E.L. firefighters reach 4-year deal

More than 14 months after their contract expired, East Lansing firefighters have reached a four-year agreement with the city amidst a shrinking budget.The contract seeks a balance between the city's money woes and concerns about staffing and overtime among firefighters, officials on both sides of the agreement say.Fire Union President Don Carter said members are not thrilled with the agreement, but understand that economic troubles cause "some give and take on both sides."The firefighters' contract is among the most expensive for the city, accounting for an estimated $4 million of East Lansing's $30 million general fund, said George Lahanas, the city's human resources director."The budget is tight and health care issues are increasing demands on our shrinking budget," he said.The new contract calls for no reductions in the department's overall staffing levels, which stand at 51 including the chief.One concern among firefighters is the reduction in the minimum number of firefighters required to be on duty at any given time.

Clemency rally to be at noon at Capitol

The Michigan Battered Women's Clemency Project and the Lansing Chapter of the American Civil Rights Union will hold a rally on the steps of the Capitol today at noon. They'll present 20 petitions asking Gov.

Program sends 'U' to under-served areas

MSU will join various university and community health institutions to form the Michigan Center for Health Education Training in the Communities, using a $5 million federal grant. The program, funded by the U.S.

Lecture to discuss autoworker today

Auto worker and labor organizer James Boggs will be discussed in a symposium presented by the African American and African Studies departments today. Writer Grace Lee Boggs will speak on "James Boggs: The Man, Organic Intellectual and Activist." A roundtable discussion called "Race and Labor in 21st Century America: Lessons from James Boggs" will follow. Grace Lee Boggs was trained as a philosopher and was once partners with James Boggs in what the departments are calling "the struggle for a new America." The symposium, called "James Boggs' 'The American Revolution: Pages from a Negro Worker's Notebook' - 40 Years Later," runs from 1 to 5:15 p.m.

State requests funding to fight beetle, save trees

Michigan legislators are asking Congress for an additional $42.7 million to combat the Emerald Ash Borer and protect the remaining 700 million ash trees across the state. The U.S.

Candidates to hold 3-day, Arab-issue conference

Leading presidential candidates will address the Arab-American community for the first time on the campaign trail this weekend in Dearborn.The Arab American Institute will host a three-day conference in metro Detroit, home to the largest concentration of Arab Americans outside of the Middle East - with about 403,000 people of Arab descent.The event has attracted eight presidential candidates and representatives from President Bush's re-election campaign to speak either in person or via satellite.Civil liberties, U.S.

Conference to look at African concerns

Concerns about Africa will be addressed today at the 20th Annual World Food Day Teleconference. "Collaboration or Calamity: Africa in Peril" features Urban Jonsson, UNICEF regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa.

Task force to address defense funding

Members of Michigan's judicial system are working to change public defense practices.The Institute for Public Policy and Social Research sponsored a forum Wednesday titled "Reducing the Corrections Budget through Effective Public Defense" for senators, MSU-DCL College of Law faculty and state officials.The forum offered the information from a task force assigned to make recommendations to reformat Michigan's defense system.According to the task force, Michigan offers no state funding for trial defense services and assigned counsel receive some of the lowest wages in the country.

Work continues on campus accessibility

It's the seemingly little things. A toilet paper holder at the proper height. Door signs with Braille. Or it's the big things.

Swing Society hosts dance lessons

More than 60 people concentrated as the smooth sounds of jazz rhythmically pulsed throughout the MSU Union Ballroom on Tuesday night.

Police briefs 10/16/03

Planetarium to hold astronomy lecture

The MSU Department of Physics and Astronomy will present a lecture titled "Black Holes, Quasars and the Birth of Galaxies," at 7:30 p.m.

Simulation Day depicts life with a disability

Matthew Clark said it was difficult to use the bathrooms in Wells Hall while he was in a wheelchair.Clark, a landscape architecture senior, participated in a simulation, one of the many events planned for Accessibility Awareness Week.

Nuclear vessel burial concerns some officials

A 290-ton nuclear reactor vessel left its home Oct. 7 at Big Rock Point nuclear plant en route to South Carolina for burial, leaving some state officials concerned over safety and public notification procedures.Kevin Kamps, a nuclear waste specialist with the Nuclear Information & Resource Service in Washington, D.C., said the nuclear reactor vessel, which left its second destination in the Gaylord area early Tuesday, is like a moving X-ray machine that can't be turned off."The government is not requiring advance notification to emergency officials and not requiring security," he said, adding that the reactor vessel contains low-level radioactive waste.

Proposal to integrate departments heads to Trustees

A proposal to integrate three departments within the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources was approved by the Executive Committee of Academic Council on Tuesday.

ASMSU drafts amendments to change 6-week-old noise law

In the week following an ASMSU-sponsored forum for student input on the East Lansing party-noise ordinance, officials from MSU's undergraduate student government have been drafting amendments to the policy using concerns addressed by students at the meeting.Lynsey Little, ASMSU director of community affairs and chairwoman of the University Student Commission, said both student organizations will create a proposal to amend the six-week-old ordinance.

Police briefs 10/15/03

Phone campaign aids shelters

By donating an old or unwanted cell phone to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan this month, residents can help support victims of domestic violence.

Visa requirements may hinder 'U'

There are more international students at MSU this year, but it's becoming more difficult to come to the United States and stay at the university, students and administrators say.This year, MSU has 154 new International students, bringing total enrollment to 3,277.

Marines readjusting after service in Iraq

A group of about 60 Lansing Marines arrived in southern California on Monday after nearly eight months in Iraq.