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Feb. 17, 2006 – Week 5

To: CNS Editors

From: Eric Freedman & Jim Wallington & Arvind Diddi

IN-DEPTH AHEAD: Next week will be our first in-depth file, with topics likely to include state policies regarding depression among children, large-scale water withdrawals and meth lab cleanups.

• METHLABKIDS -- Michigan needs to better protect children from the health risks of meth labs, say legislators who are drafting bills to set lab cleanup standards, treat exposure to meth labs as child abuse and educate teachers about the symptoms of meth exposure.  As for the need for such measures, a Marquette County-based drug task force detective tells of one such child who was returned to a drug-addicted mother’s custody after a lab raid. Sponsors include lawmakers from Saugatuck Township and Grand Ledge. By Erica Richards. FOR MARQUETTE , HOLLAND, LANSING, CADILLAC, SOUTH BEND, LUDINGTON, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, ALPENA & ALL POINTS.

• OFFICIALENGLISH -- Critics of a bill to designate English as Michigan’s official language call the proposal racist and motivated by anti-immigrant bias, but backers, led by a Kalamazoo lawmaker, say it would promote unity and save government translation costs. The chair of the state Commission on Spanish-Speaking Affairs and a linguistics professor oppose the idea. Cosponsors include GOP representatives from Macomb and Oakland counties. By Sandra Kao. FOR MICHIGAN CITIZEN, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, SOUTH BEND, MACOMB, OAKLAND, LANSING & ALL POINTS.

• SELFDEFENSE -- If your home is your castle, can you use force to protect it without getting sued or arrested? The answer should be yes, say lawmakers from Grand Ledge, Escanaba, DeWitt, Farwell and Georgetown Township. But the head of the Michigan Sheriffs Association says the concept raises questions about taking another person’s life, while gun- control advocates in Detroit and Washington contend it’s too broad and could apply even to bar fights and playground squabbles. By Derek Wallbank. FOR GREENVILLE, LANSING, MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, CLARE, MIDLAND & ALL POINTS.