Rewind: News from the last 7 days

Rosmina Jaffer of Haslett filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against Michigan State University and her department head alleging she was unfairly fired from her faculty position teaching management in the Broad College of Business. The suit says that Jaffer, 66 and of Indian descent and ethnicity, was let go by Management Department Chair Kent Miller “for her complaints of discrimination and unequal treatment due to her race and ethnicity.” Among her complaints: She was denied access to facilities, including the faculty coffee machine.

State Rep. Neil Friske, R-Charlevoix, was arrested Thursday after Lansing police responded to reports of an adult male with a gun and possible shots fired in the 2100 block of Forest Road. A case report obtained by the Detroit Free Press on Monday indicates police considered the investigation as potential first-degree criminal sexual conduct. As of Monday, Friske had not been charged with a crime and said on a radio program he is “being framed.” The Capitol news service MIRS said Friske allegedly chased an exotic dancer while brandishing a gun.

Keijuan Richard Eskin, 19, was arrested in Saginaw and charged with killing Thomas Blackmon, 35, on June 15 in Lansing. The shooting took place in the 4000 block of MacDougal Circle, near Waverly and Jolly roads. Eskin was arraigned in Eaton County Friday on charges of open murder and felony firearm possession and denied bond. A hearing to determine whether he should stand trial on the charges is set for July 1.

Greater Lansing’s first Trader Joe’s will open at 9 a.m. Friday at 2755 E. Grand River Ave. in Meridian Township. The California-based company’s 10,000-square-foot store, the ninth in Michigan, is hiring and expected to employ 65 people. The specialty grocery store has been in the works since 2021. It is across the street from Whole Foods and near Foods for Living, an employee owned market that will shut down Sunday.

The Lansing Economic Development Corp. and the Arts Council of Greater Lansing have partnered on creating a Hollywood-style placemaking sign at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Saginaw Street near Lansing Community College. They opened a contest last week to award seven artists $1,000 plus supplies to decorate 6-foot-tall letters spelling out the city’s name. The deadline is 11:59 p.m. July 12 at https://conta.cc/3VVPRrz. Arts Council.

Thousands of Lansing Board of Water & Light customers will receive over $3.2 million in security deposit refunds. That includes over $2.6 million to over 7,000 account holders whose deposits BWL kept because they paid late or may have missed a month. Starting Monday, BWL will keep deposits only when customers receive a shutoff notice during a 12-month period. BWL is also reimbursing customers who were the victims of a computer system error that went back to October 2021 and prevented the utility from releasing security deposits over $400.

The city of East Lansing has filed federal lawsuits against Davies Claim Solutions and Lloyd’s of London to obtain reimbursement of $825,000 it paid in a federal religious freedom lawsuit to Country Mills Farms and its owner, Stephen Tennes. The city had banned the farm from its farmers market in 2017 after Tennes announced he would not host same-sex weddings at his farm and orchard near Charlotte due to his religious beliefs. The city paid Tennes $42,000 in damages and another $783,800 to cover his legal costs, but the insurers denied the city’s claim.

Lansing Community College was scheduled Tuesday to rename its Arts & Sciences Building the Brent M. Knight Arts & Sciences Building to honor its sixth president. Knight served from 2008 to 2020, then was granted the college’s first president emeritus designation. Knight’s interior redesign of the original structure, built in 1968, took place during the 2012-‘13 academic year. He was also responsible for 27 sculpture installations on LCC campuses and was called “the man behind the makeover” by City Pulse.

Public Safety

Two people were shot Saturday on the 1100 block of Cesar E. Chavez Ave., suffering non-life-threatening wounds. No arrest has been reported as of Tuesday. … Lansing police responded to a report of shots fired Monday in the parking lot of the Target on Edgewood Boulevard. No injuries have been reported and no suspects identified. … An unidentified Lansing firefighter suffered minor injuries Monday while fighting a house fire in the 300 block of East St. Joseph Street. The house was unoccupied and no one else was hurt.