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.

Dec. 7, 2007 – Week 14
To: CNS Editors
From: Eric Freedman, Vic Rauch & Sue Burzynski Bullard

WELCOME ROYAL OAK: We’re pleased to welcome the Daily Tribune of Royal Oak as the newest member of Capital News Service.

BONUS WEEK AHEAD: On Friday, Dec. 14, we’ll move our twice-a-year bonus week file. It will include still-timely stories that you may have lacked space for earlier in the semester. Our first regular file of 2008 will be on Friday, Jan. 18.

NEW CORRESPONDENTS: Our spring 2008 cadre of correspondents is lined up and will get their assigned newspapers in mid-December. Your correspondents should be in touch before the semester begins to discuss the type of stories you’re looking for.

HERE’S YOUR FILE:

COMMUNITYCOLLEGES: Bay Mills Community College in Brimley has the fastest-growing two-year campus in the state, a new study shows. Schoolcraft College, Washtenaw Community College, Wayne County Community College, Kalamazoo Valley Community College and Mid-Michigan Community College also rank among the nation’s fastest-growing two-year schools in enrollment. Oakland Community College, once boasting the country’s tenth-highest enrollment, credits high employment as one reason for rising enrollment as laid-off workers seek new skills. By Crystal L. Burks. FOR SOUTH BEND, MARQUETTE, OAKLAND, ROYAL OAK, CLARE, CADILLAC, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, LANSING & ALL POINTS.

w/COMMUNITYCOLLEGEGRAPHIC: Enrollment and percentage increases for the six Michigan community colleges that are among the nation’s fastest-growing. Credit: Community College Week.

PARKFRIENDS: As the Beatles put it, “I get by with a little help from my friends.” Now Highland State Recreation Area in Oakland County is getting by with a little more help from its friends, a new volunteer group that’s been cleaning and restoring a historic sheep barn. In the Upper Peninsula, Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, a similar group has been lending a hand since the early 1980s, and this year launched an artist-in-residence program that brings artists to the park for two weeks. DNR notes that some such groups focus on specific activities, such as mountain biking or horse-riding. For news and outdoors desks. By Andrew F. Mutavdzija. FOR OAKLAND, ROYAL OAK, MARQUETTE & ALL POINTS.

AUTISMCOVERAGE: Health insurers should cover the cost of diagnosing autism, a disease that’s been diagnosed in growing numbers Michigan residents, an advocacy group and some legislators say. We talk to sponsors from Detroit and Dundee. Another sponsor is from Bennington Township. Blue Cross Blue Shield has no formal position but generally opposes such government mandates. By David Salisbury. FOR MICHIGAN CITIZEN, MONROE, LANSING & ALL POINTS.

LICENSEPLATES: A proposed $9-a-year surcharge on motor vehicle registrations would fund the state park system and eliminate the need for state residents to pay daily or annual entry fees to state parks and boat launch areas. The Department of Natural Resources says the park system desperately needs more revenue, and the director warns that 37 parks may be closed if money falls short. MUCC labels the approach “interesting” but unlikely to pass. By David Salisbury. FOR LUDINGTON, HOLLAND, SOUTH BEND, ALPENA, PETOSKEY, TRAVERSE CITY, CADILLAC, GRAYLING, CLARE, GLADWIN, MONROE, LANSING, OAKLAND MARQUETTE & ALL POINTS.

MEDICAIDDOCUMENTS: The cost of birth certificates and photo IDs is keeping some eligible Michigan families from receiving Medicaid benefits, the League for Human Services says. The percentage of rejected applications due to lack of verification has increased from 25 to 35 percent, and the Center for Civil Justice says nonprofit groups, such as ones in Flint and Saginaw, are spending more money to get documents for applicants who can’t afford to pay. By Jeff Riley Jr. FOR MICHIGAN CITIZEN, LANSING, OAKLAND & ALL POINTS.

JOBSAFETY: In a bid to avert workplace injuries and illnesses, the state is handing out more than a $1 million to universities, unions, hospitals and other nonprofit groups for safety training and awareness for high-hazard occupations and industries, such as nursing homes. For example, the Lansing Area Safety Council will use its grant to train about 3,500 long-term care workers from Mount Pleasant south to the Ohio border, and Alpena Community College will spend its money for training in construction, machinery manufacturing and wood products. An MSU medical professor says the state has about 150 on-the-job deaths annually. The other grantees include Lansing and Bay de Noc community colleges, Michigan Farm Bureau and the United Auto Workers. By Andrew F. Mutavdzija. FOR LANSING, ALPENA, MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

STREETRODS: To many hobbyists who restore old cars or build street rods, the idea of including airbags, seatbelts and anti-lock brakes is a strange one. Lawmakers from West Branch, East Lansing, Pigeon, Marquette, Highland Park and Traverse City want to exempt those vehicles from such safety equipment requirements and safety standards, an idea favored by a St. Clair Shores owner of a 1926 Ford roadster. A State Police official expresses skepticism. By Gregory Herbert. FOR LAPEER, LANSING, MACOMB, BAD AXE, TRAVERSE CITY, UP NORTH, MARQUETTE & ALL POINTS.

GREAT LAKES: The proposed Great Lakes Compact is moving in the Legislature, and the chair of a key House committee, from Ann Arbor, says it’s vital to preserving Michigan’s water resources. Meanwhile, DNR & DEQ officials are examining screening tools to help assess water use and the impact of water withdrawals on fish populations. By David Salisbury. FOR SOUTH BEND, HOLLAND, LUDINGTON, PETOSKEY, TRAVERSE CITY, MARQUETTE, ALPENA, BAD AXE, MONROE & ALL POINTS.

DISABLEDPROPTAX: Local governments could exempt their low-income military veterans from property taxes under a bipartisan proposal. Sponsors say the goal is help keep veterans in their own homes and to fight a trend of rising homelessness among veterans. The chief sponsor is from Westland, and co-sponsors include senators from Ishpeming, Detroit, Warren, Howell, Highland Park, Huntington Woods, Roseville, East Lansing and Traverse City. By Jeff Riley Jr. FOR MACOMB, OAKLAND, ROYAL OAK, TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, LANSING, MARQUETTE & ALL POINTS.

PROMISEZONES: A pending proposal would extend the Kalamazoo Promise concept of guaranteed college scholarships to other cities with high unemployment, underperforming schools and high poverty levels. A key difference is that Kalamazoo’s program was privately funded, but the new Michigan Promise Zones would rely on state money as well as contributions. The lead sponsor, from Norton Shores, says it will boost college opportunities. The main House sponsor is from Auburn Hills, and co-sponsors include Detroit, Brighton, Monroe and East Lansing lawmakers. The Michigan Education Association wonders where the money will come from. By Tim Alberta. FOR LUDINGTON, HOLLAND, OAKLAND, LANSING, MONROE, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, SOUTH BEND, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS & ALL POINTS.

WALKFORWARMTH: As fuel prices rise, the Mid-Michigan Community Action Agency predicts a heavy demand for heating assistance this winter in its six-county territory, including Clare, Gladwin and Osceola counties. Other priorities include food and preschool services. While most of its money come from Washington and Lansing, the agency hopes to raise $100,000 from its 17th annual Walk for Warmth in February. By Hayley Outslay. FOR CLARE, GLADWIN, CADILLAC & ALL POINTS.

ELEMENTARYBILL: A Holland senator’s idea to hold back elementary school students who don’t read at grade level faces criticism. For example, the Tri-County Alliance for Public Education, which represents school districts in Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties, says such a state mandate would be detrimental to students, and a Norton Shores senator predicts too many children will be held back. By David Salisbury. FOR HOLLAND, LUDINGTON, OAKLAND, MACOMB, ROMEO, ROYAL OAK, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

MAPS: How do we tame the wilderness? One way is with maps, and a new book edited by a Central Michigan University professor traces mapmaking in the Great Lakes region from pre-settlement times forward. Maps such as MDOT’s annual highway map help people move from place to place, while high-tech Department of Environmental Quality maps help protect high-risk erosion areas along the shorelines of lakes Michigan, Huron and Superior. DEQ is now updating maps of Alcona and Arenac counties. By Eric Freedman. FOR LUDINGTON, TRAVERSE CITY, PETOSKEY, MARQUETTE, ALPENA, BAD AXE, HOLLAND, SOUTH BEND, UP NORTH, LEELANAU & ALL POINTS.

w/MAPSCOVER: Photo of 2007 Michigan Department of Transportation highway map.

CNS

Download a Microsoft Word version of this budget here.