Rewind: News Highlights From The Last 7 Days

An Ingham County judge ruled in favor of a man who was shot by East Lansing Police outside a Meijer last year after the department received a 911 report of a masked man carrying a gun into the store. DeAnthony VanAtten, 21, was struck twice but recovered. Police later found a handgun with VanAtten’s fingerprints beneath a parked car. Attorney General Dana Nessel cleared the officers of wrongdoing and charged VanAtten with seven felonies and one misdemeanor. However, Ingham County Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina granted a motion to suppress evidence, stating the officers violated VanAtten’s Fourth Amendment right against illegal search and seizure. “I think this is a close call, but it’s also indicative of racial profiling,” Aquilina said. Nessel’s office could appeal the decision or file a motion for reconsideration.

The Lansing City Council voted 7-0 for a motion by Patricia Spitzley to pay a lawyer to review the city attorney’s opinion that Lansing Mayor Andy Schor did not violate the city’s ethics code. The brouhaha stems from the mayor’s support for Missy Lilje in the August primary for a Council seat. Smiertka saw no grounds for a complaint made by Erica Lynn, wife of former Lansing firefighter Michael Lynn, who won a $1 million judgment against the city in a racial discrimination suit. Peter Spadafore missed the meeting.

Vandals shredded a Pride flag at a church in Charlotte, the latest in a string of vandalism and theft incidents. The flag at the First Congregational United Church of Christ on South Bostwick Street was found still hanging but “shredded to pieces,” Interim Pastor Jody Betten told the Lansing State Journal. Church members voted to become an “open and affirming” congregation in September 2019. Since March 2022, at least half a dozen Pride flags on the property have been stolen or damaged. Women’s rights and Black Lives Matter yard signs have been stolen as well. The church has outdoor security cameras, but the most recent incident was not caught on tape. The church is in the process of installing more cameras around the property.

The Lansing Board of Water & Light plans to build new clean-energy projects to support its goal of providing 50% clean energy and being carbon neutral by 2040. BWL will invest $750 million into more than 650 megawatts of clean-energy projects, including 160 megawatts of battery storage, 65 megawatts of local solar, 195 megawatts of additional solar outside the Lansing region, 238 megawatts of wind outside the Lansing region and “continued growth of energy waste reduction.” It expects these projects to be completed between 2025 and 2027. It also plans to create at least one new gas-powered plant at Delta Energy Park in Delta Township that would be used during peak demand. That plant is expected to be completed by 2026. The projects will allow BWL to supply 16% of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s 1,000-megawatt energy storage goal under the MI Healthy Climate Plan. The expansions are expected to bring a one-time 2.5% to 3% rate increase for customers, the Lansing State Journal reported.

Michigan State University is drafting a plan to begin selling alcohol at Spartan Stadium and other athletic venues. Last week, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill allowing for the sale of alcohol at public universities’ football, hockey and basketball games. “Michigan State University and the University of Michigan are two of three Big Ten schools prohibited by law from selling alcohol,” she said. “Authorizing the legal sale of alcohol at sporting events will bring us on equal footing with other universities, help reduce the likelihood of binge drinking before games and bring in a heck of a lot more revenue that we can use to improve the student experience.” The school is working on a new policy but is unsure if it will be ready by the first football game of the season on Sept. 1, the Lansing State Journal reported. The school must apply for a license with the Michigan Liquor Control Commission, and the Board of Trustees, which is not scheduled to meet until Sept. 16, must approve the policy before it can take effect.