This Week's File

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April 27, 2007 – Week 14

To: CNS Editors

From: Eric Freedman & Vic Rauch

BONUS WEEK AHEAD: Today is your last regular file until the fall. However, on Friday, May 4, you’ll get a bonus week file with still-timely stories you may not have had space to run before.

HERE’S YOUR FILE:

FARMLAND: A Clinton County family farmer who signed over development rights to the state is happy that his land will be protected even after his death, but other farmers may not be as lucky. That’s because there’s not enough money available for the state to acquire development rights to threatened farmland. Meanwhile, St. Joseph County is putting together a farmland development program. By Brian McVicar. FOR LANSING, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, SOUTH BEND, ROMEO, MACOMB, OAKLAND, TRAVERSE CITY, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, HOLLAND & ALL POINTS.

BIKESAFETY:  Warm weather means more bicycles on the road, and the League of Michigan Bicyclists warns that drivers and riders must keep alert. Traffic laws apply to bicyclists, and the organization says police should enforce those safety laws against errant cyclists. State police in Cadillac give free ice cream coupons to children who wear bicycle helmets. The Office of Highway Safety Planning notes that bike-vehicle crashes and fatalities are on the decline. By Sarah McLeod. FOR CADILLAC & ALL POINTS.

            w/BIKESAFETYGRAPHIC: Number of vehicle-bike crashes and fatal accidents by year, 1996-2005. Source: Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning.

CAFOFARMS: Confined animal feeding operations—megafarms that generate large amounts of waste, and noxious smells—are drawing legislative attention again. The Sierra Club and an East Lansing legislator want a five-year moratorium on new CAFOs to give DEQ time to better regulate existing operations, including one in Lenawee and Hillsdale counties that has received more than 100 citations for water pollution violations. The Farm Bureau calls the proposal unnecessary and a threat to the state’s $24 billion-a-year livestock industry. For news and farm desks. By Hannah Northey. FOR MONROE, LANSING, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, OAKLAND, MACOMB, HOLLAND, SOUTH BEND and ALL POINTS.

            w/CAFOPHOTO: Vreba-Hoff Dairy Development, a confined animal feeding operation in Lenawee County, has had more than 100 DEQ water pollution citations. Credit: Sierra Club.

GOODTIME: In a bid to reduce jail costs and ease overcrowding, some legislators want to give county sheriffs discretion to award inmates more time off for good behavior. The Macomb County sheriff opposes the proposal, but its sponsors include lawmakers from Croswell, Grand Ledge, Algonac and East Lansing. By Alexander Scott. FOR LAPEER, LANSING, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

FIRESTATION: A DNR facility in Roscommon is sparking new firefighting technology used in Michigan and elsewhere. One new project is designing a small off-road vehicle that can maneuver through the woods while carrying a larger load of water. By Nick Pelton. FOR CLARE, GRAYLING, CADILLAC, ALPENA, LUDINGTON, PETOSKEY, UP NORTH & ALL POINTS.

ROBOCALLS: Some lawmakers, including a Kentwood senator, want to hang up on those annoying robocalls by requiring disclosure of the identity of those authorizing and paying for them. The senator acknowledges that his own supporters have used the irksome technique in the past. The ACLU raises no First Amendment objections. By Nick Pelton. FOR GREENVILLE, LANSING & ALL POINTS.

VETCONFUSION: Granholm’s executive order that cuts spending at the two state-run veterans homes in Grand Rapids and Marquette has created a muddle. Legislators from Grand Rapids and Sheridan say the governor has no authority to block the spending of private money donated to the facilities, but the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs says only taxpayer funds are affected by the order. By Brooke Meier. FOR GREENVILLE, MARQUETTE, LANSING & ALL POINTS.

ABORTIONREPORTS: Anti-abortion legislators, including ones from Wyoming, Sheridan and Three Rivers, want to require wider reporting of abortion complications, but pro-choice groups say the measure is unnecessary. By Brooke Meier. FOR GREENVILLE, HOLLAND, THREE RIVERS, STURGIS, SOUTH BENDD, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

FRUITFREEZE: Despite this winter’s late freeze, Michigan fruit industry experts are generally optimistic about prospects for this year’s harvest. We speak to cherry and peach experts in Traverse City, Suttons Bay, East Lansing and Benton Harbor. By Brian McVicar. FOR LEELANAU, TRAVERSE CITY,  GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, LUDINGTON, HOLLAND, SOUTH BEND,,MONROE, STURGIS, GREENVILLE, SOUTH BEND, THREE RIVERS & ALL POINTS.

OUTREACHPROGRAMS: The American Legion of Michigan and other veterans groups have seen no increase in their state support although the costs of advising and servicing the growing number of vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan has risen. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs office in Detroit has more than 19,000 pending cases. The American Legion is working with a senator from Traverse City on a legislative resolution asking Congress for more money to improve VA claims processing. By Brooke Meier. FOR TRAVERSE CITY, GRAYLING, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, LANSING & ALL POINTS.

TREEKILLINGWASP: Michigan foresters are bracing for a looming invasion of a wood wasp that threatens jack, red and Scotch pines, experts at the Department of Natural Resources and Hiawatha National Forest say. The invaders already are in Ontario and New York.  By Tanya Bigham. FOR LUDINGTON, CADILLAC, GRAYLING, CLARE, MARQUETTE, ALPENA, BAD AXE, CADILLAC, UP NORTH, TRAVERSE CITY & ALL POINTS.

GUNCONTROL: The Virginia Tech shootings have fired up the debate over gun control in Michigan. An Ann Arbor lawmaker says tougher laws could prevent similar incidents and a West Branch representative wants to restrict the sale and ownership of short-barreled rifles and shotguns. However, colleagues from DeWitt and Grand Ledge say the state’s laws already are too tough, and Michigan United Conservation Clubs insists that new laws would punish law-abiding folks. By Justin Kroll. FOR LANSING, GREENVILLE, OAKLAND, GRAYLING, CLARE ,MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

CERTIFICATIONHIKE: A House-passed proposal to hike teacher certification fees is stalled in the Senate while the Holland chair waits for an explanation of the $3 million price tag. A Taylor representative is the lead sponsor. We hear from the state Education Department and the MEA as well.  By Erik Adams. FOR HOLLAND, MONROE, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

DRAMATICDRAMA: An Oakland County lawmaker’s gripes about a controversial play being staged at Saginaw Valley State University has drawn the ire of arts and civil liberties groups who fear censorship and restraints on academic freedom. The theater professor who is directing “Angels in America” says it’s important for college plays to address major issues in society. By Michael Carney. FOR GREENVILLE, HOLLAND, OAKLAND, SOUTH BEND, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS & ALL POINTS.

ETHANOLPLANT: Corn growers are eagerly awaiting completion of an ethanol plant in Manistee. The site’s been cleared, but the Traverse City company that’s building the project still hasn’t obtained the necessary funding. By Nick Pelton. FOR LUDINGTON, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, TRAVERSE CITY, HOLLAND, CADILLAC & ALL POINTS.

ERNEGLIGENCE: It would be harder to sue emergency room physicians for negligence under a Grosse Point Farms lawmaker’s proposal. The bill, which counts representatives from East Lansing and North Branch among its co-sponsors, would limit liability to situations in which emergency physicians are grossly negligent. The state trial lawyers’ group says the change would treat ER patients as second-class citizens when it comes to compensation for medical errors. By Nick Pelton. FOR MACOMB, LAPEER, LANSING, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

STUDENTDRIVERS: Roseville and Grosse Pointe Farms legislators want to tighten up on young drivers. One bill would limit the number of unrelated passengers a level two driver could carry. Another would mandate an “L” for learner sticker on the plates of young drives, an idea that the secretary of state opposes. Co-sponsors include lawmakers from Manistee, Warren, Lake Orion and East Lansing. By Alexander Scott. FOR MACOMB, ROMEO, OAKLAND, LANSING, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, & ALL POINTS.

CNS

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