Rewind: News from the last 7 days

The East Lansing City Council voted 3 to 1 at a special meeting to add a “caption” to a housing ballot proposal that, if passed in the November election, would prohibit the city from restricting relationships “of persons living together as a household” or interfering “with the rights of owners to live with persons of their choice, so long as they are not rent-paying tenants.” The caption, which will accompany the Charter amendment, says: “The proposed charter amendment below was initiated by a citizen-initiated petition and not the East Lansing City Council.” The amendment would also require the city to make all zoning and rental records available to the public and rewrite city definitions for terms like “tenant,” “rental unit” and “occupancy.” The Council rejected stronger language that said it “believes” the citizen-led Charter amendment seeking to overhaul sections of the city’s housing code “contravenes” the Home Rule City Act and Michigan Zoning Enabling Act.

The Lansing school board unanimously approved a resolution committing to a library in every school and to “continue to invest in literacy advancements, including supporting access to libraries and librarians.” The school district had come under fire for proposed library cutbacks. Officials said cutting some librarian positions rests with its administration. The district’s proposed plan retains all four certified, full-time K-8 librarians and will add 20 instructional assistants. The administration is expected to finalize the plan and announce the staffing changes soon.

Lamar Kemp, 15, of Lansing pled guilty to second-degree murder Friday in the fatal shooting of Ingham County Democratic Party secretary Ted Lawson during an apparent robbery attempt Oct. 8. The agreement negotiated by prosecutors and defense attorneys stated Kemp would serve 35 to 60 years. Sentencing is set for Sept. 11. Lawson was knocking on doors for City Council candidate Trini Lopez Pehlivanoglu on North Jenison Avenue when he was shot. Ingham County Circuit Judge Joyce Draganchuk accepted the plea, but if she decides she can’t go along with the sentencing agreement, Kemp would be given the opportunity to withdraw his guilty plea. Then-Lansing Police Chief Ellery Sosebee said there was no evidence politics had anything to do with the shooting.

Alma Cooper, a 2019 Okemos High School graduate, was crowned Miss USA Sunday in Los Angeles. Cooper, 22, who was named Miss Michigan in April, is a second lieutenant and military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army. She graduated in the top 5% of her class at West Point and is the first active-duty military officer to win for Michigan. She’s also a Knight-Hennessy Scholar at Stanford. Cooper said during the pageant that she is a migrant worker’s daughter and a “proud Afro-Latina woman” who wants to use her win to uplift other girls of color.

McLaren Health Care reported Monday on its website that it was experiencing an unspecified disruption to its information technology platforms and telephone systems and was working to determine the extent of the disruption. The health system added that it did not have a timeframe to restore functionality. McLaren Health Care includes 13 hospitals, two HMOs, ambulatory surgery centers, diagnostics and a physicians’ network. Users were posting to McLaren’s Facebook account Tuesday morning that they were still unable to access information, but in the early afternoon McLaren officials replied that phone service had been restored to most clinics.

Two men were arrested in separate incidents in Holt, each after a fourth drunken driving incident. A Lansing man, 69, was arrested Saturday after a witness saw him passed out behind the wheel of a vehicle near Gunn Road and Willoughby Road. A 26-year-old Holt man was stopped Sunday for careless driving near Grayfriars Avenue and Davlind Drive and arrested for operating while intoxicated.

Public Safety:

A 24-year-old man was in stable condition after he was stabbed Monday near North Cedar Saginaw streets in Lansing. A 51-year-old man was taken into custody, and there was no ongoing threat to public safety, police said. … An 18-year-old man was seriously injured Monday while trying to change a tire on a disabled vehicle that was then struck by another vehicle on Marsh Road, said Meridian Township police. The 31-year-old man whose vehicle struck the disabled vehicle also suffered injuries. … One person suffered minor injuries from a single-car crash Tuesday that caused a pick-up truck to roll over on Holt Road near Gilbert Road. Investigators said they believe alcohol was a factor and a blood-alcohol test was ordered. … A 58-year-old man suffered serious injuries Saturday when a truck hit his bicycle on South Pennsylvania Avenue near Irvington Avenue.