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Churches honor civil rights leader with blood drives
Leaders of the Diocese of Lansing Office of Black Catholic Ministry don’t want money for Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Group hosts competition for best legal essay
The Violence Policy Center will award one student $3,000 in the first “Alexander Hamilton Second Amendment Student Writing Competition.” Contestants must write an article, essay or law review about the Second Amendment and the decision of the U.S.
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E.L. students achieve perfection on SATs
Emma Tai and Brian Root-Bernstein never expected it -perfection caught them off-guard.The 17-year-old East Lansing High School seniors both scored 1600s on 2001 administrations of the SATs.“I was really surprised,” Tai said.
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Event forecasts E.L.s future
East Lansing officials are hoping more residents will pull out their crystal balls and forecast the future.The city is holding the Big Picture event from 1-5:30 p.m.
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Web courses offer education for time-crunched community
With free time becoming scarcer, businesses are developing classes for Web users who desire to continue their learning. And a local parks department has taken notice. The Lansing Parks and Recreation Department has jumped on the bandwagon offering seven online courses this winter. “More and more, a lot of community ad agencies and school districts are going into (Web courses),” said Denise Lynch, special recreation services coordinator. “We’re just following the trend.” The classes range from “Organize or Agonize” to “How to Start a Home Based Business.” “Normally, when you offer a class and one person signs up you have to cancel the class because you’re dealing with a classroom and an instructor,” she said. “There’s really no minimum for a class because you’re not dealing with an actual 24-hour classroom.” Lynch said online classes offer an alternative for those who wouldn’t be able to fit a traditional class into their schedules. “The only way they would have to come to one of our facilities is if they want to pay in person,” she said. Growth Strategies, a company that sells the classes to the department, has offered them since 2000. The company had offered adult-enrichment classes previous to the online endeavor, but Gary Fugere, president of Growth Strategies, saw an opportunity after listening to complaints of courses not being offered in areas where there was an interest. “I was just a step above a novice computer user,” Fugere said. “I’m an entrepreneur and can smell an opportunity from 100 miles away.” The transition has worked out well for students and for Global Strategies, which offers nine online classes. Compared to many online or dot-com businesses, Fugere has been able to find a market niche, albeit a small one, in which his company can make money. “I’m in one of the most unique markets of all,” he said. “I’m there for Joe Six-pack who says, ‘I’m there because I need some information,’ and he reaches into his wallet and pays for the class.” It is that type of reasoning that could allow for a sustainable online adult-education program, said John Dirkx, MSU associate professor of educational administration. “I hope it grows and I hope it develops but there are a lot of pitfalls along the way,” Dirkx said. For more information on the Lansing Parks and Recreation Department’s online courses, go online at www.parks.cityoflansingmi.com.
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Highway renamed to end confusion
As a way to reduce confusion along the U.S. 27/U.S. 127 corridor, the entire corridor will now be known as U.S.
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International wildlife refuge to be built
Wildlife now has a safe haven between Windsor, Canada and Detroit.The United States reached an agreement with Canada to develop the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge.The 5,000-acre refuge, located on the lower Detroit River, represents the first international refuge in North America, though several exist in Europe.Even though the United States and Canada maintain friendly relations, the refuge took a long time to develop and came about as the result of a common goal, said Scott Flaherty, spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Service.“Everyone was looking for ways to conserve and protect and keep the conservation values in the lower Detroit River in order,” he said.
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Restaurant changes ownership
An old East Lansing restaurant is being sold for the second time in three years. Jerry Norris, Jacquie Norris and Robert Smith, owners of Hobie’s Restaurants, 930 Trowbridge Road, have reached an agreement with Dave Baker, a Holt resident, to sell the 34-year-old restaurant. Baker has worked in restaurants for years but this is his first time owning one. “I wanted to be in the restaurant business,” he said.
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Plan seeks to reduce aquatic-life nuisances
Michigan is starting a program that would help reduce the introduction and spread of foreign aquatic species in the Great Lakes, Lt.
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State faces slowing economy
Lansing - Economists presented a gloomy economic forecast for Michigan legislators Tuesday, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.“A slower economy and fewer jobs means less revenue,” said MSU economics Professor Charles Ballard.
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Reaction to shortened public comment mixed
When city council members abandoned a proposal Monday night that would have ended the broadcast of some public comments and voted on a new proposal, some citizens had mixed reactions.The council voted 6-2 to shorten the amount of time the public has to speak, hoping to end what some council members call “theatrics.”Community activist John Pollard said he is not happy the public is losing three minutes.
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Jacobson Stores, Inc. files for bankruptcy
Jennifer Cousineau, a psychology sophomore, hasn’t lived in East Lansing long but already has established a firm relationship with Jacobson Stores, Inc.“I like it because it has a lot of designer brands that are hard to find,” the California native said.
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E.L. council vote could change U voting precincts
The East Lansing City Council will vote Tuesday on a change to the city’s voting precincts.The precincts needed to be changed once the 2000 federal census had been completed to reflect population changes in the city detected by the election commission.“Everyone in East Lansing will have a new precinct number,” East Lansing City Clerk Sharon Reid said.The city was forced to combine different precincts after the census because of population shifts and requirements made for boundaries to be real, or along actual streets and roads within the city.Along with the new precinct numbers, four locations would be added to the list of voting locations for this year.An attempt was made to keep the original locations, but areas like the Union and Case Hall would be removed.If the revision passes, the locations on campus will be Owen Graduate Hall, Akers Hall and Wilson Hall.
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Stores battle books stolen for profit
Derek Rodriguez spends some of his time at local textbook stores.But the East Lansing police officer isn’t buying books, he is catching people selling stolen textbooks.“Generally people are trying to sell back stolen books and say they are selling it for a friend,” he said.
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MLK speaker to pray for unity, recovery
After 25 years of preaching, Nathaniel Thomas still gets nervous every time he approaches the podium.
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Committee meets to discuss the future of states fiscal budget
Many lawmakers expect Michigan’s budget woes to be reinforced at a meeting with economists today in the Capitol. The directors of the House and Senate fiscal agencies as well as Treasurer Doug Roberts will report to lawmakers on how much the state can expect to collect in taxes this year.
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Law expands aid for disasters
Michigan can now receive assistance from other states during an in-state emergency or disaster under legislation signed by Gov.
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Internships could be scarce
After experiencing one internship at Ford Motor Co., a second internship may be far from guaranteed for Bryce Roebke.“It’ll probably be much tougher to get one,” the mechanical engineering freshman said.
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Plan offers money for city cleanups
Just a decade ago, the store fronts at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Larch Street would have deterred most families from stopping and spending an afternoon in the area.“It was literally adult entertainment,” said Darla Bowen, director of marketing for the Lansing Lugnuts.But the site, formerly polluted by leaking storage tanks and visual eyesores, now houses Oldsmobile Park, 505 E.
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Council will consider E.L. development committee
East Lansing City Council will vote on a proposal to form a committee for the City Center II project Tuesday.If passed, the City Center II Project Development Committee will coordinate the project’s development and inform the East Lansing Downtown Development Authority and the Planning Commission of any progress.City officials say there are interested developers and businesses for the project, but have not made any official commitments.Councilmember Vic Loomis developed the proposal and will serve as liaison to the planning commission for the committee.He said both city center projects involve the public and private sector and the committee was developed with that in mind.“It will define the nature of the project, how large it will be, what will it entail and how to go about attaining the retail,” Loomis said.Loomis said if the council ratifies the proposal Tuesday, then the committee will meet on Wednesday or Thursday.“I think it is going to be ratified Tuesday night, at least at our work session, everyone was comfortable with it,” he said.Mayor Mark Meadows will serve as liaison to the East Lansing Downtown Development Authority for the committee.