This Week's File

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Sept. 21, 2007 – Week 3

To: CNS Editors

From: Eric Freedman & Vic Rauch

MUCC AHEAD: On Monday, your correspondents will interview Dennis Muchmore, the new executive director of Michigan United Conservation Clubs, the state’s largest environmental organization. Likely topics will include changes in hunting and fishing laws and regulations, the state’s public lands management practices, gun controls and easing of controls, expanding the beverage deposit law and environmental issues.

HERE’S YOUR FILE:

CURRICULUM: This fall’s high school freshmen are a long way from graduating, but their senior year is already looking tough due to state-mandated curriculum and graduation requirements. The Michigan Merit curriculum requirements have kicked in for the class of 2011. A Norton Shores senator insists the requirement will push students to do their best for all four high school years, but the president of the Michigan Education Association says the requirements impose a financial burden on already strapped public schools. The Bellaire schools superintendent expresses mixed feelings about the mandate but is grateful his district hasn’t been forced to hire more teachers yet. The state Education Department says there’s no extra money but there is other help available or struggling districts. By Tim Alberta. FOR UP NORTH, PETOSKEY, LUDINGTON, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

w/CURRICULUMREQUIREMENTS. Info box on the Michigan Merit graduation requirements.

MICHMERIT: Imlay City school officials say they’re prepared for the impact of the new Michigan Merit graduation requirements and don’t anticipate an immediate need to hire more teachers to comply. Lapeer West High School already plans to switch from two semesters to a trimester schedule next year to make it more feasible to comply. The Michigan Education Association president worries, however, that many districts won’t be able to afford compliance, and the state Education Department says any extra money must come from the Legislature. By Andrew Mutavdzija. FOR LAPEER, OAKLAND & ALL POINTS.

VIBRANTCITIES: Owosso is among eight finalists competing for six $1 million grant sintended to spur redevelopment of small cities by improving their appearance. The state Housing Authority’s award-winning  Michigan Vibrant Small Cities Initiative has narrowed the list to Owosso, Boyne City, Cheboygan, Houghton, Adrian, Rogers City, Big Rapids and Belding. Owosso would use most of the grant to repair two historic downtown buildings damaged by arson. A decision is expected in October. By David Salisbury. FOR LANSING, PETOSKEY, UP NORTH, MARQUETTE, ALPENA, GREENVILLE, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

VACCINEEXEMPTION: Parents have the right to request an exemption from vaccinating their children for religious and other reasons, but local health departments also can require parents to file specific exemption forms, Attorney Gen. Mike Cox says. A Clinton Township legislator requested an opinion on the issue after a constituent complained about the Macomb County Health Department. The St. Clair Shores president of Michigan Opposing Mandatory Vaccines, says local agencies have been an obstacle to parents who want to exempt their kids from required shots. By Melanie Trusty. FOR MACOMB, ROMEO, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

CASINOREGULATIONS: Should service workers at Michigan casinos have to undergo full-scale background checks and get state gaming licenses to get jobs in housekeeping, valet parking and food and beverage? Not according to a Detroit lawmaker, who says loosening those requirements will open job opportunities to ex-offenders and other prospective employees. The change would apply to tribal and privately owned casinos. The ACLU, Michigan Council on Crime and Delinquency and Greektown Casino back it, as does a Southfield legislator, but a Mount Pleasant lawmaker is critical. By Crystal L. Burks. FOR MICHIGAN CITIZEN, PETOSKEY, TRAVERSE CITY, MARQUETTE, SOUTH BEND, MACOMB, OAKLAND & ALL POINTS.

AGTAGS: Some Amish farmers are seeking a religious exemption from a state requirement that all cattle wear electronic identification tags as a food and animal disease safety measure. There is currently no mechanism to exempt them, and there are concerns that some Amish farmers will move out of state rather than comply. We talk to officials of the Clare Livestock Auction, Farm Bureau, a Mount Pleasant lawmaker and a Livonia pastor. For news and agriculture desks. By Hayley Outslay. FOR CLARE, OAKLAND, GLADWIN, LAPEER  & ALL POINTS.

DISABLEDVETHUNTING: A pilot program in Mason, Newaygo and Marquette counties will let disabled veterans take part in this fall’s two-day youth deer hunting season. Senators from Three Oaks and Norton Shores call the idea a way to get these vets “outdoors and enjoy a better quality of life.” The state-run veterans’ homes in Grand Rapids and Marquette are cooperating, as is DNR. For news and outdoors desks. By Jeff Riley Jr. FOR LUDINGTON, MARQUETTE, SOUTH BEND, GREENVILLE, CADILLAC & ALL POINTS.

STUDENTCENSORSHIP: How far does the 1First Amendment stretch? Not far enough when it comes to public school students, say Saginaw, Portland and Mount Clemens lawmakers who want to restrict the power of school officials to censor student publications. Censorship of obscene and libelous material and invasions of privacy could continue under the proposal, which the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association endorses. Co-sponsors include Detroit, Warren and Chelsea. In one Michigan case, a federal judge overturned a censorship decision in Utica. The state Schools Board Association has no position on the bill, and the Michigan Press Association is concerned about the wording. By Gregory Herbert. FOR LANSING, MACOMB, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

LOOTING: An abandoned farmstead near Cadillac, a shipwreck in the Straits of Mackinac, former logging camps in the Upper Peninsula—looters are plundering historic artifacts on millions of acres of public land and in the state’s 11 Great Lakes bottomland preserves. In doing so, they’re ripping off Michigan’s heritage. National forests and state forests are especially vulnerable, and arrests are few because it’s tough to catch thieves in the act.  By Eric Freedman. FOR MARQUETTE, CADILLAC, ALPENA, LUDINGTON, BAD AXE, TRAVERSE CITY, PETOSKEY, GRAYLING, GREENVILLE, CLARE, GLADWIN, HOLLAND, SOUTH BEND, MONROE & ALL POINTS.

w/LOOTINGINFOBOX: Using metal detectors in national forests.

CNS

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