The environment wasn't the only beneficiary at Project Pride, an event aimed at helping East Lansing residents recycle and reuse. Local charities accepted much-needed donations such as bikes, household appliances and clothing for a variety of causes.
On their hands and knees, 12 people dug small holes, pressing young, summer squash plants into the soil on a football field-sized plot of land. Sweating in the hot sun, some of the dirty-kneed and often barefooted, planters squinted as they glanced up at Jeremy Moghtader, MSU Student Organic Farm manager and instructor, to learn how to properly plant the squash - ensuring the plants would grow strong until they could be harvested. "See how that part is sticking up?
The East Lansing Historical Society will host "The History of East Lansing's Street Names" 2 p.m.
Eight Michigan gas stations, including one in East Lansing and one in Okemos, have been fined by the state Department of Environmental Quality for failing to comply with state regulations. The eight stations, all formerly owned by BP Amoco PLC, were fined a total of $869,150 for not submitting required reports about contamination because of leaking underground storage tanks. "These fines are simply for their failure to properly address the contamination as required by Michigan law," said Bob McCann, DEQ spokesman.
Unconventional recyclables such as tires, used furniture and scrap metal will be accepted at the city of East Lansing's Project Pride cleanup Saturday. Items can be taken to the Abbott Center parking lot, 1400-1500 Abbott Road, for disposal.
The East Lansing Family Aquatic Center, 6400 Abbott Road, opens today for the summer season. The center features a 190-foot tube water slide, play structures and sand areas.
The 15th annual National Trails Day is Saturday and the city of East Lansing is encouraging everyone to spend time on the Northern Tier Trail or one of the several trails in the Lansing area. For more information, call the Department of Parks, Recreation and Arts at (517)333-2580 or a map of the Northern Tier Trail can be found at www.cityofeastlansing.com.
Vennie Gore's daughter tells him he talks for a living. With his recent appointment to assistant vice president for Housing & Food Services at MSU, effective August 13, he expects that to continue. Gore is currently the associate director for Housing and Food Services at the University of Washington. He meets with students, faculty, campus clients and other to talk about plans for the university - and his job at MSU will be much of the same. Gore is used to a life with no routine, he said.
The MSU Student Organic Farm will have it's summer planting party Saturday. Participants will plant tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and other vegetables at the farm located at 3291 College Road in Holt from 9 a.m.
Lansing — From the dark green vintage REO automobile parked on the Capitol's front lawn, to the Civil War garb worn by period reenactors Thursday, Lansing turned back the clock 100 years.
Bob Johnson knows every home in East Lansing from top to bottom, but now that he is retiring as East Lansing's city assessor, city officials are left trying to fill his shoes. Almost 30 years of documenting city homes and determining their value.
Central United Methodist Church will host its annual "Celebration of Music in Worship" Sunday.
Lansing — Outside Gier Park Elementary School, a 6-foot wooden pole stands decorated in the name of peace, with paintings by students in a plot filled with mulch and flowers. The pole's objective is to promote peace to improve the sometimes rocky relationship between Gier Park Elementary School at 401 E.
East Lansing has dogs on its mind. The city wants to create a dog park where "man's best friend" can run free, unhampered by leashes. And dog owners want a place where they can bring their four-legged friends without worrying about keeping them on a leash, Wendy Longpre, assistant director of the East Lansing department of Parks, Recreation and Arts said. "We really do want to provide an area where people can recreate with their dogs," she said.
With her long, black curly hair swept back by glasses, Pearl Hernandez laughed and joked with those around her as she got her face painted by one of her friends. The result: One side of the sixth-grader's face was painted purple, the other cheek had a stencil of a planet. The Pattengill Middle School student never used to be so outgoing.
Jeff Riedinger has been recommended as the dean of MSU's International Studies and Programs. He has been serving as acting dean since 2005, and his appointment is subject to approval by the MSU Board of Trustees at the June 15 meeting. Riedinger would succeed John Hudzik, who served as ISP dean from 1995-2005.
At the northern border of Ingham County where Shiawassee and Clinton counties meet, Jamie McAloon-Lampman was foraging for mushrooms in a wooded area on her property and found something she didn't expect. She and her husband stumbled across a litter of coyote pups, with the parents nowhere in sight.
Elise, Mich. — Students in Algiers, Algeria gathered in a classroom Tuesday for an experience of a lifetime. With some wearing green and white MSU T-shirts sent by the university, students of Cheikh Bouamama High School awaited a video conference call from students from a Junior Achievement class at Ovid-Elsie High School in Elsie, Mich. The class, taught by business department teacher Bonnie Ott, aims to educate and update students on international relations and global business. The call, a result of the Partnership Schools Program, or PSP and MSU's College of Education, was designed for 11th- and 12th-grade students from both schools to share cultural and technological similarities and differences.