This Week's File

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Feb. 6, 2009—Week 3

To: CNS Editors

From: Eric Freedman & Sheila Schimpf

http://cns.jrn.msu.edu

COMMUNITY HEALTH AHEAD: On Monday, Feb. 9, your correspondents will interview Director Janet Olszewski of the Department of Community Health. Likely interview topics will include the impact of the budget situation on demand for and availability of public health services; impact of foreclosures, layoffs and the recession on substance abuse and mental health problems; Medicaid changes and local health initiatives.

HALL OF FAME: The Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame induction dinner on April 19 will honor former Detroit Free Press journalists Jack Kresnak, who covered juvenile justice and children's issues, and longtime recruitment editor, columnist and author Joe Grimm, who has mentored hundreds of young journalists. Kresnak is now president of Voice for Michigan's Children, a Lansing-based advocacy group, while Grimm is a visiting editor-in-residence at the MSU Journalism School. For information about the dinner and for reservations, contact Linda Hartwig at hartwigl@msu.edu or 517-355-1520.

WELCOME ECHO:  Our newest CNS subscriber is Michigan's Echo, a Web-based news service that publishes links to environmental news produced in the states and provinces bordering the Great Lakes. Its users subscribe by RSS feed or e-mail through MSU's Knight Center for Environmental Journalism.

HERE’S YOUR FILE:

EARLYCOLLEGES: Partnerships between local school districts and community colleges can produce students who can graduate from high school with a year, even two, of college-level courses under their belts, speeding their completion of bachelor’s degrees. Oakland Community College and the West Bloomfield School District are among them. Others are in Clare, Escanaba, Detroit, Ypsilanti, Flint and Dearborn, with more planned for Macomb, Van Buren and Monroe counties on the horizon. Administrators from the Oakland and Flint programs and state schools chief Michael Flanagan talks about the benefits of that approach. By Danielle Emerson. FOR OAKLAND, ROYAL OAK, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, CLARE, GLADWIN, MARQUETTE, SOUTH BEND & ALL POINTS.

LIVESTOCKSALES: The recession means high stakes for Michigan beef producers as consumers abandon high-priced steaks for cheaper cuts of beef and pork. We talk to the Allegan County representative of the state Cattleman’s Association, a producer in Pinckney and a Michigan State agricultural economist. The state’s top 10 beef-raising counties include Allegan, Ottawa, Clinton, Ionia and Kent counties. By Joe Vaillancourt. FOR HOLLAND, GREENVILLE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, LANSING, LAPEER & ALL POINTS.

COSTSOFCOLLEGE:  A new study shows students at Michigan’s 15 public universities are paying a larger share of overall college costs, due in part to a steady decline in state aid and rising administrative costs. At Northern Michigan, for example, tuition revenue climbed by 40 percent between 2002 and 2006 while he government’s share dropped by 20 percent. Oakland and Michigan State officials discuss their efforts to control costs. By Thomas J. Morrisey. FOR MARQUETTE, LANSING, OAKLAND, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, ROYAL OAK,  HOLLAND, GREENVILLE, SOUTH BEND, & ALL POINTS.

EDUCATIONOPTIONS: Students and teachers should have more options in the education system, says Michael Flanagan, the state superintendent of public instruction. Among those options are early college programs, such as one in Flint and the possibility of public school teachers creating their own charter schools. For example, he says Lansing would be an ideal sight for a charter school focused on government and public affairs. We also interview an executive of the Michigan Association of Public School Academies. By Gabriel Goodwin. FOR MICHIGAN CITIZEN, LANSING, OAKLAND & ALL POINTS.

TEACHERPENSION: The Michigan Education Association says pension incentives would encourage more high-paid teachers to retire sooner, enabling school districts to save money by hiring lower-paid new teachers – an estimate $1.7 billion over the next decade. But the school superintendents in Three Rivers and Sturgis are urging caution, and state schools chief Michael Flanagan says any incentives should be a local district decision, not a state mandate. There’s also concern that the plan would worsen a shortage of math, science, special education and foreign language teachers. By Tim Weatherhead. FOR THREE RIVERS, STURGIS, SOUTH BEND & ALL POINTS.

ALTERNATIVESCHOOLS: Some state and local education officials are urging Congress and the Obama administration to revise the Bush-era No Child Left Behind Act, saying the current structure places unrealistic expectations on schools. The Ludington district is especially worried about how the current rules adversely impact alternative schools, such as Journey High School. The Pontiac lawmaker who chairs the House Education Committee says the state should allow more flexibility for alternative schools. FOR LUDINGTON, OAKLAND, ROYAL OAK, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

CNS

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