Government

Above: artist’s rendering of the planned building, not showing the planned plaza.

Above: Corey Cafagna Park

There is a new park in the Glencairn neighborhood, behind Hannah Community Center. Well, okay, the green space at the intersection of Sunset Lane and Southlawn Avenue has always been there, and some people even knew it was a city park. But now the City of East Lansing has named it the Corey Cafagna Park. The park will soon have what people expect in a neighborhood park---benches, a flower planter, and an "official" name sign.

Above: Artist’s rendering of the planned building at 565 East Grand River Avenue, at the northwest corner of Bailey Street and Grand River Avenue. (Does not show the controversial plaza, which would use the current third lane of Bailey Street, closest to the building.)

Above: The Bailey Community Center as seen from the west.

City Council’s meeting this week did not see the smooth sailing that had been hoped by all for the Capital Area Housing Partnership’s (CAHP’s) plan for redevelopment of the Bailey Community Center.

Above: City Council’s meeting last night (left to right: Ruth Beier, Diane Goddeeris, and Nathan Triplett)

Last night at East Lansing’s City Council, a development group called FP Investors got Council’s approval for a “cluster plan development” for the Falcon Pointe property, near Hawk Nest, on Chandler Road near State Road. The plan calls for FP Investors “to convert an existing manufactured housing community into a site condominium development.”

Walk through the Chesterfield Hills neighborhood and you will notice some changes underfoot. These include new curbs and ramps, newly paved streets, and sidewalks added to traffic circles and triangles.

Between the new curbs and ramps, though, many sidewalks remain in a state of disrepair.

East Lansing City Council candidate Jermaine Ruffin has been a resident of East Lansing for over a decade and is a graduate of MSU. Married with three children, Ruffin works as a Placemaking Project Specialist with the State of Michigan with a focus on assisting communities statewide with promoting and leveraging their unique attributes to retain and attract residents.

Above: ELPD Sergeant Andrew Bouck telling City Councilmember Ruth Beier that she could not distribute a political handout protesting display of a confederate flag at the Folk Festival on August 9.

This week, East Lansing’s City Council moved to repeal a section of the City’s Code without anyone on Council ever mentioning what motivated the repeal: the use two weeks ago of that section by East Lansing Police officers to stop political speech.

City Council candidate Mark Meadows is familiar to many East Lansing residents due to his years of public service.

Meadows began his career as an Assistant Attorney General in the Michigan Attorney General's office. During this time, he worked on cases where he represented the Departments of Social Services, Mental Health, Natural Resources and the State Police. He also served in the Environmental Protection Division.