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News | Michigan

MICHIGAN

E.L. council members to review renovations

East Lansing City Council members will get their first look at the semi-renovated East Lansing High School when they meet with the city's Board of Education tonight. The groups also will touch base on mutual concerns, such as snow plowing services, and will discuss the possibility of housing some school buses at a new East Lansing Department of Public Works site. Mayor Mark Meadows said the council is looking forward to touring the new high school during one of its quarterly meetings with the school district. "It was a big issue for the community when they voted to provide the school board with funds to make those changes," Meadows said. Construction on the $55 million project, which began in January 2001, is about 75 percent complete, said Paula Steele, principal at East Lansing High School. New music rooms, two gymnasiums, a 550-seat student union, an inside track and science laboratories are among the completed additions to the building, Steele said. The auditorium is scheduled to be completed in mid-December, and a media center will be finished by August 2005. "Everybody's been really patient," Steele said.

MICHIGAN

ID theft trial moved to undetermined date

Former MSU student Denita Dorsey's circuit court trial was moved to an undetermined date, county court clerks said. The May graduate faces 27 charges for identity theft and fraud of more than $100,000 from earlier this year.

MICHIGAN

IBM program to aid research

Lauren Phillips
November 29, 2004

As a computer sits unused in a dorm room or office, a free program available online can contribute the idle energy to research for cures for diseases such as tuberculosis. IBM has unveiled the World Community Grid, a program designed to cut down on research time and increase cost-effectiveness for the companies who sponsor the projects, IBM spokeswoman Catherine Collins said, adding that anyone with access to the Internet can download the program into their computer. "The more people we get signed up for this, the more research we can get done," Collins said. Collins said because of the amount of computers at a university, MSU is an ideal place to implement the program.

MICHIGAN

Deer collisions up this season

Shawn Smith
November 24, 2004

Entering the second week of Michigan's firearm hunting season, state officials and insurance companies continue to caution motorists about deer on the road. The number of monthly deer-car crashes commonly begins to increase during fall months and peaks in November, but deer can present problems for motorists into early December, said Jim Rink, a spokesman for insurance company AAA Michigan. "Fall is mating season for the deer so they're generally more active

MICHIGAN

Beaner's to open new shops in E.L., 3 southeast states

A local coffee shop chain is expanding into other parts of the state and country, opening in three southeastern states after operating in the Midwest for nearly a decade. Beaner's Gourmet Coffee, founded in East Lansing in 1995, is opening three locations in Mobile, Ala., Charleston, S.C., and Dacula, Ga., near Atlanta, said Michael McFall, president of the company. "The markets we're going into, like Mobile, Alabama, and Charleston, are really underserviced from the gourmet coffee perspective," McFall said.

MICHIGAN

Mich. seat belt usage increases

Evan Rondeau
November 24, 2004

Michigan had the nation's fourth-largest increase in seat belt usage during the last year, according to a report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released Tuesday. Statewide seat belt usage increased 5.7 percent between 2003 and 2004, jumping from 84.8 to 90.5 percent.

MICHIGAN

Weekend snow could create chores for 'U'

Lauren Phillips
November 24, 2004

East Lansing officials are reminding residents that all sidewalks adjacent to their property must remain clear of snow and ice. The city will no longer issue warnings, but will immediately issue a ticket for failures to clear snow and ice. Owners or occupants of East Lansing residences must remove the snow and ice within 24 hours of snowfall and must use salt or another abrasive material on icy sidewalks within 12 hours of ice forming. East Lansing employees will open highly traveled main sidewalks so it is easier for residents to plow or shovel.

MICHIGAN

Officials give advice on holiday safety

Unlocked doors, flaming turkey fryers and icy overpasses aren't usually topics of conversation when students talk about heading home for the long Thanksgiving weekend. That's why local officials are working to get out the word on lesser-known holiday dangers. "Put in big, bold print: 'LOCK YOUR DOORS,'" East Lansing police Capt.

MICHIGAN

Lansing-area officials look to attract high-tech jobs

Officials from East Lansing and Lansing are moving forward with a program to attract technology-based jobs to the capital region. The Lansing Regional SmartZone will join 10 other Michigan SmartZones, which are geographic locations designed to attract technology-based companies by combining resources to create more high-technology jobs. The Lansing and East Lansing city councils both scheduled public hearings for December to determine the district's borders and create a Local Development Finance Authority, which will fund programs in the SmartZone.

MICHIGAN

Tree-lighting, fireworks highlight of holiday event

Elizabeth Piet
November 22, 2004

Lansing - Even a cement mixer can be part of the holiday season. Decorated with hundreds of strands of colored lights, the large vehicle rotated strands of colored lights in Lansing's Electric Light Parade on Friday night. Also in the parade route, local high school bands played holiday music, a Capital Area Transportation Authority bus was costumed as a bug and area groups rode on decorated Christmas-themed floats.

MICHIGAN

Protesters criticize actions in Iraq war

Art Bukowski Special for The State News Bundled against the inclement weather and holding signs reading "stop the killing" and "not in our name," about 30 activists marched Friday from the Capitol to the office of Congressman Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, in protest of the war in Iraq and the recent U.S.

MICHIGAN

Food bank continues to serve

Evan Rondeau
November 22, 2004

When the Greater Lansing Food Bank started in 1981, group members didn't anticipate they'd still be fund raising to feed the poor in the Lansing area more than 20 years later. The group recognized the growing problem of those needing emergency food assistance, but assumed it was a result of the slow economic times.

MICHIGAN

Bird lovers flock to show

Elizabeth Piet
November 22, 2004

Charlie was getting restless. The Timneh African grey parrot opened his beak and bit at the metal bars of his cage, hoping to get the attention of his owner, Debbie Gould of DeWitt.