Rewind: News Highlights From The Last 7 Days

The Okemos school district canceled Scholastic Book Fairs because the sponsor moved select books on race, racism and LGBTQ+ issues into a collection that would be more difficult to choose, the Lansing State Journal reported. Scholastic is the world’s largest publisher of children’s books. The school district said it canceled due to Scholastic’s choice to “separate diverse stories from the general collection” and that it “seemed like a way to make it easy for schools to promote censorship and book banning,” which the district does not support.

Tariq Thabet, a former Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow at MSU in 2021-‘22, and several members of his immediate family were killed in an Israeli bombing of central Gaza. Thabet worked in economic development and helping entrepreneurs in developing countries, including some in Gaza. Thasin Sardar of the Islamic Center of East Lansing described Thabet on Facebook as “a beloved brother to many of us.”

A deer smashed through the glass storefront at the Curvaceous Lingerie store in Old Town Sunday, briefly wreaking havoc before exiting through the open front door. Apparently confused, the medium-sized adult buck can be seen in security footage posted by the store on Facebook, which has racked up more than 50,000 views in less than 48 hours. Frightened employees in the store were able to help usher the creature out and avoid injury. Store owner Lauren Palmer said she planned to reopen the store, at 117 E. Cesar Chavez Ave. on Tuesday (Nov. 7) and thanked the community for helping with repairs and supplies.

Lansing area organizations were awarded $6 million in state grants through the state’s second annual Revitalization and Placemaking Program. The awards include $1 million each to revitalize the former Sears store in the Frandor Shopping Center and the strip mall at 3700 S. Waverly Road, $1 million to Child and Family Charities, $2 million to install a solar system for electricity for tenants at Prudden Wheel Lofts, 700 May St., and $1 million to help redevelop the old Park Furniture store building, 900 W. Saginaw St. into commercial and workforce housing. Lansing was one of seven recipients to get a subgrant.

Belinda Fitzpatrick, a Lansing woman acquitted on an animal cruelty charge after the city seized 27 chickens and three ducks from her property in 2022, has filed a federal lawsuit against the city, the Lansing State Journal reported. The lawsuit doesn’t specifically involve the chickens — the majority of which lived inside her two houses on South Holmes Street — but concerns how a code compliance officer and animal control official allegedly entered her home with a warrant before deeming it unsafe. Fitzpatrick claims her Fourth and 14th amendment rights were compromised, cites invasion of privacy and due process violations, and is seeking more than $350,000 in damages.

As of Nov. 1, BWL customers are being charged based on time of use rates. All residential electric customers on the standard residential electric service rate will update to time of use with an off-peak rate of $0.1314 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) and $0.1445 per kWh during on-peak hours. BWL said the change will not increase the average customer’s bill, but residential and commercial customers of all utility services will see a rate increase on their November bill. BWL GM Dick Peffley cited “industry best practices” as a reason for the shift, adding that it “provides an easy way for our customers to take a hands-on approach to reducing energy consumption during peak demand.”

Lilia Cosman, a 16-year-old gymnast from Holt, will compete for Romania at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, the Lansing State Journal reported. Cosman, a high school junior who trains at Capital City Flips Gymnastics in Delta Township, has competed in gymnastics since she was 4 years old. Her parents, Angelica and Emil, immigrated to the U.S. in 2001, giving her dual citizenship in both countries. She joined the Romanian women’s national team in January. 

The family of a Lansing man  who died of a drug overdose in the Clinton County Jail last year has filed a federal lawsuit claiming jail staff failed to provide medical care after he was arrested. Christopher Fisher, 29, was a passenger in a vehicle that was pulled over by Michigan State Police for a missing license plate. He was arrested and taken to the jail, where he was found dead the next morning. An autopsy confirmed he had methamphetamine and fentanyl in his system. The lawsuit claims the jail staff were undertrained and ill-prepared to provide the medical attention Fisher required. 

A GMC Suburban parked in the parking garage at Sparrow Hospital on Michigan Avenue in Lansing became a makeshift emergency labor room last week for the birth of a 5-pound,6-ounce girl. “Our team got word that there was a someone delivering in the parking lot and raced outside,” said Katheryn Moody, an emergency room doctor. “We worked together and helped deliver a healthy baby girl while the first snow of fall was falling. Mom and baby did great and we are honored to be a part of their story.” The girl was born Oct. 30.