Rewind: News from the last 7 days

Nine homes and two vacant lots, worth up to $2 million, have been donated by University of Michigan Health-Sparrow to the Ingham County Land Bank and Habitat for Humanity Capital Region. They are partnering to renovate the homes on the east side of Sparrow’s Michigan Avenue facility for single-family housing. Margaret Dimond, the hospital’s regional president, said the vacant homes, which have had issues with vandalism and squatters, were originally set to be demolished. The renovations will be partially funded by a state blight elimination fund. Habitat for Humanity officials say they want to match the fixed-up houses with people in low-to-middle-income families.

The City Rescue Mission of Lansing has purchased two buildings on West Kalamazoo Street for a $9.6 million renovation project that will double its capacity. The 100-bed men’s shelter on Michigan Avenue will close, with the services relocating to the new site, but the women’s shelter on South Cedar Street will remain open. Officials said the mission has been operating beyond capacity for more than a year. Construction will begin in August, with the completion of the first building in 2025 and the other pending additional fundraising.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer plans to donate her net proceeds from her upcoming book to the Capital Region Community Foundation, according to publisher Simon & Schuster. “True Gretch: What I’ve Learned About Life, Leadership and Everything in Between,” will be published July 9. Simon & Schuster said the governor’s book will highlight her “unconventional honesty” and include insights into what guided her through the pandemic. “Our world is thirsty for compassion, empathy, big ideas, and the grit to get shit done,” Whitmer said in a statement. “No matter who you are, or what you hope to achieve, I hope this book will help you find the good and use it to make a difference.”

Public access to district court records, once they are bound over to circuit courts, will be blocked when a new Michigan Supreme Court rule takes effect on July 2. Officials say the rule is meant to ensure compliance with expungement of criminal convictions laws. But it would apply to records of all criminal cases, regardless of whether a conviction expungement occurs. The rule would even apply to cases such as homicide and criminal sexual conduct, which are not eligible for expungement under Michigan law. Herschel Fink, general counsel for the Detroit Free Press, said the rule appears to violate case law from the U.S. Supreme Court and Michigan courts that says court records are open to the public.

Hope Middle School principal Anthony Foster has claimed in a four-count lawsuit filed on Nov. 14 that the Holt Public Schools and executive director of curriculum Steven Netzel have allowed him to be subjected to repeated racial discrimination since he was hired in 2022, the Lansing State Journal reported. The district violated the Michigan Civil Rights Act and Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, said Foster’s attorney, Herbert Sanders. Foster is seeking at least $1 million in damages for loss of earnings and other benefits, mental and emotional suffering and loss of career opportunities.

A Jackson county man faces child pornography charges in a case that began after he contacted two Ingham County children, the Lansing State Journal reported. The 23-year-old man was arraigned April 2 on eight felony counts in Jackson County District Court. Investigators determined he inappropriately contacted the two children over social media and possessed child sexually abusive materials. The charges include aggravated possession of child sexually abusive material, child sexually abusive activity and computer use to commit a crime.

The Michigan State Police Lansing post was briefly evacuated Friday when an Army veteran went to the post with an old grenade for disposal. The desk sergeant cleared the building and called in a bomb squad to determine that it was inert and not active. No action is planned regarding the man who had the grenade, but the MSP said those who possess or find such devices should leave them where they are and call police.

Public Safety

More than two dozen people were displaced Sunday by a fire at the Twin Oaks Meadows Apartments in Lansing. No one was injured. The Lansing Fire Department called the fire suspicious. … A 61-year-old DeWitt motorcyclist was killed Sunday when he drove into a vehicle that had pulled in front of him. The motorcyclist was southbound on Business U.S. 127 in Bingham Township when an eastbound Jeep driven by a 57-year-old St. Johns man entered his path. … Aquarius Pools by Theresa on South Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard was damaged by fire Saturday. No one was injured in the blaze which shut down a portion of the road for almost four hours.