This Week's File

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April 4, 2008—Week 11

To: CNS Editors

From: Eric Freedman & Sheila Schimpf

HOUSE MINORITY LEADER AHEAD: Your correspondents will interview Rep. Craig DeRoche of Novi, the House minority leader and former speaker, on Monday, April 7. Likely topics include legislative issues and partisan politics.

HERE’S YOUR FILE:

FROGCOUNT: With spring looming, volunteers will soon take to the woods and streams for Michigan’s annual count of frogs and toads. Yup, an amphibian census of peepers, croakers and ribbiters, coordinated by the Department of Natural Resources, at about 4,000 sites. Scientists, including a Michigan State professor and a DNR biologist, say the health of these critters is a valuable indication of the health of the overall environment. For news and outdoors desks. By Andrew McGlashen. FOR LANSING & ALL POINTS.

       w/FROGPHOTO: Native Michigan spring peeper. Credit: Jim Harding, Michigan State University.

MICHIGANSPIRITS: Michigan’s 11 artisan distilleries say a proposed new type of liquor license will boost their spirits—and the industry’s earnings—by making it easier for the public to sample and buy their wares. We hear from distillers in Suttons Bay and Traverse City. Other locations include Paw Paw, St. Johns, Holland, Webberville, Baroda and Three Rivers. The lead sponsor is from Onondaga, and co-sponsors include legislators from Southfield, Royal Oak, Warren and East Lansing.  For news and business desks. By Brooke Meier. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, TRAVERSE CITY, LANSING, LEELANAU, HOLLAND, SOUTH BEND, THREE RIVERS, STURGIS, OAKLAND, MACOMB, ROYAL OAK & ALL POINTS.

TOWNHALLMEETINGS: To help parents and educators help children avoid alcohol and underage drinking, the Department of Community Health is hosting dozens of town hall meetings across Michigan. An Eaton County Intermediate School District prevention counselor and a Lansing mother talk about the nationwide initiative. Some sessions have already taken place, but others are scheduled, including ones in Romeo and Alpena. By Clay Taylor. FOR LANSING, ROMEO, ALPENA, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

NOHEALTHCARE: Peter Ruei. a Sudan-born Western Michigan University student, and his cousin, a Central Michigan University grad student, are among an estimated 18,000 -19- and 20-year-olds who stand to lose their Medicaid coverage under legislation pending in the Senate. Many of them, like Ruei and his cousin who came to the U.S. through a Grand Rapids missionary group, have aged out of the foster care system. A Saginaw senator says removing them from the Medicaid rolls would save the state $14.5 million a year, but critics of the plan--including legislators from Rudyard and Burton, the Department of Community Health and the Michigan League for Human Services—call the proposal shortsighted and predict it would end up costing taxpayers more in the long run. By Whitney Lloyd. FOR HOLLAND, MARQUETTE, LUDINGTON, GREENVILLE, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, LANSING, CLARE & ALL POINTS.

JOBS. The state’s effort to stimulate the economy by creating jobs may not be effective because most of those jobs are low-paying, a human services advocacy group says, and average hourly wages are often inadequate to support a family of four. The president of the state AFL-CIO said high-paying jobs are available but that workers need to start using government resources to qualify. Companies in Cassopolis, Midland and Marquette need high-skilled workers, according to the Department of Labor & Economic Growth. A labor economist at Western Michigan University says unions are important for ensuring adequate wages and benefits. By Diane Ivey. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, MARQUETTE, SOUTH BEND, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS & ALL POINTS.

UNEMPLOYMENT: In the face of ominous state economic news, some West Michigan counties are starting to show marginal improvement, let by Montcalm County. Its unemployment rate dropped a modest 1.3 percent last year, nearly four times as much as in the runner-up, St. Joseph County. Berrien, Muskegon and Kalamazoo counties were also among those showing improvements. By Tim Wardle. FOR GREENVILLE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, SOUTH BEND, LUDINGTON & ALL POINTS.

     w/UNEMPLOYMENTGRAPHIC: Changes in the jobless rates of Montcalm and bordering counties. Credit: Bureau of Labor Statistics.

MEDICAIDDOCUMENTS: State compliance with a federal law requiring Medicaid applicants to prove their U.S. citizenship has prevented hundreds of qualified Michigan residents from receiving benefits, human services experts say. They also say the requirement has failed to achieve its stated goal of preventing undocumented aliens from illegally collecting benefits. However, U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers says it’s essential to ensure that benefits go only to those legally entitled to them. By Harry Gillen. FOR MICHIGAN CITIZEN, LANSING & ALL POINTS.

GREEN: The Department of Information Technology is going green, ensuring that its computer systems are energy-efficient. The agency expects to win certification from an international organization, Climate Savers Computing, for efforts such as consolidating facilities and purchasing energy-efficient equipment. By Matt Flint. FOR LANSING, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS & ALL POINTS.

PRISONHEALTH: The Department of Corrections has left many prisoners without proper medical care, and more than half of inmates with chronic medical conditions such as heart, lung and neurological problems weren't seen for regularly scheduled visits with health care professionals, a report by the Auditor General’s Office found. The department says it’s fixed or is fixing the problems. A prisoner rights’ organization says the audit failed to address the quality of medical care. By Rob Dale. FOR MARQUETTE, LAPEER, OAKLAND, MACOMB, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

CNS

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