This Week's File

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Feb. 2, 2007 – Week 3

To: CNS Editors

From: Eric Freedman & Vic Rauch

COMMUNITY HEALTH AHEAD: On Monday, Feb. 5, your correspondents will interview Janet Olszewski, director of the Department of Community Health. Potential topics include efforts to control health care costs and expand coverage, legislative priorities, the plethora of recent outbreaks of food-borne illnesses at restaurants; meth labs and obesity and nutrition.

HERE’S YOUR FILE:

ANNIEOAKLEYHIGHWAY: Annie, get your Michigan road map. A proposal is afoot to honor the Old West’s famous sharpshooter by designating a section of U.S. 127 as the Anne Oakley Memorial Trail under a Royal Oak lawmaker’s bill. Oakley, who traveled along what's now US 127 in 1882 on a Michigan performance tour, has an 85-year-old great niece in Royal Oak pushing for the honor. Co-sponsors are from Farmington Hills, Muskegon, Flushing and Gibraltar. By Nick Pelton. FOR OAKLAND, MONROE, HOLLAND, LANSING, CLARE, GRAYLING, UP NORTH & ALL POINTS.

            w/US127PHOTO:  U.S. 127 route signs. Credit: Sarah McLeod, Capital News Service.

TRASH: Proposals to block new landfills, limit the expansion of existing ones and raise tipping—dumping—fees are sparking controversy. They’re billed as one strategy to reduce the flow of trash into Michigan from other states and Canada. Proponents include lawmakers from Monroe and Alpena. The opposition includes the Michigan Manufacturers Association and Michigan Waste Industry Association. By Michael Carney. FOR MONROE, MACOMB, ALPENA, OAKLAND, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

SCHOOLCUTS: Lawmakers from Grand Ledge and Three Rivers see a need for bipartisan cooperation to close Michigan’s budget gap and avert cutting as much as $225 per pupil in state school aid – a loss that the Bath Schools superintendent says his district can’t afford. An organization of school business officials warns that 20 percent of  Michigan districts could end the year in the red. However, an East Lansing senator cautions that it’s too early to panic. By Justin Kroll. FOR LANSING, THREE RIVERS, STURGIS & ALL POINTS.

DRUNKDRIVEDAMAGES: Should convicted drunken drivers who cause the accidents that injure them be able to sue for damages? Not according to a Sterling Heights representative, who wants to ban such lawsuits. A State Police sergeant says the proposal has common-sense applications. MADD takes no official stance on the bill but says the restriction might encourage drivers to drive more responsibly. By Tanya Bigham. FOR MACOMB, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

ICEFISHING: The late onset of deep-cold winter has delayed and compressed the ice fishing season in the northern Lower Peninsula, a Hillman resort manager says. A Gaylord-based DNR conservation officer warns that no ice is guaranteed safe, as an angler in Montmorency County  discovered when he fell through the ice in Clear Lake. For news and outdoors desks. By Erik Adams. FOR ALPENA, BAD AXE, GRAYLING, CLARE, CADILLAC, UP NORTH, TRAVERSE CITY, PETOSKEY, MARQUETTE & ALL POINTS.

SELLTHELOTTERY: Oakland County lawmakers are wary about proposals to privatize the Lottery, fearful that it will reduce the amount of state aid available for education. We interview legislators from Farmington Hills and Huntington Woods, a lobbyist for Oakland County school districts, the state Lottery Bureau director, the Michigan Association of School Boards, a Mackinac Center backer of privatization and a Senate analyst. By Hannah Northey. FOR OAKLAND, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

            w/LOTTERYTICKETSPHOTO. Popular lottery tickets now on sale. Credit Sarah McLeod, Capital News Service.

JOBHOPE: Jobs and funding for retraining are the top priorities for legislators representing Montcalm County,  with training provided at Montcalm Community College’s M-Tech Center. The executive director of the Greenville Area Chamber of Commerce says the county needs state support as it shifts from its old manufacturing dependency to a new integrated manufacturing model that requires upgraded skills. By Brooke Meier. FOR GREENVILLE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS & ALL POUNTS.

ENERGYTAXBREAK: Legislators have revived a proposed sales tax exemption for energy-efficient appliances, but there are concerns about a potential $20-to-$25 million loss of revenue to the state. Lawmakers from St. Joseph and Macomb counties are pushing for the tax break, as is the Michigan Retailers Association. By Brian McVicar. FOR MACOMB, SOUTH BEND, ROMEO, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS & ALL POINTS.

            w/ERICRULEPHOTO: Eric Rule, government affairs director of the Michigan Retailers Association. Credit: Sarah McLeod, Capital News Service.

FISHDISEASE: Michigan fisheries and hatcheries may see new problems this spring as viral hemorrhagic septicemia spreads from lakes Huron and St. Clair to the other Great Lakes and inland waters, experts warn. We hear from the director of the Alpena Fisheries Research Station and DNR Fisheries Division officials. As if the Great Lakes didn’t have enough problems, the invasive quagga mussels population is burgeoning, causing huge problems for Alpena, Sleeping Bear Dunes in Leelanau County and Ontario. For news and outdoors desks. By Chris Jackett. FOR ALPENA, BAD AXE, LEELANAU, MARQUETTE, TRAVERSE CITY, PETOSKEY, LUDINGTON, UP NORTH, HOLLAND, SOUTH BEND & ALL POINTS.

CNS

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