Spartan Newsroom (https://news.jrn.msu.edu/author/nelso766/)
With 478,000 cases of COVID-19, Michigan alone has more cases than Australia, Greece and Sweden. Going on a year living in a pandemic, essential workers across industries are suffering from the changes set on by the outbreak of COVID-19 in America.
Police are under pressure this election year from calls that they be defunded, for training reforms and the challenge of COVID-19 on a major college campus.
Even so, East Lansing Deputy Police Chief Steve Gonzalez said he is optimistic.
Gonzalez said shifts in law enforcement policies often come with elections. He said it remains to be seen how the election will affect the department.
Gonzalez said that Obama implemented the 21st century policing model, which focused on the community level.
The Great Pumpkin Walk, usually held in downtown East Lansing every Halloween, is being replaced by a pumpkin photo contest to help keep the holiday safe during the pandemic. City of East LansingEast Lansing is finding new socially distant ways to celebrate some holiday traditions
The photo contest is being handled by the Downtown Management Board, composed of local merchants. Safer ways to celebrate the city’s winter events are also being developed. Amy Schlusler-Schmitt, the neighborhood partnerships initiative liaison, called the photo contest is “A virtual, yet fun way to support local merchants.”
Schlusler-Schmitt said the event is community engagement activity and keeps the fun spirit in East Lansing.
The contest comes with first-, second- and third-place prizes. The first-place winner gets a $300 Visa gift card and a $25 East Lansing parking voucher.
Officials with the U.S. Postal Service and East Lansing say they are ready for new rules that will make Election Day challenging. With COVID-19 keeping many people inside, the number of mail-in votes is projected to be much higher than in previous elections. It also makes it easier to vote by mail in Michigan because no excuse is required to vote by absentee ballot. According to The New York Times, almost one-third of people will be voting by mail this year, and it is projected that more than 80 million postal votes could be cast in the election. It has been a tough year for the U.S. Postal Service.