Brief

Political consultant Mark Grebner will be the speaker at the Land Use lunch Friday.

Grebner is known to many for his years as an outspoken Ingham County commissioner.

Grebner’s topic will be “the utter absence of institutional framework for planning and land use control in Michigan, and the fact that nobody even notices we don´t have any.”

Grebner says it´s too late to develop a rational system now, but he´ll try to lay out some rules for coping with the present situation, while trying to avoid the worst of the looming disasters.

The Land Use lunch is noon to 1 p.m. at the Michigan Environmental Council conference room, 602 W. Ionia St., Lansing.

A buffet lunch will be available for a $5 contribution.

Land Use lunches are sponsored by Mid-Michigan Environmental Action Council.

And Briefer

Lansing´s City Council has elected Derrick Quinney as president and Tina Houghton as vice president. Quinney, who was Council president in 2009, succeeds A´Lynne Boles. . . . . Since Monday, U.S. Postal Service first-class mail in Lansing has been getting second-class treatment. The Postal service has closed its Collins Road processing center and local mail is now handled in Grand Rapids, which add a day or two to many deliveries. . . . Michigan State´s football team staged a dramatic fourth-quarter rally to win the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, defeating Baylor University 42-41. . . . After 30 years on the drawing board, the Michigan State Capitol Commission has voted to seeking funding for an $88 million welcome center, aimed at improving security and reducing traffic through the historic building.