This Week's File

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Feb. 13, 2009—Week 14

To: CNS Editors

From: Eric Freedman & Sheila Schimpf

http://cns.jrn.msu.edu

IN-DEPTHS AHEAD: Next week will be the semester’s first file of in-depth stories.

HERE’S YOUR FILE:

RURALINTERNET: High-speed Internet access remains out of reach for many Michigan residents, and it remains underused in other rural parts of the state, MSU researchers found. While technological infrastructure has improved, they say not enough work has been done on the home side of the equation—explaining benefits to potential users. The Internet can create business opportunities in rural counties. Meanwhile, Oakland County’s plan to provide free access countywide is on hold for financial reasons. MSU researchers are working with four high schools in Marquette, Grand Traverse, Otsego and Oscoda counties to build students’ Web skills. By Thomas J. Morrisey. FOR LANSING, TRAVERSE CITY, OAKLAND, ROYAL OAK, MARQUETTE. ALPENA, GRAYLING, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS & ALL POINTS.

SHUTOFFMORATORIUM: The PSC already has imposed a moratorium on private utility company shutoffs this winter for elderly and low-income customers who don't pay their bills, and now a new House subcommittee is considering whether to require a similar moratorium for the state's 39 municipal utilities. The action comes in the aftermath of a 93-year-old Bay City man's death after the municipal utility there turned off his power. We talk to a Leland representative on the subcommittee, the state Community Health director, a Traverse City Light & Power executive and the Michigan Municipal Electric Association. Other subcommittee members are from Lawton, Highland Park, Lake Orion and Bay City. Among other cities with utilities are Lansing, Eaton Rapids, Charlevoix, Petoskey, Holland, Zeeland, Harbor Springs and Hart. By Jack Johnston. FOR TRAVERSE CITY, LANSING, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, HOLLAND, PETOSKEY, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, LUDINGTON, SOUTH BEND & ALL POINTS.

MARIJUANAINITIATIVE. With only a month and a half to go before the medical marijuana initiative takes effect, the Department of Community Health is finalizing rules to guide physicians and register eligible patients, but questions and misinformation linger. The Crawford County sheriff says the initiative isn’t user-friendly for law enforcement agencies, and the state Medical Society discusses the unresolved question of access to marijuana. The Eastpointe-based state chapter of  the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws predicts the Obama administration won’t raise legal objections to the new law. By Joe Vaillancourt. FOR GRAYLING, MACOMB, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

TRUCKSAFETY: Wireless sensing technology is being used to crack down on overweight trucks that both damage the roads and jeopardize highway safety. On I-75 in Gaylord, for example, an officer used the new equipment to nab 10 overweight trucks in a week, and would have stopped only two of them without the technology. We talk to the Traverse City-based head of the motor carrier division for the northern Lower Peninsula and U.P., AAA Michigan and the state Transportation Commission. By Tim Weatherhead. FOR GRAYLING, TRAVERSE CITY, PETOSKEY, MARQUETTE, U.P., CADILLAC, LUDINGTON, CLARE, GLADWIN, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS & ALL POINTS

SNAKES: A plan to increase the number of endangered northern copperbelly water snakes in Michigan has been finalized by the federal government. Scientists report finding the snakes in only three locations, down from 13 sites in 2001, all near the state’s border with Indiana and Ohio. A fish and wildlife biologist in East Lansing and a biology professor in Fort Wayne explain the importance of saving the species. By Gabriel Goodwin. FOR SOUTH BEND, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, SPORTSMEN & ALL POINTS.

            w/SNAKEPHOTO: Northern copperbelly water snake. Credit: Jim Harding, Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

HEALTHHILL: A health care boom, including five major planned projects for “Health Hill” in Grand Rapids, is fueling the West Michigan economy. Those projects include the DeVos Children’s Hospital and a $90 million campus for Michigan State’s College of Human Medicine. A Lowell lawmaker and a city development expert talk about the impact on the area. By Danielle Emerson. FOR GREENVILLE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, LANSING, LUDINGTON, HOLLAND & ALL POINTS.

UNCOMPENSATEDCARE: Michigan hospitals absorbed more than $2 billion in uncompensated medical costs in 2007, and the state Health and Hospital Association warns the trend will get worse this year. But unlike some other states, including Nevada and South Carolina, Michigan has no plans to trim Medicaid benefits, the governor vows. The Department of Community Health notes that the federal government pays Michigan $1.52 for every $1 spent from state funds. By Alison Costello. FOR OAKLAND, MACOMB, ROYAL OAK, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, LANSING, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

CAPITOLENERGY: The lights usually dim at 6 p.m. in Michigan’s Capitol, but they do glow long into the night when legislators stay late to wrestle with the budget and other thorny issues. The governor says state government already has cut electricity use by 23 percent over the past three years and vows further energy-saving measures. The Capitol has also undergone energy-related changes, including a dimming of its dome lights, but its historic and symbolic status means special considerations are needed, Capitol experts and an East Lansing lawmaker say. By Amanda Peterka. FOR LANSING & ALL POINTS.

CNS

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