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Messages to the Editors

Jan. 27, 2006 – Week 2

HERE’S YOUR FILE:

Articles for week of Friday, December 16, 2005

• ENVIRONMENTALED -- The Department of Environmental Quality has finished an environmental education curriculum for 4th-9th-grade social studies and science teachers, with units on air quality, water quality, biodiversity, land use and energy resources. A Midland teacher who has field-tested the air quality unit with her 9th-grade students especially likes the labs and hands-on experiments. Training workshops are underway across the state. By Sandra Kao. FOR MIDLAND & ALL POINTS.

• PHOSPHORUS -- Phosphorus from dishwater detergents is creating algal blooms and dead zones in Michigan waters such as Lake Erie, and some senators want to ban most phosphates from such products, just as they’re already sharply limited in laundry detergents. The proposal, despite backing from MUCC and other environmental and conservation groups, has been languishing in committee. By Jacquelyn Halas. FOR MONROE, OAKLAND, LUDINGTON, ALPENA, BAD AXE, MARQUETTE, PETOSKEY, MIDLAND, HOLLAND, SOUTH BEND & ALL POINTS.

• PRESCRIPTIONWASTEWATER -- There is concern about the health and environmental effects of improperly disposed-of prescription medications, including possible links to hormonal changes in fish. By Jennifer Linn. FOR ALPENA, MONROE, MIDLAND, BAD AXE, LUDINGTON, HOLLAND, SOUTH BEND, PETOSKEY, CADILLAC, CLARE, GRAYLING & ALL POINTS.
  • MUCCLIST: Sidebar to PRESCRIPTIONWASTE on how to dispose of unwanted drugs.

• SOSEDUCATION -- There is cautious optimism from lawmakers, including two northern Michigan Republicans, for Gov. Granholm’s high school curriculum proposals, outlined in he State of the State address. A Clare guidance counselor worries that an advanced algebra requirement will be especially tough, and the MEA is concerned about the burden on small rural districts. By Derek Wallbank. FOR CLARE, MIDLAND, LEELANAU, CADILLAC, GRAYLING, PETOSKEY, LUDINGTON & ALL POINTS.
  • SOSSIDEBAR: Sidebar to SOSEDUCATION listing the proposed new requirements for high school graduation.

• GUNSINTHETRUNK -- The House is fast-tracking a bill to allow gun owners to carry unloaded weapons in their trunks, even if they don’t have a hunting license. The lead sponsor, from Farwell, says the measure is intended to make sure that law-abiding citizens don’t face penalties. MUCC says the current restriction is unenforceable. Gov. Granholm says she’ll sign it. Among the other sponsors are lawmakers from Escanaba, Allendale, Georgetown Township, West Branch and Bad Axe. By Derek Wallbank. FOR CLARE, MIDLAND, GRAYLING, CADILLAC, ALPENA, BAD AXE, MARQUETTE, HOLLAND & ALL POINTS.

• CHEMICALGRANTS -- Schools face a  Feb. 15 deadline to compete for DEQ grants to reduce chemical waste such as science lab materials and toner cartridges. North Star Academy in Marquette used last year’s money for a program that combines safe disposal with learning. Other past winners include Fennville and Hesperia schools. By Erica Richards. FOR MARQUETTE, HOLLAND, CADILLAC & ALL POINTS.

• HISTORYCONTROVERSY -- James Strang, Michigan’s only self-proclaimed king, is stirring things up, 150 years after his assassination on Beaver Island. The latest dilemma focuses on an historical marker that used to stand in Charlevoix’s Bridge Park commemorating Strang’s “Mormon Kingdom,” but the city quietly stuck it in storage in the 1990s after a complaint. The problem now is whether to re-erect the original marker or to rewrite “offensive” language, and if it’s revised, who’ll pay the $3,000 tab for a replacement? By Eric Freedman. FOR PETOSKEY, LUDINGTON, HOLLAND, SOUTH BEND, CADILLAC & ALL POINTS.