This Week's File

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Nov. 16, 2007 – Week 11
To: CNS Editors
From: Eric Freedman & Sheila Schimpf

THANKSGIVING WEEK REMINDER. We will file on Tuesday, Nov. 20, rather than Friday, Nov. 23.

NEW BOOK FROM CNS BUREAU CHIEF: Congressional Quarterly Press has just published African Americans in Congress: A Documentary History by Eric Freedman and Assistant Professor Stephen A. Jones of Central Michigan University’s History Department. Freedman, an assistant professor of journalism at Michigan State University, was a congressional aide before his 20-year reporting career. Jones is a former journalist for Associated Press, Detroit Free Press, Detroit Sunday Journal and Ypsilanti Press. For more information, see www.cqpress.com/product/African-Americans-in-Congress.html.

HERE’S YOUR FILE:

FERALSWINE: Hogs go wild--and threaten environmental and crop damage as well as the spread of diseases such as brucellosis. That's why the Department of Natural Resources is allowing hunters with any valid license to shoot the unwanted swine in 50 Lower and Upper Peninsula counties, from rural Baraga and Gladwin counties to urban Oakland and Wayne counties. Prosecutors in those counties have agreed  not to file charges against successful hunters under a law that protects privately owned animals. MUCC is helping spread the word among hunters. For news and outdoor pages. By Jeff Riley Jr. FOR LUDINGTON, LANSING, ALPENA, MARQUETTE, SOUTH BEND, GLADWIN, LAPEER, GREENVILLE, OAKLAND, UP NORTH, PETOSKEY, TRAVERSE CITY & ALL POINTS.
w/FERALSWINEINFO: List of 50 counties where it's legal to hunt feral swine. Credit: Department of Natural Resources.

WIRELESSLYCONNECTED: Michigan's public and private campuses are moving toward complete wireless Internet access. Officials at Oakland and Western Michigan universities explain their strategies. Wireless access is already available throughout the Adrian College, Northern Michigan University, Michigan Tech and University of Michigan-Flint campuses. We also give the status of wireless access at Michigan State, Eastern, Central and U-M. By Crystal L. Burks. FOR OAKLAND, HOLLAND, LUDINGTON, MARQUETTE, STURGIS, SOUTH BEND, THREE RIVERS, LANSING & ALL POINTS.

SELECTMICHIGAN: Commodity groups such as the DeWitt-based Michigan Apple Committee and the Michigan Potato and Carrot Industry Commission are pushing grocers to stock fresh Michigan produce and promote it to their customers. Industry groups underwrite much of the Select Michigan program. Research shows that 85 percent of state residents prefer Michigan apples, but Michigan apples "don’t have anywhere near that market share.” By Andrew F. Mutavdzija. FOR GREENVILLE, TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, LUDINGTON, MARQUETTE, HOLLAND, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, SOUTH BEND, MONROE,  ALPENA, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS & ALL POINTS.

WINE&DINE: Michigan's vineyards and the Grape and Wine Council are urging restaurants to promote Michigan wines. The vice president of a Paw Paw winery, the owner of a Leelanau County winery and the state Agriculture Department director discuss the challenges the industry faces in getting its products more prominence on restaurant wine lists. A number of restaurants are aboard, including ones in Detroit, Traverse City and East Lansing. By Hayley Outslay. FOR LEELANAU, TRAVERSE CITY, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, SOUTH BEND, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, LANSING & ALL POINTS.

FLAGS: When the state buys a U.S. or Michigan flag, it should be made in America, says a Taylor lawmaker who is a Vietnam veteran. His proposal would require state agencies to buy only American-made flags, even if imports are cheaper. A Grand Rapids flag store owner says the proposal is a “nice idea” but wonders whether legislators “have better things to worry about.” Co-sponsors include a senator from Howell, who acknowledges that “it’s a symbolic gesture.” By Tim Alberta. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, LANSING & ALL POINTS.

FLEEINGSUSPECTS: Lawmakers from Plainwell and North Branch are pushing to prevent fleeing suspects from suing police if they're injured in a chase. They say Michigan should follow the lead of Georgia, whose similar ban on such lawsuits has survived U.S. Supreme Court review.  The Michigan Association for Justice, representing plaintiffs’ lawyers, opposes the proposal, saying it would limit the public’s right to seek compensation for injuries, but the State Police and Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police like the idea. Co-sponsors include legislators from Three Rivers, Mount Clemens and Kalamazoo. By Gregory Herbert. FOR LAPEER, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, THREE RIVERS, STURGIS, MACOMB, SOUTH BEND & ALL POINTS.

ERECTILEDISFUNCTION. A Cascade lawmaker wants to prohibit Medicaid from covering erectile dysfunction prescriptions, saying the state shouldn’t pay to enhance beneficiaries’ sex life. The proposal puzzles the Department of Community Health, which already has a policy against such coverage, and Viagra manufacturer Pfizer Inc. opposes the measure. By David Salisbury. FOR ALL POINTS.

CNS

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