Oct. 27, 2006 – Week 8

To: CNS Editors

From: Eric Freedman & Vic Rauch

TRAVEL AHEAD: Your correspondents will interview Travel Michigan officials  next Monday, Oct. 30. Likely topics include the state’s marketing and promoting strategies, impact of changing fuel prices on tourism, effects of new minimum wage law on hospitality industry and competition with neighboring states to draw business and leisure visitors.

HERE’S YOUR FILE:

TOBACCO TAXES: The Treasury Department has sent more than 10,000 assessment letters to Michigan residents who buy cigarettes online without paying state taxes, and it’s subpoenaing records from online sellers to identify their customers. Also, the attorney general is prosecuting scofflaws who refuse to pay, including a Clinton County man sentenced to pay more than $20,000 in taxes, penalties and interest. That’s good news to party stores and other retailers that find it tough to compete against online vendors. For news and business desks. By Alison BERGSIEKER. FOR LANSING, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS & ALL POINTS.

FRESHFISH: State agencies, Sea Grant and Michigan’s commercial fishing industry are tackling the problem of mercury levels in fresh fish. One study found levels higher in canned fish than in farm-raised or fresh fish. Meanwhile, a cement plant in Alpena has agreed to voluntary try reducing the amount of mercury its smokestacks emit.  FOR news and outdoors desks, By John Bronz. FOR ALPENA, MARQUETTE, LUDINGTON, PETOSKEY, HOLLAND, SOUTH BEND, MONROE, BAD AXE & ALL POINTS.

SEXPREDATOR:  In a bizarre scheme, an Upper Peninsula man convicted in an Internet porn case is accused of  trying to steal the identity of an infant who died in . The motive, the attorney general’s office said, was to enable him to move to Oregon and avoid registering as a sex offender. By Nicole Hale. FOR MARQUETTE & ALL POINTS.

RECYLEDTIRES: A White Pigeon company is finding new uses for scrap tires, helping the Department of Environment Quality tackle the health and safety hazards posed by mountains of scrap tires. DEQ’s southwest district office has gotten rid of 7 million tires in 15 years and predicts that  the remaining 200,000 in Allegan and Van Buren counties will be gone next year. For news and business desks. By Jeffrey Joe Pe-Aguirre. FOR STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, SOUTH BEND, HOLLAND, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS & ALL POINTS.

SCRAPTIRES: A Cadillac company is making new brooms from old scrap tires, and a Coleman company worked with the Saginaw County Road Commission on a new paving surface that blends scrap rubber with asphalt. For news and business desks. By Brian McVicar. FOR CADILLAC,  CLARE, MIDLAND & ALL POINTS.

RECYCLEDTIRESMIDMICHIGAN: A Flint-based company grinds up about 10,000 used tires each day to help generate enough electricity for 25,000 homes. DEQ’s Lansing district office reports that its cleanup program has gotten rid of almost 1.2 million tires in Ingham, Clinton, Eaton Shiawassee, Lapeer, Livingston and Genesee counties. For news and business desks. By Jeffrey Joe Pe-Aguirre. FOR LANSING, LAPEER, OAKLAND & ALL POINTS.

COALEMISSIONS: New rules will help to reduce mercury emissions by 90 percent from Michigan’s 20 coal-fired power plants, but some utility companies complain that the new rules are economically and technologically unrealistic. We hear from an environmentalist, and DTE Energy discusses new equipment at its Monroe Power Plant. By Alex Doty. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS & ALL POINTS.

            w/COALEMISSIONSGRAPHIC. List of Michigan’s 20 coal-powered plants.

AGRITOURISM: Agritourism is hot in Michigan this time of year, with U-pick farms, corn mazes and cider mills, and the trend bolsters two key industries: farming and tourism. Yet many people, including a college student from Bloomfield Hills, acknowledge they connect tourism with exotic destinations, not exploring their own communities. We visit a U-pick operation in Charlotte that draws school groups from as far away as Grand Haven. For news and features desks. By Sarah McLeod. FOR LANSING, SOUTH BEND, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS, HOLLAND, OAKLAND & ALL POINTS.

            w/CORNMAZEPHOTO. Credit: Sarah McLeod, Capital News Service.

            w/TRAINPHOTO. Credit: Sarah McLeod, Capital News Service

BOVINETB: The state is reporting progress in fighting bovine tuberculosis, but the disease remains a problem in 13 counties in the northeastern Lower Peninsula. The state’s bovine TB coordinator says Michigan hopes to declare the southern half of the Lower Peninsula disease-free, as it’s done for the Upper Peninsula. Michigan United Conservation Clubs says hunters are less worried about the disease now. We also hear from an Alpena legislator and the Farm Bureau. For news and outdoors desks. By Chris Jackett. FOR ALPENA,  GRAYLING, MARQUETTE, CADILLAC, PETOSKEY, UP NORTH, CLARE, BAD AXE & ALL POINTS.

HEATING: Michigan will get $69 million in heating aid for low-income residents, with more funding expected. The money will be allocated among several state programs intoned to help the poor and elderly cope with winter energy bills. That’s good news, U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak of Menominee says. By Nicole Hale. FOR MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, PETOSKEY, UP NORTH, ALPENA,

HARVESTGRAPES: Even with Michigan’s grape harvest at 71 percent below last year’s, the state’s winemakers are still pleased with their harvest. The impact of bad weather, including an April first and late July hailstorms, has hit users of juice grapes harder than wineries. We hear from owners of vineyards in Coloma, Baroda and Traverse City, as well as from the Michigan Grape & Wine Industry Council. By Kevin Lehman, SOUTH BEND, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS, LEELANAU, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS & ALL POINTS.

RECYCLINGOBSTACLES. In much of the state, people lack convenient access to recycling programs, so many give up on the idea of recycling newspapers, bottles and cereal boxes, expert say. Many other communities do offer easy drop-off sides or curbside pickup, including Grand Rapids. The Kent County recycling facility handles about 1,500 tons of material annually. Meanwhile, a Saugatuck Township senator is pushing legislation to create a statewide recycling coordinator. By Andrea Byl. FOR GREENVILLE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, HOLLAND, LANSING & ALL POINTS.

CNS

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