This Week's File

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April 6, 2007 – Week 11

To: CNS Editors

From: Eric Freedman & Vic Rauch

NATURAL RESOURCES DIRECTOR AHEAD: Your correspondents will interview Natural Resources Director Rebecca Humphries on Monday, April 9. Likely topics include fee increases, public lands and state forest policies, the land consolidation process and changes in hunting and fishing regulations.

HERE’S YOUR FILE:

INDIGENTBURIALS: With the Department of Human Services facing major budget cuts, priorities become the question: help the living or help the dead? Director Marianne Udow says that’s a terrible choice, but funds for indigent burials will be cut to help preserve such programs as aid to homeless shelters and nursing homes. A Southfield funeral director remembers the last time the state cut money to bury the needy: “Morgues were stacking up with human remains.” The maximum payment has dropped from a high of $1,460 in 2001 to $680 now. By Hannah Northey. FOR OAKLAND, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, LANSING & ALL POINTS.

TAWASPOINTLIGHTHOUSE: As wind and water have reshaped Tawas Point, so has the lighthouse that marks the point. DNR is converting the keepers’ living quarters into a museum within the state park, part of a move to use Michigan’s Great Lakes maritime heritage to lure tourists and safeguard history. By Erik Adams. FOR ALPENA, BAD AXE, MONROE, MARQUETTE, LUDINGTON, TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, PETOSKEY, HOLLAAND, SOUTH BEND & ALL POINTS.      

ANIMALWELFAREFUND: Animal welfare societies may get more money for their pet causes if the state allows taxpayers to earmark part of their refunds for sterilization and adoption efforts. Fewer than half of the more than 260,000 dogs and cats turned over to humane societies in a recent year were adopted. Senators from Howell, Troy and Bay City want to create an animal welfare fund, an idea endorsed by the Michigan Humane Society. By Tanya Bigham. FOR OAKLAND, LANSING, BAD AXE & ALL POINTS.

MERITEXAM:  The new Michigan Merit Exam that combines the junior-year MEAP and ACT may spur more college applications, and because it’s free, students will save the $43 fee to take the ACT. We talk to officials at Oakland Community College, Lansing Community College, Macomb Intermediate School District and the Education Department. By Sarah E. McLeod. FOR OAKLAND, MACOMB, ROMEO, LANSING, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

SMOKINGBAN: The air might become a little cleaner in public places if health organizations push a smoking ban proposal through the Legislature. The state medical society president, a Grand Rapids physician, advocates a ban for workplaces, bars and restaurants. The restaurant industry says businesses should be allowed the option of being smoke-free without a state mandate, although a Lansing restaurant manager says a ban wouldn’t  hurt his establishment. Sponsors include senators from Taylor, Kalamazoo, Huntington Woods, Highland Park, Battle Creek, Canton and Detroit. A Grand Ledge lawmaker supports a ban only on workplace smoking. By Justin Kroll. FOR LANSING, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, SOUTH BEND,  STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, OAKLAND, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, MONROE & ALL POINTS.

            w/FARRPHOTO:  Dr. Paul Farr, president of the Michigan State Medical Society. Credit: Michigan State Medical Society.

HISTORYCUT: The Department of History, Arts and Libraries may be merged with another department or even eliminated due to the state’s budget crisis, Director William Anderson warns. If so, the change has major implications for state historic sites from Grayling to Negaunee to Bad Axe, grants to nonprofit arts and cultural groups, the Mackinac Island State Park Commission and close to 400 public libraries. The governor’s office says no decisions have been made. By Michael Carney. FOR LANSING, GRAYLING, MARQUETTE, BAD AXE & ALL POINTS.

JOINTCUSTODY: A Grand Rapids lawmaker worked out a joint custody agreement during his own divorce and now says the law should be changed to require joint custody in most situations. The State Bar’s Family Law section and some domestic violence groups disagree, but legislators on his side include representatives from Three Rivers, Sheridan and Troy. By Brooke Meier. FOR GREENVILLE, THREE RIVERS, OAKLAND, SOUTH BEND, STURGUS & ALL POINTS.

PISTOLREGISTRATION: Some lawmakers, including two from DeWitt, are taking aim at a law requiring safety inspections of pistols after their purchase, saying it’s inefficient and doesn’t promote safety. The State Police has no formal stance on the proposal to eliminate the requirement but note that 216 stolen pistols were confiscated in 2006 when their owners brought them in for inspection. A Marquette County sheriff’s sergeant and a gun control group say inspections should remain mandatory, but the Oakland County NRA affiliate says the state should drop the requirement. We also talk to employee of a Traverse City gun shop. Co-sponsors include legislators from Manistee, Baroda and West Branch. By Brian McVicar. FOR GREENVILLE, LANSING, MARQUETTE, OAKLAND, TRAVERSE CITY, LAPEER, SOUTH BEND & ALL POINTS.

EMPLOYEERIGHTS: Bosses wouldn’t be able to fire employees for their legal, off-the-clock activities such as smoking under a legislative proposal backed by the AFL-CIO. We also talk to the Michigan Business and Professionals Association. It’s a reaction to an Okemos company that prohibits its personnel from smoking, even off the job, as a way to reduce health insurance costs. Sponsors include representatives from Flint, Detroit, Warren, Ferndale and Warren By Nick Pelton. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, LANSING, OAKLAND, MACOMB, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

HEROIN: With a continuing supply of  opium from Latin America and record poppy production in Afghanistan, parts of Michigan are experiencing more drugs on the streets and more overdoses, law enforcement officials say. The biggest impact is in southern Michigan, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department and the Southwest Enforcement Team based in Battle Creek. State Police say there’s also more heroin now in the Lansing area, but the trend hasn’t had a noticeable impact in the Traverse City area and elsewhere in Northern Michigan. By Eric Freedman. FOR OAKLAND, MACOMB, ROMEO, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, MONROE, SOUTH BEND, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, LANSING, TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, UP NORTH, PETOSKEY & ALL POINTS.

CNS

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