Oct. 23, 2015 Budget

Capital News Service Budget – Week 7
Oct. 23, 2015
To: CNS Editors
From: Eric Freedman, Sheila Schimpf and Andi Brancato
http://news.jrn.msu.edu/capitalnewsservice/. For technical problems, contact CNS tech manager Tanya Voloshina (248-943-8979) voloshin@msu.edu.
You can email us at cnsmsu@gmail.com
MANUFACTURERS AHEAD: Monday, Oct. 26, your correspondents will interview Andy Such, vice president of the Michigan Manufacturers Association. Possible topics include trends in manufacturing, brownfield redevelopment, legislative priorities and impact of foreign imports on Michigan manufacturing companies.
Here’s your file:
MENTALHEALTHSHORTAGE: The federal government has identified areas in Michigan with a shortage of mental health professionals, with the U.P. and Northeast Lower Peninsula facing the most serious problems, and other rural areas affected as well. We talk to the Michigan Psychiatric Association, Copper Country Community Mental Health and the Northeast Michigan Community Health Authority. By Zhao Peng. FOR ALPENA, MONTMORENCY, MARQUETTE, BAY MILLS, SAULT STE. MARIE, ST. IGNACE, CHEBOYGAN & ALL POINTS.
BROADBAND: Most of Michigan is well-connected but rural parts of the state lack access to high-speed Internet service, impeding business efforts to serve global marketplaces. That’s a major problem, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development director says. The Telecommunication Association of Michigan and Connect Michigan discuss. By Amelia Havanec. FOR TRAVERSE CITY, MONTMORENCY, ALCONA, LAKE COUNTY, PETOSKEY, MARQUETTE, SAULT STE. MARIE, BAY MILLS, GLADWIN, CRAWFORD COUNTY, BLISSFIELD, CADILLAC, HERALD STAR, MANISTEE, LUDINGTON, BIG RAPIDS, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, GREENVILLE, BAY MILLS & ALL POINTS.
w/BROADBANDMAP: Maximum residential broadband download speeds. Credit: Connect Michigan.
UNINSUREDRATES: The percent of Michigan residents without health insurance dropped last year due to the Affordable Care Act and expansion of the state’s Medicaid program. Van Buren County saw the largest drop in the proportion of uninsured residents. Others in the top five were Allegan, Lenawee, Kalamazoo and Bay counties. Representatives of the Michigan Health Policy Forum and Michigan Association of Health Plans discuss. By Sierra Resovsky. FOR HOLLAND, BLISSFIELD, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, LANSING CITY PULSE & ALL POINTS.
MARIJUANACHECKPOINTS: A proposal by senators from Grand Ledge, Escanaba and Battle Creek would allow police to do roadside tests for marijuana levels, similar to Breathalyzer testing for blood alcohol levels. It’s an important issue because of legalized medical marijuana. The impetus was a fatal crash in the U.P. The Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police is skeptical. We also hear from a Grand Rapids defense lawyer and the State Police. By Amelia Havanec. FOR LANSING CITY LIMITS, MARQUETTE, BAY MILLS & ALL POINTS.
GEOGRAPHY: Don’t know much about geography? Apparently so, because middle schoolers today aren’t learning it, the General Accountability Office reports, and that’s troubling because the subject is important. One factor may be Common Core focus on English language and math, reducing teacher and student attention on geography and other subjects. A Gladwin junior high principal and experts at Western Michigan and Central Michigan universities explain. By Stephanie Hernandez McGavin. FOR GLADWIN, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, GREENVILLE, BIG RAPIDS & ALL POINTS.
SPECIALEDUCATION: A report to the state Board of Education from Lt. Gov. Calley calls for improvements in special education services. A new task force, which includes the president of the Grand Rapids Education Association, is studying the issue. We also hear from the Michigan Association of School Boards. By Yuehan Liu. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS & ALL POINTS.
CLEANPOWERPLAN: The EPA’s new clean power plan could help Michigan achieve the state’s renewable energy requirements. Major utilities, such as DTE and Consumers Energy, are adding to their alternative energy capacity, especially with wind power in such places as Mason County and the Thumb, but also some solar. We also talk to the Public Service Commission. By Brooke Kansier. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, LUDINGTON, TRAVERSE CITY, MANISTEE & ALL POINTS.
PRISONTIME: The ongoing heated legislative debate over a “presumptive parole” bill doesn’t resolve the question of whether longer prison terms make it less likely that parolees will commit new crimes after their release. The governor and Senate favor the change but the attorney general and some law enforcement officials warn about more crime. The Citizens Alliance on Prisons and Public Spending, Michigan AFL-CIO and AFSCME discuss. By Sierra Resovsky. FOR GREENVILLE, MARQUETTE, LAKE COUNTY, LANSING CITY PULSE, SAULT STE. MARIE, BAY MILLS, BLISSFIELD, LDUINGTON, MANISTEE & ALL POINTS.
WOMENENTREPRENEURS: Minority women are the largest-growing segment of U.S. entrepreneurs, according to a new report. We talk to Western Michigan University and Wayne State experts, Livonia-based Women’s Business Enterprise Council, Michigan Black Chamber of Commerce in Detroit and Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce. For news and business sections. By Stephanie Hernandez McGavin. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, LANSING CITY PULSE, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, HOLLAND & ALL POINTS.
COLLEGEADHD: Some Michigan universities are changing their policies on treatment for students with ADHD. The changes come amid concern about abuse of the medications by students without the disorder. We talk to Grand Valley State, Western and Northern Michigan universities, Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By Michael Kransz. FOR GREENVILLE, HOLLAND, MARQUETTE, BAY MILLS, SAULT STE. MARIE, CHEBOYGAN, GREENVILLE, THREE RIVERS, STURGIS, LUDINGTON, MANISTEE, BIG RAPIDS & ALL POINTS.
NATUREARTIST: In a turnabout-is-fair-play, an East Lansing artist uses invasive plants for hand-made paper on which she prints shadows of endangered plants. Her work was among that of four Michigan artists chosen for an art exchange with Japan, and she works with the Michigan Nature Association to promote awareness of endangered plant species. By KAYLA SMITH. FOR LANSING CITY LIMITS & ALL POINTS.
w/ NATUREARTISTPHOTO1: A shadow of cream wild indigo printed on paper made from invasive phragmites. Credit: Jane Kramer.
w/NATUREARTISTPHOTO2: Photographer Jane Kramer collects invasive plants wherever they grow, such as these phragmites stalks along a roadside. Credit: Jane Kramer
FORESTCAMPS: Owners of 104 hunting and vacation camps in the U.P.’s Ottawa National Forest want the federal government to let them stay on public land after their non-renewable leases expire on Jan. 1, 2017. The Sierra Club and U.S. Forest Service say no. A Paynesville filmmaker has just premiered a documentary about the camp tradition and the controversy. The state Senate has passed a non-binding resolution asking the Forest Service to relent, with sponsors from Escanaba, Evart, Hart and St. Joseph. By Eric Freedman. FOR MARQUETTE, SAULT STE. MARIE, BAY MILLS, ST. IGNACE, CHEBOYGAN, CRAWFORD COUNTY, LAKE COUNTY, MANISTEE, BIG RAPIDS, CADILLAC, TRAVERSE CITY, PETOSKEY, HERALD STAR, LEELANAU, LUDINGTON, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS & ALL POINTS.
w/FORESTCAMPSPHOTO: U.P. filmmaker Kristin Ojaniemi as a child and her father, Armas Ojaniemi, in front of the family’s Ottawa National Forest hunting camp. Courtesy photo.
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