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April 25, 2008—Week 14

To: CNS Editors

From: Eric Freedman, Sheila Schimpf & Vic Rauch

BONUS WEEK AHEAD: This is our regular file of the spring semester. As in the past, we will send you a bonus week file next week with still-timely articles that you may have lacked space for earlier this semester.

THANK YOU, CNS EDITORS: As always, Capital News Service and the students and faculty of the MSU School of Journalism appreciate your support and encouragement. We look forward to working with you and your staff in the upcoming academic year. Friday, Sept. 5, will be our first file of the fall.

HERE’S YOUR FILE:

ANIMALCORPSES:  Could animal corpses and farm waste fuel solutions to the energy shortage? Maybe not, but it’s an intriguing idea, says a West Olive lawmaker who wants the state to authorize carcass-to-methane facilities. An entrepreneur says there’s a need for such a business in his rural area and explains that the idea may sound rotten but that the decomposition process wouldn’t stink up the environment. Cosponsors include legislators from Pigeon and Grandville. A Flushing senator suggests that such facilities could also make effective use of road kill. By Rob Dale. FOR HOLLAND, SOUTH BEND, BAD AXE  & ALL POINTS.

VIRTUALHIGHSCHOOL: A new standard is intended to help Michigan high school students keep up with the world of rapidly advancing technology—a requirement that every student take at least one online course before graduating. The state schools superintendent says the requirement will help some students find relevance in course material. A Grand Valley State University education professor stresses that future teachers also need to prepare to teach online courses. By Matt Flint. FOR HOLLAND, LUDINGTON, GREENVILLE & ALL POINTS.

DEPOSITS: There’s another effort underway to expand Michigan’s beverage container bottle law to include bottled water, energy drinks and a variety of non-dairy drinkables. The proposals by an East Lansing representative and a Roseville senator are nothing new—Jennifer Granholm, for example, made a similar proposal during her first campaign for governor—and industry groups still oppose it as unduly burdensome. By Tim Wardle. FOR LANSING, MACOMB & ALL POINTS.

FALCONRY: For many falconers, there’s nothing more majestic than a raptor in flight. Now the Michigan Hawking Club, Audubon Society and DNR are pushing to keep it legal for falconers to capture and train wild raptors. A Monroe falconer explains the lure of the sport. Sponsors include representatives from Monroe, Southfield, Onondaga, East Lansing, Grand Rapids and Farmington Hills. For news and outdoors desks. By Brooke Meier. FOR MONROE, SPORTSMEN, OAKLAND & ALL POINTS.

            w/FALCONRYPHOTO: A captive-caught goshawk named Buffy, owned by Monroe falconer Dave Hogan. Credit: Michigan Hawking Club. 

DRIVEAWAYS: With pump prices soaring to record highs, service station operators and police are worried about an increase in drive-aways—motorists who fill their tanks and speed off without paying. The Secretary of State is logging a rise in convicted gas thieves. We also hear from the State Police director, an Alpena police sergeant, the manager of a Lansing gas station and an industry official. By Clay Taylor. FOR ALPENA, LANSING & ALL POINTS.

MEDICALPRIVACY: Employees of a Southwest Michigan school district are upset that they’ve been ordered to provide confidential medical information about themselves and their dependents. Lawton Community Schools says the union contract authorizes the disclosure for purposes of obtaining health insurance bids. We also hear from the Michigan Education Association and an MSU medical ethicist. By Diane Ivey. FOR SOUTH BEND, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, LANSING & ALL POINTS.

MATH&SCIENCETEACHERS: Molly Christian of Lansing is a hot commodity. The biology and chemistry graduate of MSU’s Education College is in high demand and has lined up a job at Haslett High School. The principal of Manistique High and Middle School says applicants qualified to teach science and math are so rare that he pins their resumes to his bulletin board so they’re handy if his district has an opening. Meanwhile, elementary education majors are finding bust, not boom, in the Michigan job market. Experts cite a disconnect between what education students want to do and what the market needs. By Whitney Lloyd. FOR LANSING, MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

DRINKINGLAW: A new law allows inebriated patrons stay in bars until they sober up or get a ride home. A Ludington tavern owner says the change will help him ensure patrons’ safety, and the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association says the change may reduce drunken driving. By Matt Flint. FOR LUDINGTON, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS & ALL POINTS.

CAMPAIGNCASH: There’s a big disparity in fundraising success between the Democratic hopefuls in the state’s two highest-profile congressional races this year. Democratic challenger Mark Schauer continues to outpace U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, but incumbent U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R-Bloomfield Hills, is reeling in far more cash than his Democratic opponent, Gary Peters. Other Michigan incumbents in both major parties are well-heeled with campaign war chests in the $500,000 range, even with little or no opposition in sight. By Tim Wardle. FOR OAKLAND, ROYAL OAK, LANSING, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

VOCATIONALCLASSES:  Vocational programs that were once considered dumping grounds for failing high school students are getting a spiffed-up reputation as the popularity of “relevance education” grows. Those students are also better prepared for jobs in engineering, biotechnology, marketing, culinary arts, construction technology and similar careers, experts say. For example, about 3,650 students a year take classes at the four Oakland Schools Technical campuses while still meeting state-mandated graduation requirements. By Brooke Meier. FOR OAKLAND, ROYAL OAK, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

HOMECARE: Adult children who care for their ailing aging relatives at home would get a $1,000 annual state income tax break under a Macomb County senator’s revived proposal. The executive director of the St. Joseph County Commission on Aging, knows firsthand the financial and lifestyle impact of taking in an ailing parent. The director of the Portage Senior Center said it’s crucial for adults to be able to trust their families. By Diane Ivey. FOR MACOMB, THREE RIVERS, STURGIS, SOUTH BEND, ROMEO, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

BODYEXHIBITS: A human bodies exhibition that lured more than 300,000 visitors to the Detroit Science Center has left town, but a Macomb County legislator says the state should require proof that people whose bodies are exhibited in the future, or their relatives, had consented to display of their bodies. The president of the Detroit Science Center said his museums “Our Bodies: The Universe Within,” show drew fewer than 100 complaints. A Michigan State University ethicist says, “Right now, how bodies are obtained isn’t looked into at all.” Among the co-sponsors are representatives from Farmington Hills, Royal Oak, Southfield and Northville. By Whitney Lloyd. FOR MACOMB, ROMEO, OAKLAND, ROYAL OAK, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, LANSING & ALL POINTS.

FIRESEASON: The fire season is already hot in the Huron-Manistee National Forest, which covers nearly 1 million acres in the northern Lower Peninsula, with more than 25 blazes reported in recent weeks, including one that scorched 133 acres near Cadillac. In the U.P.’s Ottawa National Forest, snow still patches the ground, the woods remain damp and there have been no fires—yet. In the eastern U.P., Hiawatha National Forest has experienced only one small blaze so far. A DNR fire management specialist says the state registers 300 to 500 forest fires annually, and predicts a normal year. By Andrew McGlashen. FOR CADILLAC, MARQUETTE, LUDINGTON, TRAVERSE CITY, SPORTSMEN, PETOSKEY, HOLLAND, CLARE, GLADWIN, ALPENA, UP NORTH, BAD AXE, GRAYLING & ALL POINTS.

HOUSINGMARKET: The director of the Senate Fiscal Agency sees no imminent improvement for Michigan’s weak housing market, but the Home Builders Association of the Grand Traverse Area says the situation isn’t so bleak in Northwest Michigan, even for new construction. Locally, the hottest-selling homes go for $650,000 or more, while sales are slow for low-end properties. By Harry Gillen. FOR TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, UP NORTH & ALL POINTS.

LIGHTBULBS: The owner of a Detroit electrical supply store isn’t thrilled by a proposal to speed up a ban on selling incandescent light bulbs, but a Flushing senator says Michigan could save lots of energy by starting the ban in 2012 rather than the federally mandated 2014. Concerns include the high cost of alternative bulbs and potential risks from the toxic mercury they contain. By Rob Dale. FOR MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

RAWMILK: A Grand Rapids dairy farm is among about 30 statewide that sell shares in dairy cows, a practice that lets purchasers get otherwise illegal raw milk. The state Agriculture Department calls it an end run around public health laws, but participating farmers counter that organic raw milk is healthier than its pasteurized version. For news and agriculture pages. By Tim Wardle. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, GREENVILLE & ALL POINTS.

ROBOTICS: A  Novi senator and a Novi elementary school teacher are criticizing a Senate Appropriations Committee decision to eliminate $300,000 in state support for school robotics programs. The head of the committee, a Three Oaks senator, says the state can’t afford it. Michigan teams have captured the world robotics  championship in six of the seven past years. By Matt Flint. FOR OAKLAND, ROYAL OAK & ALL POINTS.

CHILDWELFAREREFORM: A new task force is tackling problems with the state’s child welfare system. A Michigan State University social work professor, who serves on the panel, tells about some of the difficulties he encountered as a foster child. The Michigan Council on Crime and Delinquency’s executive director is optimistic that the task force will accomplish its goals. By Clay Taylor. FOR LANSING, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, OAKALND, ROYAL OAK, MACOMB  & ALL POINTS.

CNS

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