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News | Michigan

MICHIGAN

City updates election process

The next time East Lansing residents cast a ballot, some will vote at a new location and all will use updated voting machinery. The city is taking part in a statewide effort to make voting easier and prevent complications, East Lansing City Clerk Sharon Reid said. Similar new models of voting machines will be used across the state to quell confusion caused by some voting devices previously used.

MICHIGAN

E.L. Council designates taxi pick-up area to ease local traffic congestion

Taxis operating in East Lansing now have a home. Last week the East Lansing City Council designated certain meter spots along Albert Avenue as holding locations for the transport vehicles. Problems created by drunken residents and taxi drivers were cited as factors in the decision. "The issue is really with the 7-Eleven that is on the corner of Grove Street and Albert Avenue," said Todd Sneathen, the city's director of Public Works.

MICHIGAN

Police: Winter driving risky

On his way to get bubble tea on Grand River Avenue, Anthony Manzano crossed in middle of East Circle Drive Tuesday afternoon. Although no marked crosswalk exists, there also were almost no cars in the road at the time Manzano crossed. "It's faster," the premedical freshman said of not using a crosswalk. MSU's ordinances on pedestrians, last updated in 1994, allow for pedestrians like Manzano to cross the street without a crosswalk, as long as there is no traffic. However, in the winter weather, drivers and pedestrians need to be more cautious, MSU police Deputy Chief Mike Rice said.

MICHIGAN

Downtown Lansing to create 'walk of fame'

Michigan residents who have made significant contributions to society will be honored later this year in Lansing with the nation's first statewide walk of fame. The Lansing Principal Shopping District, a group of more than 1,000 businesses in downtown Lansing, is working with the Michigan Historical Center and Museum to create the Michigan Walk of Fame. "Our board challenged us to come up with a project that drove traffic to downtown Lansing but also reinforced the fact that we are the capital city," said Kevin Green, the district's executive director.

MICHIGAN

Southgate to be voting site for Iraqi election

Michigan is home to one of seven U.S. locations for Iraqis to register and cast votes in their upcoming election. The site in Southgate is about 90 miles southeast of MSU. Eligible voters are current and former Iraqi citizens, those born in Iraq and those who are born to an Iraqi father.

MICHIGAN

Area floods sink 2 cars

A couple of Campus Hill apartment tenants were startled during the weekend at the sight of their vehicles partially submerged in overflow from the Red Cedar River.

MICHIGAN

MSU athletes' cases move to higher court

MSU athletes' cases move to higher court The cases of two MSU football players charged with felonies for attempting to rob fellow students will now be sent to the Ingham County 30th Judicial Circuit Court for trial. Freshman wide receiver Miles Williams, 18, and freshman linebacker Hugh D'Imperio, 19, waived their preliminary examinations in East Lansing's 54-B District Court last week.

MICHIGAN

Government revamps nutrition guidelines

Striving to improve Americans' lifestyles, the federal government released a new set of dietary guidelines advising people to eat a variety of nutritious foods, ingest fewer calories and exercise daily. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005, which comes out every five years, was released last week by the U.S.

MICHIGAN

Detroit named 3rd among fattest cities

According to Men's Fitness magazine, Detroit is no longer the fattest city in the country. For seven years, Men's Fitness has ranked cities from "fattest" to "fittest" based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a number of elements such as the number of health clubs, participation in sports and air quality. According to the magazine, Detroit has dropped from the fattest city to the third fattest, behind Houston and Philadelphia, because of improvements in air quality and health care.

MICHIGAN

Citizens receive police training

On Wednesday night 15 community members sat with East Lansing police officers for three hours - but there were no handcuffs, fingerprints or interrogations. Ranging from MSU students to senior citizens, the residents participated in the sixth-annual Citizens' Police Academy, an 11-week program aimed to teach people about the department. "Unfortunately, the first time people meet officers, it's not always under the best conditions," East Lansing Police Lt.

MICHIGAN

Congress to tackle state deficits in new year

Fixing the budget deficit, creating new jobs, and improving health care and the economy were the biggest topics on the minds of local representatives as they started the 2005-06 legislative session on Wednesday. Members of the Michigan Senate and House of Representatives were sworn in for the 93rd session, continuing the job of Sen.

MICHIGAN

E.L.: Enrollment drop tied to less housing

Enrollment of city residents in the East Lansing Public Schools has declined for the past 10 years, according the district. Due to school of choice, which allows residents of neighboring communities to attend East Lansing schools, vacancies left by students have been filled in some years. A November 2003 report, along with annual district assessments, point to the lack of younger children in the area as cause for the drop. City officials say this concern is a driving force behind many of their policies, including urban development and new rental restrictions. "Much of the focus of the work that we do in the city of East Lansing is on how do we develop more housing that will be attractive to young families," said Deputy City Manager Jean Golden.

MICHIGAN

Part of E.L profits to go to tsunami victims

Five restaurants on Grand River Avenue agreed to donate a portion of their sales from 5 to 8 p.m. today to aid tsunami victims in Southeast Asia and southern Africa after alpha Kappa Delta Phi, an Asian American sorority, asked them to help. Taste of Thai, 1105 E.

MICHIGAN

Prop. 2 protest continues

As state lawmakers convened at the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon for the first session of the year, they were met by more than 100 protesters holding signs that read "Equal rights for all Americans" and "Equality now." The event was a demonstration by protesters voicing their disapproval of the Nov.