Rewind: News from the last 7 days

The Capital Region Community Foundation and the city of Lansing have initiated a $3.4 million construction project called the Fish Ladder Music Park, which it anticipates completing by September. The foundation said the project will transform Old Town’s Burchard Park and the iconic Brenke Fish Ladder, “providing a unique, accessible public space on the downtown Lansing riverfront.” The foundation has received a $1.7 million state appropriation and is seeking private donations and sponsorships to cover the remaining cost. In addition to musical performances, the new venue will host festivals, events and health and wellness activities. While maintaining the architectural value of the fish ladder and hydro house, the foundation will make improvements to accessibility to meet or exceed ADA requirements, create a permanent performance space and add electrical infrastructure and lighting installations. Additionally, local artist Brian Whitfield will create a mural inside the fishbowl.

Sexual assault prevention expert and survivor Brenda Tracy has filed a 51-page federal lawsuit against MSU Board of Trustees and members Rema Vassar, D-Detroit, and Dennis Denno, D-East Lansing. The suit includes claims of breaches of information, misconduct and interference with contract. She filed a sexual harassment complaint with MSU in 2022 that former football coach Mel Tucker made nonconsensual sexual advances on her, which Tucker denied but that led to his firing. She claims the board “wrongfully and intentionally” released her name to the media and “public at large” after she accused Tucker of misconduct. She is also suing MSU for allegedly mishandling her complaints about the harassment.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer stated in a May 30 letter to MSU Board of Trustees’ Chair Kelly Tebay that she will not remove Vassar and Denno, 14 months after the board had requested it. Investigators found Vassar took free tickets and flights and Denno pressured consultants investigating MSU’s response to the 2023 mass shooting on campus to tone down criticisms of trustees’ actions. Whitmer’s deputy legal counsel, Amy Lishinski, wrote that denying the request does not mean she condones the conduct alleged in the referral.

Alexia Isabel Jimenez, 19, of Lansing, who was arrested after a shooting Friday in the Meridian Mall parking lot that wounded two people, was arraigned Sunday on charges of assault with intent to murder, carrying a concealed weapon and felony firearm possession. A judge set her bond at $1 million. An 18-year-old man told police a woman opened fire on him with a handgun in the lot in front of Dick’s Sporting Goods, then jumped into a vehicle and fled after he returned fire. He was treated for a gunshot wound to his leg. Officers arrested Jimenez while she was receiving treatment for a gunshot wound at U-M Health Sparrow. Additional circumstances surrounding the incident remained under investigation, Meridian Township Police Chief Rick Grillo said.

MSU President Kevin M. Guskiewicz tapped J Batt of Georgia Tech as vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics. The board is expected to approve him June 13, and he will start the following week. Batt has held the same posts in Atlanta since 2022. During his tenure, the school broke athletic fundraising records, set a new record for academic success with a 94% graduation rate, renovated and built facilities and spearheaded corporate sponsorships that provided transformative revenue in athletics, MSU said. “J has an impressive record at several Power 5 schools and an impeccable reputation as a strong and innovative leader,” said Guskiewicz.

Tameka Long, 51, and a 17-year-old boy were charged Thursday after a May 27 gun incident at Everett High School. Long was arraigned on felony charges of assault, resisting and obstructing police, and taser possession. A judge charged the boy in juvenile court with carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a pistol in a weapons-free school zone, said Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Scott Hughes. Officers initially responded to a fight call involving a knife outside the school, but then officials recovered a handgun from the boy inside.

Don LeDuc, the former longtime dean and president of Cooley Law School, died May 24 at 83. Cooley hired him as a professor in 1975, and then he served as dean from 1982 until the school asked him to resign in 1987. Then, a majority of faculty supported LeDuc’s bid to become dean once again in 1996. He became Cooley’s second president in 2002, succeeding founder Thomas Brennan, then retired in 2018. He helped increase Cooley’s enrollment from 1,700 students to nearly 4,000 between 1995 and 2010. Cooley also opened campuses in Auburn Hills, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor and Tampa Bay, Florida.