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To: CNS Editors

From: Eric Freedman & Vic Rauch

ATTORNEY GENERAL AHEAD: Your correspondents will interview Attorney Gen. Mike Cox on Monday, March 27. Possible topics include deadbeat parent enforcement, gas price gouging, identity theft, child abuse and neglect and politics in a re-election year.

• ESCAPEES -- Corrections officials list as missing 95 convicted felons who were being tracked by electronic tethers by the department’s electronic monitoring units in Detroit, Flint and Grand Rapids or placed in halfway houses. Some, including ones charged with armed robbery, manslaughter and other violent crimes, have been missing for years. A Farwell legislator is concerned, and senators from DeWitt and Norton Shores are  pushing tougher criminal penalties for harboring people with outstanding bench warrants. By Derek Wallbank. FOR MACOMB, OAKLAND, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, CLARE,  MIDLAND, GREENVILLE, LUDINGTON, MARQUETTE,  HOLLAND & ALL POINTS.

• AGLABORSHORTAGE -- As federal lawmakers discuss border security and immigration, fruit and vegetable producers in Michigan fear a potential labor shortage this year could jeopardize their businesses if legislation doesn’t include workable guest-worker provisions. A fourth-generation Sodus grower who depends heavily on migrant workers is among those worried, as is a farmer from Cassopolis. We also hear from a Bangor-based lawyer who represents farm workers. By Sandra Kao. FOR SOUTH BEND, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, LUDINGTON, HOLLAND, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, NW MICHIGAN BUSINESS, GREENVILLE & ALL POINTS.

• ARTFUNDING -- A Macomb Township lawmaker wants to cut $630,000 from the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs because he says it supports pornography, including films shown at the Ann Arbor Film Festival. He also says arts patrons, not government, should support the arts. The Art Center in Mount Clemens says any cut in state aid would hurt nonprofit groups, and the Department of History, Arts and Libraries says panels of experts screen all grant applications.  By Erica Richards. FOR MACOMB & ALL POINTS.

• WELFAREPUSH -- House Republicans, led by a Grand Rapids legislator, will push for “tough love” welfare law changes, including a time limit on benefits and tougher sanctions for recipients who are able to work but don’t. Supporters, including a Farwell lawmaker, say it’s necessary due to an impending state minimum wage increase and new federal regulations. A Detroit Democrat agrees that it’s best to get welfare recipients on the job rolls but warns that Michigan’s economic condition makes that difficult. By Derek Wallbank. FOR LANSING, OAKLAND,  MACOMB, CLARE, MIDLAND, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

• DUALENROLLMENT -- High-achieving students who drop out of high school but enter community college full-time would get state aid to help cover tuition, books and other expenses under a Portage lawmaker’s proposal. Public school districts that lose such dropouts would still be able to collect half their per-pupil state aid under the plan, which the sponsor says will encourage students to challenge themselves rather than remain bored in high school. Co-sponsors include representatives from Romeo, North Branch and Macomb Township. By Jennifer Linn. FOR SOUTH BEND, THREE RIVERS, STURGIS, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, ROMEO, MACOMB, LAPEER & ALL POINTS.

• MOTORCYCLES -- Motorcycle fatalities are rising in Michigan although overall road deaths are down. One reason, an Allegan County expert says, is that too many cyclists opt to simply take a skills test instead of enrolling in a safety course to get their licenses. Meanwhile, the proportion of female motorcycles is on the rise. By Jacquelyn Halas. FOR HOLLAND & ALL POINTS.

• GREATLAKESCRUISING -- One hundred years ago, cruising the Great Lakes was a popular vacation.  A century later, more people are returning to cruise ships stopping at such ports as Manistee, Mackinaw City and Sault Ste. Marie, with four to five now on the Great Lakes. Marquette is working to prepare special itineraries for passengers who step ashore, including arranging meetings between German tourists and local students learning the German language. By Jennifer Linn. FOR MARQUETTE, LUDINGTON, LEELANAU, HOLLAND, SOUTH BEND,  ALPENA, BAD AXE, PETOSKEY, NW MICHIGAN BUSINESS, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS & ALL POINTS.
  • With CRUISESHIP: Photo of cruise ship on Lake Michigan. Credit: American Canadian Caribbean Lines.

• ADOPTIONSUBSIDY -- Parents of adopted children with physical or mental disorders are questioning the state’s program to provide subsidies for medical care, and some parents, including a DeWitt mother, told a House panel that they weren’t notified about their children’s possible disabilities before the adoptions were complete. The Department of Human Services says it doesn’t always have full health information when children are placed into foster or adoptive homes, and the North Branch representative who chairs the committee is investigating. By Erica Richards. FOR LAPEER, LANSING, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

• SOLIDWASTEPOLICY -- A new solid waste policy that would give Michigan counties more guidance in their waste management and planning is being developed in light of changing environmental conditions. The update is badly needed, say officials, including those representing the northwestern Lower Peninsula and Upper Peninsula. By Sandra Kao. FOR PETOSKEY, MARQUETTE,  NW MICHIGAN BUSINESS, LEELANAU, UP NORTH, CADILLAC  & ALL POINTS.

• BIKES -- In a boost for bicycle rental companies that serve tens of thousands of tourists each year on Mackinac Island, along such DNR bike pathways as the Kal-Haven, Hart-Montague, White Pine Trail and Van Buren trails. and other Michigan vacation spots, the Appeals Court rejected a negligence suit by a man injured when he fell from his rental bike. Court upheld standard release used for recreational rentals, even if the customers don’t read them. By Eric Freedman. FOR NW MICHIGAN BUSINESS, SOUTH BEND, PETOSKEY, MARQUETTE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, HOLLAND, GREENVILLE, CADILLAC, UP NORTH & ALL POINTS.