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News Highlights from the last 7 days: June 1, 2022

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I-496 to close Thursday 

A two-mile stretch of the highway between Lansing Road and the Grand River will be closed in both directions for road work beginning Thursday (June 2). Traffic will be detoured to side streets — like Malcolm X and St. Joseph streets — through at least Oct. 15. State officials anticipate increased traffic along Saginaw Highway and other side streets too. Expect traffic jams. 

LEAP makes awards to small businesses 

Nearly two dozen small business owners from across Greater Lansing were selected in the Lansing Economic Area Partnership’s sixth cohort of its “One and All” inclusive entrepreneurship initiative, which provides two months of training, networking and a $2,500 seed investment to local small business owners from underrepresented populations. Previous program participants have seen their average annual incomes increase by about $10,000 within six months of graduation. Several have also gone on to open up brick-and-mortar storefronts. 

German high-tech firm coming 

Germany-based ATESTEO, a global provider of testing services for electric vehicle drivetrains and other components, announced plans to open its North American headquarters on West Road in East Lansing. The move is slated to create 46 jobs and “boost Michigan’s efforts to position itself as the global leader in the future of mobility and vehicle electrification,” according to a press release. State officials lured ATESTEO to Michigan (over competing sites in Ohio and South Carolina) with help from a $400,000 grant from the Michigan Strategic Fund. 

East Lansing says no to psychedelics 

The City Council voted, 3-2, to reject a proposal to decriminalize the cultivation, use and possession of entheogenic plants, including all-natural plants, cacti-like peyote and psychedelic “magic mushrooms.” Mayor Ron Bacon and members Lisa Babcock and George Brookover were the three buzzkills. 

Lansing rolls out ‘Free Parking Fridays’ 

On-street metered parking is free on Fridays only through Sept. 2. Mayor Andy Schor said the new initiative is designed to encourage more customers to shop at local businesses. 

Stimulus cash considered in Meridian Twp. 

Nearly 160 township employees could receive up to $3,000 each to help fight inflation, if the Meridian Township board approves a one-time “Stimulus Inflationary Payment” at its meeting on Tuesday (June 7), the Lansing State Journal reported. 

Over the Ledge Theatre Co. on pause 

The Grand Ledge theater group’s first show of the year, “The Realistic Joneses,” has been canceled after an inspection revealed structural problems at the Ledges Playhouse. Over the Ledge is working to find an alternate venue, officials wrote on Facebook. 

2 teenagers charged in Lansing murder 

Two 17-year-old boys were charged with open murder in the May 6 shooting death Kalen Mathews, 19, in the 900 block of Bensch Street, the Journal reported. Prosecutors have not yet decided whether the unnamed teens should be charged as adults. Mathews’ murder is among nine homicides that have been tracked so far this year in Lansing, down from 14 this time last year. 

Okemos Schools OKs bond proposal 

Voters will decide in November whether to approve the $275 million request by the school board to rebuild Cornell, Chippewa and Kinawa elementary schools. Cornell would be redone in the same spot rather than relocating it to empty district-owned green space on Powell Road near Grand River Avenue, reported FOX 47 News. 

First 54B judge was ‘remarkable’ 

The East Lansing City Council honored the life and legacy of the “remarkable” Maurice Schoenberger, the first judge to serve on the 54B District Court, who died May 12 after a struggle with Parkinson’s disease, the Journal reported. 

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