the Aug.
The City Council's filing deadline for the November election candidates is two weeks away, and council members are gearing up for the political battle. East Lansing Councilmembers Vic Loomis and Bill Sharp are up for re-election.
Saturday was the start of the Buddhist celebration Asalha Puja and the Rains Retreat, and many gathered at a local monastery to celebrate its commencement with meditation and ethnic food. Ajahn Khemasanto, the abbot at Dhammasala Forest Monastery, 14780 Beardslee Road in Perry, said the retreat is a time for monks to meditate. "This a special time for monks to take on special practices and be more strict in meditation," he said.
Legislators announced Wednesday that they will ask the manufacturer of "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" to recall the video game and will ask state retailers to take it off their shelves.
In the state of Michigan, torturing an animal is punishable under law, but currently no law protects a human being from being tortured by another. Rep.
The hearing scheduled for last week to determine whether public employers can offer benefits to domestic partners has been postponed until August, and some university employees are worried about losing their benefits. A Michigan Constitutional amendment was ratified in 2004, which defined marriage as being between a man and a woman. The American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, is representing 21 same-sex couples who filed the lawsuit in March after Attorney General Mike Cox interpreted the amendment as barring the city of Kalamazoo from providing domestic-partnership benefits in future contracts. The court hearing was postponed in order for Gov.
A city ordinance that limits the number of signs East Lansing residents can have on their front lawns is being amended, but it has some residents and city leaders at odds over freedom of expression. Two East Lansing residents expressed their concerns for the city's "environmental quality" at the City Council meeting last Tuesday. These residents are concerned certain modifications to the policy will cause more people to overrun their lawns with political signs. The most significant concern addressed was the "visual clutter," said East Lansing's Deputy City Manager Jean Golden.
With scorching summer temperatures, some students across campus shuffle to class or work in the lightest clothes possible, including their footwear - flip-flop sandals. "(Flip-flops) are better because you can flip them off your feet easily," said Lansing resident, Ryan Howard.
Two bills recently introduced to the state House of Representatives would ban the use of alcohol without liquid, commonly called AWOL, in Michigan. AWOL is an inhalant that is a combination of alcohol mist and pure oxygen and can create a euphoric sensation.
A late-night Saturday thunderstorm that continued through daybreak Sunday left the city and some area businesses scrambling to function. The storm caused a power outage and knocked some trees down, said Sgt.
Owners of iPods and other personal MP3 players now have more listening options than just the music they download or rip from their CD collections. "People have called podcasting the TiVo for radio," said Gary Reid, a university distinguished senior specialist in the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media and general manager of MSU's student radio station Impact (88.9-FM). Podcasting allows nearly anyone to broadcast an audio file over the Internet.
A 19-year-old Marshall, Mich., man was sentenced on Wednesday in the Ingham County Circuit Court to serve eight to 20 years in prison for the murder of an Okemos man. Alexander Hamil, who came to East Lansing to celebrate St.
When Ed Carlson goes to a baseball game or visits his girlfriend, it's a large, complicated production. Due to his cerebral palsy and quadriplegia, the 40-year-old said in-home health care has to get him ready to go out, and a special mode of transportation needs to be coordinated.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed a law Wednesday to regulate the sale of drugs containing the single-active ingredient ephedrine or pseudoephedrine commonly found in cold and allergy medications.
Lansing - Republican lawmakers and the Granholm administration will continue meeting this week to compromise on tax reform, the state budget and college scholarships. Members of the administration have been meeting regularly with Republican legislative leaders. House GOP leaders decided last week to put off a vote on their economic stimulus package after agreeing to requests from Democratic Gov.
The East Lansing City Council will meet at 7:30 p.m. after a two-week break. The meeting will be held at the 54-B District Court, 101 Linden St. The council plans to approve street closures and have a public hearing on an ordinance for the display of political signs.