Dec. 8, 2006 – Week 14

To: CNS Editors

From: Eric Freedman & Vic Rauch

NEXT REGULAR FILE: This is our last regular weekly file until Friday, Jan. 19.

BONUS WEEK AHEAD: As in the past, we will have a bonus week at the end of the semester when we re-offer still-timely stories you may not have had space for this election season. It will move next Friday, Dec.  15.

HERE’S YOUR FILE:

BOMBSQUAD: The State Police has beefed up its bomb squad, investing more than $8 million and intensified training since Sept. 11, 2001, in seven regional units. Squad members at the Sterling Heights lab troll the Internet to find new recipes for explosives to test. U.S. postal inspectors work hand-in-hand with the State Police when needed. By Alison Bersieker. FOR OAKLAND, MACOMB, MONROE, ROMEO, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

            w/YUNGFERPHOTO. Photo of Lt. Col. Timothy Yungfer, deputy director of the State Police. Credit: Sarah McLeod, Capital News Service.

WOLFMANAGEMENT:  Will the gray wolf move from threatened species to game animal in Michigan? That’s one recommendation to DNR from a consortium of outdoors and environmental groups. DNR says there are at least 430 wolves in the state, all in the Upper Peninsula. We interview representatives from participating groups based in Bath and Mount Pleasant. For news and outdoors desks. By Nicole Hale. FOR MARQUETTE, LANSING, TRAVERSE CITY, PETOSKEY, CADILLAC, GRAYLING, ALPENA, CLARE & ALL POINTS.

TRUTHINMUSIC: Stop the band imposters—that’s the aim of legislation in Michigan and elsewhere intended to prevent music groups from impersonating their predecessors’ names. A Highland Park senator says former members of Motown group the Supremes and doo wop-blues band Sha Na Na brought the issue to her attention. A Lansing tribute band member comments. An original Supreme was unable to stop a knock-off group from appearing at a recent Ford Community & Performing Arts Center concert in Dearborn. For news and entertainment desks. By Chris Jackett. FOR MICHIGAN CITIZEN, OAKLAND, MACOMB, LANSING & ALL POINTS.

INTOXICATIONCARDS: How much is too much? The Liquor Control Commission is using a federal grant to provide alcohol servers with two new tools to determine when to serve – and when to stop – this holiday season. Alcohol impairment charts and bright red “We I.D.” buttons are intended to reduce overserving customers and selling to minors. A Greenville bar owner says the cards will be useful. We also hear from the Michigan Restaurant Association. By Andrea Byl. FOR GREENVILLE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS & ALL POINTS.

CHRISTMASDEBT: The holiday season is a dangerous time financially for too many shoppers who end up deeply in debt, a problem that an Oakland Community College business professor blames on marketing. A bankruptcy lawyer in Okemos observes that some people live beyond their means year-round, not just around the holidays, and a debt counselor with offices in Detroit, Monroe, Allen Park and Farmington Hills says people should plan their budgets throughout the year. By Kevin Lehman. FOR LANSING, MONROE, OAKLAND, MACOMB, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

FOODACTIONPLAN: A new food safety emergency action plan takes effect in January for restaurants and grocery stores. Developed by the state Agriculture Department, health offices in Detroit, Oakland and Macomb counties and the Michigan Restaurant Association, it’s intended to ensure uniform responses to food contamination or agro-terrorism. We also interview a Macomb County health official. For news, business and living desks. By Nicole Hale. FOR MACOMB, ROMEO, OAKLAND, LANSING, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

            w/YUNGFERPHOTO. Photo of Lt. Col. Timothy Yungfer, deputy director of the State Police. Credit: Sarah McLeod, Capital News Service.

BIOMEDICALTISSUE: A New Baltimore man says a Macomb County hospital notified him that human tissue implanted during his surgery last year had been recalled. Now he’s awaiting the results of infestatious disease testing before determining whether to proceed legally. The Food and Drug Administration has uncovered violations by the New Jersey company that supplied the tissue. By Nicole Hale. FOR MACOMB, ROMEO & ALL POINTS.

STAYINGALIVE. A bad economy can be a killer, literally, according to a Western Michigan University economist who says unemployment and poverty contribute to an increase in suicide rates. Meanwhile, the federal government has given Michigan $1.2 million to run a suicide prevention program for 10-to-24-year-olds. Kalamazoo-based Strong Families and Safe Children will seek a grant from the state. By Jeffrey Joe Pe-Aguirre. FOR SOUTH BEND, THREE RIVERS, STURGIS, HOLLAND & ALL POINTS.

RECYCLINGBILL: A proposed penny tax to fund local and private recycling programs failed to win House committee approval amid uncertainty over details and opposition from retailers, but its sponsor intends to revive the idea next year. We hear from lawmakers from Alpena, Hart and Manistee, as well as the Michigan Recycling partnership. By Brian McVicar. FOR LUDINGTON, CADILLAC, ALPENA, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS & ALL POINTS.

DOMESTICVIOLENCE:  Shelters for domestic abuse victims and homeless women and children anticipate an increase in demand due to the holiday season and winter weather. We interview shelter officials in Alpena and Caro whose organizations serve residents of eight counties in Northeast Michigan and the Thumb. By John Bronz. FOR ALPENA, BAD AXE, MCIHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

BUILDINGINDUSTRY: As the economy foretells gray skies for real estate, it’s even darker for homebuilders in Michigan. Overall, now home building permits are down nearly 25 percent from recent years, the state says, and the president of the Montcalm County Realtors Association says he advises area contractors against building too many spec homes at a time. For news and business desks. Meanwhile, the state Association of Home Builders wants legislation to increase fines for unlicensed builders and double the licensing fee. By Andrea Byl. FOR GREENVILLE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS & ALL POINTS.

NORTHMICHIGANBOOKS: From the sinking of the Carl D. Bradley in Lake Michigan to the challenges confronting the Muskegon River, the waters of northern Michigan have long offered an array of allures. Two new books take advantage of that fascination: a Ferris State professor’s account for young adults of the 1958 sinking of the Rogers City-based  Carl D. Bradley and a Muskegon Chronicle writer’s natural and human history of “Michigan’s rarest river.” For news and features desks. By Eric Freedman. FOR ALPENA, BAD AXE, TRAVERSE CITY, CADILLAC, LUDINGTON, MIDLAND, MARQUETTE, HOLLAND, SOUTH BEND, PETOSKEY & ALL POINTS.

CNS

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