This Week's File

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Oct. 24, 2008—Week 8

To: CNS Editors

From: Eric Freedman & Vic Rauch

cns.jrn.msu.edu

IN-DEPTHS AHEAD: Next week will provide our second group of in-depth stories.

JOUNALISM HALL OF FAME NOMINATIONS: Nominations are open for the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame. The deadline is 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9.  Nominees, whether alive or not, can come from any medium. The annual induction ceremony is scheduled for April 18. For details and nomination instructions, see the Hall of Fame Web site at http://hof.jrn.msu.edu.

HERE’S YOUR FILE:

UNEMPLOYMENTFEARS. With anxiety over a potential GM-Chrysler merger, officials of retraining programs are bracing for an influx of unemployed job seekers, many from Chrysler’s Auburn Hills offices. We hear from the director of Macomb and St. Clair Michigan Works!, the Department of Labor and Economic Growth and from an Oakland University counselor who runs a “Men in Transition” therapy group that helps displaced workers deal with the grief associated with job loss. By John Hudson. FOR MACOMB, ROMEO, OAKLAND, ROYAL OAK, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

UNIVERSITYCENTER: Michigan’s only county-operated multiple-college center  brings programs from eight public and private institutions to the northern Lower Peninsula, making it easier for students from the area to earn their degrees. University Center at Gaylord. Participants include North Central Michigan College, Central, Kirtland Community College, Madonna and MSU. By Courtney Bowerman. FOR CLARE, GLADWIN, GRAYLING, ALPENA, PETOSKEY, CADILLAC, LANSING, UP NORTH & ALL POINTS.

TRAILDEVELOPMENT: The North Central State Trail between Gaylord and Mackinaw City has been named one of the country’s top five autumn destinations for trail fans. A Petoskey group is focusing  on 259 miles of trails across the northern Lower Peninsula. Lansing has expanded its River Trail. And an MDOT-funded project calls for nearly 400 miles of trails in Detroit. They’re all part of a growing trails movement for bicyclists, hikers, commuters and other users of non-motorized transportation. We also talk about a trail system around Traverse City and a trail linking Gaylord and Petoskey. By Brittany Kinstle. FOR PETOSKEY, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, UP NORTH, SPORTSMEN, TRAVERSE CITY, LANSING, GRAYLING & ALL POINTS.

WOODSTOVES:  A rebate program sponsored by the Department of Environmental Quality, Michigan United Conservation Clubs, EPA and a trade association has helped 500 homeowners replace inefficient old wood stoves with new ones that reduce harmful emissions.  Demand for word stoves is up this year and expected to climb. We also interview a Lapeer stove salesperson and the Gaylord-based president of a regional industry group. By Diane Ivey. FOR LAPEER, GRAYLING, CLARE, CADILLAC, GLADWIN, ALPENA, LUDINGTON, TRAVERSE CITY, PETOSKEY & ALL POINTS.

EMERGENCYSERVICES: A DeWitt lawmaker wants to make screening tougher for prospective EMTs and would make it illegal for hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities to hire EMTs with a felony record. The head of the state Office of Fire Fighter Safety says the Legislature shouldn’t abolish the fee for fingerprinting and background checks without finding another source for the money. We also interview the admissions director of Baker College’s Cadillac campus and the executive director of Marquette-based EPEMS. By Ryan Secord. FOR MARQUETTE, LANSING,  CADILLAC, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

REVENUESHARING: With state aid to local governments dropping, cities and townships are forced to adjust by eliminating programs and leaving jobs vacant. Grand Rapids is leaving jobs empty. Cadillac’s state revenue sharing is down to $1 million from a high of $1.3 million and putting road projects on hold. Counties have been buffered from the revenue sharing hit because they set aside a portion of their annual property taxes, but they, too, are returning to the revenue sharing program. St. Joseph, Tuscola, Ionia and Montcalm are among the first. Leelanau County will be the last—in 2024. By Nico Rubello. FOR CADILLAC, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, SOUTH BEND, LAPEER, GREENVILLE, LEELANAU, TRAVERSE CITY & ALL POINTS.

STUDENTSAID:  The nation’s spiraling financial crisis is having a significant negative effect on thousands of Michigan college students. Those who rely on private lenders, for example, are finding it hard to qualify for loans. A number of colleges report their incoming classes this fall were smaller than expected, due in part to family financial problems. We interview a Michigan State student from Flat Rock and financial aid officers at Central Michigan and Ferris State. By Alison Costello. FOR MONROE, LANSING, CLARE, CADILLAC, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

PROPTWO: The  rival ad campaigns over Proposal 2, which would allow embryonic stem cell research, is getting increasingly nasty and bitter. We hear both sides of this heated story, including a MSU advertising professor. By Charles Roltsch. FOR LANSING, HOLLAND & ALL POINTS.

CNS

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