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Late game fight MSU hockey sees success in Big Ten shootouts Sophomore goaltender Jake Hildebrand Danyelle Morrow/The State News
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MEn’s bball wins against wildcats, score 54 pts
BWL holds meeting to apologize to residents
By Zach Smith zsmith@statenews.com
By Geoff Preston
THE STATE NEWS
gpreston@statenews.com
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THE STATE NEWS
Gary Harris and Keith Appling combined to score 25 points to lead the No. 4 MSU men’s basketball team to a 54-40 win against Northwestern Wednesday night in Evanston, Ill. Appling contributed four assists, while junior forward Branden Dawson grabbed 10 rebounds, the most of any player. The Spartans came out with their ninth different starting lineup in the last 12 games after being without senior forward Adreian Payne and limited availability from Dawson. Harris showed his strength early, scoring four points, grabbing a rebound and getting one steal in the first minute and a half of the game.
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Gary Harris and Keith Appling were the lead scorers, totaling 25 points when the clock ran out Despite being sick with a viral illness, Dawson saw time early getting a block and tip-in after coming off the bench. He also saved a MSU possession and found junior guard Travis Trice wide open to tie the game at 10 early on. The Spartans have the best 3-point field goal percentage in the Big Ten, but missed their first eight shots from behind the arc. They finished the game 2-16 from long range. MSU went into the locker room leading 26-22. The tides turned early in the second half when sophomore guard Denzel Valentine failed to draw a foul on a hard drive to the hoop. The Wildcats ran back down the f loor and hit a three-pointer to close the gap to just three points. Sophomore forward Matt Costello scored a nice up and under layup to give the Spartans their biggest lead of the game. On the next trip down
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Several planned East Lansing businesses encounter delays By Casey Holland cholland@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS nn
To see a map of delayed business openings, visit statenews. com/ multimedia.
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lans and promises were made. Final dates have come and gone. But finished results have yet to be seen.
The plans for three local developments have been progressing much slower than originally anticipated. Residents were expecting to see a Sweet Lorraine’s Fabulous Mac N’ Cheez in early December. The fine dining experience the Black Cat Bistro plans to give the city has yet to be provided. Plans for the Park District, which would make use of the five and a half acres of vacant land on Abbot Road and
Grand River Avenue, have been up in the air for nearly two years since the failed City Center II project was canceled. Although DTN was chosen as the developer and hosted a series of public meetings, the company’s first move was to delay its deadline another few months. Progress, although much more sluggish than originally intended, has been made on these developments, and East Lansing residents can still expect to see them join the abundance of new businesses in the area — eventually. Mac N’ Cheez, please Many community members were disappointed when the cozy Wanderer’s Teahouse and Cafe shut its doors for the last time in May. Four months after the cafe closed, it was See BUSINESS on page 2 u
See B-BALL on page 2 u
Du r i ng w i nter brea k about 348,000 people in the Lansing area went without power when an ice storm hit the area late last month, some staying dark through the holidays and the new year. At Hannah Community Center on Wednesday night, the Board of Water and Light, or BWL, had a chance to answer community questions and explain their process for restoring power. Four BWL officials sat at the podium, including BWL General Manager Peter J. Lark, who opened the meeting with an apology. “You are our customers,” Lark said. “We did not meet our customers needs.” He said all the answers are not yet known, but the final report will be available sometime in mid February. “Answers will come when we have done a thorough review of how we handled this historic, and painful, outage,” he said. After the meeting, Lark declined to answer additional questions from The State News. After apologies from the BW L , citizens delivered heated comments for almost 2 hours. Residents concerns centered around the lack of urgency in restoring power, lack of an emergency plan, the small number of workers and the fact that during the storm Lark was on vacation in New York City. Some residents called for Lark to either resign or be fired. “I think he (Lark) should step down and be a man,” East Lansing resident Manuela Webster said after the meeting. “But who is going to take his place? Someone else will get appointed just like him.” Webster said she and her family lost power through the new year. She said that crews from out of town had to come in and help her get power, but the crews weren’t provided an out-
See BWL on page 2 u
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M e n ’ s B as k e t ball
Federal appropriations bill contains Trice battles injuries during career $55 million in new funding for FRIB By Juliana Moxley jmoxley@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS nn
With the newest federal appropriations bill including $55 million to fund the construction of MSU’s Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, or FRIB, university officials are waiting anxiously for Congress to approve the potential funds.
Congress could vote in two weeks, and if it passes construction could begin this spring Congress likely will vote on the issue within the next two weeks. MSU spokesman Jason Cody said if the bill does pass,
“MSU has one of the top nuclear physics programs, so a project like this will have other impacts and help us attract faculty.” jason Cody, MSU spokesman
he said construction likely will begin in this spring. An exact date has yet to be determined. The facilit y currently is undergoing pre-construction procedures. Once completed, it will include a superconducting linear accelerator, allowing a community of scientists worldwide to produce and study the properties of isotopes. Its emergence could further improve MSU’s reputation as a renowned research university and improve future research ventures.
“MSU has one of the top nuclear physics programs, so a project like this will have other impacts and help us attract faculty and new graduate students who want to come here and study,” Cody said. The conversation of federal funding for the facility began in April of 2012, when President Barack Obama included FRIB in his budget proposal for the next federal fiscal year. That year, MSU received $22 million
See FRIB on page 2 u
Junior guard Travis Trice, right, and junior guard/ forward Branden Dawson try to steal the ball from Minnesota guard Andre Hollins on Saturday, at Breslin Center. The Spartans defeated the Gophers in overtime, 87-75.
— Julia Nagy, The State News
See the story on page 6