This Week's File

NOTE: CNS articles are for the exclusive use of CNS member news organizations. Any other use is prohibited under federal copyright laws.

To download the text of a story, follow the link for that article and highlight the text. Copy the text (under the Edit menu of your browser) and paste it into your text editing program.

March 23, 2007 – Week 9

To: CNS Editors

From: Eric Freedman & Vic Rauch

MEDICAL SOCIETY AHEAD: On Monday, March 26, your correspondents will interview Dr. Paul Farr, president of the Michigan State Medical Society, on health-related legislative issues, including Medicaid reimbursement, rising health care costs, malpractice claims, health education, insurance coverage and state regulations.

HERE’S YOUR FILE:

INVASIVEPLANTS: Trouble is sprouting for Michigan nurseries and plant growers who are confused about what non-native plants they can and can’t sell legally. One grower in Spring Lake was stunned to learn that he could be fined for selling some groundcover, and another in Ann Arbor says it’s confusing even to professionals who track DNR reports. Meier Inc., working with the Nature Conservancy, has removed the invasive Norway pine and Lombardy polar from its inventories. Meanwhile, state agencies are in disagreement about how to determine which plants to outlaw. By Hannah Northey. FOR HOLLAND, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS & ALL POINTS.

STRANGELAWS: Anyone planning to carjack a luxury automobile  might be better off stealing a 747 because the penalty for carjacking in Michigan is a maximum of life in prison but aircraft theft will, at most, set a thief back five years. There might be another five years if  thief is a man who uses his newly purloined jet to seduce or debauch an unmarried  woman, and then there’s the risk of even more prison time if the thief is married and thus committing adultery. A Warren representative says leaving obsolete laws on the books is bad for Michigan’s image. The ACLU warns that obsolete laws may violate the state and U.S. constitution and lead to unnecessary lawsuits, and a Holland senator says some odd laws can be changed or repealed in the course of handling other legislation. By Alexander Scott. FOR MACOMB, HOLLAND & ALL POINTS. 

PHOSPHORUS: Some Michigan beaches may be covered with rotting carpets of green scum this summer, environmentalists warn. The cause, they say, is phosphorous in dishwasher detergent. A Petoskey-area shoreline owner says it’s so disgusting that his grandchildren can’t play on the beach. Michigan already bans most phosphorous-containing laundry detergents, and Saugatuck Township and Ann Arbor legislators, along with the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council, want to extend the ban to dishwasher soap. By Hannah Northey. FOR LUDINGTON, HOLLAND, SOUTH BEND, TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, PETOSKEY, MARQUETTE, ALPENA, BAD AXE, MONROE, UP NORTH & ALL POINTS.

            w/SCUMMYPHOTO: Algae bloom at Petoskey State Park on Lake Michigan. Credit: Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council

SUMMERFOOD: Summer is the time for children to laugh and play, but for tens of thousands in Michigan, it’s also the time for hunger because they no longer have access to school breakfasts and lunches. The Summer Food Service Program, now operating in roughly 50 counties, faces financial problems, a Traverse City schools official says. We also talk to the director of a program in Lapeer County that primarily serves the children of migrant agricultural workers. By Sarah McLeod. FOR TRAVERSE CITY, LAPEER, OAKLAND, LEELANAU, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

LEGISLATORLOBBYIST: With a high rate of lawmakers becoming lobbyists after leaving office, the Legislature is considering a mandatory one-year waiting period between switching jobs. In an era of term limits, the job of lobbyist becomes more appealing to ex-representatives and ex-senators who want to remain in Lansing, a political commentator and a political consultant observe.  A Northville lawmaker who’s pushing for the waiting period says it would ease suspicions of influence peddling and an Onondaga representative agrees, while a Grand Ledge colleague says a five-year ban would be even better. By Justin Kroll. FOR LANSING & ALL POINTS.

SEXOFFENDER: Plans to expand the state’s sex offender registry to require the State Police to post more information are stirring controversy over how much information is too much and whether it violates the rights of ex-offenders. A Holland senator is sponsoring the proposal in response to federal law, while the ACLU and a Wayne State criminal justice professor say the registry fails to classify ex-cons by the degree of risk they may pose to the public. By Erik Adams. FOR HOLLAND, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

HEALTHCARE: The Granholm administration and some lawmakers, including ones from Three Rivers and East Lansing, discuss their health care priorities for Michigan in tough economic times, while the Grand Rapids physician who heads the Michigan State Medical Society pushes for universal health coverage, a ban on smoking in all public places and better treatment for mental illness.. By Justin Kroll. FOR THREE RIVERS, STURGIS, SOUTH BEND, LANSING, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, GREENVILLE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS & ALL POINTS.

GEOLOGICALCONTROVERSY. The botched handling of an Upper Peninsula mining permit application has focused unfavorable attention on DEQ’s Office of Geological Survey. The agency is now under fire from environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and from the anti-regulatory Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Some critics say the agency also has mishandled some oil and gas development permits. By Brooke Meier. FOR MARQUETTE & ALL POINTS.

SECONDCHANCE: Inmates convicted of murder as juveniles and sentenced to life without chance of parole should get a second chance, some legislators say. Currently, 154 of Michigan’s 339 prisoners serving such sentences committed their crimes when they were 16 or younger. Backers of the change to make them eligible for parole after 10 years include lawmakers from Highland Park, East Lansing and Ann Arbor, as well as the Michigan Council on Crime & Delinquency. By Brian McVicar. FOR LANSING, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, OAKLAND & ALL POINTS.

NORTHERNCLIMATE:  Cherry growers have good reason to fear global warming, which could wipe out their crop just as an unexpected weather shift did in 2002, the president of the Cherry Marketing Institute warns. Northern Michigan winter sports—from skiing to snowmobiling to ice fishing—could suffer as well, an MSU tourism expert says. By Mike Carney. FOR TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, MARQUETTE, CADILLAC, GRAYLING, CLARE, ALPENA, UP NORTH, LUDINGTON & ALL POINTS.

w/WINKLERPHOTO: Julie Winkler, Michigan State University a climate scientist. Credit, Capital News Service

w/ANDRESENPHOTO. Jeffrey Andresen, Michigan State University climatologist.  Credit: Sarah McLeod, Capital News Service

VETERANREEMPLOYMENT: Veterans returning from military duty would get 45 days—up from 15—to ask for their old jobs back under a Croswell legislator’s proposal.  Backers include lawmakers from Lake Orion and Onondaga. The Small Business Association of Michigan questions the need for the change, however, By Mike Carney.  FOR MACOMB, LAPEER, BAD AXE, OAKLAND, LANSONG, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

MARINAS: With an escalating number of boats registered in the state, demand for access to lakes and rivers is escalating as well. Lawmakers from Alpena, West Branch, Grand Rapids and Southgate want to add access points by letting local governments build seasonal, public-use marinas at road ends. Boaters’ use of road ends is already controversial on Higgins Lake and other popular water spots. The legislation doesn’t sit well with some waterfront property owners, raises questions in the view of the Michigan Townships Association and leaves DEQ worried about enough staff to work on the program. By Erik Adams. FOR ALPENA, BAD AXE, GRAYLING, UP NORTH, CADILLAC, MARQUETTE, OAKLAND, LUDINGTON, HOLLAND, GREENVILLE, TRAVERSE CITY, PETOSKEY, LEELANAU & ALL POINTS.

NEWFUNDS: Taxpayers would get more options for donating part of their refunds to charities for breast cancer research, animal welfare and prostate cancer research under pending legislation. One beneficiary is named for a Holland woman who battled breast cancer three times. Changes in the tax form will let the state list more than three checkoff funds in the future. By Brooke Meier. FOR HOLLAND & ALL POINTS.

PRIVATIZATION: Senate Republicans want to privatize most of Michigan’s juvenile justice facilities and foster care placement, a move they say would save $36 million a year but possibly cost 600 state workers their jobs. Critics include the Department of Human Services and the Michigan Association of Governmental Employees. By Brian McVicar. FOR MICHIGAN CITIZEN, LANSING & ALL POINTS.

PAYMENTBAN: In a bid to improve ethical standards, some legislators want to outlaw speaking fees and other honoraria for all elected state officials, from the governor and Supreme Court justices down to members of the Wayne State University Board of Governors and the state Board of Education. Senators and representatives already are under such a ban. The lead sponsor, from Kent County, says it will improve accountability to the public, although Common Cause says the measure wouldn’t do much to reform government. Other sponsors come from Troy, Huntington Woods, Sturgis, Algonac  and Holland. By Alexander Scott. FOR HOLLAND, OAKLAND, LANSING, LAPEER, STURGIS,  THREE RIVERS,  SOUTH BEND & ALL POINTS.

SHORTTERMGRANT. The Department of Human Services has expanded its Short-Term Family Support Program from four (Oakland, Wayne, Kent and Sanilac) to 19 counties. Participants can get assistance without the standard work requirement. A North Branch lawmaker says the program will strengthen families and avert the need for longer-term aid later. FOR OAKLAND, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, BAD AXE, LAPEER, LANSING & ALL POINTS.

CNS

Download a Microsoft Word version of this budget here.