Rewind: News from the last 7 days

An effort to determine whether old Eastern High School qualifies as a historic district appears doomed, removing a potential obstacle to University of Michigan Health-Sparrow’s proposal to replace the landmark with a $97.2 million, 120-bed psychiatric hospital. Lansing City Council member Ryan Kost, who has led efforts to preserve old Eastern, said he doesn’t have enough votes to create the necessary study committee. In a special meeting Friday, the Historic District Commission decided to submit a proposal to the Council anyway. For more on this story, go to www.lansingcitypulse.com.

The two Democratic and two Republican candidates for the MSU Board of Trustees in the November election were announced Saturday. Rebecca Bahar-Cook of Lansing, CEO of Capital Fundraising Associates and a former Ingham County commissioner, and Thomas Stallworth of Detroit, former Michigan state representative and Detroit Public Schools board member, are the Democrats. Mike Balow of Plymouth, vice president of CBRE, a commercial real estate agency in Grand Rapids, and Julie Maday of Novi, a member of Novi’s economic development committee and former councilwoman, are the Republicans. Bahar-Cook and Stallworth are both MSU alums. Two new members are elected to the board every two years and serve for eight years each.

MSU asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by former employee Zhongxiao Michael Chen. The plaintiff, 59, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in March that MSU terminated him because of his race, national origin and age and replaced him with a person in an equivalent position who was younger and a “natural-born” U.S. citizen. MSU’s attorneys said Chen didn’t file his lawsuit and pay the filing fee on time and that his claims of discrimination weren’t justified and should be dismissed since MSU is protected from claims for monetary damages under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

The National Labor Relations Board said it will file a formal complaint of illegal labor practices against Chipotle Mexican Grill unless it settles with unionized employees at its 5805 W. Saginaw Highway location in Lansing. The NLRB said Chipotle violated the National Labor Relations Act by unlawfully withheld raises because employees were unionized. The employees had voted to unionize with Teamsters Local 243 in 2022, the only one of Chipotle’s 3,000-plus stores to do so.

The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission of Mid-Michigan will host its first “March on Lansing” today (Aug. 28) to commemorate the anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Staging starts at 5:30 p.m. at the Lansing Center and the march to the Capitol at 6. A program on the Capitol steps will follow at 6:20 p.m., including a screening of the film “Wakanda Forever.”

Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at a private rally in Potterville Thursday, the closest to Lansing of eight Michigan visits. The public is not invited to the 3:30 p.m. event at Alro Steel, 5859 Alro Dr. A campaign press release stated Trump would speak on making America affordable again, stopping the war on energy and protecting Michigan’s auto industry. He has endorsed Republican candidate Tom Barrett for Michigan’s U.S. House 7th District, which includes Ingham and Eaton counties.

Two individuals received non-life-threatening gunshot wounds Saturday in the 3700 block of Glenbrook Drive in southwest Lansing. The victims were discovered when Lansing police responded to a two-vehicle crash near Cedar and Kalamazoo streets. The officers learned where the shooting had taken place and later found evidence of it at the location.

Public safety

Neshawn Jackson, 26, and Katherine Gilbert, 31, were killed Saturday in a single-car crash on East Saginaw Street in Lansing, near the Marshall Street intersection. Police said high speed was likely a factor in the crash. … A DeWitt man, 42, was killed Monday on Interstate 96 in Eagle Township when his vehicle was struck by a tractor-trailer. The semi driver, a Mason man, 73, suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene. … A tanker truck crashed Monday on I-96 at Grand River Avenue in Clinton County, overturning and spilling fuel. The freeway was closed for several hours, with traffic diverted to Interstate 69, but details regarding any injuries were not reported. … A pickup truck struck a home in the 500 block of Pennsylvania Avenue in Lansing Monday, injuring the driver, who had to be extricated. No one in the home was injured. … A fire Friday damaged the Braids & Things International salon and residence at 1506 W. Holmes Road in Lansing. One person suffered minor burns. … A fire Saturday partially burned a home at 200 W. Madison St. in Lansing. No injuries were reported.