2020 in review: What made news this year? And what’s up next?

1. The coronavirus arrived

No doubt 2020 wouldn’t have been such a train wreck without COVID-19. It has fundamentally changed life in Greater Lansing and across the country.

2. Racial justice and social equity

George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis ignited an uprising against police brutality and the disproportionate rate at which police systematically target and kill people of color. Greater Lansing was no exception to the fervor.

Protests began May 31 with a large downtown demonstration that turned ugly when a car was driven carelessly on Michigan Avenue as marchers returned to the Capitol from East Lansing. Protesters torched the car and broke numerous windows downtown, causing police to order a curfew and disperse the crowd with teargas.

Daily protests followed for months, at times finding their way to Mayor Andy Schor’s doorstep. Black Lives Matter called for Schor’s resignation and cuts to the police budget. Local allegations of police brutality — including a couple of violent arrests in East Lansing and Anthony Hulon’s cop-involved homicide in the city lockup — only fueled the tensions. A Black Lives Matter mural was painted across Capitol Avenue.

Lansing City Councilman Brandon Betz unsuccessfully introduced a measure to reduce a significant portion of the Police Department budget. Schor also recruited a taskforce, hired a diversity officer and signed an executive directive to further anti-discrimination efforts in Lansing.

Two social workers were embedded with the East Lansing Police Department this year, where the City Council has continued to make equitable amendments to local laws, among other reforms.

Up Next: With at least 20 homicides tracked in Lansing in 2020, efforts to chip away funding from the Police Department are losing steam. Elected officials are still focused on public safety reforms, but many residents have also called for more cops to help tackle a rising level of crime.

Schor doesn’t anticipate his next budget to reduce police funding, which he said would likely equate to service reductions or fewer patrols. Activists like Betz plan to turn their attention toward policy reforms in 2021 rather than continuing to advocate for direct budget reductions.

Advance Peace, a California-based nonprofit geared toward stopping urban crime before it begins, could also launch programming in Greater Lansing in 2021. City officials were still crunching the numbers — and searching for some regional partnerships — in December.

3. Politics

Greater Lansing joined America in blocking President Donald Trump from a second term, heralding hopes for a brighter future under the leadership of former Vice President Joe Biden.

Brandon Betz and his admittedly “radical” eastside agenda shifted dynamics on the City Council this year following his 2019 defeat of more conservative Jody Washington in the 1st Ward and the rise of Peter Spadafore as president.

In East Lansing, first-term City Council members Jessy Gregg and Lisa Babcock infused their own progressive ideals into city government. The appointment of two others — Ron Bacon and Dana Watson, only the second and third African-Americans to serve — only helped to further shift those political tides after Mayor Ruth Beier and Mayor-turned-Councilman Mark Meadows resigned in July. After Beier left, Councilman Aaron Stephens took over as mayor, announcing a few months later that he won’t seek another term.

This year’s election also brought a few key changes to local governments in Greater Lansing.

First-term Ingham County Commissioner Thomas Morgan was taken out in the August primary by Bob Pena, a civil engineer and Democrat who has lived on Lansing’s east side for 35 years. Meridian Township voters also sent Clerk Brett Dreyfus packing in November, instead electing Democrat Deborah Guthrie, who previously worked as the township’s communications director.

Eaton County Sheriff Tom Reich fended off a challenge from Republican Rick Jones, a former county sheriff and state legislator. Delta Township Supervisor Ken Fletcher also won reelection.

Former Ingham County Commissioner Carol Koenig was installed as a judge in the 30th Circuit Court. Republican Pat O’Keefe and Democrat Rema Ella Vassar were also elected to the Board of Trustees at Michigan State University after longtime Trustee Joel Ferguson, who took his lumps in the Larry Nassar scandal — decided not to run after he was denied Democrat Party support.

Up Next: Lansing is already turning its attention to a mayoral race in 2021. Mayor Andy Schor is expected to run for another term against At-Large Councilwoman Patricia Spitzley. Former Mayor Virg Bernero, who stepped down in 2018, has all but announced he will seek a fourth term in 2021 after stepping down three years ago.

Half the seats on the Lansing City Council will be up for election in 2021. At-large members Spadafore and Kathie Dunbar and the 2nd Ward’s Jeremy Garza are expected to run for reelection. No word on 4th Ward Councilman Brian Jackson.

Three of five East Lansing City Council members are also facing expiring terms next year.

4. Developers pushed past a pandemic

Dozens of businesses have closed, either permanently or temporarily, since the COVID-19 pandemic struck Greater Lansing. But that hasn’t stopped local developers from advancing several major residential and commercial construction projects.

Pat Gillespie’s highly anticipated BLOCK600 project, which includes Capitol City Market on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Larch Street, opened in the fall. It’s also attached to apartments and the first hotel to be constructed in downtown Lansing in more than 30 years.

Across the street, the City Rescue Mission announced plans to expand its men’s shelter. Mayor Andy Schor also announced plans to revitalize the old City Market with a shuffleboard club. The Red Cedar project also garnered its final round of state financing this year. Cranes have been above the skyline along Michigan Avenue all year as that massive development takes shape.

To the east, towering residential projects have continued to form in East Lansing. Developers also charted plans for the “Village of Okemos” on the corner of Okemos and Hamilton roads.

In Old Town, plans are still underway to redevelop the historic Bethlehem Temple Building into the Temple Lofts. McLaren is building a new hospital in South Lansing near MSU’s campus. Crews have also been working on the Heritage Hall addition on the back of the State Capitol. That $40 million building addition is expected to open to the public by fall.

Up Next: Developers of the Red Cedar redevelopment are planning a partial opening in the summer. Construction is also set to continue next year on the Graduate, a 10-story hotel on Grand River Avenue in East Lansing. The new home of the Allen Neighborhood Center is also expected to open along Kalamazoo Street in the fall, along with apartments and a health clinic.

5. Fighting global warming

The city of Lansing pushed forward with plans to reduce its carbon footprint this year after promoting Lori Welch to the newly created city position of sustainability manager. Mayor Andy Schor’s goal is to review the city’s energy use and review sustainability plans to reduce energy consumption and find new efficiencies in 2021.

The Lansing Board of Water & Light also charged forward with plans to provide 40% clean energy by 2030, including plans to cease coal generation in Lansing and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by the end of 2025. Investments in solar and wind energy — including in windmills near Ithaca and a solar park in East Lansing — will help guide those goals into 2021.

Up Next: Schor released the city’s first Climate Action Plan in October, which also created an advisory commission on sustainability. That work is set to reduce the city’s carbon impact, increase energy efficiency, reduce waste and explore other long-term operational savings while also protecting the environment. BWL will also formally retire the Eckert Power Plant next month as the utility continues its shift away from fossil fuels. Eventually, officials would like to sell the power plant — and its iconic smokestacks — to be redeveloped into office or residential space.

6. Triple J ousted

The city of Lansing is still on the hook for nearly $250,000 that must be repaid to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development following a year-long controversy tied to Joan Jackson Johnson, former department director of Human Relations and Community Services.

Jackson Johnson was placed on administrative leave last year after she was accused of maintaining conflicting interests that led to financial improprieties and misspent federal Continuum of Care grant money designed to help rehome homeless people in Lansing.

She retired in February after city officials continued to raise concerns about federal grants that flowed directly to One Church One Family, a housing-focused nonprofit in which Jackson Johnson had been heavily involved and that also administered portions of the grant funding.

Jackson Johnson’s alleged missteps are still in the hands of federal investigators, who have not levied any criminal charges more than 10 months after she retired. Bernero and others have contended Jackson Johnson is being mistreated because, they claim, she did not personally profit frm the alleged abuses.

City officials have since tightened internal controls to avoid similar financial oversights, including additional purchasing policies, a more transparent process for grant applications and additional financial reviews from the city’s Human Relations and Community Services Advisory Board.

Up Next: Jackson Johnson continues to serve the community as a passionate volunteer. Still, the city must now repay $234,000 in “questioned costs” related to her tenure by early 2023. Jackson Johnson still maintains that grant and city funds were never used for a personal gain.

7. City compromises on retirement benefits

Lansing Mayor Andy Schor nixed a plan in December that he announced this year to adjust healthcare benefits for about 1,300 retirees. City retirees were outraged after Schor announced that many of those formerly represented by Teamsters and the UAW would have their benefits modified to more closely mirror that of current employees — which would have resulted in higher out-of-pocket expenses from higher office visits and prescription copays.

An eleventh-hour compromise halted those changes before they took effect, replaced by a new plan that reportedly won’t result in “long-term cost increases’’ while also still saving the city $3.5 million annually. Retirees over the age of 65 may still incur some additional costs, officials said.

Up Next: Though the prior plan would have netted a much larger savings of $8 million annually, city officials will continue to work in tandem with union officials in 2021 to reduce nearly $737 million in unfunded pension and retiree healthcare liabilities. Schor still billed it as one of the city’s “biggest financial challenges.”

8. Racial bias issues at City Hall

Lansing Mayor Andy Schor tried to defend himself this year from several accusations of racism within his administration after a discrimination and race-based retaliation lawsuit was levied against him, the city and other top officials in August by nine current and former city employees.

Each plaintiff — including firefighters, department heads and other city employees — alleged that they had been subjected to race-based “unwelcome communication and conduct” that had “substantially interfered with their employment” with the city, according to the legal complaint.

As a result, Schor’s administration and fire-union officials are accused of violating the Michigan Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act. The complaint alleges that the employees were “subjected to repeated and continuous discriminatory treatment, hostile working environments and adverse employment actions,” including suspensions, terminations and being “forced out” of their jobs.

The suit argued that in many instances, the employees had complained to upper management, only to find themselves retaliated against for voicing discrimination concerns. It also marked at least the second racial discrimination lawsuit to be filed against the city since Schor took office.

Up Next: An executive directive signed by Schor in December proposed a partnership with the National League of Cities to better assess racial equity in Lansing. It also requires all city employees to complete implicit bias training and calls for an advisory racial justice report from each department. The stated goal: further a “commitment to fair and bias-free treatment.” The recent racial discrimination lawsuit is scheduled to continue next month in 30th Circuit Court.

9. Lansing's pot industry matures

HomeGrown Cannabis Co. made history after it became the first provisioning center in Lansing to open its doors for adult use, recreational marijuana sales in February. And Lansing is nearly at its ordinance-mandated capacity of 28 licensed retail pot shops as it heads into 2021. Among those who opened for medical marijuana or recreational or both: Jars, Skymint, The Botanical Co., Stateside and Old 27 Wellness, Pure Options, Edgewood Wellness, Pleasantrees, Bazonzoes and Gage.

To date, more than 150 cultivation and 40 processing licenses have also been issued by City Clerk Chris Swope as the lucrative weed market continues to explode across the local region.

Rehbel Industries is still working on renovations at the former John Bean Building. The village of Webberville is also cementing itself as an unlikely hub within the state’s cultivation industry — a market that is poised to rake in up to $3 billion annually by 2025, state officials estimated.

Up Next: Meridian Township could jump into the recreational cannabis market as early as next year as officials there continue to hash out a licensing structure for would-be entrepreneurs. Micro-businesses and cannabis social lounges are also expected to open in Lansing in 2021.

10. Turnover in City Hall

Press releases that announced staffing changes within Lansing Mayor Andy Schor’s administration were common this year. And all told, at least a dozen city officials — either by will or force — have departed Schor’s administration since he took office in 2018.

Most recently, Andrea Crawford left her job as director of the Department of Neighborhoods and Citizen Engagement this month “to pursue other opportunities,” officials said in a press release.

Crawford joined a lengthy list of city officials to leave in the last two years, including Finance Director Angie Bennett; Chief Information Technology Officer Collin Boyce; fire chiefs Randy Taliffaro and Mike Mackey; Police Chief Mike Yankowski; Deputy Mayor Samantha Harkins; Treasurer Tammy Good; Chief Strategy Officer Shelbi Frayer; Internal Auditor Eric Brewer and Joan Jackson Johnson, the city’s former director of human relations and community services.

Up Next: Employee turnover isn’t necessarily uncommon for a municipality that employs as many people as Lansing — especially in the most “difficult year in many decades,” Schor said.  He also said that his latest organizational structure will prove to be successful through 2021.

Honorable Mentions:

There was a lot more news in 2020. A group of tenants banded together to form the Lansing Tenants Union as the COVID-19 pandemic forced many to be late on rent payments. A Shiawassee County man was found fit to stand trial on an open murder charge after he was accused of killing and eating the testicles of a 25-year-old hairstylist from Swartz Creek. Community fundraising efforts continued after city officials announced the closure of the iconic Moores Park Pool, and that it needs $1.2 million in repairs. Steve Robinson took over as the seventh president of Lansing Community College this summer after Brent Knight retired following eight years. A controversial fee structure for overnight parking permits was launched — and dismantled months later —  by the Lansing City Council. Homeowners near Frandor were hit with thousands of dollars in tax assessments to help cover the costs of the Montgomery Drain Project in order to reduce pollution to the Red Cedar River.