East Lansing

East Lansing City Bond Attorney // Eliot Singer

I see  in ELi  that some members of Council are (finally) questioning the continued use of the bond attorney. I would add, they also need to get rid of Baird as the city’s bond agent.

Better yet, time to stop allowing DDA/BRA to issue bonds and to stop allowing the city to issue bonds unless approved by voters. Just a reminder, the DPW building was built without voter-approved bonds (with cost overrun) after voters were promised, in approving sale of the old building, there would be no … Read more →

Coronavirus // Bill Weckesser

PR admin note: I had removed this post at one point – but have changed my mind and am keeping it on the site, as to stick to my initial thought of how such a post could encourage a productive conversation.

Hopefully good news in the fight against the coronavirus is permissible. In fact there’s every reason to believe that few if any of the young people who tested positive from Harper’s will need to be hospitalized nor succumb to … Read more →

Will University re-Opening Be Done Safely To Avoid Covid-19 Outbreaks? Likely Not. // Patrick Levine Rose

Will we get large Covid-19 outbreaks by having college students return to campus? Answer: Most likely yes. 

Why? Students are not likely to limit contacts outside class this Fall upon  return to school. And the mitigation strategies that are needed likely will not be in place. [Source: Study by Univ of Penn/Swarthmore Profs.]

So Universities will likely collect the tuition, bring the students back to campus, cause the outbreak, declare emergency, send the students home — a planned failure (but a profitable one). Thoughts?

The study … Read more →

Decommissioning Yeadon // Eliot Singer

Ah, nostalgia, to quote the great storyteller, Gamble Rogers.

I see the DDA is finally giving up on Yeadon. I still maintain, if the city gave up on the DDA, eliminating staffing costs and reducing it to paying its existing debts and bills, it would save more money than trying desperately to make good on the idiotic 2009 decision to borrow to buy the Evergreen properties. By time any big new project is completed, the debt of the bonds for City Center I will be … Read more →

Let There Be Light Event – Wednesday, 4.1.2020 // Nancy Cuddeback

Hi All,

A thoughtful person posted this (see attachment) on FB a couple of days ago. I think it might be a wonderful way to get outside together (at a distance), reinforce our connectedness, and send out powerful thoughts and prayers of gratitude for all the helpers in this crisis. (See Mr. Rogers advice that in any crisis look for-and appreciate-the helpers. . . )

The attached flyer specifically mentions all the medical personnel who are doing amazing work to get us thru this … Read more →

Don Power Celebration of Life / Gordon Taylor

We lost Don Power on December 27, 2019.  His celebration of life will be at  the East Lansing Public Library, 950 Abbot Rd, on Sunday, March 15 at 10 am to 12:30 pm.  Guests are invited to share memories at 11 am.  For those who wish to donate, please consider the East Lansing Public Library or the Small Animal Emergency Clinic, MSU Veterinary Hospital,  736 Wilson Rd, East Lansing MI 48824-1314.

Always an advocate for the East Lansing Library, Don was instrumental in getting … Read more →

What Counts as Outside “The Boundaries of Normal Messing-Up”? // Alice Dreger

Historic District - Sunset Ln - Copyright Raymond Holt

As  reported at ELi today , City Council voted 3-2 on Tuesday night to finally end the excruciating process of considering changes to the Oakwood Historic District boundaries. 

As was expected when this process started in 2013, the DDA’s Evergreen Avenue properties were removed to allow for redevelopment in order to deal with the looming $5.4 million debt on them. I’m happy to say the boundary was moved only two properties farther north, leaving largely intact the district I bought into in 1998 with the purchase of our … Read more →

Oakwood Historic District Boundary // Alice Dreger

Oakwood Historic District Home

Because I am trying to fight City Hall to defend my rights as a person who intentionally bought a home in the Oakwood Historic District, I am no longer reporting on the subject for East Lansing Info. I am instead compiling information as a citizen.I’ve spent a great deal of time researching what we know, with the help of multiple citizens who have been involved in this procedural mess, and have produced the attached document. I want to make clear I am not blaming the … Read more →

Selling and redeveloping city’s Evergreen properties is not financially necessary // Eliot Singer

Three of the EverGreen properties

With a new Council and an apparent willingness to look beyond the DDA for solutions to the Evergreen properties quagmire, I am going to revive my analysis from several years ago that it is not financially imperative to sell and redevelop the city’s Evergreen properties, which were originally bought with the intent of tearing them down and replacing with a massive parking garage.

Recall that the properties were bought 10 years ago for more than 3 times their assessed market value, at a time … Read more →

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