Rewind: News from the last 7 days

Mayor Andy Schor revealed architectural renderings for the new Lansing City Hall at his State of the City address. The city plans to build a three-story rectangular brick building at the corner of Grand Avenue and Lenawee Street. It expects construction will start this spring and be completed next year.  Boji Group is the developer, with design by Krieger/Klatt Architects of Royal Oak. “This new facility will be user-friendly with a one-stop shop where people can do business with the city,” Schor said. “Thanks again to our state legislators for the $40 million that will make this happen.” Schor said that a new hotel would replace the current city hall and that more details were to come.

During his State of the City address, Mayor Schor also said that the city would be rolling out a housing rehabilitation plan with Capital Area Community Services to offer grants of up to $40,000 for home repairs for qualified low-income residents. He did not detail what will qualify residents as low-income but said that program applications will go live this spring and that the program will work with small contractors and local trades in doing the work. “Making sure that people are living in safe housing is critical,” he said. Schor also talked about the city’s plans to spend $4.7 million on housing this year, including $2 million in federal funds going to the new Hillsdale Place Apartments, a 40-unit rental development focused on both people facing homelessness and domestic violence victims.

A 53-minute telephone town hall meeting Monday evening hosted by U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, was marred by technical difficulties. Many who signed up never received the phone number from the event’s administrators. Despite claims that they would not screen the questions, a staff member called those who entered the queue to ask their name and questions in advance. Barrett spoke for 20 minutes regarding his achievements in Washington and issues he said constituents contacted his office about before answering six questions. Barrett’s office said more than 1,800 attended but acknowledged “an error that prevented some folks from participating.” The event has intensified calls for an in-person town hall. Here are more details on what happened Monday, see lansingcitypulse.com/news.

MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz has announced a 10-year, $4-billion fundraising campaign, the largest financial goal it has asked for and more than twice the size of the previous drive. The university announced the “Uncommon Will, Far Better World” campaign to a select group in 2022 and has received about $1 billion from 120,000 donors, but did not make it public until Sunday. MSU says $2 billion will go to student scholarships and programmatic support as part of the “Talent Activated” program, while the other $2 billion will be earmarked for the Synergies Imagined” and “Futures Built” initiatives for research/endowed professorships and capital projects/new programs.

The Ingham County Health Department reported six fatal drug overdoses March 1 to 7, the most in any seven-day stretch in the past two years. It also reported five more nonfatal overdoses. Officials said four fatalities were in the northeast section of Lansing and Lansing Township. They are also seeing increases in relapses by former drug users and have urged those impacted by drugs to seek out available resources. The public can find overdose prevention and recovery resources at http://inghamharmreduction.org/support.

East Lansing Superintendent Dori Leyko announced plans for a secure entryway and workspaces at the high school. Leyko said that the district would send out bids soon on the $1 million project. The addition should be ready in time for the start of the 2026-‘27 school year. Plans by Michigan architect Kingscott Associates include a new main office from which staff must buzz in visitors to gain access to the rest of the building.

An 80-year-old Delhi Township woman recently gave more than $40,000 to scammers over several weeks, reported Ingham County Sheriff Scott Wriggelsworth. The woman had been using social media and responded to a popup asking her to call a number about improper billing. The scammers asked her to submit her credit union info so they could investigate it, which was the beginning of more than a month of pressure and grooming. Wriggelsworth urged elderly people to be more cautious and for friends and family to look out for them.

Terry Braverman, MSU’s chief athletics fundraiser from 1974 to 2002 and football and basketball announcer from 2001 to ‘21, died Thursday at 86 after fighting multiple myeloma. His catchphrase: “It’s a beautiful day for football.”