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Museum ties on aprons for Lansing display
More than 150 aprons will be on display at the Michigan Historical Museum this summer, including some made by Michigan residents.
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Broadband bills could boost economy
Gov. John Engler signed the Broadband package into law Thursday, making high-speed Internet services more available throughout Michigan. Legislators hope the package, consisting of three bills, will encourage businesses to both come to and stay in Michigan, thus boosting the state’s economy.
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U-M graduate union approves contract
Members of the University of Michigan’s Graduate Employees Organization voted Sunday to ratify a new contract with the school. The two sides agreed on child care, health benefits and wages last week.
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Clinic remains stable after state funding cut
Employees and affiliates of Otto Community Health Center still are waiting from the state to restore funding that was cut from the clinic four months ago. The state cut $160,000 in funding for the center in November, along with the funding for 18 other health clinics statewide. Shortly after the decision, Gov.
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Ingham Sheriffs Office hands out awards
Holt - Jeffrey Ribby was employee of the year twice - in the same year. Ribby, a deputy with the Ingham County Sheriff’s Office, was honored Thursday, along with many other office employees in the annual Ingham County Sheriff’s Office Awards Ceremony. Employees received plaques and certificates for jobs including appreciation, bravery and life-saving, signed by Sheriff Gene Wriggelsworth, commending the recipients on a job well done. Ribby won Employee of the Year, which along with the other awards, is picked by an awards board.
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Community group seeks new interns
When Sara Posius graduates this spring, she’ll take with her not only a diploma but also the memories of good relationships with neighbors. The audiology and speech sciences senior is finishing an internship as a neighborhood resource coordinator for the East Lansing Community Relations Coalition. “I liked it because it gives me a chance to meet other people,” Posius said. Others, too, have the opportunity to get involved. There are at least six positions open for students to apply for in the fall 2002 and spring 2003 semesters. The internship asks that interested students have at least a 3.0 grade-point average, training or interest in community building and communication and have plans to live in one of the East Lansing neighborhoods for the academic year.
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Police to hold student relations meeting
The East Lansing Police Department will hold a Police-Student Relations Committee Meeting at 7 p.m. today at Sigma Nu, 110 Oakhill Ave. East Lansing police Sgt.
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Lansing City Council ends bars restraints
It will once again be business as usual at Coscarelli’s Restaurant & Lounge after restrictions imposed by the Lansing City Council were lifted Thursday. The sports bar, 2420 S.
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Engler sets March for GHB awareness
Kelli Richardson enjoys going out on weekends, but she also knows about GHB, ecstasy and other club drugs - and often worries about being exposed to them.“Sometimes when I go out with my friends, I think about someone slipping a drug into my drink,” the microbiology sophomore said.
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Budget problems put ELRA in limbo
The East Lansing Recreation & Arts program may be taken over by the city after severe budget problems and growing debt has plagued it for three years.
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Size of sewer basin undecided
East Lansing is beginning its combined sewer overflow project, Peter Eberz, director of public works said.But determining the size of the retention treatment basin may cause more problems than the money it would save.The basin, a large underground tank, will help take the overflow of sewage, which occurs when the snow melts and the rain falls.The East Lansing Wastewater Treatment Plant, 1700 Trowbridge Road, is unable to hold the influx of water when this occurs.In 1993, the first phases of the overflow project were constructed.
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House passes budget for state universities
The 2002-03 higher education budget passed the state House Thursday, but some MSU officials say the university still has a long road ahead. “Everybody across the state is facing challenging economic times right now,” MSU Trustee David Porteous said.
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Surveys ask U about off-campus living
Jonathan Rosenthal knows students have housing concerns.Rosenthal, the director for community affairs for ASMSU, is using his time to pass out surveys he hopes will open up communication between residents and the city of East Lansing.The program is designed to define the top three issues students face living off campus.“The new breed of student at MSU we are seeing wants to get involved,” the business administration junior said.Rosenthal distributed the surveys in two lecture classes Monday, totaling more than 450 students.The target number of students to be reached is 2,000.The survey comes as a portion of Rosenthal’s attempt, with the cooperation of the city, to open up communication with students.Earlier this month an e-mail address was introduced, but a lack of response has compelled Rosenthal to use another method.The survey is also asking for students to list their address in the city.Each student given the survey is asked to describe the quality of life issues, they would like to see the city improve.Some of the top responses on the survey have been city ordinances, the quality of housing available to students and the cost of rent, Rosenthal said.On Monday, Rosenthal will distribute the survey to another lecture class of 230 students.“The end result is going to be to have an elite university and an elite community,” he said.Deputy City Manager Jean Golden said this is an excellent way to recognize it is up to both students and landlords to solve the problems together, she said.“The landlords were very clear they see students as customers,” she said.
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Union rallies for more benefits
Lansing - About 2,000 union members stood at the steps of the state Capitol on Wednesday in support of unemployment benefits. A large truck painted with the word “Teamsters” circled the block honking its horn in support of the rally, organized by the Michigan State AFL-CIO.
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Court hears case for releasing police files
The Michigan Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday on whether police departments must release documents about internal investigations to the public.In 1998, the Lansing State Journal requested files concerning any complaints investigated by the Lansing Police Department Internal Affairs Bureau from 1997 under the Freedom of Information Act.
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Bill calls for emergency coordinator
Fire extinguishers, sprinkler systems and smoke detectors aren’t free. Personnel to plan for emergencies don’t work without pay either.As part of the anti-terrorism package of bills in the state Legislature, public colleges and universities with more than 25,000 students are required to appoint an emergency management coordinator.
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E.L. police use sports to build youth relations
East Lansing police officers are taking youths to court - where the biggest offense is a double dribble.Basketball season began last week for the Police Athletic League, a program designed to help relations between youths and the East Lansing Police Department.The league was started in 1998 when Officer James Campbell grew tired of watching East Lansing children getting into trouble.“There were kids in the community that didn’t have anything constructive to do,” he said.
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Community security depends on relations
Lansing - Jay Leno’s jokes were falling on silent ears the days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. “If you don’t laugh, the terrorists have won,” Leno jokingly said to the silent audience. This story was told by David Carter, professor of criminal justice and director of the National Center for Community Policing at MSU, on Tuesday during the Homeland Security Seminar. Carter, who put the seminar together, discussed the future of community policing and the importance of maintaining a working relationship with private individuals to fight crime and terrorism. “It’s important to get this message across to the community,” he said.
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Test scores fuel charter school debate
State education officials disagree about the significance of Michigan Educational Assessment Program scores released from a group of charter schools. National Heritage Academies released an analysis of MEAPscores by the Hillsdale Policy Group showing students who attend an academy school for two or more years score higher than students entering an Academy school for the first year.The report said charter school students improved more than their public school counterparts in six of eight test categories and performed better than the state average for fifth and eighth grade writing and eighth grade science.“You’re seeing the evidence that charter schools, being a new public school, are getting dramatic results in education,” said Dan Quisenberry, president of Michigan Association of Public School Academies.But Margaret Trimer-Hartley, director of communications of the Michigan Education Association, disagrees.“There are many other indicators besides the MEAP,” she said.
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Bills would ban commonly-used chemical
A couple of state bills would prohibit businesses from producing a chemical commonly used in upholstery, appliances and plastics. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are useful as a flame retardant.