Rewind: News from the last 7 days

Lansing City Council President Ryan Kost has filed a complaint with state officials regarding a “Your Charter, Your Choice!” mailer the Lansing Charter Commission sent to voters ahead of next month’s election. The mailer, sent to more than 21,000 Lansing households, includes Lansing’s official city seal and does not indicate who paid for it. Kost protested “extremely persuasive and problematic language” on the flyer “paid for with tax dollars,” the Lansing State Journal reported. Councilmembers Adam Hussain and Brian Jackson also expressed opposition. Commission Chair Brian Jeffries said the commission disagreed and that its legal counsel said it complied with state law. City Clerk Chris Swope said the commission spent about $6,116 on the mailer. A proposed new charter appears on the Nov. 4 ballot.

At-large Lansing City Council candidate Aurelius Christian announced Sunday he was dropping out of the race. Christian, who came fourth in the primary election, was endorsed by the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce’s PAC. Speaking on Facebook, he endorsed the other two LRC-PAC endorsees, Clara Martinez and Jeremy Garza. The fourth candidate for two at-large seats is Julie Vandenboom. Christian was the subject of a dark-money campaign in June that brought attention to his role in the Ingham County Health Centers’ budget struggles during his time on the ICHC board. It is too late to take his name of the ballot for the Nov. 4 General Election.

Ingham County Circuit Judge Morgan Cole has denied a request by the city of Lansing to dismiss a public records lawsuit against it by the Republican National Committee. The RNC claims that the city’s $4,795 estimated fee to provide surveillance video of absentee ballot drop boxes from last Nov. 5’s election was excessively high. The RNC filed its lawsuit in February, then the city filed a motion to have it dismissed, saying it acted in good faith and complied the Freedom of Information Act. Cole allowed litigation surrounding the fee to continue but dismissed a second count the RNC brought for wrongful denial of records.

Lansing Mayor Andy Schor and development, construction and project partners hosted a “topping off” ceremony Friday as workers placed the final structural steel beam in the new $40 million David C. Hollister Lansing City Hall project. The ceremony at the building’s base included speeches, local leaders’ signing the 22-foot-long beam and workers lifting the beam from the ground with an American flag and small tree aboard. Officials expect to complete the 65,000-square-foot, three-story building at Lenawee Street and Grand Avenue, across from the CATA bus station, by the end of 2026.

The Michigan Appeals Court ruled against former MSU student Ethan Cao, who was the first individual to challenge the constitutionality of Michigan’s anti-hazing law. Cao was charged with charged with hazing causing death in 2022 following a Pi Alpha Phi fraternity party. Prosecutors have argued that Cao and others pressured Phat Nguyen and others to drink to dangerous levels, resulting in Nguyen’s death. Cao’s attorney, Edwar Zeineh, challenged the charge, arguing that it was overly broad and unconstitutional, and said that prosecutors did not meet their burden of proof. Zeineh said he will ask the state Supreme Court to hear the case. Cao, 26, still awaits trial in Ingham County Circuit Court.

U.S. District Judge Hala Jarbou dismissed a lawsuit that the Lansing strip club Centerfolds had brought against Lansing after the city pulled its cabaret license following a February shooting that resulted in the death of Christopher Bonilla Sr., 36. Lansing Police Chief Rob Backus asked Lansing City Council to remove the club’s cabaret license, citing insufficient security measures, which the Council did in April. The Centerfolds’ owner, CDDM Corp., then sued the city, saying it had improperly notified it of a March hearing.

Judges Daymond John and Kevin O’Leary from the ABC television series “Shark Tank” have awarded Sweet Encounter Bakery & Café owner Nikki Thompson of Lansing $35,000 for business development after she pitched her new e-commerce concept. They gave Thompson’s business plan their stamp of approval during the Clover x Shark Tank Summit in Las Vegas. Sweet Encounter was previously located at the Knapp’s Centre at 300 Washington Square but streamlined its operation in August to move to online sales and downsize its menu to sell various cupcakes in a jar instead of a wider variety of items.

State Sen. Michael Webber, R-Rochester Hills, and Rep. Kathy Schmaltz, R-Jackson, have proposed that a stretch of Grand River Avenue in East Lansing be named Magic Johnson Way to honor the NBA Hall of Fame basketball player who starred at Michigan State University and Everett High School. The stretch of state road runs between Harrison Street and Hagadorn Road, much of it along the university. Schmaltz and Webber are MSU grads who witnessed firsthand some of Johnson’s spectacular achievements. Johnson is pictured with his mother, Christine.