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MICHIGAN

Union members demonstrate against workers without credentials

Kris Turner
October 11, 2006

A contractor hired to change the lighting in buildings around campus used uncertified electricians to do a majority of the work, according to a letter sent to MSU officials by an electrician's union Tuesday. Tom Eastwood, assistant business manager of IBEW Local 665, the union based in Lansing, said of the 22 electricians working on the project from November 2003 to July 2004, only one had the correct certification to be doing the job. "State law requires there be licensed supervision at all times on a project," Eastwood said.

MICHIGAN

Teen teaches duct tape skills

Tara Thoel
October 10, 2006

Haslett — Blue, green, pink, yellow and black rolls of duct tape rested on two tables as more than a dozen middle school students listened intently. Soon, those rolls were transformed into rainbows of wallets and bookmarks. William Beacom, a 16-year-old from Midland, performed his duct tape show Monday afternoon at the Capital Area District Library branch in Haslett. "I've always been kind of crazy, and this is just (one of) those weird things that I've done and (it) turned out to be a job for me," Beacom said. For five years, he taught himself how to make other various items out of duct tape, such as vests, shoes, hats and a carryall bag he is now creating. Beacom makes $75 a show, plus mileage. Ann Chapman, head librarian of the Haslett library, said the duct tape show was the first of a once-a-month craft day for students. Most of the students came after their school day at Haslett Middle School and said the duct tape show would be interesting and fun. "It's something to occupy me while I'm waiting for my mom — it's productive and it's fun," said Matthew Britton, a seventh-grader at Haslett Middle School.

MSU

GE, mtvU offer $25K for earth-friendly ideas

Alex Altman
October 10, 2006

General Electric Co. and mtvU have teamed up to motivate college students to save the environment. In early September, the groups announced the "ecomagination Challenge," a nationwide contest encouraging college students to think of inventive, cost-conscious ways to improve their campus environments. "We essentially partnered with (General Electric) because we started hearing that the environment and global warming were becoming very serious issues," mtvU general manager Stephen Friedman said.

MSU

College to offer organic farming

Fredricka Paul
October 10, 2006

People now have a chance to get their hands dirty while earning a certificate in organic farming at MSU. The yearlong Organic Farming Certificate Program begins in January and will include a lot of hands-on experience, such as an internship, said Eunice Foster, associate dean for undergraduate and certificate programs in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. "The program has been in development for a couple of years," Foster said.

MICHIGAN

Pizza House delivery man robbed at gunpoint

A carryout of a different kind occurred Oct. 3 when a Pizza House delivery man was robbed at gunpoint of $175 in cash and two pizzas outside Deerpath Apartments in East Lansing, police said. At about 4:10 a.m., the 31-year-old delivery man was making his last delivery of the night when two men with guns approached him from behind as he tried to buzz into the building, East Lansing police Det.

MSU

ASMSU condemns Young Americans for Freedom event

Cash Kruth
October 10, 2006

Student government officials took an active stance by passing a bill condemning "Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day" last Thursday during an ASMSU Student Assembly meeting. Mark Dobson, vice president of the Residence Halls Association, introduced the bill to ASMSU, MSU's undergraduate student government, after he gained support for passing a similar bill within the undergraduate residential government. The event was planned by MSU student group Young Americans for Freedom, or YAF, after the planning of the University of Michigan's YAF event.

MSU

Day focuses on native people

Lindsay Machak  and  Alex Altman
October 10, 2006

Many students on campus celebrated Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday instead of Columbus Day. Some student groups, such as the North American Indigenous Student Association, or NAISO, refer to the event as Indigenous Peoples Day because Christopher Columbus claimed the Americas when natives were already there, NAISO co-chairperson Vanessa Welch said. "People that don't know about Native American culture say that Columbus found America when really North Americans were already there," the studio art sophomore said.

MICHIGAN

Organization gathers donations, food for local people in need

Sarah Harbison
October 10, 2006

Carl Berggren is 52 years old. He suffers from bipolar disorder and lives on a fixed income. Right now, he's taking classes at Lansing Community College in hopes of eventually working with substance abuse victims. For Berggren and 50,000 others in the Lansing area, programs like the Michigan Harvest Gathering make life a little easier. "It's beautiful to be able to turn to an organization when things are tight," Berggren said of the fundraising campaign to raise $350,000 and 500,000 pounds of food for food banks throughout the state. "It's people helping people," Berggren said. The 16th annual Michigan Harvest Gathering began in September and runs until Nov.

MICHIGAN

City continues to work with development firm

Kris Turner
October 9, 2006

Although the job history of a company working on the East Village project wasn't made explicitly clear to some of the area's property owners, the business will continue doing preliminary studies for the project. Representatives from The Pierce Company of San Diego, Calif., didn't mention in some meetings with East Village property owners and city officials that they weren't working on a similar redevelopment project at San Diego State University.

MSU

Committees created to include faculty input

Fredricka Paul
October 9, 2006

Five committees were created to help resolve major issues after MSU faculty members said they wanted more input on decisions made within the university. The committees, called the Faculty Voice Task Forces, were created in September 2005 and worked throughout the spring.

MICHIGAN

Appreciating Autumn

Laura Leebove
October 9, 2006

Dressed in jeans, a button-down shirt and red suspenders, Cliff Welsch grabbed two heaping handfuls of apples, which would be pressed into fresh cider Saturday at the Student Organic Farm Harvest Fest. Welsch guided people through the cider-making process using a wooden press he and his wife, Margaret, bought 30 years ago.

MSU

Officials propose new music college

Cash Kruth
October 6, 2006

The addition of a new academic college could be music to the ears of some MSU students and officials. Academic Assembly received a proposal from university officials on Tuesday to support the School of Music's move to becoming a college.

MSU

Student organic farm to host informative event

Laura Leebove
October 6, 2006

The Student Organic Farm Harvest Fest will be held from 1-5 p.m. Saturday. The farm was created in 1999 to provide information to students regarding organically grown food. Events featured at the festival include fresh food, hayrides, farm tours, cider-pressing, face-painting and a pie-eating contest, among other things. The festival will feature live music from local bands Head and Toe, A Story Told and Dali Rocket. The farm is located at 3291 College Road in Holt.

MICHIGAN

MCRI sides square off, challenge its merits

Kristyn Peterson
October 6, 2006

Lansing — Opposing sides of a Michigan ballot proposal to ban some state affirmative action programs squared off Thursday in Lansing. The Inforum Center for Leadership sponsored a Michigan Civil Rights Initiative debate at the Lansing Sheraton hotel between MCRI Executive Director Jennifer Gratz, who supports the initiative, and Bruce Courtade, a Grand Rapids lawyer who opposes it.

MICHIGAN

Career Gallery offers jobs in, out of state

Gabrielle Russon
October 6, 2006

To stay or not to stay? That's the question many MSU students must ask themselves after the annual two-day Career Gallery ended at Breslin Center Thursday. Sixty-four percent of last year's graduates who were in-state students remained in Michigan, said Phil Gardner, director of research at the Collegiate Employment Research Institute. "It's slowly gone down," Gardner said, adding that the figure was about 75 percent in the late '90s. This year's graduating class must make a similar decision. During the Career Gallery, students eyed 355 different companies that offered different location possibilities across the country. Chris Terrell, who attended the job fair, lives in a townhouse with three roommates who are all business majors.

MICHIGAN

Cheney talks terror, tax cuts

Alex Altman
October 6, 2006

Bath Township — Vice President Dick Cheney said the United States must reject any strategy that hinders the war on terror Thursday afternoon during a Republican fundraiser in Bath Township, located seven miles north of East Lansing. "Terrorists are still trying desperately to commit acts of violence," Cheney said.

MICHIGAN

Gov.'s plan aims to keep grads in Mich.

Lindsey Poisson
October 6, 2006

Michigan will now pay for college graduates to stay in the state. Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced a plan Thursday to entice graduates to stay in Michigan by offering low-interest housing loans in communities that need economic development. The low-interest loans, which go into effect Monday, are only applicable in eight Michigan cities, that "need some additional assistance," Granholm said Thursday. "They are communities that have been struggling in the past, and we want to urge dynamic people to move into each of them and provide a carrot for you to do that," Granholm said.

MICHIGAN

Free business: Apply here

Gabrielle Russon
October 5, 2006

Want free real estate for your own business? It's more realistic than you think. All you have to do is write an essay and pay a $100 entry fee. "It's no joke," said Frank Lain, a Lansing resident who is active on city boards. Lain, paired with business owner Larry Carr, will give away 2,500 square feet of retail space in Lansing, worth about $325,000. The essay contest has three questions: Why do you want a business?