City Council

At Tuesday's work session, a majority of City Council were cautious, but willing to work medical marijuana provisioning centers into the city's retail landscape. One councilmember believes the risks outweigh the benefits for East Lansing. Ann Nichols reports.

The City of East Lansing has been trying to help businesses downtown weather the stresses of the Center City District construction. ELi's Alice Dreger summarizes the efforts and talks to business owners about what's helping, what's not, and what might work better.

Harrison Road will be reconfigured between Grand River and Michigan Avenues, with lane reductions and added bike lanes to improve safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers. ELi's Jessy Gregg reports.

City Council has approved an application to waive the “underfunded status” of the City's pension system. Will the State Treasurer grant the waiver, or become more involved in overseeing East Lansing's pension systems? ELi's Chris Root reports.

In a rare instance of deregulation in East Lansing, City Council has voted to repeal the so-called 50/50 law. The hope is for more diversified dining and drinking options downtown. ELi's Alice Dreger reports.

Council Member Ruth Beier said at Tuesday evening’s meeting that East Lansing is headed for bankruptcy if new sources of revenue are not secured soon. ELi's Chris Root reports.

Even if East Lansing officials approve the new site plan coming for the Park District, the project could still hit the same vein of fatal problems it did last time around. ELi's Alice Dreger explains.

As it faces a financial crisis, East Lansing's government is paying consultants almost $20,000 to gather citizens’ ideas about where the City might cut its budget and obtain new revenues. ELi's Alice Dreger reports.

The City needs to bring East Lansing up to speed on information technology (IT) staffing levels, to adopt an Open Data policy, and to stop accumulating “technological debt" according to a citizens' panel. ELi's Jessy Gregg reports.

The cancellation of the Great Lakes Folk Festival has been unwelcome news to many artists, attendees, and downtown business owners. So how was the decision made, and why? ELi's Alice Dreger investigates.

Would withdrawal of a controversial law known as 50/50 lead to jello-shot bars and fewer places to eat lunch, or would it lead to chic wine and tapas bars? Council debated the issue this week. ELi's Jessy Gregg reports.

East Lansing’s Planning Commission was unable to conduct business at its most recently scheduled meeting for lack of a quorum. Commission Chair Dan Bollman explains for ELi why the City needs more people to apply to serve as soon as possible.

Responding to a report published by ELi, on Tuesday City Council discussed continuing to allow City employees to invest their own money in the East Lansing pension system through Council-approved purchases of “pension service credits.”

City staff and Council are looking into whether to revise street-parking rules as residents raise concerns about whether emergency vehicles can get through. ELi's Jessy Gregg reports.

East Lansing's Transportation Commission supports converting another portion of Harrison Road from four lanes to three in order to add bike lanes. But Council, anticipating controversy, is going to decide the matter. ELi's Alice Dreger reports.