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Messages to the Editors

Dec. 2, 2005 – Week 13

To: CNS Editors
From: Eric Freedman, Vic Rauch & Arvind Diddi


NATURAL RESOURCES: DNR Director Rebecca Humphries faces your correspondents on Monday. Likely topics include prospective public lands acquisitions and priorities; impact of state budget problems on state park system and state forests; timbering policy and multi-use conflicts in state forests; wildlife diseases; return/restoration of such species as cougars; overfishing; tribal use of state lands and waters for hunting and fishing; DNR eco-management initiatives; and the department’s legislative priorities & worries.

HERE’S YOUR FILE:



Articles for week of Friday, December 2, 2005

• ANGERER -- Kathy Angerer gave up her job as communications director of the Dundee Community Schools to run successfully for the House. She looks back on her first year in Lansing and the upcoming election year and discusses what it’s like in the Democratic minority of a GOP-controlled Legislature. By Kevin Curtin. FOR MONROE & ALL POINTS.

• ANTIGAY -- Anti-gay violence in Michigan is continuing, a national report finds, and gay rights groups based in Detroit and Lansing say the state’s ethnic intimidation law should be amended to increase penalties for crimes motivated by gender bias. By Brandon Bennett. FOR LANSING, OAKLAND, MACOMB, ROMEO, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

• WHISTLEBLOWERS -- An Oakland County legislator’s proposal would protect Medicaid fraud whistleblowers from retaliation by their employers and provide them with an incentive to rat out their cheating bosses—15 to 30 percent of the money the state recovers. But the Pontiac physician who is president of the Michigan State Medical Society pans the plan, as “wrong, wrong, wrong.” By Matthew Schuler. FOR OAKLAND & ALL POINTS.

• ABORTION -- A Lansing-based anti-abortion group is gathering signatures for a petition drive to redefine “life” under state law, a move that critics say would impede reproductive rights. Right to Life of Michigan says it learned of the effort only recently and isn’t involved, while pro-choice advocates are gearing up to oppose it. The state Board of Canvassers will review the petition language Dec. 7. By Brandon Bennett. FOR LANSING, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.
  

• LANDCONSERVATION -- The sagging economy, fundraising obstacles and rising real estate prices are among the challenges facing efforts to preserve critical habitats in the state, say such groups as the Leelanau Conservancy, Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy and Michigan Nature Association. Key sites for protection include property on the Leelanau Peninsula and St. Clair County. By Lesley Whiting. FOR LEELANAU, NORTHWEST MICHIGAN BUSINESS, LAPEER, OAKLAND & ALL POINTS.
  
  

• INFLATION -- Public schools, community colleges and universities might find relief from budget troubles if a petition drive being pushed by the Michigan Education Association and its allies in the K-16 Coalition for Michigan’s Future. The plan would require state aid to increase by at least the inflation rate and protect aid to districts with a shrinking number of students. A key Midland lawmaker opposes the concept, while a Midland-area MEA official backs it. By Nathan Thompson. FOR MIDLAND, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.
  
  

• LIGHTHOUSES -- More than 120 lighthouses have stood as beacons in the night, guiding ships through the Great Lakes along Michigan’s shores since 1825. The state will distribute $145,000 in grants in 2006 for six restoration projects, including Point Benzie Light on Lake Michigan. The goals include historic preservation and promotion of cultural tourism, according to such activists as the Mackinaw City-based Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association. But some, such as Stannard Rock Light 50 miles north of Marquette in Lake Superior, may be too remote to protect By Kristin Cain. FOR PETOSKEY, MARQUETTE, LUDINGTON, HOLLAND, SOUTH BEND, ALPENA, BAD AXE, MONROE & ALL POINTS.
  
  

• RURALHEALTHCARECLARE -- Pharmaceuticals, high Medicaid and Medicare participation and rapid turnover of physicians contribute to the rising cost of health care in rural parts of the state, Clare-area officials say. By Stefanie Carano. FOR CLARE & ALL POINTS.
  
  

• RURALHEALTHCAREGRAYLING -- Pharmaceuticals, high Medicaid and Medicare participation and rapid turnover of physicians contribute to the rising cost of health care in rural parts of the state, Grayling-area officials say. By Stefanie Carano. FOR GRAYLING & ALL POINTS.
  
  

• ARTSEDUCATION -- Oakland County educators like a state Board of Education proposal to require at least one year of arts education to graduate from high school. They worry that music, art and drama will get shorter shrift as districts focus on the No Child Left Behind priorities: reading, math and science. By Lesley Whiting. FOR OAKLAND & ALL POINTS.
  
  

• COMMUNITYCORRECTIONS -- The auditor general has given a clean bill of health to the state Office of Community Corrections, which oversees alternative sentences for criminals. The Michigan Sheriffs’ Association and the Michigan Council on Crime and Delinquency both say the agency is doing good work that prevents jail and prison overcrowding and deters recidivism. By John Sturk. FOR LANSING, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.
  
  

• THANKFULADOPTION -- Eight Ottawa County families had adoptions finalized shortly before Thanksgiving, giving them something to be thankful for on Michigan Adoption Day. A Family Court official says the children ranged in age from infants to 17. By John Sturk. FOR HOLLAND & ALL POINTS.
  
  

• COOLCONFERENCE -- Perfecting the art of “cool” comes to Lansing Dec. 8 as part of a conference on crating a cultural economic development program.  Among the success stories is the Box Center for the Arts in St. Joseph. By Lesley Whiting. FOR SOUTH BEND, STURGIS, THREE RiVERS & ALL POINTS.
  
  

• OLDSTRIPPERS -- Some lawmakers want to prohibit women between 18 and 21 from working in topless or strip clubs, a move that a Grand Rapids strip club owner and a an adult industry group call unconstitutional and discriminatory. Senators from Kalamazoo and Kentwood back the bill. By Kevin Curtin. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, HOLLAND, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, SOUTH BEND, LANSING & ALL POINTS.
  
  

• ULTRASOUND -- Pending legislation would require pregnant women to undergo an ultrasound before they can have an abortion, a move that pro-choice groups say would impair reproductive rights in Michigan. Sponsors include lawmakers from Macomb County, Three Rivers and Grand Blanc. By Matthew Schuler. FOR THREE RIVERS, STURGIS, SOUTH BEND, MACOMB, ROMEO, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.
  
  

• DEPOSITLAWS -- The supermarket industry and its allies are successfully pushing to bottle up proposals that would expand the scope of Michigan’s pioneering beverage deposit law. An Ottawa County senator whose committee must review the legislation says it’s not a priority this year, and the state retailer and grocer associations claim adding juice, wine and water containers would unfairly burden their members. Supporters include legislators from Warren, Huntington Woods and Kalamazoo. By Kristin Cain. FOR HOLLAND & ALL POINTS.
  
  

• FINGERPRINTSIGNATURE -- A Clinton Township woman with cerebral palsy will be able to use her fingerprint instead of a signature on official documents under a House-passed bill. The lead sponsor, from Macomb County, says it would primarily help elderly and disabled people who lack the necessary motor skills to handwrite their signatures, and also would deter identity theft. By Kristin Cain. FOR MACOMB, ROMEO & ALL POINTS.