Spartan Newsroom (https://news.jrn.msu.edu/post-type/photo-gallery/page/2/)
Zynda’s, a family owned-restaurant in Williamston located on 150 E. Grand River Ave., is working hard to open early next year. Adam Zynda and his sister Nikki Zynda are finishing the final details.
An investigation into what caused a house to explode a couple weeks ago in Commerce Township continues across multiple police and fire departments, pointing to the use of recreational drugs.
Associated Press sports writer Larry Lage couldn’t stop thinking about freelancers who needed help financially because of layoffs affecting the sports media due to the cancellation of sports during COVID-19. “I went to bed and was thinking about sports journalists who were paid by assignment,” Lage said. “I thought of them the next morning and I literally started to tear up, and I thought, to myself, you know what I’m going to try to do something.”
After COVID-19 began spreading in the U.S., Lage said many freelancers went without payments because they are paid by assignment and there were no assignments due to many sports leagues cancelling. The NBA announced on March 11 that they would suspend the rest of the season after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus. Then, the NCAA cancelled the March Madness tournament on March 12, and the NHL and MLS suspended their seasons on March 12 as well.
Kelsea Ellis, Lansing resident and former employee of Good Slice Pizza Co. in the city, is one of the thousands of restaurant and bar workers in Michigan left without a job and income. As of March 22, over 108,710 residents have filed unemployment claims, according to a Michigan.gov press release. “I have personally not received any money from the community and do not expect to,” she said in an email. “I’ve filed for unemployment and filed my taxes, so I’m hoping for some additional funds.”
Community support through GoFundMe
Ellis though has noticed people pitching in on crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe (that also has a small relief fund to help businesses) to help employees at local restaurants that closed due to COVID-19.
Haslett High School student Austin McCormick after presenting on Feb. 11, 2020 his bat-house project plan to the Meridian Township Park Commission meeting.
The Meridian Township Board voted unanimously to support the Ingham County Road Department’s road-diet plan to change Jolly Road from four to three lanes. A road diet is a technique in transportation planning where the number of travel lanes and/or effective width of the road is reduced to improve the flow of traffic. Rick Shafer, a former Traffic and Transportation Committee member said that when he first first heard about the project, he thought it seemed counterintuitive to restrict traffic to three lanes. Currently, one lane is typically used for through traffic while the other lane is used for right turns and the inner, eastbound lane is used for left turns, for example at Okemos High School and Hiawatha Elementary School. The Ingham County Road Department met with the Okemos School District to review whether the high school’s traffic flow can be improved for better overall efficiency.
“There will still be four lanes, but they would be reassigned to how they are being used, especially at peak hours, particularly to access the high school,” said Bill Conklin, manager of the Ingham County Road Department.
The Williamston Art Committee has applied for a grant in the hopes of commissioning four welcome murals for the city. The city has wanted to execute an art project for a long time and may finally get their chance to do so. The city has already selected one of the four sites the murals will go. It will hear back on the awarding of the grant by March.
Wisinski said she received a positive reaction about her mother-son proposal from members of many on the Meridian Township Environmental Commission.
In Michigan, it’s expected there will be a lot of snow come winter time. For Michigan State Infrastructure Planning and Facilities, it’s important to always be ready. MSU Facilities uses 63 trucks, plows and blades to clear campus roads and walkways on campus. The campus contains 57 miles of roadways, 115 miles of sidewalks and 28,000 parking spaces. During the winter, MSU Facilities will get news of an impending storm and they’ll load vehicles with brine road treatment, a mixture of salt and water.
Another Lansing staple is set to close early next year. The Frandor Sears location announced a few weeks ago their closing. The department store has been leasing that location since 1954. “Sears has ten years left on their lease,” said real estate developer Pat Gillespie of the Gillespie group. “They have rights to be in the building for ten more years.