Today on Current State: Lansing City Council President Carol Wood, business start-ups with the NEO Center, serving the local homeless population, and a preview of the BBC's Concert Orchestra performance at the Wharton Center.
Lansing City Council President Carol Wood discusses her political future, reacts to 'State of the City' address
On Monday night, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero gave his eighth annual "State of the City" address. City Council President Carol Wood joins us to discuss the mayor's speech, the 2013 agenda and her political future.
Wood was Bernero’s opponent in the 2009 mayoral election. She was first elected to the city council as an at-large member in 1999. She became council president a few weeks ago.
The NEO Center, Lansing's business incubator, encouraged after one year
Lansing’s first business incubator -- the NEO Center -- recently marked its first anniversary. The center hosts a number of nascent enterprises that include such cutting-edge pursuits as scientific visualization, intellectual property development and web data migration.
Founder Tom Stewart and his colleague Catherine Mooney discuss the dynamics of business start-ups in Lansing. Stewart also addresses his political plans. The mid-Michigan native launched an unsuccessful bid for Lansing City Council in 2011.
Neighbors in Action: City Rescue Mission leads tonight's census of Lansing's homeless population
Tonight, teams of social service workers in Lansing will fan out across the city to reach out to people in dire need. Every January, the “Point-in-Time” census tracks homelessness in the region. The teams will seek out people living without shelter and offer them food, clothing and a place to stay.
Mark Criss, the executive director of the City Rescue Mission in Lansing, which is coordinating the census, discusses the effort and homelessness in the region.
Performance preview with BBC Concert Orchestra maestro Keith Lockhart
Keith Lockhart is the principal conductor of the London-based BBC Concert Orchestra. He is probably best known as the 20th conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra.
Current State Executive Producer Peter Whorf spoke with Lockhart a few days ago to preview this week’s East Lansing performance.