Heidi Wenger is sick of paying high fees to get her money out of the bank.“Banks usually charge outrageous fees,” said the finance graduate student, who withdraws money using ATMs nearly every day.
Engineering freshman Jonathan Sedon hadn’t heard about the massive immunization effort for meningitis on campus a year ago, or reports about a student hospitalized with the potentially deadly disease. But he got his shot anyway. “My mom told me to get the vaccination,” said Sedon, who received a vaccination for meningitis before he came to MSU.
LANSING - Traffic officials say they’re prepared for the closure of Interstate-496 through downtown at 6:01 p.m.
U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers will forgo nearly an additional $10,000 a year in his pension by changing his date of resignation from the state Senate.The Brighton Republican, who had originally resigned Jan.
Gov. John Engler appointed former state Treasurer Doug Roberts to take over his old post Thursday.Roberts will replace current Treasurer Mark Murray, who was selected to become Grand Valley State University’s next president.
ANN ARBOR - Two days after a federal judge ordered the University of Michigan law school to stop using race in its admissions policies, the Rev.
With natural gas prices soaring, universities across the state are scrambling to pay high heating bills. “We have a budget shortfall of about $1.4 million,” said Rick Duffett, vice president for administration and finance at Ferris State University.
Threats to MSU’s state funding increases may have been previewed Wednesday, when the state House narrowly voted down an amendment that would have redistributed much of the university’s $22.5 million increase to other universities.The House passed the Higher Education Appropriation’s bill without changing the 7 percent increase slated for the university.
Michigan’s population is growing slower than the national average, according to census numbers released Wednesday by the U.S.
LANSING - With the November election debacle still a not-so-distant memory, Michigan election officials are thinking of ways to improve the state’s voting process.Voting equipment vendors from across the nation gathered to show their systems to lawmakers and clerks at the Michigan Department of State Voting Technology Fair on Wednesday at the Lansing Center, 333 E.
KALAMAZOO -President Bush spoke about revitalizing a slowing economy Tuesday on the campus of Western Michigan University - it was his first trip to Michigan as the nation’s chief executive. Bush outlined his economic goals of broad-based tax relief, paying down the national debt and ensuring the future of social security to business leaders, politicians and a handful of students that made-up roughly 1,000 people in attendance. The stop was the 16th on a national tax-cut tour aimed at gaining grassroots support for Bush’s economic plan, which he presented to a joint session of Congress last month.
The Capital Area Transportation Authority Board decided unanimously Tuesday to raise the single-ride bus fare for students, senior citizens and people with disabilities from 25 cents to 50 cents.The increase will take effect a week before the start of the fall semester.Prices for student bus passes also will rise in 2002, with monthly pass prices moving from $12.50 to $14, semester passes from $40 to $45 and annual passes from $60 to $70.CATA Executive Director Sandy Draggoo said the board’s decision didn’t come as a surprise, following a year of heightened gas and insurance costs.“You don’t have any public transit system that covers all expenses,” she said.
Americans are not getting enough sleep and going through life being drowsy, according to the results of a study released this week by the National Sleep Foundation.As part of National Sleep Awareness Week, which continues through Friday, the foundation released the poll reporting 63 percent of Americans do not get the recommended eight hours of sleep needed for good health, safety and optimum performance.Marsha Stein, spokeswoman for the National Sleep Foundation, said people are not making the connection between sleep and health.“The proper amount of sleep is needed to get the health benefits people are looking for,” she said.
Students and legislators are joining efforts to repeal a ban on federal financial aid to students with drug convictions.The law, which went into effect July 1, denies students federal financial aid who have been convicted of drug possession for one year from the date of the conviction, and two years from the second offense.
LANSING - Because of a slowing national economy, cities around Michigan may have to cut back on their spending budgets - but not Lansing. Lansing Mayor David Hollister proposed a $102.5 million budget plan Monday for fiscal year 2001-02 - a 3.1 percent increase from last year’s budget - to the Lansing City Council. “We were able to avoid cutbacks,” Hollister said.
President Bush will visit Michigan today for the first time while in office to give a speech on his economic plan at the campus of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo.Bush is the first sitting president to visit Kalamazoo since 1911, when William Howard Taft served as president.“This is part of the president’s effort to build support for his economic agenda that includes tax relief, funding our priorities and paying down the national debt,” White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said.The stop will be Bush’s 16th appearance on his national tax-cut tour since addressing a joint session of Congress on Feb.
Michigan lawmakers will be belting out ideas to encourage Michigan motorists to buckle up. The state Senate is scheduled this week to discuss bills that would increase penalties for those guilty of not using their safety belts.The bills would limit the number of passengers in a vehicle to the number of safety belts available, and would make a safety belt violation a two-point penalty on a person’s driver’s license.
Ingham County’s new No. 2 prosecutor sees her job as something more than locking criminals up and throwing away the key.Instead, Joyce Draganchuk says she has a duty to do what is fair and just - whether that means pursuing life in prison or a plea to a lesser charge.“People think all the prosecutor wants to do is put everyone in jail,” said the 13-year veteran of the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office.
The East Lansing City Council will discuss the operations for the city’s new Family Aquatic Center at today’s work session. Although representatives from the East Lansing Parks and Recreation Department will be making recommendations about entrance fees, council members will make the final decision. “I think that what they’ve presented us with is reasonable,” Mayor Pro Tem Beth Schwarze said.
Wall Street investors saw a bear awake from a long hibernation, as slowing growth, especially in technologies, has impacted the economy.The Dow Jones industrial average, the most widely used index to the New York Stock Exchange, slipped into bear market territory - a 20 percent decrease from a previous high - before a late Thursday rally and a strong day on Friday, which contributed to the market’s 9,505 points close.Thursday’s low of 9,107 was down roughly 22 percent from the market’s all-time high of 11,723 on Jan.