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MICHIGAN

Overcrowded area jail releases inmates

Ingham County Sheriff’s Office officials were forced to release nearly 50 inmates Friday because of overcrowding.State law forces jail administrators to bring the inmate population down to capacity if it remains above for seven consecutive days.

MICHIGAN

Amtrak keeps E.L. stops

Megan Dowd takes Amtrak’s International Route from East Lansing home to Chicago at least once a month.Fortunately for Dowd, the Michigan Transportation Committee approved a $5.7 million subsidy for Amtrak last week in order to save two of its most popular routes running.The approval follows plans by the 22,000-mile passenger rail system to reroute its train service, cutting the stops in East Lansing as well as Durand, Flint, Lapeer and Port Huron, in order to save money.Dowd, a communication freshman from Winnetka, Ill., is relieved that her route will not be removed.“If it weren’t here I wouldn’t be able to get home,” she said Sunday after stepping off a train.

MICHIGAN

Stabenow, Levin regard presidency with few celebrations

WASHINGTON - It’s like attending the Academy Awards, minus a nomination.While U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin are no thespians, they can likely relate to the actors who attend the annual glitzy gala despite lacking a chance to win.You see, Michigan’s two senators are Democrats.And this was no Democratic weekend.

MICHIGAN

Stabenow, Levin regard presidency with few celebrations

WASHINGTON - It’s like attending the Academy Awards, minus a nomination.While U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin are no thespians, they can likely relate to the actors who attend the annual glitzy gala despite lacking a chance to win.You see, Michigan’s two senators are Democrats.And this was no Democrat weekend.

MSU

Employees rewarded for valor

Two Breslin Student Events Center workers were recognized Sunday for their efforts in saving a woman’s life at a November concert.Ron Hanson, a Breslin Center ticket taker, and Jason Lilly, who worked as a student usher, were given the MSU Department of Police and Public Safety’s Life Saving Award and made honorary members of the department.

MICHIGAN

E.L. police department starts academy

East Lansing police are hoping to mirror the outreach successes of some area agencies by starting its own citizens police academy.Department officials will spend the next 11 weeks training 20 people what it means to be a police officer.

MSU

Manager briefly returns to ASMSU

Just three weeks after her retirement as ASMSU’s longtime business office manager, Jeanne Fancher is returning to the position - in a more part-time capacity.The ASMSU Student Assembly passed a bill Thursday that reinstates Fancher as an interim business office manger until a full-time replacement is hired.

MSU

Groups remember Roe v. Wade

Today campus groups will begin to recognize the 28th anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion.Zoology junior Hillary Noyes said there will be representatives from Planned Parenthood of Michigan at the Union from 11 a.m.

MSU

Library exhibit walks U through history

Those interested in the Revolutionary War can stop by the Main Library to observe letters from former President George Washington and other historical documents. The library is holding an exhibit titled “History Through the Eyes of Congress: Soldiers of the Revolutionary War,” which will be displayed until Feb.

MICHIGAN

Delts plan to move back to old house

It was a sad day in 1996 when the Iota chapter of Delta Tau Delta, struggling with finances and low membership, was shut down by its national chapter and members were kicked out of the house they had occupied for about 30 years. For three years there was nothing - no recruitments, no philanthropies, no parties.

MSU

Group to fight for gay rights

A group of students plans to resurrect a campus activist group to fight for lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgendered rights. Interdisciplinary studies in humanities senior Carrie Copeland and journalism junior David Warden are the founders of Denouncing Ignorance Through Vigilant Activism, also known as DIVA. Warden, the group’s public relations coordinator, said the name reflects the duo’s vision of the group. “We wanted something that was in your face and gay-related,” he said.

MICHIGAN

New fire chief eager to join E.L. community

Randy Talifarro thought his career with the fire department would end in Flint.But when the East Lansing City Council announced they had chosen Talifarro as their top choice for the position of East Lansing Fire Chief, he couldn’t decline.“I was not real aggressive in seeking to leave Flint,” Talifarro said.

MSU

Debate team wins tournament

The MSU debate team returned to East Lansing victorious after its first win of the year at the Kansas City Swing, a series of debates held at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and William Jewell College.

MICHIGAN

Ford shares in Firestone recall costs

Ford Motor Co. said Thursday the Firestone tire recall should cost it $500 million as expected, not including untold costs of defending itself against and settling lawsuits over crashes involving the questioned tires. Henry Wallace, Ford’s chief financial officer, said the half-billion dollars the automaker figured the massive recall would cost it in lost production, among other things, has been split evenly over its past two earnings quarters. “As for the litigation, that’s going to go on for some time,” he said. Roughly 200 lawsuits have been filed against Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. over crashes involving the tires, 6.5 million of which were recalled last summer.

MSU

College receives educational grant

MSU’s College of Engineering recently received a $300,000 grant to support a program that introduces new teaching methods to improve students’ learning experience.The award is the second grant the program, Reforming the Early Undergraduate Engineering Learning Experience, has received from the GE Fund, a charitable foundation of the General Electric Co.Thomas Wolff, associate dean of undergraduate studies in the College of Engineering, said he’s pleased to receive funding again.“There aren’t many cases and opportunities where (engineering) faculty really are afforded some funding to improve their teaching and to do that on a large scale,” he said.The grant is part of the GE Fund’s Learning Excellence initiative, which aims to invest in original, interdisciplinary education methods.“GE as a company has learned that boundaryless thinking, teamwork, and e-skills are critical to success,” said Roger Nozaki, program manager for the GE Fund.