Friday, March 5, 2004

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Messages to the Editors

NO FILE NEXT WEEK: Reminder. There will be no file on March 12, thanks to Michigan State’s spring break.


MDOT AHEAD: Your correspondents will interview state Transportation Director Gloria Jeff on Monday, March 15. Likely topics include the status of highway and mass transit projects in light of budget problems, transportation safety and the future of state subsidies for passenger trains and small airports.

Articles for week of Friday, March 5, 2004

  • OPENMEETING-- A Holland senator wants teacher contract negotiations to be held in public, a controversial idea that troubles both school board members and teachers’ unions. Teachers in more than 400 of the state’s 1,200 public school districts are working without contracts. By Alex Nixon. FOR HILLSDALE, HOLLAND, MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.
  • WATERTESTING-- Water protection for more than two million southeast Michigan residents moved a step closer after a House committee approved resolutions by a Chesterfield Township lawmaker to improve monitoring along Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River. The effort includes a push for an international response system to deal with hazardous spills from Sarnia. By Mike Weber. FOR MACOMB, ROMEO, C&G, MONROE, LAPEER & ALL POINTS.
  • DRAININGLAKEMICHIGAN --Wisconsin cities along Lake Michigan are pumping so much groundwater that they’re actually reversing the water flow direction of the lake, a new federal study finds. That worries some Michigan lawmakers who agree with the governor’s call for a comprehensive state policy on water use, although scientists are more cautious in predicting dire environmental damage from the practice. By Ann-Marie Murphy. FOR HOLLAND, LUDINGTON, SOUTH BEND, MANISTEE, PETOSKEY, CADILLAC, ALPENA, LEELANAU & ALL POINTS.
  • BRAINGAIN --Michigan public universities and community colleges, as well as the Granholm administration, are pushing efforts to convince new college grads – especially those in the sciences and engineering -- to stay in the state. Efforts include the universitytalent.com program at Northern Michigan University, and a Lake Michigan College official talks about how many of his grads want to stay in western and mid-Michigan. By Jamie Gumbrecht. FOR MARQUETTE, SOUTH BEND, LANSING, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, GREENVILLE, HOLLAND, GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.
  • BROWNFIELDS -- The Michigan Economic Development Corp. has picked nine sites for special tax credits to induce small businesses to relocate in brownfield areas, including sites in Grand Rapids and Monroe. By Arjun Kashyap. FOR GRAND RAPIDS, LUDINGTON, GREENVILLE, MONROE & ALL POINTS.
  • MARKETMICHIGANWEST -- Soybean farmers in St. Joseph County are happy to see the success of a campaign encouraging West Michigan consumers to buy Michigan-grown produce. The program, which will expand to the Detroit area this year, also has been good news for apple growers, asparagus farmers and other fresh fruits and vegetables. By Linda Stephan. FOR GRAND RAPIDS, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, SOUTH BEND, HOLLAND, TRAVERSE CITY & ALL POINTS.
  • MARKETMICHIGANGREENVILLE -- A Greenville apple grower is pleased with the state Agriculture Department’s promotion of Michigan-grown produce and says that’s good news for the state’s apple industry. By Linda Stephan. FOR GREENVILLE.
  • TREEBEETLES -- For 2004, the state Agriculture Department is escalating the war on the devastating emerald ash borer. Much of the focus is in Macomb, Monroe, Livingston, Wayne, Oakland and Washtenaw counties, with other activities in St. Joseph, suburban Lansing and other communities. By Kevin Hardy. FOR MONROE, MACOMB, C&G, LANSING, SOUTH BEND & ALL POINTS
  • SEXSUITS -- A legislative proposal sponsored by a Huntington Woods senator and backed by the Macomb County prosecutor would eliminate the three-year deadline for bringing civil suits against alleged child molesters. A Bloomfield Hills criminal defense lawyer calls the proposal “frightening,” and a victims’ rights advocate worries about “false memory” accusations. Co-sponsors include senators from Detroit, the Upper Peninsula and Macomb County. By Gitte Laasby. FOR MACOMB, C&G, ROMEO, MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, LANSING & ALL POINTS.
  • ABSTINENCE --Legislators from Holland, Kentwood, North Branch, Manistee, Richmond and DeWitt are pushing proposals to strengthen classroom teaching about sexual abstinence. The president of the State Board of Education and a Detroit senator call the proposal unnecessary. By Stephanie Korneffel. FOR HOLLAND, MACOMB, LAPEER, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, MANISTEE, C&G LUDINGTON & ALL POINTS.
  • POP&POLITICS --Pop and politics have long-lasting legacies in Michigan. Pop, as in the Detroit-born, quintessentially Michigan Vernor’s ginger ale. Politics. As in behind-the-scenes accounts of political deals and dealers by correspondent Tim Skubick. By Eric Freedman. FOR MACOMB, HOLLAND, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

© 2004, Capital News Service, Michigan State University School of Journalism

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