Lansing waits for GM’s move
The Lansing City Council approved a final set of tax incentives that could help entice General Motors to build a $2.5 billion battery cell manufacturing plant next year in Delta Township. All told, the proposed tax incentive package for the project could amount to decades of significantly reduced taxes — including no paying no income or property taxes for 18 years — and cheaper electricity costs. GM is expected to decide whether to build the plant within the next few weeks.
Lansing teenager faces murder charge
Lemmie Edward Jones, 17, of Lansing, could face up to life in prison if he’s convicted on recent felony charges of open murder, assault with intent to murder and other gun-related charges that were levied against him in 54-A District Court. Authorities said Jones repeatedly shot at a car near the corner of S. Cedar Street and Miller Road about 4 a.m. Dec. 10, injuring two other teenagers and a 10-week-old baby and killing Arianna Christina Delacruz, 17, of Lansing.
Walter French scores state tax credits
Another 52 low-income apartments are set to be added to the apartment building on the corner of Mount Hope Avenue and Cedar Street in Lansing following $1.5 million in low income housing tax credits recently awarded toward the project by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. A total of $13 million in tax credits were announced statewide.
Judge pushes assault charge to trial
Former Ingham County Chief Circuit Judge William Collette faces a jury trial for assault and battery in July after he was accused of pulling the hair of a server at Dusty’s Cellar in Okemos. Collette has denied any criminal intent. A visiting judge from Jackson County will preside.
Omicron variant spotted at MSU
The first case of the omicron coronavirus variant in Ingham County was detected by health officials at Michigan State University — a relatively expected development after the variant took on Delta to now become the most common strain of the virus nationwide, health officials said. In response, MSU has required booster shots for all students and staff next semester.
Schor announces homelessness ‘solutions’
Lansing Mayor Andy Schor announced a new partnership between the city, the Lansing Housing Commission, the Capital Area Housing Partnership and the Capital Region Housing Collaborative that promises a “great solution” to providing “critical services” to people experiencing homelessness this winter. The Mayor’s Office didn’t respond to questions about how the new partnership actually works or how services have been changed.
Slotkin pushes gun safety legislation
U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who represents Ingham County, has proposed a new federal law to require firearms to be safely stored and kept away from children, imposing a penalty of up to five years in prison for any gun owner who fails to safely secure a weapon that later ends up in the hands of a child who injures himself or herself or uses it in the commission of a crime. Similar legislation has failed. Constitutional questions have also reportedly been raised about the legitimacy of gun storage requirements under the Second Amendment. Michigan also has no state law requiring firearms to be secured, even from children.
Lawyer sues over Betz recall
Attorney Elizabeth Abdnour appealed a decision from the Ingham County Election Commission that denied her proposed recall petition language against Lansing City Councilman Brandon Betz. Circuit Court Judge Clinton Canady III invited both sides to submit their legal arguments in writing this month. He plans to make a formal decision next month on whether Abdnour can begin circulating a recall petition against Betz for a special election as early as next summer.
Downtown businesses land state grants
The Lansing Art Gallery and Strange Matter Coffee each received a $25,000 grant through the Michigan Economic Development Corp.’s “Match on Main” grant program. The cash can be used for technical assistance, interior renovations, new outdoor spaces and other working capital needs like marketing and inventory expenses. Forty-one small businesses in 28 communities across Michigan shared in the $1 million state grant program for small businesses and downtown areas.
Cops identify victims in fatal crash
Kimberly Higgins, 20, of Leslie, and Charlotte Secord, 88, of Onondaga, were killed in a two-car crash about 10 a.m. Wednesday (Dec. 18) in the 4000 block of Bellevue Road in Onondaga Township. Police said Higgins drove west on Bellevue Road, crossed the centerline in snowy conditions and crashed into oncoming traffic, later dying at a hospital. Secord died on scene. Three others were injured.
McLaren breaks ground on medical building
The health system’s 60,200-square-foot medical services building is at its new campus near Michigan State University. That portion of the project is expected to employ up to 150 construction workers over the next 16 months before it opens in summer 2023. The facility is set to include an imaging center with diagnostic technology that allows for faster MRIs.
Judge tosses Nassar-related conviction
The Michigan Court of Appeals threw out former Michigan State University gymnastics coach Kathie Klages’ conviction of lying to police, reversing her conviction and noting that her statement that she did not remember being told of former sports doctor Larry Nassar’s abuse of two young gymnasts did not have a material impact on the Attorney General’s Office’s investigation into the sexual abuse of young girls, the Lansing State Journal reported.
Lansing State Journal drops holiday papers
The LSJ will not print newspapers on Dec. 24 and 25 this year. Instead, all news will appear online and the Dec. 23 edition will serve as the “weekend edition.”
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