Rewind: News from the last 7 days

The MSU Board of Trustees scheduled a vote for Friday on a scaled-back version of the proposed Spartan Gateway plan previously announced in April. It no longer includes a $150 million, 6,000-seat Olympic sports arena for sports like volleyball, gymnastics and wrestling, and would instead “explore opportunities to utilize existing facilities to support Olympic sports” and place a “stronger focus on retail, office space, dining and housing,” the Board meeting agenda states. Instead of a location at Trowbridge and Harrison roads, the university would locate the development more centrally on campus at a “scale more appropriate for the location ultimately selected via the planning process.” MSU had previously selected the Gillespie Group to develop the original plans, but would seek new bids if the scaled-back project is approved.

Eaton County Circuit Court Judge Kelly Morton sentenced Former Delta Township Supervisor Ken Fletcher, 59, to two years of probation in connection with a case resulting from an online sting. Fletcher pled guilty in September to one count of using a computer to commit a crime, a maximum four-year felony, while prosecutors dismissed a felony count of accosting a child for immoral purposes. Fletcher’s attorneys had argued that a judge should sentence him only to fines and costs, that he never tried to arrange sex with a child, and that he can’t be convicted “as if he were guilty of something he is not guilty of.” Police alleged he “engaged in sexual conversations” digitally with an undercover detective posing as a 15-year-old boy.

The Green Door, the famed, old-school Eastside Lansing bar and live music hub that closed temporarily in June to seek new management, has announced on its Facebook page that it “has been acquired by new management who will continue to run it as a live music bar.” While deferring to elaborate on some of the transition details, the venue has announced 90’s alt-rock tribute band “Be Kind Rewind” will play its grand re-opening celebration Friday, Nov. 21. In the same Facebook announcement, the bar announced that it plans to be back to being open every night and intends to serve food.

Ingham County deputies arrested three men in an online undercover sting operation after they arranged to meet someone they thought was a 15-year-old girl for sex. A judge arraigned Gregory Leroy Jordan III, 37, of Lansing; Syed Muhammed Zaid Alvi, 30, of East Lansing; and Kalil Davonte Brown, 24, of Farmington Hills on Friday in 55th District Court. They were each charged with child sexually abusive activity, a 20-year felony, two counts of using a computer to commit a crime, and accosting a child for immoral purposes, a 4-year felony. Officers lodged all three at the Ingham County Jail. Jordan faces a probable cause conference on Nov. 3, while a hearing for Brown and Alvi follows on Nov. 4.

Jennifer Mora, the former chief financial officer for the Ingham County Health Department, has filed a whistleblower lawsuit, alleging the department fired her after she expressed issues with its budget. The health department said Mora actually resigned from her position after leaving a meeting about her job performance, in a court filing responding to the lawsuit, and added that the meeting with Mora included the claim that she missed a $4 million Medicaid settlement in her budget analysis. The department denied most of her claims and stated that the health department is protected by governmental immunity, that Mora failed to bring a claim the court could rule on, that the county had legitimate reasons for taking the steps it did, and that Mora’s “intentional” or “negligent” actions contributed to the situation.

A vehicle struck and killed a 12-year-old Grand Ledge boy on Thursday, as he was riding a bicycle in Delta Township. Emergency medical personnel pronounced the child, a Beagle Middle School student, dead at the scene. The vehicle was traveling east on Willow Highway near Interstate 96. The Eaton County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the crash and seeking information from witnesses.

Lansing Police officers responding to a report of a shooting on the 5500 block of S. Martin Luther King Blvd., south of Jolly Road, found Nelson Pastor Silva-Gonzalez of Lansing, 60, with a gunshot wound to the chest. Medical personnel later pronounced him dead at a hospital. Police believe the shooting was the result of a domestic dispute and said everyone involved has been identified and is “currently with police.”

The East Lansing Police Department reported that a 17-year-old male was stabbed multiple times during an altercation in the Charles Street Garage Saturday night. The teen was able to leave the parking ramp at 121 Charles St. and get help from police in the Ann Street Plaza. He was transported to an area hospital for non-life-threatening injuries that required surgery. The ELPD is investigating and interviewing suspects, but has not reported any arrests.