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News | Michigan

MICHIGAN

Street lights added in E.L.

Sarah Frank
February 19, 2003

The city of East Lansing and surrounding areas are beginning efforts to make the Northern Tier community safer for pedestrians and residents, starting with street lights. Lights were constructed along the stretch of Abbott Road between Lake Lansing Road and the Clinton County line last month and were turned on over the weekend, East Lansing City Manager Ted Staton said. Staton said the new street lights were part of a plan to increase safety on the roadway ever since the land north of Lake Lansing Road came into the city. Staton stressed the importance of the lights and wondered when they will be added north of Clinton County. "The volume of traffic out there just requires it," he said. Two female MSU students were hit by a car in the area, one of them killed, while walking along the unlit streets in October.

MICHIGAN

Unpaid taxes could be trouble for The Dollar

Benita Mehta
February 18, 2003

Lansing - The owner of The Dollar Nightclub is not responsible for the $80,000-$90,000 owed to the city in back taxes, council members say. Lansing City Councilmember Brian Jeffries said the person who owns the property The Dollar stands on, not the club owner, is in debt to the city.

MICHIGAN

Tracking system monitors international students

International students who have crossed the planet to seek an education at MSU will now have their personal information traced wherever they venture - and available on the Internet.On Saturday, the Immigration and Naturalization Services, or INS, released an updated tracking system allowing faster access to information on foreign college students.SEVIS, the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, will now have a quicker version of long-standing procedures requiring colleges to monitor the academic status and address of foreign students online.SEVIS requires colleges to forward personal information - such as an international student's failure to enroll or arrest record - to a national computer database.

MICHIGAN

Impression 5 offers learning, fun experience on Saturdays

Beth Clute
February 18, 2003

Lansing - Children can try combine playing with bubbles and learning at a science exhibit at the Impression 5 Science Center inLansing on Saturdays. The exhibit will explain the phenomenon of bubbles - including why they pop in the air and how they form. Visitors at the center, 200 Museum Drive, will be surrounded by bubbles and adults and children can explore the opportunity to discover the mysteries of the soapy concoctions. "We have different programs every Saturday to promote hands-on activity and this Saturday will be the Phil Ginotti Super Bubble Mania Saturday," said the center's interpretive program manager Erik Larson. The Phil Ginotti Super Saturdays are made possible through contributions made to the center in memory of Ginotti who was a past vice president of the center.

MICHIGAN

Cause for fire killing twin boys unknown

A fire Monday afternoon on Martin Street in Lansing killed 2-year-old twin boys, Lansing fire Capt. Marvin Helmker said.Firefighters responded to a fire call on the 1600 block of Martin Street and when they arrived they saw "heavy fire coming out of a second-story window," Helmker said.Firefighters first searched the house for residents inside the home and found the twin boys dead in an upstairs bedroom.

MICHIGAN

Capitol Update

Joey Guillen  and  Sarah Frank
February 17, 2003

Children's Caucus will address quality of life Rep. Michael Murphy, D-Lansing, and three fellow Michigan legislators will co-chair the Children's Caucus in order to "protect and promote children's interests in the Legislature." Gov.

MICHIGAN

Stabenow's wedding is small, family affair

Chad Previch
February 17, 2003

U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow kept wedding plans to marry her former staff member Tom Athans private. The small, family ceremony took place in Lansing on Sunday, a spokesman for Stabenow said. Stabenow will keep her last name and not hyphenate it.

MICHIGAN

City might shut down The Dollar Nightclub

Benita Mehta
February 17, 2003

Lansing - The Dollar Nightclub, 3411 E. Michigan Ave., may have to shut its doors at the end of the month if they don't pay their $80,000-$90,000 debt in back taxes to the city. "The bar will be up for sale if they don't pay their debt by the end of the month," Lansing City Council President Carol Wood said.

MICHIGAN

Spring breakers get their tan on

Casey Mcnenly
February 14, 2003

For the next two weeks, it may not be so easy to schedule a reservation at a tanning salon.The two weeks preceding the annual pilgrimage to warmer destinations will clog East Lansing's tanning salons.

MICHIGAN

E.L. fire suspect violates parole

Chad Previch
February 14, 2003

A man charged with setting fire to an East Lansing Ramada Inn, 1100 Trowbridge Road is being sent back to Virginia after he violated his parole with a trip to Michigan, police say.Sean McCoy, 35, was living in Virginia under probation for a 1993 grand larceny and forgery conviction and was not supposed to leave the state.McCoy, was charged for setting the fire to the hotel in November, causing enough damage to shut the hotel down.At the time of the fire, McCoy was working as a utility worker at the hotel."For all intensive purposes if Virginia wants him, they'll get him," said David Merchant, McCoy's former attorney.

MICHIGAN

Increased tension overseas causes gas hikes at home

Gasoline prices in the Lansing area have soared to some of the highest levels recorded in nearly two years, and a AAA spokesperson said it "seems unjustified." On Tuesday, a gallon of regular unleaded, self-serve gasoline sold for $1.79 in some area stations - one of the highest prices seen in 18 months, AAA Michigan spokesman Jim Rink said. The AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Index said the statewide average gas price rose to $1.67 this week. The index, which surveys 300 gas stations across the state, also reported the average price per gallon for self-serve, regular unleaded gasoline last February was $1.21. "Typically, this is the time of year when gasoline prices are at their lowest," Rink said.

MICHIGAN

Group warns about telemarketing scams

Sarah Frank
February 14, 2003

Telephone scam artists are taking advantage of telephone customers and illegally obtaining credit card information and Social Security numbers, AARP officials say.The AARP, formerly called the American Association of Retired Persons, is warning people about scam artists targeting those who wish to be put on a list to stop getting solicitation calls.A law passed in December by then-Gov.

MICHIGAN

Crime down in Lansing

Violent crime in Lansing decreased overall from 2001-02, Lansing police Lt. Bruce Ferguson said. Crimes including murder, rape and robberies were down 6.4 percentage points and other crimes were down by 7 percentage points. The department has paid attention to getting to know individuals in the city to cut down on crime, Ferguson said. Ferguson said this year the city has seen several shootings, however, and it's working to decrease crime even further. Chad Previch

MICHIGAN

African dancers celebrate history

Lansing - The sound of pounding drums filled the air as an audience of more than 100 sat transfixed, watching African dancers dressed in brightly colored cloth moving. A couple of men and women, clothed in vivid orange, crimson and dark green patterned outfits and brightly colored beads floated through the gymnasium doors, assembled themselves in front of the crowd. The began an array of lively circular swaying movements along with the rhythm of the drum.