FREE Locally owned October 21 - 27, 2020 A newspaper for the rest of us www.lansingcitypulse.com PLUS Find out who has the best pizza on your side of town SEE PAGE 21 City Pulse Knight Ad.qxp_Layout 1 10/13/20 10:45 AM Page 2 2 www.lansingcitypulse.com City Pulse • October 21, 2020 THIS IS IT. THE TIME IS NOW. DON’T SIT ON THE SIDELINES. VOTE IN THE NOVEMBER 3 ELECTION! Know your voting rights and make sure your voice is heard on November 3. Have questions or need to report a problem? Call the nonpartisan Election Protection Hotline at (866) OUR-VOTE (866)-687-8683 City Pulse • October 21, 2020 www.lansingcitypulse.com 3 Business in #LoveLansing is RESTARTING. RESILIENT. With more than $7 million provided to 484 small businesses and nonprofits across Clinton, Eaton and Ingham counties, LEAP is working to stabilize and restore the regional economy for everyone. With the support of our members and partners, we are Stronger Together. ACCOUNTING Lake Trust Credit Union POLICY CONSULTANTS PUBLIC SECTOR Theresa Dubiel, SVP, Member Experience and Andrews Hooper and Pavlik, P.L.C. Public Sector Consultants City of Charlotte Business Development Jeffrey J. Fineis, CPA, Partner Rachel Kuntzsch, President Michael Armitage, Mayor MSU Federal Credit Union Simplified Tax & Accounting Clinton County April Clobes, President and CEO REAL ESTATE & DEVELOPMENT Lesley Bergquist, CPA, Partner Kam Washburn, Commissioner and Chair PNC Financial Services Martin Commercial Properties Delhi Charter Township ASSOCIATIONS Tim Salisbury, Regional President Van W. Martin, Chairman and CEO John Hayhoe, Supervisor Arts Council of Greater Lansing Dart Development FINANCIAL/INVESTMENT SERVICES Delta Charter Township Meghan Martin, Executive Director Marsha Zimmerman, Marketing Manager Ken Fletcher, Supervisor Cinnaire Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce DTN Management Mark McDaniel, President and CEO City of DeWitt Tim Daman, President and CEO Colin Cronin, Vice President Sue Leeming, Mayor Lansing 5:01 FOUNDATIONS George F. Eyde Family LLC DeWitt Charter Township Chris Sell, Executive Director Evemarie Eyde, Principal Capital Region Community Foundation Rick Galardi, Supervisor Dennis Fliehman, President and CEO Gillespie Group BIOTECHNOLOGY City of East Lansing Pat Gillespie, President Aaron Stephens, Mayor Emergent BioSolutions, Inc. HEALTH CARE River Caddis Development Mark Alley, VP of Global Protective Services and Eaton County McLaren Greater Lansing John McGraw, Director of Development Public Affairs Terrance Augustine, Commissioner Kirk Ray, President and CEO T.A. Forsberg City of Eaton Rapids CONSTRUCTION/DEVELOPMENT Sparrow Health System Brent Forsberg, President Aaron Desentz, City Manager Joseph J. Ruth, EVP and COO The Christman Company TECHNOLOGY / IT SERVICES City of Grand Ledge Steve Roznowski, President and CEO INSURANCE Thom Sowle, Mayor ASK CONVENTIONS & TOURISM AF Group Mike Maddox, President and CEO Ingham County Lisa Corless, President and CEO Mark Polsdofer, County Commissioner Greater Lansing Convention & Visitors Bureau Dewpoint Julie Pingston, President and CEO Blue Cross Blue Shield of MI Michelle Massey, Director of Marketing and City of Lansing B.J. Puchala, Sr. Community Liaison, Business Development Andy Schor, Mayor CREATIVE Community Responsibility City of Mason TRANSPORTATION Harvest Creative Services Delta Dental of Michigan Russ Whipple, Mayor Steve Curran, President and Creative Director Goran Jurkovic, President and CEO Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA) Meridian Charter Township Brad Funkhouser, CEO and Executive Director Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan Patricia Herring-Jackson, Trustee EDUCATION Donald E. Simon, CEO Capital Region Airport Authority City of St. Johns Lansing Community College Robert Benstein, Interim CEO Jackson National Life Insurance Company Eric Hufnagel, Mayor Dr. Steve Robinson, President David Zyble, AVP, Government Relations Dean Transportation City of Williamston Michigan State University Kellie Dean, President and CEO Corey Schmidt, City Manager Kathleen Wilbur, EVP, Government LEGAL SERVICES and External Relationsh UTILITIES Windsor Township Foster, Swift, Collins and Smith, P.C. Kern Slucter, Supervisor Deanna Swisher, Shareholder Consumers Energy ENVIRONMENTAL Jessica Tramontana, Public Affairs Manager Grewal Law PLLC Triterra Mick Grewal, Sr., Founding & Managing Partner Lansing Board of Water and Light (BWL) Don McNabb, CEO and Principal Scientist Richard Peffley, CEO Loomis, Ewert, Parsley, Davis & Gotting, P.C. ENVIRONMENTAL & ENGINEERING J.V. Anderton, Partner WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT Soil and Materials Engineers, Inc. Capital Area Michigan Works! Mark Quimby, Senior Project Consultant MANUFACTURING Carrie Rosingana, CEO Peckham, Inc. FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS Jo Sinha, President CASE Credit Union The Shyft Group Jeffrey Benson, President and CEO Daryl Adams, President and CEO Dart Bank William Hufnagel, President MEDIA Eaton Community Bank Lansing State Journal/Gannett Group Timothy Jewell, President Staci Holmes, Advertising Sales Manager Fifth Third Bank Michigan Business Network Jody Promer, VP and Chris Holman, CEO Business Relationship Manager LANSING ECONOMIC AREA PARTNERSHIP stronger together Photo by Leon James Photography purelansing.com 4 www.lansingcitypulse.com City Pulse • October 21, 2020 VOL. 20 ISSUE 11 (517) 371-5600 • Fax: (517) 999-6061 • 1905 E. Michigan Ave. • Lansing, MI 48912 • www.lansingcitypulse.com ADVERTISING INQUIRIES: (517) 999-5061 or email [email protected] PAGE CLASSIFIEDS: (517) 999-6704 EDITOR AND PUBLISHER • Berl Schwartz 9 [email protected] • (517) 999-5061 ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR • Skyler Ashley Purple Michigan: Rockford [email protected] • (517) 999-5068 EVENTS EDITOR/OFFICE MANAGER • Suzi Smith [email protected] • (517) 999-6704 PAGE PRODUCTION • Abby Sumbler [email protected] 44 (517) 999-5066 STAFF WRITERS • Lawrence Cosentino Broad Art Museum's new director looks to the future [email protected] • (517) 999-5065 Kyle Kaminski • [email protected] FREE (517) 999-6710 SALES EXECUTIVE PAGE Lee Purdy • [email protected] • (517) 999-5064 SALES ASSISTANT 53 Earlisha Scott • [email protected] Contributors: Andy Balaskovitz, Justin Bilicki, Capital New in Town: Taqueria El Chapparito's westside restaurant News Service, Bill Castanier, Ryan Claytor, Mary C. Cusack, Tom Helma, Gabrielle Lawrence Johnson, Terry Link, Kyle Melinn, Mark Nixon, Dawn Parker, Dennis Preston, Carrie Sampson, Nevin Speerbrecker, Rich Tupica, Ute Von Der Heyden, David Winkelstern, COVER Paul Wozniak Delivery drivers: Dave Fisher Interns: Matthew Stine • [email protected] Illustration by Nevin Speerbrecher NOW AT 10:00 A.M. SUNDAYS on City Pulse • October 21, 2020 www.lansingcitypulse.com 5 PULSE NEWS & OPINION Doing the right thing It’s always the right time to do the right thing. believe We state that principle up front — with a hat tip we’ve to Spike Lee’s eponymous film — because it aptly The CP Edit done a expresses our approach to delivering news to our pretty readers to the best of our ability. When we fall Opinion good job short, we don’t believe in making excuses. We’re all covering about admitting our missteps, righting the ship, and issues becoming a better paper — and better people — reporter from our small staff in January when she related in the process. That said, we also reserve the right moved onward and upward in her career. Although to race, to defend ourselves when we believe criticism is we have taken a significant financial hit due to the social jus- unfounded or unfair. COVID pandemic, we continue to diligently seek tice and With that preface, we note that City Pulse was qualified candidates of color because we under- equity. We recently on the receiving end of pointed criti- stand that it is vitally important for this paper to were the cism from Ingham County Commissioner Derrell reflect the diverse voices of the community we first news- Slaughter for our failure to include the perspective serve. Had she been on our staff when we devel- paper to of Black citizens in the formulation and scoring of oped the social justice and equity survey, there is question our candidate survey on social justice and equity. no doubt her lived experience as a Black woman Mayor We undertook the survey because we believe it would have brought immeasurable value to the Andy is the right thing to do. An important part of our enterprise. In her absence, we should have worked Schor for mission is to help voters learn more about the harder to seek out others to contribute to the pro- his treat- views of people seeking elected office on the most cess and are committed to doing so in the future. ment of important issues of our time. Commissioner Slaughter also expressed his Black city Flickr: Do The Right Thing graffiti Amsterdam Commissioner Slaughter declined to participate disappointment with a story we wrote last year employees in our survey because he believed that the ques- that focused on the stalled appointment of a Black and doggedly followed up as the story unfolded. tions were composed solely by a white person (he Lansing resident to a county advisory board. His We have diligently reported on the protest move- is correct). He further surmised that the respons- appointment was paused by county officials after ment against racial injustice and police brutality in es would be scored by a white person (also cor- a City Pulse reporter brought to their attention a Lansing,