At the Meridian Township Farmers’ Market on March 20, several vendors said although COVID-19 has changed their business models, they are finding success through similar markets in Ingham County and across Michigan.
News
Wilkshire Early Childhood Center adapts to virtual learning
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Meridian Township early education students and families adapt to a year of virtual learning.
Article
HOMTV to film live shows again
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With vaccines on the rise and an end to self-isolation in sight, HOMTV, Meridian Township’s government television station in Okemos, will broadcast its first live show of the year next week.
Some interns haven’t even been able to visit the newsroom. Bryanna Idzior, a senior at MSU and reporting intern at HOMTV, recently interviewed a source via Zoom while she was in the station. Other than the tour of the studio she received when she was first hired on, this was her first time in the newsroom.
“It’s kind of been amazing over the past year or so what journalists have learned what they can do remotely,” Idzior said. “Zoom has been a really great tool to get to speak with people.”
She will be a part of the team filming the Meridian News Now live show. They are planning on working after-hours at the station so that there are less full-time staff in the building to accommodate social distancing.
Article
Sparrow & MSU, front-line looks at vaccine distribution
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As of March 22, Sparrow Hospital widened its vaccination criteria to those who are ages 50 and up, as well as people with medical conditions who are ages 16 and up and their caregiver family members and guardians. “It’s been an extremely busy and hectic time, but it’s been a really fun assignment,” said Sparrow Laboratories Manager Elizabeth Reust. “People are excited to get the vaccine, and we’re super pleased to be able to provide it to them.”
Following Ingham County’s March 15 COVID-19 update, we can see that COVID cases and hospitalizations are jumping up and down weekly, with an overall decline. The drive-thru at Sparrow began as a COVID-testing facility (previously a Sears Auto Center), in January of this year and morphed into a place for rapid-vaccination. This model allows for up to 1,000 vaccinations a day.
Article
Okemos schools rated the best district in Lansing
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Niche, a community data website, rated the Okemos Public Schools the number one district in the Lansing area and the fourth-best district in Michigan. Other ratings include an A+ in teaching, academics and college prep.
Among the information provided, Okemos schools rank 18 of 561 under Districts with the Best Teachers in Michigan and 23 of 552 under Best Places to Teach in Michigan. Niche analyzes comprehensive data on colleges, school districts and communities. It collects data from different sources and conducts its own research to provide accurate information every day.
Assistant Principal of Okemos High School, Lamanzar Williams, said he is proud to be a part of the school community.
“We all play a role in the collective success of the students,” Williams said. “The hard work of our students, families, and teachers [show commitment] to educating students at a high level.”
Superintendent John Hood has worked in the Okemos Public Schools for 24 years.
construction
Meridian Township ZBA approves a sign on Towner Road
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The Meridian Township Zoning Board of Appeals approved unanimously on Feb. 24, 2021 a variance request made by Johnson Sign Company to install a second wall sign at 2076 Towner Rd. Proposed design of the new sign at 2076 Towner Rd. by Johnson Sign Company
Jim Johnson from Johnson Sign Company spoke to the board at the meeting, representing his tenant, Great Lakes Office Furniture, and gave justification for the request. Johnson said his client feels it would be in the public interest to add a sign on the north side of the building, as both clients that also includes Retractable Solutions Inc. and delivery drivers traveling west on Saginaw Highway often have difficulty finding his client’s business.
News
Okemos Capital Area District Library provides multiple services during COVID-19
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According to the current health conditions and guidelines issued by the Ingham County Health Department and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Okemos Capital Area District Library currently restricts the number of public access and provides contactless services.
Article
Meridian Township’s Farmers’ Market is open for business
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The Meridian Farmers’ Market has made major changes in reopening to keep the community safe. Initially, the market was held inside the Meridian Mall during the winter months. That immediately shifted once COVID-19 hit.
News
Harris Nature Center reopens with limited capacity indoors, unlimited outdoors
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It is hard for Harris Nature Center during the pandemic, but the center still tries its best to provide better programs and serve the community.
Detroit
Grocery stores and fast-food restaurants in Flint and Detroit, only part of food disparities puzzle
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To illustrate the jigsaw puzzle that explains health and food disparities in low-income communities, comparisons between two low-income communities, Flint and Detroit, reveal a lack of grocery stores with affordable prices and the abundance of fast-food restaurant are key challenges linked to adverse health issues such as obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. “It basically confirmed that there’s a lot of junk food on kids’ menus in poorer neighborhoods of urban areas,” said Rick Sadler, assistant professor in MSU’s College of Human Medicine’s Division of Public Health — Flint campus, who co-authored in 2018 a study on how students who attend schools in urban areas with high levels of socioeconomic distress consume foods with low levels of nutritional value such as fast-food.
Fast-food frequency in Detroit
“The number of fast food restaurants are too many to count, but I would say more than 10,” said Detroit resident Darion Jackson. “It’s harder to find healthier options when all you’re surrounded with is fast food.”
This video recorded while driving through Detroit shows fast-food restaurants dominated city blocks. Kenneth Matthews, a Detroit resident, agrees with Jackson on the increasing number of fast food restaurant in the city. Systemic racism
Sadler credits systemic racism as the root cause for food disparities.
Article
MSU faculty, students weigh in on Biden’s environmental plan
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Carbon neutral by 2050
President-elect Joe Biden’s main goal in The Biden Plan is to stem climate change by reaching by 2050 carbon neutrality, which means emissions released are offset by being absorbed by an equivalent amount from the atmosphere.
To help achieve this goal, the President-elect aims to have U.S. electricity production carbon-free by 2035. “It’s attainable, yes, I think it is, but there are many prohibiting factors that could prevent it from happening,” said Bruno Takahashi, a research director at MSU’s Knight Center of Environmental Journalism and associate professor in the School of Journalism. A prohibiting factor could be Congress should it become Republican-controlled. Next month, the country will find out the Georgia Senate runoff results, determining party control. Despite the prospect of future administrations reversing the advancements Biden will potentially make, Takahashi is optimistic that the carbon-free goal is still attainable by 2050.