This Week's File

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May 8, 2009 -- Bonus

To: CNS Editors

From: Eric Freedman & Sheila Schimpf

http://cns.jrn.msu.edu

BONUS WEEK:  Here is our traditional Bonus Week file of still-timely stories that you might not have had enough space for earlier in the semester.

HERE'S YOUR FILE:

SOLARENERGYHOMES: U-M has a prestigious solar car team. Businesses are installing solar energy systems. Freeway signs are powered by the sun. And Negaunee High School and the Detroit Science Center have landed solar project grants. But Michigan’s immediate future isn’t expected to include “zero-energy” homes that rely solely on the sun for heat and electricity. That’s according to the state Energy Office, Michigan Association of Home Builders, Michigan Environmental Council and other experts. By Joe Vaillancourt. FOR ALL POINTS..

SECONDDEGREES: Facing a tough job market, some college students are opting to stay in school to earn a graduate degree or second bachelor’s, according to officials at Northern Michigan, Oakland University and Michigan Tech. The Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan, says it’s too early to see trends, however. By Alison Costello. FOR ALL POINTS.

LEADERSHIPMICHIGAN: A Michigan Chamber of Commerce program is training professionals about critical issues facing the state, especially health care, forestry and mining, education, agriculture and land use, and the automotive industry. Participants go to Marquette, Lansing, Midland and Jackson, among other places, to see conditions for themselves. By Gabriel Goodwin. FOR ALL POINTS.

FOSTERCARE: The worsening economy may be a factor in the difficulty the state faces in finding foster care parents for children in need.  More kids who have been neglected are out there but foster families have not increased at the same pace. By Danielle Emerson. FOR ALL POINTS.

NATIONALGUARD: Michigan National Guard returnees like Capt. Steve Wilson of Vicksburg say it takes time to reintegrate into society. He came back from Iraq in December and is now a recruitment officer based in Lansing. Meanwhile, a top-level Michigan Army Guard official briefs a legislative committee on Guard strength and a Kalamazoo-based recruiter says enlistments are rising. By Tim Weatherhead. FOR ALL POINTS.

INVESTINGINPRISON: Amidst a state budget crisis, the Corrections Department is taking a different approach to saving money: investing in job training and education for inmates. The goal, the director says, is to reduce the proportion of parolees who return to prison, meaning a small investment in rehabilitation and training can save lots more money in the long run. Officials from prisons in the Upper Peninsula and near Manistee talk about such programs, and the chair of the House Corrections Appropriations Subcommittee, from Salem Township, supports more spending on such programs. By Jack Johnston. FOR 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 ALL POINTS.

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

MICHIGANWATERS: New books praise Michigan’s waters while raising concerns about their environmental health. One, edited by a retired U-M professor, focuses on Nature Conservancy project areas, including the Point Betsie Dunes, Les Cheneaux Islands, the U.P.’s Two Hearted River, Erie Marsh Preserve and a natural area in Newaygo County. The other, by a former environmental advisor to Gov. Blanchard and a Grand Rapids photographer, weaves in warnings about climate change, invasive species and fertilizer pollution with pictures from such spots as Lake Superior, Ernest Hemingway’s boyhood home on Walloon Lake, Tahquamenon Falls and a beach at Whitehall. By Eric Freedman. FOR ALL POINTS.

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