FREE a newspaper for the rest of us www.lansingcitypulse.com October 28-November 3, 2015 County ocial red over e ics Close encounters City Pulse probe leads to dismissal, p. 5 Lansing looks back on 'e War of the Worlds,' p. 9 AMERICAN FESTIVAL NOVEMBER 7 8PM WHARTON CENTER for PERFORMING ARTS CHRIS CREVISTON, JAMES FORGER, JOE LULLOFF, GRIFFIN CAMPBELL FOR TICKETS 517.487.5001 Saxophone Quartet LANSINGSYMPHONY.ORG TIMOTHY MUFFITT Conductor & Music Director BARBER BOLCOM BERNSTEIN Adagio for Strings, Concerto for On the Town: Three PRESENTED BY SPONSORED BY Symphony No. 1 4 Saxophones Dance Episodes The Loomis Law Firm Lake Trust Credit Union John & Fran Loose 2 www.lansingcitypulse.com City Pulse • October 28, 2015 YOU’LL HAVE THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE. Look for the logo and support these businesses: • AB Dick Document • Jersey Giant Solutions • Kristine Ranger • Allen Neighborhood • M3 Group Center • Mackerel Sky Gallery • Andrew J Lathrop • Mason Area Chamber • ASK of Commerce • Bake n' Cakes • Meridian Fire Arms • Benedict Auto Body Inc • Michigan Energy • Brian McGrain Options • Capitol Macintosh • Mid Michigan • City Pulse Interactive • Creative Wellness • Old Town General Store • DeWitt Creativity Group • Office Furniture Outlet • Dreamscape Multimedia & Supplies Inc. • Eagle Monk • Paper Image Printer Pub & Brewery Centers • East Lansing Food • Paramount Coffee Co Co-op • Physicians Health Plan • Go Green Trikes LLC • PTD Technology • Great Lakes Window • Rathbun Insurance Agency Cleaning • Reno's East • Greater Lansing • Saper Galleries & Custom Convention & Visitor's Framing Bureau • The Plant Professionals • Granger • The Soup Spoon Café • H.C. Berger Company • Tonia Olson • Herbruck's Poultry • Trade Network International, Inc. CALF MEMBERS Ranch • U Save Moving and Storage • Ingham County Land Bank (Members whose dues are current) For more information, visit capitalarealocalfirst.org THIS SPACE DONATED BY CITY PULSE Fall Pottery Sal e Thursday - Saturday Nov 5th, 5pm-8pm Nov 6th, 10am-8pm Nov 7th, 10am -3pm At: St. David’s Episcopal Church VOTE 1519 Elmwood Rd, Lansing Harold Tues., Nov 3 North of the Lansing Mall LEEMANLife Long Resident — 57 yrs for Lansing NOVEMBER 10-15 MSU’s Wharton Center TICKETS ON SALE NOW! CITY COUNCIL WHARTONCENTER.COM • 1-800-WHARTON AT-LARGE Experience Matters. Visit us on Facebook East Lansing engagement welcomed by 12 Years of Positive Results!! BZEM Group at Merrill Lynch; Farm Bureau Insurance; Lansing City Council Member 1996-2007 Clayworks Store Hours and Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn. Council President 2006 & 2007 Saturdays 10am -2pm Paid for by Harold Leeman for Lansing (517) 626-1160 529 N. Francis, Lansing, MI 48912 City Pulse • October 28, 2015 www.lansingcitypulse.com 3 Things are changing fast and we are changing with it. ack’s has been a part of the Lansing cylinders and doorways. We have partnered business community and a with Michigan’s own Guardian Alarm Co., H household name for nearly a one of the oldest security companies in century. It has been at the same location for Michigan. (Their alarm systems are 70 years and in downtown Lansing for 93 monitored right here in our home state.) years. After recent growth, it has earned a Guardian Alarm has been serving Michigan much needed second location that will allow since 1930. Our trusted team at Hack’s will customers to comfortably park and enjoy install the alarm systems and be there to many new services. Hack’s has had a service your needs locally. We have also wonderful run at its current location at 222 S. added a new door department that can Grand Ave., but many customers complain repair or replace most commercial doors and that parking is nearly impossible. The hardware. Plans are to have an extensive downtown metered spaces are nearly showroom with parts and products in stock always busy, and our own parking lot is often for your convenience. full of employee and business vehicles. Customers can count on Hack’s to be in the Our new location will have locksmith downtown area for some time to come. services, the familiar key wall and enough Hack’s is an old-time business deserving of space for all of the new divisions. We are a care and respect, and it is an honor to carry well trusted locksmith shop and we are on its reputation of service and integrity. developing new types of security for this Expanding this nearly-century-old business digital age we’re in. We will soon have a high is a labor of love and care for a business that security digital keyway system that will give has served Lansing's homes and businesses access control while utilizing existing rim for so long. PAID ADVERTISEMENT 4 www.lansingcitypulse.com City Pulse • October 28, 2015 Feedback VOL. 15 Sparrow to blame for Boles’ bad checks owned grocery store thrown out. ISSUE 11 Upon reading your article I learned that Triplett implies the city's AAA bond rat- the Councilwoman had closed a bank ac- ing is his accomplishment. Nonsense. Mar- (517) 371-5600 • Fax: (517) 999-6061 • 1905 E. Michigan Ave. • Lansing, MI 48912 • www.lansingcitypulse.com count. And Sparrow kept trying to get mon- ket conditions, not the mayor, are mostly responsible. Triplett says East Lansing city ADVERTISING INQUIRIES: (517) 999-6705 ey from her closed bank account. It sounds PAGE CLASSIFIED AD INQUIRIES: (517) 999-6704 debt has gone down during his tenure. True like Sparrow was writing bad checks. or email [email protected] — John Rooney only if you ignore the city's unfunded pen- sion liability. 7 EDITOR AND PUBLISHER • Berl Schwartz Lansing [email protected] • (517) 999-5061 If the affable and articulate Mayor Triplett ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER • Mickey Hirten Elect people to ‘outvote’ Woods, Triplett asked auditor Dan Block ofindependent fi- Clifton Wharton answers questions [email protected] • (517) 999-5064 nancial auditing firm Plante Moran the Rea- This November's election is an impor- ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR • Ty Forquer gan question, Block would likely reply what [email protected] • (517) 999-5068 tant one for East Lansing, but many who PAGE he reported at the Jan. 20, 2015 City Coun- CREATIVE DIRECTOR • Jonathan Griffith have not followed city council actions very cil meeting: "You have a city debt of about [email protected] • (517) 999-5069 closely may not realize that the incumbent 10 $186 million, and a very significant amount PRODUCTION MANAGER • Allison Hammerly councilmembers have already revealed their [email protected] • (517) 999-5066 of unfunded liability in pensions and OPEB policies by their past votes. If East Lansing STAFF WRITERS • Lawrence Cosentino (other post -employment benefits)... Your Dia de los Muertos event honors Latino culture is to stop handing unnecessary subsidies to [email protected] net position will very likely not be positive real estate developers, to start paying more Todd Heywood anymore, and that will tell a story." [email protected] attention to the backing-up sewers and bro- —Gordon Taylor PAGE ADVERTISING10:30 • Shelly a.m. Olson Saturdays & Suzi Smith ken pavements in the neighborhoods, and to East Lansing [email protected] • (517) 999-6705 reform a planning department that too often 11 [email protected] • (517) 999-6704 seems like a fifth column for redevelopment GRAPHIC DESIGNER • Nikki Nicolaou interests, we need councilmembers who will For Altmann and Ross 'The Diary of Anne Frank' delivers emotional punch Contributors: Andy Balaskovitz, Justin Bilicki, outvote Susan Woods--and Nathan Triplett Erik Altmann and Steve Ross are well Daniel E. Bollman, Capital News Service, Bill prepared to address the City of East Lansing Castanier,$ Mary C. Cusack,$ Tom Helma, Gabrielle should he happen to be re-elected--and who COVER Johnson, Terry Link, Andy McGlashen, Kyle Melinn, will keep outvoting them again and again as fiscal crisis over the next four years and be- Mark$ Nixon, Shawn Parker, Stefanie Pohl, Dennis long as necessary. yond. Altmann and Ross are clear and plain Preston, Allan I. Ross, Belinda Thurston, Rich Tupica, Ute Von Der Heyden, Paul Wozniak —John Kloswick spoken about downtown and neighborhood ART issues and the City’s ability to deal with fis- CrowdsourcingDelivery drivers: Dave Fisher, Ian Graham, Richard East Lansing cal and development challenges. Fresh eyes, Simpson, Thomas Scott Jr., Kathy Tober “BRING OUT YOUR DEAD” By TYA FORQUER GUIDE TO LANSING-AREA ONLINE FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGNS clear heads, new courage: a fresh start for Interns: McKenzie Hagerstrom, Kevin McIerney Defeat Nathan Triplett East Lansing; a new path for transparency. Affable and articulate Ronald Reagan fa- Recent East Lansing reports on legacy CITY PULSE Editor & Publisher mously asked voters "Are you better off now costs (retirement and health care), bonded on the Berl than you were four years ago?" Let's pose the debt, across the board infrastructure chal- Schwartz same question to residents of East Lansing. lenges, and tax subsidies (TIFs) demonstrate AIR While claiming to be the "City of the Now airing on the escalating fiscal burden the city faces. Arts," East Lansing still has the same down- Legacy costs are akin to bonded debt; they 10:30 a.m. Saturdays town blighted buildings it has had for years. are not discretionary. Deferring infrastruc- 89 FM We have a water treatment plant that al- ture challenges only means higher prices in lowed mercury poisoning and unsanitary the future. conditions to threaten workers and result When the City Council approves a TIF, it in thousands of dollars of state fines (and an is diverting new tax funds to the developer increase in our rates). Crumbling roads and and away from the general fund. The devel- sidewalks. Sewer backup in our basements oper pays no new taxes for public services. following heavy rain. A glutted student Then your taxes pay for public services from housing market and several new downtown which the new, private properties benefit bars, but no new downtown housing for se- throughout the life of the TIF.