This Week's File

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Jan. 25, 2008 – Week 2
To: CNS Editors
From: Eric Freedman & Marcia Van Ness

SMALL BUSINESS ASSOCIATION OF MICHIGAN AHEAD: Correspondents will interview top officials of the Small Business Association of Michigan on Monday, Jan. 28. Likely topics include long-term and short-term prospects for the state’s economic future, incentives to lure and retain small businesses, the impact of recent changes in tax laws and Michigan’s regulatory climate.

WORKSHOPS FOR PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS. The MSU School of Journalism will hold a series of Friday skills workshops, taught by faculty for professional journalists. The fee is $180 per workshop ($150 if you register by Feb. 20).  For details, see http://msujrn.com/justlearnit.

Feb. 29:    * Writing for the Web - Sue Burzynski Bullard (former Managing Editor, Detroit News)

    * Nature Writing - Jim Detjen (Director, Knight Center for Environmental Journalism)

March 14:  * Infographics for Beginners - Karl Gude (former Graphics Director, Newsweek)

    * Adobe InDesign Fundamentals - Cheryl Pell (Design Instructor)

    * Computer-Assisted Reporting (CAR) - Dave Poulson (Associate Director, Knight Center for Environmental Journalism)

March 28:   * Think Digital - Bonnie Bucqueroux (New Media Instructor)

    * Adobe Illustrator for Beginners - Karl Gude (former Graphics Director, Newsweek)

    * Video Storytelling - Bob Gould (Broadcast News Instructor)

April 4: * Adobe Flash for Beginners - Darcy Greene (Design Professor)

    * Michigan Public Access Laws - Jane Briggs-Bunting (Director, -School)

April 25:  * Mapping News & Information - Justin Booth, Matt Farra, Dave Poulson (MSU's Remote Sensing & Geographic Information Science Research and Outreach Services and Knight Center for Environmental Journalism).

HERE’S YOUR FILE:

SKIHELMETS: Downhill skiers and snowboarders could find a hefty fine waiting for them at the bottom of the slope under a bill to mandate helmet use. The proposal by a Dearborn Heights legislator follows the Christmas death of a 13-year-old Canton Township skier at Schuss Mountain, and the administrator of the nearby hospital in Kalkaska said a helmet would have saved her life. The manager of Snowsnake in Harrison says helmet use should be encouraged but not compelled, as do Boyne Mountain, Boyne Highlands and the ski industry’s trade association. Co-sponsors include representatives from Detroit and Farmington Hills. For news and sports desks. By Clay Taylor. FOR UP NORTH, PETOSKEY, TRAVERSE CITY, MARQUETTE, GRAYLING, CADILLAC, LUDINGTON, CLARE, GLADWIN, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, OAKLAND, ROYAL OAK & ALL POINTS.

LOTTERYFORSALE: The House speaker, from Redford Township, says the state should sell or lease the Lottery and use the proceeds to fund health insurance for retired teachers. An East Lansing lawmaker agrees the state should help school districts cover those escalating insurance costs but insists privatization of the Lottery is the wrong approach. The Michigan Education Association calls the privatization proposal a short-term fix—at best. By Brooke Meier. FOR LANSING & ALL POINTS.

CONSERVATIONFUNDING: The state has committed to spending $300,000 of its own money to reimburse landowners for conservation projects, triggering an additional $300,000 in federal aid to the state. In one such project, a Barry County woman who installed grazing and water protection systems to protect a stream running through her horse pastures. Michigan’s 79 local conservation districts will benefit. We also talk to the state Agriculture Department. For news and farm pages. By Whitney Lloyd. FOR LANSING, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS & ALL POINTS.

PRISONHEALTHCARE: A new independent report issued in the aftermath of several high-profile inmate deaths criticizes health care services for inmates, which is provided by a private company under contract to the state. The ACLU says services are inadequate, especially for mentally ill prisoners. The Corrections Department is examining its options, including changing from annual to every-five-year physicals for prisoners. By Tim Wardle. FOR MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

TRUSTFUND: For the next 15 years, a Westphalia mother will make monthly payments for a Michigan Education Trust contract to pay for her 2-year-old daughter’s college tuition—just as the mother’s own parents had done for her. The state’s pioneering MET Fund has topped $1 billion in assets as a growing number of parents and other relatives are investing in guaranteed tuition for their children. By Melanie Trusty. FOR LANSING & ALL POINTS.

WETLANDSDISPUTE: The Department of Environmental Quality and a Bellaire lawmaker are sparring over a wetlands violation citation issued to an Antrim County fruit grower. A local resident and the county soil erosion officer had reported the alleged violation to DEQ. The lawmaker says DEQ acted precipitously in issuing the citation before a full investigation and wants the department to exempt the property because it’s used for agriculture. By Matt Flint. FOR UP NORTH, PETOSKEY & ALL POINTS.. 

JUVENILES: Denise Chandler of Saginaw says her fiancé, imprisoned for the past 20 years because he participated in a robbery that turned deadly, deserves a second chance. She, the ACLU and others told a House panel that Michigan should end its law allowing life sentences without chance of parole for juvenile offenders. A Wayne County prosecutor, however, said judges should keep that sentencing option for extremely violent young criminals. And a Southfield legislator says his committee plans further hearings on the controversial issue. By Rob Dale. FOR OKLAND, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, ROYAL OAK & ALL POINTS.

DRUNKENDRIVINGCHANGES: Installation of an ignition interlock device combined with an alcohol treatment program could become mandatory for “extreme” cases of drunken driving. MADD favors the idea, but a Three Rivers police sergeant questions its effect for first offenders. In St. Joseph County, 17 people died and 417 were injured in 2006 alone in alcohol-related crashes. Cosponsors include lawmakers from Chesterfield Township, Dundee, Onondaga, Commerce Township and Warren. By Diane Ivey. FOR STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, SOUTH BEND, MACOMB, ROMEO, MONROE, OAKLAND & ALL POINTS.

CNS

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