Programs praised for teen pregnancy drop

Low pregnancy rates among teenagers show more teens are saying sex can wait. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the national teen pregnancy rate dropped 22 percent since 1991. For every 1,000 females ages 15 to 19, there were 48.7 births in 2000. Factors for lower pregnancy rates include more awareness of HIV, AIDS and other STDs, effective contraceptives and education, said Joy Whitten, a community specialist at Planned Parenthood of Mid-Michigan, 300 N.

Aides tour research facilities

U.S. congressional representatives for Michigan legislators made their way to MSU to tour the university and its research facilities.The group wrapped up a three-day tour of Michigan research universities.

Camera improves cancer detection

For $400, the average gadget guru can buy a digital camera suitable for holiday snapshots and family portraits.For around $400,000, MSU’s Department of Radiology bought a digital camera made to save lives.The camera is actually a digital mammography unit, which allows doctors to take a snapshot of all areas of the breast.“You record images and download them,” said Arlene Sierra, director of clinical services for the department.

Energy usage surges to record level with heat

Staying cool takes more than just a good pair of sunglasses and a leather jacket.It takes energy.Electricity use jumped recently as Michigan residents battled summer heat with fans and air conditioners.Jackson-based Consumers Energy set a record for power usage with 7,780 megawatts from 2 p.m.

Restaurants clear out smoke, gain more business

More Michigan restaurants are throwing out ashtrays and adopting no-smoking policies. Smoke-free restaurants have increased by 200 to come to a total of 3,000, according to the “Dining Smoke-Free in Michigan” guide for 2001, which lists smoke-free restaurants. According to state figures, Grand Rapids had 135 smoke-free restaurants; Traverse City, 127; Ann Arbor, 106; Muskegon, 86; Kalamazoo, 82; and Lansing had 63. Scott Walker, the director of health promotions in the state Department of Community Health, said a smoke-free atmosphere is in demand among 76 percent of nonsmokers in Michigan.

Green rally to celebrate student grassroots activism

Campus Greens, a student activist political organization, will invite students from across the country to spread their roots this weekend.

Classic car show to raise funds for charity

Classic cars are going to make MSU’s campus a safer place this weekend. Cars on Campus and the MSU Alumni Association are sponsoring a weekend of charity events to benefit MSU Safe Place and Highfields Inc. MSU Safe Place works to help those who experience domestic violence within the MSU community.

Police briefs 08/09/01

Projects put Michigan deeper in debt

Michigan is borrowing more money to fund government building projects, instead of paying upfront.As a result, the state has gone deeper in debt.

Legislators offer solutions to tuition hike criticisms

It’s been more than two weeks since Lt. Gov. Dick Posthumus sent a questioning letter about tuition increases to university presidents around the state.In response, many of the presidents have called or written with arguments for their increases.“Everyone has a different answer,” Posthumus said.

City hopes to aid at-risk youth

College may not be a long shot for at-risk teens in Lansing, who can earn scholarships by staying in school. The Helping Other People Excel Scholarship Program will aim to provide two-year Lansing Community College scholarships to 500 at-risk seventh-graders in Lansing schools each year. “H.O.P.E.

Police briefs 08/08/01

Professor heads pop culture association

It was 1962 when the Main Library decided to expand its collection beyond agricultural studies and Shakespeare.Nearly 40 years later, more than 250,000 popular culture pieces rest in the library’s growing Special Collections - and pop culture studies at MSU keep growing.Gary Hoppenstand, an American Thought and Language professor and associate department chairman, was elected president of the Popular Culture Association, a 3,000-member organization dedicated to the scholarly study of pop culture of all kinds.“It entails quite a bit,” Hoppenstand said.

Classic cars compete for zoo charity event

LANSING - Children could ride the ponies while car fanatics could check out the Mustangs.On Sunday, the Capital City Corvette Club hosted a benefit car show at the Potter Park Zoo, 1301 S.

Police briefs 08/06/01

Glass art exhibit heats up gallery

On a hot Sunday afternoon, people were doing their best to stay out of the 90-degree heat. But some stopped to watch a man play with 2,000-degree molten glass anyway.Art Allison, from Pottsboro, Texas, was demonstrating the art of glassblowing to spectators outside of Mackerel Sky, 217 Ann St.“I’ve been doing this for 22 years now and this is what I like to do,” Allison said.Allison was in East Lansing for a demonstration that was part of the First Sunday Gallery Walk, which is a coalition of East Lansing and Lansing galleries that hold exhibitions for the public on the first Sunday of every other month.Allison started working with glass while a student at Kent State University in 1979, and since then has made a living out of it.“All it is is just blowing a bubble and then decorating it,” he said.

Candidates hope for voter turnout increase in primaries

Candidates for East Lansing City Council are encouraging residents to vote. The primary election, which will send four of the eight candidates to the Nov.

Camp bridges technology gap

Michigan area middle-schoolers have been trying their hands at new technology during the third annual Kids Learning In Computer Klubhouses, or KLICK, Leadership Camp, held on MSU’s campus this week. The KLICK program is an after-school program designed to teach middle-schoolers of low economic backgrounds or communities how to use new technology.

GED test evolves to comply with current high school standards

The last time the General Educational Development test was rewritten, the New Kids on the Block had a hit album, John DiBiaggio was the president of MSU and the Berlin Wall was still standing.Like music and history, high school education has changed, and come Jan.

Garden Day offers creative workshops

At MSU Garden Day, participants’ imaginations will run wild, with new ideas to make their gardens a work of art. The all-day event, which will start at 8 a.m.