Your ELi

As Managing Editor at ELi, I want you to read what we publish. We work hard (really hard) to bring you the best in East Lansing news and information, and whether an article is an uplifting story of community support after a crisis, or an update on the City’s financial situation, I feel a rush of excitement every time I send something out into the community.

As a lawsuit by nine City employees proceeds against the City, we return to the backstory of mercury and asbestos exposure.

When national events like the recent police killings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling and the sniper killing of Brent Thompson and four other Dallas police officers occur, they affect our lives in East Lansing. They contribute to how we see and treat each other. I know from working with East Lansing Police Department officers on ELi reports that these kinds of events weigh on their thoughts as they work in our city. And I know from talking with neighbors of color (and from having a brother who is black) that distrust and even fear of justice systems are not unwarranted.

Facebook is about to change its computer algorithms to emphasize posts by friends and family over posts by news publishers. The consequence of this for ELi readers is that, if you look for our reports primarily via your Facebook account, you may soon be missing news and information you don’t want to miss.

With the notable exception of roadwork, things slow down in East Lansing during the summer. You may have noticed.

This will be my last update to you before our Kickstarter campaign deadline at midnight tonight. This morning I woke up to find we have 94 backers and have only $1,407 to go! Just that amount will mean we reach our goal of $15,000 and turn all these tax-deductible pledges into a big check from Kickstarter to support for our wonderful team. But if we don't reach it....

All this has got me so excited and nervous, I've had to drink decaf this morning.

Yup, more lipstick.

Our Kickstarter campaign deadline is looming—Friday at midnight!—and we are getting really close to being able to obtain the pledges made! We need to reach $15,000, and we are about $3,400 short as I write. So I’m feeling a little giddy but also nervous.

You know what happens when that occurs? I write verse. Here you go.

Why is Alice all dressed up when it's so hot out? Click on the video below to find out!

Seriously, ELi needs your help right now. To obtain the funds pledged to our Kickstarter campaign, we need to raise $15,000 total by Friday at midnight. Please stop waiting for someone else to fund the news you read, and join the ranks of our supporters.

Here is a video in which I explain what's up. Please watch it! (I put on lipstick and pearls for it!)

Our thanks go out to everyone who has already jumped on to support ELi’s new Kickstarter campaign! It is really exciting to see familiar and new names popping up in support of ELi’s public service, bringing the people of East Lansing critically important news and information we can’t get anywhere else.

I am writing today to tell you of something very exciting—we just got a matching pledge!

We received 148 responses to our reader survey which launched April 21, and the responses have been extremely useful to us as we work on improving ELi’s service to you and your neighbors. Our thanks go out to all those who took the survey.

Here’s some of what we learned and how we are responding as we work with our tech managers, Morgan Lees and Lisa Lees, to redesign some aspects of our website:

Eli is going to be on sabbatical starting today and running through at least April 11. During the sabbatical, ELi’s Managing Editor Ann Nichols and I will be working with advisors on figuring out how to go forward. If you think of ELi as our ELi—as a communal good that really matters to your life here—then now would be a good time to pause with us and help us figure out how we proceed.

Please start by reading on.