Rewind: News Highlights From The Last 7 Days

MSU suspended classes and held numerous events Tuesday in remembrance of the Feb. 13, 2023, campus mass shooting, highlighted by a scheduled evening vigil and luminary lighting at Lot 62 near Spartan Stadium. It also hosted reflective spaces staffed with counselors in five campus locations and made various religious leaders and counselors available at the Alumni Memorial Chapel. A Healing Through Kindness and Service event was held off-campus at the Hannah Community Center. Three students were killed and five injured in the shooting, two of whom have returned to classes. East Lansing schools were also closed Tuesday.

The Lansing City Council voted unanimously Monday for a resolution seeking a ceasefire in the Middle East war. Residents filled the chambers, and others watched on monitors in another City Hall space. Lansing became the seventh Michigan community to approve such a measure, while the East Lansing City Council rejected one last month. Many audience members clapped or snapped their fingers after speakers who supported the resolution. “We are asking you to act on the convictions of social justice that reverberate through this community into you,” said Second Ward resident Anna Martínez-Hume, one of 48 speakers during public comment. But East Lansing Rabbi Amy Bigman (pictured) said, “The snapping, the standing and blocking people, all of the things that you see going on have made it unsafe for anyone to say anything other than ‘vote yes.’”

New gun safety measures, which Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law last year following the MSU mass shooting, took effect this week. They include universal background checks and safe storage requirements, plus a red flag law for temporarily taking guns away from those at risk of endangering themselves or others.  State Rep. Penelope Tsnernoglou, D-East Lansing, said more gun safety legislation will depend on whether Democrats keep control of the state House in 2025. End Gun Violence Michigan released an updated version of its website Tuesday at https://www.endgunviolencemi.org/ to enhance understanding of the new laws.

FEMA said Thursday it will make federal funding available to individuals and businesses affected by the storms and tornados in nine Michigan counties Aug. 24 to 26, including Ingham and Eaton. They have 60 days to apply for grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-interest loans to cover uninsured property losses and other recovery programs at disasterassistance.gov or 800-621-3362.

The Lansing Human Relations & Community Services Department seeks community input on utilizing the Letts Community Center as a warming and temporary shelter. The 5 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 15) meeting at Foster Community Center is to discuss using $800,000 in state grant funds. The Detroit Rescue Mission, using $250,000 of Lansing city funds, is running the warming center as a pilot program. However, the Lansing State Journal reported that overnight guests must sleep on the floor or in chairs instead of cots or mattresses due to the lack of a sprinkler system and fire code restrictions.

A road project to completely redesign and rebuild northbound US-127 between I-96 and I-496 will result in the segment of the highway being completely closed from March 11 through November. MDOT will add a third lane to southbound US-127 for northbound traffic. To accommodate traffic flow, northbound traffic will have two lanes in the mornings and southbound two in the afternoons. Eighteen bridges over this stretch of road will be repaired, widened, or completely rebuilt, while the northbound Trowbridge exit will be closed for the duration of the project.

Retired priest David Rosenberg, 72, of DeWitt, was convicted on eight felony charges Friday by a Clinton County jury of embezzling $780,000 from other retired priests to fund his own charitable foundation, Faith First. He was the director of the Lansing Catholic Diocese’s St. Francis Retreat Center in DeWitt between 2015-21. Sentencing will take place at 1 p.m. March 18.

East Lansing and Fowlerville schools investigated an incident where “racist” and “hateful” language was used by a Fowlerville student at a middle school basketball game between the schools on Feb. 6. Fowlerville officials identified the student, whose comments were directed toward East Lansing’s team, and addressed the behavior with the student and parents.

Charges were filed in January against seven additional people for involvement in a 2021 “crossing party” at an MSU fraternity that resulted in the death of pledge Phat Nguyen. The East Lansing police found new evidence from 10 seized cell phones. Nine defendants were charged with hazing resulting in death. The Pi Alpha Phi fraternity was disbanded after the incident, which resulted in three other hospitalizations.

Public Safety:

A Lansing police officer was taken to the hospital with unspecified minor injuries after responding Sunday to a domestic incident on the 1500 block of Donora Street. Two people were arrested at the scene, while the officer has since been released. … A Lansing-area woman died after a three-county police chase ended when she crashed her car in Ionia County. She was driving a Kia Forte when it lost control and struck a tree.