Family Life

Above: Lauren Brown, Lindsey Wren, and Pastor Nicolette Siragusa at the Ingham County Courthouse today.

Lauren Brown and Lindsey Wren, residents of East Lansing’s Pinecrest neighborhood, were at the Ingham County Courthouse today within two hours of the Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-gender marriage nationwide. Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum told us she was committed to staying as late as necessary to make sure any couples wishing to marry today can do so.

 Max's Race is back this year with the continued purpose of honoring the memory of Maxwell Matthews and helping families with sick children. This year’s Race Day events include an 8:30AM 5K Run/Walk, a 9:30AM Kids' 1 Mile Run and 9:45-10:00AM Kids Fun Runs.

Max, son of Natalie and Jim Matthews, contracted bacterial meningitis in 1998 when he was only 7 months old. He was almost 7 years old when he died in 2005 due to complications from the disease.

Image: Proposed southern elevation view from the CAHP plan for redevelopment of the Bailey Community Center structure

Above: Image from yesterday's presentation by Capital Area Housing Partnership

About four dozen East Lansing residents, mostly from the Bailey neighborhood, attended a meeting at the Bailey Community Center yesterday to hear the Capital Area Housing Partnership (CAHP) present plans for repurposing the building. People posed questions about various aspects of the early version of the plans, but no one raised serious objections and several residents made a point of expressing their support for the proposal.

New information from City staff has emerged on the past and possible future of the Bailey Community Center, just as the Capital Area Housing Partnership is moving to convene a public discussion this week about that organization’s vision for how to use the property.

Six months after filming for “Batman vs. Superman” took over East Lansing, the comic world is again poised to take over the Lansing area with the start of Capital City Comic Con.

Starting Saturday morning at Haslett High School, Capital City Comic Con is bringing together artists, writers, collectors, vendors and fans for a celebration of all things comic, science fiction and game. Unlike the larger national events that inspired it, Capital City Comic Con has a decidedly local flavor.

What's the history of one of our community's most beloved institutions? ELi's Managing Editor Ann Nichols brings it to you.

Image: Screen shot of a State News report from 2011, as explained below.

Telaina Eriksen: Can you give me a little bit of the history behind Helping Hands and its place in the East Lansing Community?

Since Tuesday’s 3-2 vote at Council to close the Bailey daycare and community center, ELi’s Managing Editor Ann Nichols and I have been soliciting citizen reactions.

In a long and contentious Council meeting tonight, Mayor Nathan Triplett, Mayor Pro Tem Diane Goddeeris, and Council member Susan Woods effectively voted to close the Bailey daycare and also the Bailey Community Center in June of this year.

Image: Bailey daycare parents' Working Group member Charles Hoogstraten speaks to Council late last year

Former East Lansing mayor Douglas Jester is urging City Council to vote tomorrow night to save the Bailey daycare. In a letter to Council that he has shared with ELi, Jester asks Council “to assist the parents who are attempting to establish a non-profit corporation to operate the program, and to undertake a community process to decide the future of the Bailey Community Center.”

Councilmember Ruth Beier is set tomorrow to make the following motion at Council:

Image: Courtesy of City of East Lansing

City Council is now set to decide the fate of the Bailey childcare program and the Bailey Community Center next Tuesday. Members of the Bailey neighborhood told Council last night that this means they are essentially also deciding the fate of the Bailey neighborhood itself.