Mich. traffic projected to worsen

Future congestion of highway traffic could be a problem by the year 2026 for the state of Michigan, a research group in Washington, D.C.

Police briefs 07/10/06

E.L. City Council will meet again next week

The East Lansing City Council will not meet this week. It will resume next week at 7:30 p.m. on July 18 in City Hall, 410 Abbott Road.

MSU student wins LGBT scholarship

An academic, an activist, a role model and now a Point Scholarship recipient — Lauren Beach has accomplished many things during her time at MSU, and she said she is by no means close to finished in the pursuit of her goals. Beach, a social relations and microbiology senior, was surprised she won the prestigious scholarship for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, or LGBT, students. "It was like a big fluke," she said.

State may increase education funding

Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the state Senate and House of Representatives have come to an agreement on the state's fiscal year budget for 2007, but now they have to iron out its details. Granholm, speaker of the House Craig DeRoche, R-Novi, and Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema, R-Wyoming, released the budget June 30.

30-year-old music haven closing

Nestled between businesses on Grand River Avenue, The Grand Wazoo has been a fixture in East Lansing for 30 years. The store, located at 619 E.

Voter registration for primary ends Monday

Monday is the last day to register to vote in the Aug. 8 primary election. Registering to vote can be done at a Secretary of State office, including the one in East Lansing, located at the corner of Albert Avenue and Charles Street.

Police briefs 07/07/06

Funeral to be held for assistant professor

Dr. John W. Kim, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Surgery, died Sunday. Kim, 39, practiced with Lansing Neurosurgical Associates, 575 Ramblewood Dr., and helped train medical school residents during their rotations. The funeral is today at 11 a.m.

Riverwalk offers career networking

Lansing — Young professionals will have an opportunity to build business relationships with some of their peers in the Lansing area at a networking event tonight. Rockin' on the Riverwalk: Networking for the Next Generation of Business Leaders will run from 5-7 p.m.

Old Town trimmings

Lansing — Lou Tallarico, 75, has run Lou's Barber Shop long enough to make it the oldest family-owned barbershop in Lansing. Blue and red barber poles mark the location of the small shop at 521 E.

Court proceedings to continue in home invasion trial

After hearing testimonies on June 30, which included narrative, forensic findings and an alleged confession from a Lansing man charged with attempted home invasion, a district court judge ruled there is enough evidence for criminal court proceedings. Walter Thomas Webster, a 34-year-old Lansing resident, who also has an address in Rockford, Ill., is charged with first-degree home invasion of a second-floor apartment on West Saginaw Highway and the attempted assault with intent to commit sexual penetration of the woman residing there.

Young candidates run for office

A Cooley Law School student running for a seat in the state House of Representatives might find himself learning law while also creating it as the primary elections approach. Jeffrey Lance Abood, from the Lansing area, is running in the Democratic primary for the 69th District House seat on Aug.

Professional program spreads diversity

A program through MSU is helping professionals from other countries connect with those in the workforce in the United States. The Visiting International Professional Program, has been teaching foreign professionals for more than 15 years about business, culture and other global issues that help make them more diversified. "We are helping people who are employed in various degrees, from journalism to business, and teaming them up with one of our own professionals to help understand more about their working area from another point of view," said Sung Soo Chung, head of operations and planning for the program.

Branching out

The large lettering on the side of the five-story brick building makes Independent Bank's new regional location easy to find. Location was one of several reasons the bank chose to move its south Michigan regional headquarters from Okemos, said Kelly Wolgamott, spokeswoman for the regional headquarters.

Former MSU president's father featured on stamp

Former MSU President Clifton R. Wharton Jr. has something new to be proud of. His father, U.S. Ambassador Clifton R.

Medical simulation comes to MSU

First-year doctors can find out how they will fare in real-life medical situations by working with actors and mannequins at MSU. Faculty of the MSU College of Human Medicine are using standardized patients — actors trained to exhibit symptoms of any ailment — and computerized dummies with programmable vital signs to assess the strengths and weaknesses of residents. Residents are doctors who have completed medical school and work in hospitals while pursuing further studies in their preferred areas of specialization. About 250 residents will be participating in the Objective Structured Clinical Evaluation program of the MSU College of Human Medicine. The program began on Friday and will continue on selected days until August at the new Learning and Assessment Center in Fee Hall. "When residents have a clear idea of their skills sets, they can feel more comfortable in their new roles as doctors," said Dr. Dianne Wagner, associate dean for Graduate Medical Education for the MSU College of Human Medicine. Wagner worked closely with other doctors from area hospitals during the past year and a half to develop the evaluation program. Participants are videotaped and evaluated as they go through 10 different stations and perform basic medical procedures on a standardized patient, such as performing a medical examination, evaluating symptoms and recommending treatments, Wagner said. She added that in these scenarios, the actors who stand in as patients also provide feedback to MSU faculty on the interaction skills of the doctor. "This is a good way to take knowledge we learned in school for the past four years and apply it to clinical situations," said Dr. Tracy Riddle, who went through the program and is a physician at the Ingham Regional Medical Center. The doctors also get the chance to save SimMan and MegaCode Kelly. SimMan is a computerized mannequin that can cough, wheeze, gasp and produce different heart and lung sounds. It can be programmed to mimic a critically-ill patient with changing vital signs and can even say, "I'm going to die," Wagner said. MegaCode Kelly is a less sophisticated version of SimMan with changeable parts that can make it either a male or female patient. It got its name because "Kelly" can either be a man or woman, Wagner said. "Working with the dummies gives you a chance to interact with a patient that was not really dying but has serious respiratory and cardiac issues," said Dr. Andrew Riddle, another physician at Ingham Regional Medical Center.

City collects cell phones for donation to developing countries

East Lansing is collecting cell phones to be donated to developing countries. The program receives $30 for each donated phone, and all phones will have personal information removed. The phones can be dropped off at the East Lansing Hannah Community Center, 819 Abbott Road.

Diner stays classic

The interior of the Old Town Diner makes the restaurant look as if it hasn't changed in decades — and in many ways it hasn't. The paneled walls, brown padded booths and stainless steel waitress station at the diner, 516 E.

Study: Condom use may help prevent HPV

People who use condoms every time they have sex could significantly decrease their chances of becoming infected with human papillomavirus, or HPV, according to a recent study at the University of Washington. Researchers studied 82 female students at the university and found the women whose partners always used condoms were 70 percent less likely to get the virus than the women whose partners used condoms less than 5 percent of the time. Even women who used condoms more than half of the time were still 50 percent less likely to contract the virus, according to the study published by The New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday. The study monitored the sexual activities of the women — ages 18 to 22 — by way of electronic diaries.