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MICHIGAN

Past meets future

In light of East Lansing's Centennial Celebration, a panel of former East Lansing mayors discussed the city's past achievements and growth during the last 40 years Sunday at Hannah Community Center. "It's just reliving pleasant old memories," said George Griffiths, mayor from 1975-79, at the 819 Abbott Road location.

MICHIGAN

DTN plans Okemos housing project

The owner of Cedar Village, Dover's Crossings and Knob Hill apartments is breaking ground on another housing development. DTN Management Co. is constructing the Hamptons next to Berrytree Apartments, 2950 Whitehall Drive in Okemos, on the corner of Hagadorn and Mount Hope roads, said Colin Cronin, DTN's area director of student properties. The location is slated to house veterinary and medical students and is planned to be similar to its sister location, the Riverwalk, 232 S.

MSU

Presentation offers tips for new parents

A presentation on caring for a newborn baby will take place at noon Wednesday in room 27 of the Nisbet Building. The one-hour class will present infant care topics on the characteristics of newborns, such as crying, safety, signs of illness and feeding. Mary Machowicz, a registered nurse and education coordinator for the Expectant Parents Organization, will run the class.

MSU

Spending vacation with pigs

Well before March 3, Gail Carpenter knew her spring break was going to be no vacation. Carpenter, an animal science freshman, is one of the 50 or so students who work on MSU's University Farms.

MICHIGAN

Company furthers design proposals

Five conceptual designs of a redeveloped East Village have been revealed. Feedback has been given. And now it's back to the drawing board. The San Diego-based Pierce Company Inc. is working with a Hollywood architectural firm to narrow down the initial designs using feedback from East Lansing community members. The Pierce Company is partnering with the city to revamp an area bounded by East Grand River Avenue, Hagadorn Road, Bogue Street and the Red Cedar River. Eliminating some of the design concepts is the next step toward resolving a final East Village design, which won't be available for several months.

MICHIGAN

Lansing man killed after blows to head

Several blows to the head killed Robert Busby, the owner of Creole Gallery in Lansing's Old Town, Ingham County Medical Examiner Dean Sienko concluded Thursday. Busby, 60, was found dead in the basement of Creole Gallery, 1218 Turner St., at about 1 p.m.

MSU

Students feel stifled by program

As a 9-year-old boy, José Villagrán worked all day hunched over in cucumber fields. His hands bled from being pricked by the crop. Villagrán, an interdisciplinary studies in social science senior, grew up as a migrant worker with his family, traveling between Texas and Wisconsin for about five years. The injustices Villagrán saw while working in the fields pushed him to actively fight for migrant worker rights while a student at MSU.

MICHIGAN

Mason said he will be 'fall guy' in murder

Lansing — Sympathetic to the family of Martin V. Brown and ashamed about his association with a hate group in the 1970s, Gary Mason said he would become the "fall guy" or scapegoat for Brown's 1973 murder on MSU's campus. In taped interviews in 2005 with Detective Jason Ferguson of the Ingham County Sheriff's Department, Mason proclaimed his innocence, but said he still felt guilty about Brown's murder. "I'm so ashamed," Mason said.

MSU

ASMSU debates degree

When Robert Mugabe took power in Zimbabwe 27 years ago, he preached peace and cooperation. In 1990, Mugabe received an honorary doctorate degree from MSU when he visited campus.

MSU

MSU College of Law approves new dean

After the MSU College of Law's Dean Terence L. Blackburn took a temporary leave of absence in October, the college has been led by two acting deans. Because of concerns raised by faculty during the college's accreditation process last summer, and some professors' desire to see Blackburn's role as dean terminated, he left to serve as a legal reform specialist in Jordan for an American Bar Association program in the Middle East.

MICHIGAN

Proposal offers reward to energy-smart consumers

A new piece of legislation could make purchasing renewable energy more feasible for Michigan residents. The proposed bill would give people buying green power from utility companies a tax credit equal to the yearly cost difference between regular energy and renewable energy. Some power companies have the capability to sell energy generated from sources such as windmills and hydroelectric dams. The bill would give the tax credit on a yearly basis and allow a refund of up to $100. It was introduced by state Rep.