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Current State #8 | January 23, 2013

Joe Linstroth/WKAR

On today's Current State:  The legendary William Shatner, former East Lansing mayor and newly elected Michigan Rep. Sam Singh, more from the Detroit auto show, and Neighbors in Action highlights the work of NAMI Lansing.

Newly elected State Representative Sam Singh outlines legislative priorities

It’s been a busy couple of months for former East Lansing Mayor and city councilman Sam Singh.  Earlier this month, the Democrat was sworn in as the 69th District’s new state representative.  That was on the heels of a December marriage and honeymoon in southeast Asia.  On Monday, he witnessed the “inspirational” inauguration of President Obama in Washington.  Back home in East Lansing, Singh shares his first impressions of serving in the state legislature and discusses the upcoming session, as well as his other recent journeys.

The Cobo Center, home of the Detroit Auto Show, shows off new redesign of its own

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All this week, Current State has reports from the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.  For this segment, WKAR's Scott Pohl decides to look beyond the cars. 

For more than 50 years, Cobo Hall hosted the Detroit Pistons, scores of rock concerts, and the Detroit auto show.  Now known as Cobo Center, the facility is undergoing a multi-year facelift. The center's general manager, Thom Connors, talks about the biggest improvement over the past 12 months: the new atrium facing the Detroit River.

Neighbors in Action: NAMI Lansing advocates for more local mental health services

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The Lansing chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is one of the oldest in the nation. The organization helps people with mental illness and their families cope and learn to live with their diagnoses. NAMI -- Lansing president Margaret Keeler joins us in our weekly Neighbors in Action segment to discuss NAMI’s work and the dearth of mental health services in Michigan. Also, Cindy Lepard, a NAMI member, shares her personal struggle with mental illness.

Legend William Shatner whets the appetite for upcoming Wharton Center performance

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Credit (Wikimedia Commons)
Entertainer William Shatner was given a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto in 2000.

From Captain Kirk to Mr. Tambourine Man to Denny Crane on the TV show Boston Legal, actor William Shatner never stops going … boldly. The latest entry in his log is a one-man show called “Shatner’s World: We Just Live In It,” which comes to the Wharton Center on Jan. 24. WKAR’s Melissa Benmark spoke with William Shatner about what new media he might explore in his work.

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