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Prolonged overseas duties protested
Debra Lambert has been waiting for her fiance's return to the United States since before Christmas.
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Shave & a haircut
It might be smaller than most stores' bathrooms, but once inside, the Capitol Hair Port barber shop doesn't feel tiny at all.
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Local workers merge to fight ash borer
Crews will begin marking trees in Meridian Township today for the emerald ash borer, a deadly beetle that has attacked about 6 million ash trees in Michigan. Crews marked more than 18,000 trees for treatment last week in south Lansing and Delhi Township, but wind conditions and an insufficient workforce delayed markings in Meridian Township until today.
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Gov. looks at $1.3B deficit
Michigan legislators have returned from a two-week recess to a state budget deficit still reaching the $1 billion mark.
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Expo displays women's products, businesses
Lansing - In a corner of the Lansing Center banquet hall on Sunday, two women put up their feet to receive pedicures, while in another area, a group of people watched a woman cook vegetables. More than 200 booths and exhibits were set up at the Mid-Michigan Women's Expo that took place Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
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Coalition tries to unite E.L. residents
More than 150 residents, business owners and East Lansing officials gathered Saturday night at the Wharton Center as part of a fund-raiser to help improve relations between students and the city's permanent residents. The East Lansing Community Relations Coalition, a nonprofit organization, raised more than $4,000 during its second annual "A Taste of East Lansing" fund-raiser.
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Past protests discussed
On Saturday, former Vietnam War and civil rights protesters, administrators and police officers gathered to talk about their experiences with previous social unrest at MSU. The East Lansing Historical Society sponsored the event, which drew community members of all ages to the Hannah Community Center to relive the era. Tom Wibert, East Lansing police deputy chief and member of the Historical Society, put together the event on civil disobedience.
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Term limits impact House
More than one-third of Michigan's state representatives will not have the opportunity to run for re-election this fall, as term limits on legislators take effect for the first time since voters approved them in 1992. The limits, which took effect in 1998, restrict state representatives from serving more than three two-year terms in office. This year, 37 of the state's 110 House members will not be eligible for re-election.
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Lawmakers seek MEAP replacement
Some lawmakers are working to replace the Michigan Educational Assessment Program, or MEAP, tests taken by high school students, with a new test still to be chosen. Sen.
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Community to discuss '70s protests in E.L.
A panel discussion of former East Lansing demonstrators will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Hannah Community Center, 819 Abbott Road. On Feb.
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New laws penalize water polluters
Lansing - Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed two bills during Thursday's Earth Day celebration at the Capitol that will charge Michigan's polluters for dumping industrial and toxic wastes into the state's waterways. The laws require dumpers to pay one-time or annual fees for the unloading of wastes into Michigan's rivers, lakes and groundwater. One of the laws requires municipal dumpers to pay a minimum of $400 annually for surface water dumping in small communities and up to more than $200,000 in larger cities, such as Detroit.
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'U' student shares story of assault during gay-rights rally
Kalamazoo - Everyone at the rally seemed anxious to converse since they had been wordless all day for the National Day of Silence. Participants had been silent to symbolize the silence the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community feel they must overcome in society. But the crowd at the Wesley Foundation building on Western Michigan University's campus Wednesday night remained quiet for MSU political theory and constitutional democracy junior Nathan Triplett.
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Melrose to combat identity theft with management changes
Melrose Apartments have undergone some management changes in response to allegations that an employee there used tenants' personal information to steal more than $100,000. Residents of the complex, 16789 Chandler Road, soon will be receiving a newsletter with tips on how to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft and the company no longer will accept credit cards as a form of payment, a Melrose spokesman said Wednesday. "The complex is no longer gathering that information so it couldn't be stolen," said Robert Kolt, spokesperson for Atlantis Campus Communities IV, the company that manages Melrose. Additionally, Kolt said, all the files with residents' personal information will be under lock and key.
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Meeting focuses on budget
About 40 people attended an East Lansing City Council meeting and public hearing regarding the city budget Tuesday. Though the meeting was held on campus at the Union's Gold Rooms A and B and allowed for public discussion of the coming year's budget, no MSU students were on hand to address the council during the public comment time. During the meeting, the city's Human Relations Commission presented the council with recommendations for allotting the city's general fund money that comes from taxpayers. Although cuts in city projects were suggested in order to balance the city budget, the commission did not recommend an increase in property taxes. Due to an expected 2005 state budget deficit of $1.3 billion, local governments have received less funding.
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ASMSU officials attend House Appropriations meeting
Lansing - Rifling through a budget lit by sunlight from a side window in the state House Appropriations room, Andrew Bell checked line by line to make sure higher education appropriations hadn't changed. Wednesday morning, Bell, ASMSU's director of legislative affairs, attended the first of four state House higher education subcommittee meetings to determine next year's Michigan college and university funding. "We're going to make sure we're not left out of anything, that nothing slips by us," Bell said.
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Business as usual for reopened pizza shop
Gumby's Pizza recently reopened after a four-month hiatus, and while its manager says business is better than ever, some former customers aren't returning. The pizza shop closed in December when a water pipe burst in its building, 311 W.
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Bill aims to teach abstinence
Some Michigan legislators are pushing to change the way sex education is taught in public schools, switching the focus of programs to abstinence, rather than safe sex. Sen.
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Student charged with fraud, theft seeks bond reduction from judge
The MSU student accused of fraud and identity theft will be in court today for a second bond-reduction hearing.
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Skater's paradise
Matt Wein stands tall in a land of giants. The curly-haired 12-year-old stretches to almost five feet next to his older skatepark friends, but he warns that his skateboard skills are separate from his height. On a recent late afternoon, he waited among the silhouetted crowd for another chance to frontside boardslide the angled rail posing in front of them. Wein skates almost every day with his friends at the Ranney Skate Park, 300 Frandor Ave.
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Accused murderer of prof set to begin trial
The man accused of the November killing of an MSU professor will stand trial today, when a judge is expected to decide if he is not guilty by reason of insanity. Bramlett Hamilton, 36, is accused of killing his mother and MSU professor Ruth Simms Hamilton.