Apr. 27, 2012 CNS Budget

April 27, 2012 – Week 14
To: CNS Editors
From: Eric Freedman & Sheila Schimpf
http://news.jrn.msu.edu/capitalnewsservice/
For technical problems, contact Brandon Kirby (kirbybra@msu.edu; 734-718-5292).
All articles ©2012, Capital News Service, Michigan State University School of Journalism. Nonmembers cannot reproduce CNS articles without written permission.
LAST REGULAR FILE: Today is our last regular file of the semester.
BONUS WEEK AHEAD: Next Friday, May 4, will be our traditional end-of-semester bonus week file with still-timely stories you may not have had room for when we originally moved them. Of course, CNS subscriber news organizations are free to keep using all our archived stories and visuals.
HERE’S YOUR FILE:
GENDEROBESITY: U of M and MSU experts say programs to curb child obesity would be more effective if they are gender-specific. Findings come from research among sixth-graders at schools in Ann Arbor, Detroit, Shiawassee County and Ypsilanti. By Xinjuan Deng. FOR ANN ARBOR, LANSING, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.
CORNBELT: New study says climate change will have a far greater impact on corn prices during the next 30 years than oil prices or government policies. Michigan’s Corn Belt may spread to northern Lower Peninsula and U.P. Top 5 producers now are Huron, Lenawee, Saginaw, Cass and Sanilac counties, but Menominee County already grows corn. We hear from Corn Growers Association, MSU Extension and others. By Wei Yu. FOR BLISSFIELD, BROWN CITY, SOUTH BEND, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, MARQUETTE, ST. IGNACE & ALL POINTS.
JUVENILEFACILITIES: The House, led by a Grandville representative, wants to close all three state juvenile detention facilities in Escanaba, Whitmore Lake and Grayling. Criticism comes from a Bay County judge, Northwestern Michigan College expert, AFSCME and Southfield-based mental health organization. By Saodat Asanova-Taylor. FOR MARQUETTE, ANN ARBOR, GRAYLING, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, TRAVERSE CITY, LANSING, JACKSON, ROYAL OAK & ALL POINTS.
VEHICLEIDENTIFICATION: Some farmers and small businesses are complaining about State Police enforcement of federal requirement for ID numbers for small commercial vehicles, including vans and trailers. We hear from a State Police inspector, Farm Bureau, Kewadin legislator and landscape/nursery business owners in Wyoming and Carson City. By Saodat Asanova-Taylor. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, GREENVILLE, CHEBOYGAN, PETOSKEY & ALL POINTS.
WORKERDEATHS: On-the-job deaths held steady last year in the state, with the highest numbers in Wayne, Kent and Oakland counties. MSU expert says most were avoidable. The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs offers advice. By Jennifer Chen. FOR ROYAL OAK, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, LANSING, SOUTH BEND, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS & ALL POINTS.
LANDRIGHTS: A court appeal is pending in a Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and environmentalist suit to stop Eagle Project mine blasting into a sacred site northwest of Marquette. Kennecott Eagle Minerals and DEQ disagree that the work threatens an Anishinaabe sacred site. By Patrick Lyons. FOR MARQUETTE, ST. IGNACE & ALL POINTS.
DRUGTESTING: If the state decides to test welfare recipients for drug use, it should do the same for corporate execs whose companies get Michigan Strategic Fund loans—“corporate welfare”—a Rochester Hills lawmaker says. A Warren-based business association says drug testing wouldn’t improve the state’s business climate. Co-sponsors are from New Boston, Flint, Algonac and Clarklake, but the Clarklake legislator has changed his mind and now opposes it. By Patrick Lyons. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, JACKSON, WARREN, ROYAL OAK, LAPEER, BROWN CITY, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.
SEXTRAFFIC: Michigan should provide more protection for underage sex workers who are human trafficking victims, some advocates say. The state has toughened its criminal laws to combat the trade, and the attorney general’s special unit secured its first conviction—a Detroit man—in March. By Jon Gaskell. FOR MACOMB, ROYAL OAK, LANSING, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.
SHIPWRECKS: Great Lakes shipwrecks draw thousands of visitors, but invasive species and human intervention threaten their preservation. New discoveries, such as an 1830s ship found last year between South Haven and Saugatuck, are especially popular among divers. Meanwhile, the search for a missing jetliner resumes in Lake Michigan. We talk to DEQ, a U.P. shipwreck museum and a Holland expert. By Jon Gaskell. FOR LUDINGTON, MANISTEE, HOLLAND, SOUTH BEND, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, MARQUETTE, TRAVERSE CITY, ALPENA, HARBOR SPRINGS, PETOSKEY, CHEBOYGAN, ST. IGNACE & ALL POINTS.
DEREGULATION: Nutritionists and dietitians question the Snyder administration’s proposal to deregulate their profession. Some say it could endanger public health, but Licensing and Regulatory Affairs say it’s unnecessary. By Patrick Lyons. FOR LANSING, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.
MUTESWANS: DNR wants the public to help shoot and kill 13,500 mute swans, which they say are threatening trumpeters and other native species. The birds originated in Europe, and Michigan’s first mating pair was spotted in Charlevoix County in 1919. A Walled Lake mute swan defender says more research is necessary before such drastic measures are undertaken. We also hear from the U.S. Agriculture Department. By Erica Hamling. FOR ROYAL OAK, BIG RAPIDS, TRAVERSE CITY, HARBOR SPRINGS, ALPENA, GRAYLING, LUDINGTON, GREENVILLE, MANISTEE, HOLLAND, CADILLAC, PETOSKEY, GLADWIN, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, LAPEER & ALL POINTS.
w/MUTESWANPHOTO: Credit: Department of Natural Resources.
MARITIMEPLAY: A children’s play about an 1893 Great Lakes shipwreck is making its way around the state with performances scheduled or hoped-for in Detroit, Alpena, South Haven, Whitefish Point and Marquette. Ann Arbor playwright and director of an Ann Arbor theater company explain. By Alethia Kasben. FOR ANN ARBOR, ALPENA, MARQUETTE, LUDINGTON, MANISTEE, SOUTH BEND, PETOSKEY, HARBOR SPRINGS, TRAVERSE CITY, CHEBOYGAN, ST. IGNACE & ALL POINTS.
CNS