This Week's File

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Feb. 27, 2009 – Week 6

To: CNS Editors

From: Eric Freedman & Sheila Schimpf

http://cns.jrn.msu.edu

CORRECTIONS AHEAD: Your correspondents will interview Patricia Caruso, director of the much-in-the-news Corrections Department, on Monday, March 2. Likely topics include proposals to reduce the prison population, the impact of closures on employees and county jails, sentencing changes and initiatives aimed at reducing the recidivism rate.

EARLY FILE NEXT WEEK. Due to MSU's spring break, we will file on Thursday, March 5, instead of Friday. There will be no file the following week, Friday, March 13. We resume our regular schedule on Friday, March 20.

CORRECTION: A CNS article that moved Jan. 23, “Alternative energy pushed with options for Upper Peninsula," misidentified Rich Polich as Midwest development director for Windland Inc. of Idaho. Polich works for WindLab Development, an affiliate of WindLab Systems of Australia. The Idaho company is not involved in wind energy projects in Michigan. CNS is correcting the story on its Web site.

HERE'S YOUR FILE:

COMPULSORYAGE: The state should boost the dropout age to 18, a Taylor lawmaker says, arguing that the added cost of keeping students in school is far less than the costs of prison or public assistance for dropouts. A Rudyard representative says many would-be dropouts need alternative ways of earning their diplomas. We also hear from the Association of School Boards and Education Department. By Gabriel Goodwin. FOR MICHIGAN CITIZEN, LANSING, MARQUETTE, OAKLAND, MACOMB, ROYAL OAK & ALL POINTS.

SAFETYNET: A new Michigan League for Human Services report warns that the state's cash assistance program is leaving a growing portion of the poor without adequate support. A Kalamazoo County anti-poverty group says the situation is worsening, and local groups like food kitchens are running short on resources. The Department of Human Services wants more money to hire staff to find eligible residents who aren’t getting benefits now. By Tim Weatherhead. FOR MICHIGAN CITIZEN, SOUTH BEND & ALL POINTS.

HUNTINGLAND:  Legislators, including ones from Menominee and Alpena, want to require the Department of Natural Resources to keep as much state land as possible open for hunting. Sponsors say the aim is to preserve natural habitats and recreational use of public land. There would be exceptions for public safety, homeland security-- for  example, land around Camp Grayling -- and fish and wildlife management. Michigan United Conservation Clubs and Bath-based Michigan Wildlife Conservancy favor it, and DNR says the bill wouldn’t change current policy. By Joe Vaillancourt. FOR MARQUETTE, ALPENA, GRAYLING, CADILLAC, LUDINGTON, GREENVILLE, CLARE, GLADWIN, TRAVERSE CITY, PETOSKEY, SPORTSMEN, UP NORTH & ALL POINTS.

BARNPRESERVATION: The state’s barn preservation movement is pushing the past forward, a Mount Pleasant-based advocacy group says. We describe projects in Ionia and Battle Creek and talk with activists from Grand Ledge and Battle Creek. The group plans a conference in East Lansing in March. By Thomas J. Morrisey. FOR GREENVILLE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, LAPEER, LANSING & ALL POINTS.

         w/BARNOVIDPHOTO: Sovis family cattle barn outside Ovid. Credit: Jan Corey Arnett.

         w/BARNLAPEERPHOTO: Bullock house converted from a barn in Lapeer. Credit: Jan Corey Arnett.

BEECHBARKDISEASE: A DNR forester snowmobiles around the UP in search of beech that are resistant to the devastating beech bark disease. Ludington State Park beeches have been ravaged already.  Starting this year, resistant seedlings will be planted in orchards around the state, eventually to be transplanted as replacements for those doomed to die. DNR, the U.S. Forest Service and Michigan Wildlife Conservancy talk about the invasive species and prospects for its control. By Jack Johnston. FOR LUDINGTON, MARQUETTE, TRAVERSE CITY, ALPENA, PETOSKEY, UP NORTH, HOLLAND, CADILLAC, GRAYLING, CLARE, GLADWIN, SPORTSMEN & ALL POINTS.

    w/BEECHBARKPHOTO: Beech bark scale nymph. Credit: U.S. Forest Service.

ORGANICSUSTAINABILITY: A farmer’s market slated to open this summer in East Lansing and an increasing number of organic growers across the state are steps that may improve both sustainability and health, organic foods experts say. They also are factors in the continued expansion of Michigan’s agriculture industry. Organic dry beans and grain production are concentrated in the Thumb, while many organic vegetable growers are along Lake Michigan and the Indiana border. We also hear from an MSU professor and an East Lansing co-op manager. By Danielle Emerson. FOR LANSING, LAPEER, LUDINGTON, SOUTH BEND, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, HOLLAND, TRAVERSE CITY, PETOSKEY, UP NORTH & ALL POINTS.

MENTALHEALTHCOURTS: Mental health courts have opened in Genesee, St. Clair and Jackson counties, with more on the drawing board for Oakland, Grand Traverse, Berrien, Livingston, Otsego and Wayne counties. They’re intended to divert nonviolent offenders out of the criminal justice system. Advocates say eligible defendants and the public will be better served with psychiatric and other mental health services, reducing pressure on overcrowded and costly jails and prisons. We hear from judges in Macomb and Wayne counties, the Department of Community Health, the Mental Health Association in Southfield and court officials. By Danielle Emerson. FOR MICHIGAN CITIZEN, TRAVERSE CITY, MACOMB, OAKLAND, ROYAL OAK, SOUTH BEND, LANSING & ALL POINTS.

E-WASTE: Most college students don’t think about lead or mercury when they sit down at a computer, but their universities face the challenge of safely discarding electronic waste. MSU alone chucked more than 140,000 pounds of used electronics in 2007, sending them to a Grand Rapids recycling company with a strong environmental record. However, experts say electronic waste is often not recycled or is shipped overseas where its toxic contents pose health and environmental risks. We hear from DEQ, EPA, a nonprofit advocacy group and the U.S. General Accountability Office. By Andrew McGlashen. FOR LANSING, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS & ALL POINTS.

POLITICALWANNABES. Terri Lynn Land can’t keep her job so she wants Jennifer Granholm’s job. Ditto for Mike Cox. Ditto for Tom George. Cameron Brown and Michelle McManus are heading toward the end of their jobs, so they want Land’s job. Bill Schuette gave up a safe job to seek Cox’s job, but Mike Bishop, who is losing his job, wants Cox’s job too. That’s just the Republicans – and only some of them. Voters already need a spreadsheet to figure out who’s in for which spot. Blame the confusion on political ambitions and term limits. We talk to an Oakland University political scientist and Lansing political newsletter publisher. By Eric Freedman. FOR LANSING, OAKLAND, MACOMB, PONTIAC, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, SOUTH BEND, TRAVERSE CITY, UP NORTH, CADILLAC, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.

CNS

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