Wednesday, February 13,2013

'If'

Personnel Committee chairwoman says meeting minutes are inaccurate as the mayor's chief of staff says they border on libel and slander

by Andy Balaskovitz

Lansing City Councilwoman Kathie Dunbar's computer continues to be a topic of discussion this week at City Hall. Now the administration has stepped up its criticism of the way its being handled, saying a Council committee unnecessarily implicated a department head in the debate.

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Wednesday, February 13,2013

Sell BWL?

Exploring an unpopular solution to Lansing's budget deficit

by Andy Balaskovitz

When Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero says "everything is on the table" to fix the city's budget problems, it's not entirely true.

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Wednesday, February 6,2013

That was fast

Bernero knocked off dais as arch-enemy City Council President Carol Wood takes time out of her busy schedule to reorganize seating. "Honeymoon over," mayor says.

by Andy Balaskovitz

Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero no longer has a seat on the City Council dais. He'll now sit at a table on the floor when he comes to a meeting.

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Wednesday, February 6,2013

Computers and politics

It appears the 2013 City Council elections are in high gear, with Kathie Dunbar alleging opponent Brian Jeffries is making politically motivated attacks against her over personal matters. Jeffries denies it.

by Andy Balaskovitz

It all started with committee assignments. When I asked Lansing City Council President Carol Wood on Jan. 29 why Councilwoman Kathie Dunbar — who has served seven years on the Council — was not appointed to chair any committees or serve on any boards or commissions, Wood's response was: "I think there are some issues there, things I can’t go into. There are some outstanding issues that are being discussed in closed session that I can’t go into at this time," she said.

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Monday, February 4,2013

A regular passes

The Legacy of John Pollard

by Andy Balaskovitz

This ain't no shell game. I'm no spin doctor selling you snake oil. Friday marked the end of an era in the Lansing City Council chambers. The smoothest, straightest talking — and most fact-based, at least in recent years — Council regular, John Pollard, passed away at his home on Friday. The cause of death for the inveterate smoker was small-cell lung cancer. He was 65.

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Wednesday, January 23,2013

The good, the bad, the up and coming

by Andy Balaskovitz

It's 3:30 on a Wednesday afternoon in REO Town, and it looks more like 1923 than 2013. Dozens of construction workers in fluorescent green jackets are heading toward their cars, filtering out from a massive, $182 million construction project that towers over the neighborhood. The workday is over.

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Wednesday, January 16,2013

Eyes in the sky

Inconclusive data still pits Lansing police against civil liberties advocates over surveillance cameras after first homicide of the year

by Andy Balaskovitz

Lansing's first homicide of 2013 in plain view of one of the city's surveillance cameras has renewed criticism of their effectiveness. These types of crimes aren't supposed to happen in front of these cameras, opponents say.

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Wednesday, January 16,2013

On the college media

Declining advertising, circulation leading to 'great upheaval' in college newspaper publishing. How is The State News faring?

by Andy Balaskovitz

Twenty years ago, the letterhead on the stationery of The State News said it had a circulation of 38,000. Today, the campus newspaper at Michigan State University publishes 18,500 copies.

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Wednesday, January 16,2013

Cristo merger

Petition signatures are piling up against merging Cristo Rey Community Center and St. Vincent Catholic Charities

by Andy Balaskovitz

Opponents of a proposal to merge Cristo Rey Community Center with St. Vincent Catholic Charities say they've collected about 300 petition signatures against the idea in the past month.

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Wednesday, January 9,2013

The Wood files

After being elected president of the Lansing City Council, is Carol Wood content as a City Council member?

by Andy Balaskovitz

Carol Wood moved two seats to her left on the City Council dais after being elected president last week by her colleagues. But she's still keeping an eye on another seat, one that's a floor below her Council office: the Mayor's Office.

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