The CHEAP Issue: Lansing by Day, Lansing by Night 2 City Pulse • August 16, 2017
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s w August 16 - 22, 2017 The CHEAP Issue: Lansing by day, Lansing by night 2 www.lansingcitypulse.com City Pulse • August 16, 2017 MEET AUTHOR SAROO BRIERLEY: KICK-OFF EVENT Sunday, August 27, 2017 • 7 p.m. PRESENTS East Lansing Hannah LOST & FOUND Community Center A JOURNEY OF SELF DISCOVERY 819 Abbot Road • FREE PRESENTED BY: MSU ACADEMIC WELCOME Monday, August 28, 2017 • 9 a.m. Jack Breslin Student SPONSORS ($500+ DONATIONS): Events Center • FREE JANICE & DAVE DRESSEL The One Book, One Community program encourages the KAREN & JERRY JENNINGS East Lansing-MSU community to read the same book and www.onebookeastlansing.com come together to explore its themes at a variety of campus SAM & KERRY SINGH and community events in the fall. City Pulse • August 16, 2017 www.lansingcitypulse.com 3 4 www.lansingcitypulse.com City Pulse • August 16, 2017 Feedback VOL. 17 ISSUE 1 Democrats rule, aiding secrecy (except for certain pockets of resistance) It is absolutely hilarious that when you trudge to the polls and vote straight (517) 371-5600 • Fax: (517) 999-6061 • 1905 E. Michigan Ave. • Lansing, MI 48912 • www.lansingcitypulse.com Democratic no matter what. Eric Schertz- run a story detailing attempted secrecy ADVERTISING INQUIRIES: (517) 999-5061 and FOIA end-runs by elected county ing also knows this, so he’s in no hurry to or email [email protected] officials (Aug. 9), people who know better clean up his staffing problems - again, as Election PAGE CLASSIFIEDS: (517) 999-5066 get all fluttery about it. Mark Grebner is long as he’s a Democrat, who cares? completely justified in his arrogance that -T.E. Klunzinger 8 EDITOR AND PUBLISHER • Berl Schwartz nobody cares: he knows that every other Haslett 2017 [email protected] • (517) 999-5061 November, on the Day of the Living Dead, (The writer is a former Meridian Lansing primary elections pit special interests. P. 8 ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER • Mickey Hirten Township treasurer and trustee.) [email protected] the vast majority of Ingham County voters ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR • Eve Kucharski [email protected] • (517) 999-5068 even specific references to job titles. Any PAGE PRODUCTION MANAGER • Amanda Proscia There’s more to the story [email protected] • (517) 999-5066 “Secrecy and Money”, published 08- discussion will be euphemistic and ellip- 8 STAFF WRITERS • Lawerence Cosentino 09-17, was accurate as far as it went, but tical. A member of the public listening [email protected] somehow avoided ever explaining my mo- would think we were discussing the word- Todd Heywood Ten Pound Fiddle’s program to introduce kids to folk. [email protected] tives. Someone who tried to piece together ing of reports and the pathways traveled by various bits of information. In fact, the SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR • Rich Tupica the various quotes in the article would [email protected] messages conveyed among the members have been left thinking I have some mania The PAGE ASSISTANT SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR for secret dealings, or maybe a morbid would be coded references to individuals, CHEAP Mandy Jackson • [email protected] fear of the public. whose identities we automatically protect, ISSUE 11 SALES EXECUTIVE even as we criticize them. Indeed, during Cory Hartman • [email protected] When I first set up the subcommittee to the entire 90 minute meeting (held Contributors: Andy Balaskovitz, Justin Bilicki, Daniel review the audit findings, the plan was to A list of the best deals in Lansing, day or night. August 3) there was plenty of vigorous E. Bollman, Capital News Service, Bill Castanier, hold our meetings in public. Later, I was Mary C. Cusack, Tom Helma, Gabrielle Lawrence asked to reduce the membership so it fell criticism, but it was never directed at any Johnson, Eve Kucharski, Terry Link, Andy McGlashen, below the number necessary to trigger identifiable target. Kyle Melinn, Mark Nixon, Shawn Parker, Stefanie Pohl, the Open Meetings Act, and I agreed to Later this month - the exact date hasn’t Cover Dennis Preston, Allan I. Ross, Rich Tupica, Ute Von Der Heyden, Paul Wozniak do so. Then your reporter called, and I been fixed - we’ll hold another public Distribution manager: Paul Shore • (517) 999-5061 tried to explain the policy tradeoffs, but he meeting to discuss the specific steps to Art Delivery drivers: Frank Estrada, Dave Fisher, Jack seemed fixated on the idea we were trying fix the continuing problems identified 2017 Cheap Issue cover by Jonathan Griffith Sova, Richard Simpson, Thomas Scott Jr. to hide something from the public. As by the auditors - but we still won’t use I tried to explain to him, I saw pluses any names. That discussion of specific Interns: Danielle Chesney, Clarissa Kell, Dylan Tarr and minuses to each approach, and was employees, which is a critical part of the willing to go along with the other mem- County Board’s management of the Coun- bers of the Commission, and it didn’t ty, will be conducted outside the public’s bother me that the City Pulse was hot on view, primarily by telephone. I explained the trail. However, his interest fell upon this to your reporter, but he either didn’t a Commissioner who cares more about understand me, or didn’t think it was pleasing the media than I do, which worth printing. caused yet another shift, this time back to There’s nothing unusual in having to openness. balance the public’s right to know against As I have tried unsuccessfully to explain the reality of employment confidentiali- to your reporter, the nub of Ingham Coun- ty; sometimes they come into conflict that ty’s audit problem isn’t a faulty organi- can’t be resolved by platitudes. I guess the zation chart or some generalized lack of City Pulse was startled that I would admit communication, regardless of what is said as much on the record. at public meetings. Our problems arise - Mark Grebner from the failures of one or more specific East Lansing people to do their jobs. At a public meet- (The writer is an Ingham County ing, no names are going to be used, nor commissioner.) Correction Because it was written before the final primary election vote count, “Shocker in the 2nd Ward” misstated the vote count between Councilwoman Tina Houghton and neighborhood activist Julee Rodocker. Houghton beat Rodocker 660 to 625, winning by 35 votes. See pages 6, 9, 12 & 28 for Public Notices City Pulse • August 16, 2017 www.lansingcitypulse.com 5 PULSE NEWS & OPINION Playing Godzilla C Placemakers mull over Michigan Avenue makeover OF THE WEEK A scene out of a Japanese kaiju mov- and Meridian Township are planned, with decorative pavement, pocket gardens and ie unfolded Wednesday at lunch hour at dates to be announced. so on. Lansing City Hall. Giant beings loomed Last week’s workshop was festooned The images showed people sitting at over the city, ripping up lanes of pavement with images depicting Michigan Avenue tables, bikes cruising past and foliage and tossing them aside like cardboard. as a new urbanist template for “placemak- everywhere. The dragons breathed flames of New ing” — slowing down traffic, accommo- “If I’m sitting there having lunch, it Urbanism as they questioned the old dating bikes and buses and adding graces would be so awesome,” Quinney said, order. such as public art, grassy medians, space pointing an at image of people dining on Should Michigan the street next to a Avenue have one lane sculpture. She likes of auto transit in each the idea of traffic direction or two? slowing down. “I’d Should it have park- be driving down the Tree Details ing, bike lanes, transit street, saying, ‘What East Lansing lanes, “amenity zones” is that thing? I’m with tables and bench- going to see what’s Responding to the recent winter es? going on over there,’” ice storms, the Lansing Board of Shaping the Avenue, she said. Water & Light has undertaken a planning project CATA is paying efforts to clear trees near power managed by the Capital for the study with lines in East Lansing. Past storms Area Transportation a pilot grant from have caused extended power Authority Lansing, the Federal Transit outages and trimming the trees is East Lansing and Authority to do tran- a preemptory effort to maintain Lansing and Meridian sit-oriented develop- the lines in place. At times, the townships, brought ment. extreme pruning leaves the trees out the urban planning “Each of the juris- shapeless and awkward. Godzilla in several doz- dictions are thrilled en curious residents. that we’re able to These photos illustrate different People played with pay for the consul- attitudes toward managing mockups of Michigan tant to be the com- inconveniently located plantings. Avenue on the city’s mon thread through The sidewalk wraps the tree at east side, arranging the corridor,” its base. Or, in a more extreme strips of cardboard Funkhouser said measure, the tree divides the representing various But Funkhouser driveway into two paths. Both options. The challenge and other CATA offi- details required a little extra was to fit them all into Lawrence Cosentino/City Pulse cials got some flak at effort to fabricate but they add charm and define the character of the 99-foot right of Lansing resident CATA system planner Elizabeth Hude (left) helps Desiree Quinney Wednesday’s work- way. (far right) and other visitors weigh options for a redesign of Michigan Avenue on shops from people their place. Brad Funkhouser, Lansing’s east side at a City Hall workshop last week. who took Shaping the deputy CEO of CATA, Avenue as a sneaky —Daniel E. Bollman, AIA explained that in the next five years, for tables and benches and other ameni- way to get the controversial Bus Rapid Lansing expects to rebuild Michigan ties.