The sleepy 67th state House District is in slumber no more. Democrat House candidate Tom Cochran wound up and swung at Republican Jeff Oesterle where it hurt during the "City Pulse Newsmakers" program this week, by tying his opponent to the intriguing investigation into the Republican House speaker and the shady filing day switch-a-roo in Grand Rapids.

Good buildings are not only attractive — they also have good DNA. What is building DNA? It's the original construction essentials like superior craftsmanship and quality materials that hold up through standing neglect.

Whoooooosh. That's the sound of Lansing Township leaving the city of Lansing in the dust on the goal of creating a performing arts center. On Oct. 1, construction is set to start on a 12,000-square-foot, 1,500-capacity performing arts venue at Eastwood Towne Center in Lansing Township.

Sorry for the gulf between columns. I had the privilege of visiting West Africa — specifically, Burkina Faso and Senegal — last month as part of a small delegation from Lansing. Dropping in for a short time hardly makes me an authority on anything I experienced, but I was awakened to a world hitherto only glimpsed through books and TV disaster snippets.

Northwestern Elementary School, just south of the airport, looks more like a crack house than a school. The building, which has sat vacant for nearly a decade, is a sharp contrast to the surrounding neighborhood of modest homes.

One state Supreme Court decision is the only thing standing in the way of a constitutional collective bargaining guarantee being officially tossed off the November ballot. You hear that giant swirling sound?

For all the noise Tea Party activists are making within the Republican Party these days, you'd think this hodge-podge collection of every spectrum of conservatism imaginable would be kicking butt at the ballot box.

Residents of the Walnut Neighborhood want to move beyond airing their complaints about a 14,000-square-foot pole barn in the neighborhood. Problem is, their corporate neighbor is not showing up to community meetings to discuss solutions.

There will be no resurrecting a convent that stood for over 50 years on the campus of a historic church on the East Side. An official with the Catholic Diocese of Lansing confirmed Monday that the old convent, which was one of six buildings at the Church of the Resurrection in the Eastfield Neighborhood, was demolished because it was rarely used and too expensive to maintain.

Following strong showings in the Aug. 7 primary, it's obvious a new breed of Republican politicians are gaining support in Delhi Township — and at least two township officials say the shift is contributing to a new era of divisive politics.