Dec. 8, 2017 – CNS Budget

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Dec. 8, 2017 — Week 14
To: CNS Editors
From: David Poulson and Sheila Schimpf
http://news.jrn.msu.edu/capitalnewsservice/
For technical problems, contact CNS technical manager Tony Cepak at (517) 803-6841 or  cepak@msu.edu.
For other matters, contact David Poulson: poulsondavid@gmail.com.
Editors note: This is the last original file of the fall semester. We will move another budget next week of previously moved stories that you may not have yet used.
Here is your file:
WOMENLAWMAKERS: Former  lawmaker Barb Byrum was once admonished on the floor of the state House for using the word vasectomy. Her mother, a state senator, was reprimanded for allowing her son to sit in her seat. Lana Pollack said she was ignored and verbally and physically assaulted during her service as a state senator. And current Sen. Margaret O’Brien says sometimes when she is in the Capitol, she feels like she’s in a boy’s lockeroom. While charges of sexist behavior are leveled in Washington, women who served in the Michigan Legislature say such behavior is hardly confined to the nation’s capital. By Stephen Olschanski. FOR LANSING CITY PULSE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS AND ALL POINTS

LEADPIPES: The Department of Environmental Quality has proposed  replacing all of the state’s lead water pipes within the next 20 years. The mammoth undertaking would include replacing about 500,000 lead service lines at the cost of billions of dollars. The final decision is up to a legislative committee. By Kaley Fech. FOR LANSING CITY LIMITS AND ALL POINTS

DUNES: While Michigan’s dunes are certainly scenic, they’re also valued as vantage points to view Great Lakes storms. Respondents to the first-ever “How you dune” survey also credit them with benefits to the local ecology and economy. The survey is a first step in building an organized constituency of dune supporters.  By Jack Nissen. FOR TRAVERSE CITY, PETOSKEY, LUDINGTON, LEELANAU, HI+OLLAND, OCEANA, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, CHEBOYGAN, LUDINGTON, MANISTEE, ALCONA, MARQUETTE, SAULT STE. MARIE, HARBOR SPRINGS  AND ALL POINTS.
w/DUNEPHOTO: A roll cloud moves over Sleeping Bear Dunes near Empire, Michigan, in June 2016. Credit: Art Bukowski

BUDGETWOES:  Michigan programs are especially vulnerable to looming federal budget cuts as 42 percent of its budget comes from the federal government. That’s the second- highest in the country, behind only Mississippi, according the Michigan League for Human Services. Funds for health care, roads and other public services are at risk. We talk to local government groups and policy experts. By Jack Nissen. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS

TICKETS: Drivers with unpaid parking tickets might be given a break by the Secretary of State when it comes to license renewal if current  law reverts  to an earlier, tougher form. The Secretary of State can refuse to renew your license if you have three unpaid parking tickets. A bill that recently passed the Senate would keep that number from reverting back to six, which is slated to happen Jan. 1. If that happens, lawmakers say cities will not be able to effectively collect unpaid fees because there will not be a big enough incentive for drivers to pay their tickets. We hear from the sponsor, from Lowell, and the city of Grand Rapids .By Stephen Olschanski. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS AND ALL POINTS.

CHIPFUNDS: More than 100,000 Michigan children who don’t qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford private insurance are at risk of losing their health insurance. The federal government failed to renew funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program and now state officials are scrambling to figure out if it can be patched. By Kaley Fech. FOR LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS

HEADINJURIES: Sixteen high school sports saw a decrease in head injuries from the 2015-16 school year to the 2016-17 school year, according to a report by the Michigan High School Athletic Association. They increased or remained the same in 13 sports. But with only two years of data, the numbers can’t be relied upon as indicating a trend, experts say. The report indicated that the rate of injury is higher among girls than boys which could be attributed to a difference in anatomy or more honest reporting. Football led the list for boys and basketball led the list for girls. Soccer ranked second for both genders. Editors note: your local schools may provide you with data on their own rates. For sports and news pages. By Emily Lovasz. FOR ALL POINTS.
w/HEADINJURIESTABLE: High school sports with the most head injuries, 2016-17. 2015-16 in parentheses. Source: Michigan High School Athletic Association.

FROZENFISH: Stomachs of more than 1,000 fish from lakes Huron and Michigan are in a freezer at Michigan State University awaiting dissection as part of a study critical to managing gamefish. Lack of funds is putting the project on ice. Now fisheries scientists are asking Great Lakes residents to contribute to a campaign to raise the $8,500 needed to pay MSU students to analyze what’s in the stomachs of those fish. By Evan Kutz. FOR LUDINGTON, MANISTEE,  OCEANA, HOLLAND, ALCONA, CHEBOYGAN, LEELANAU, TRAVERSE CITY, PETOSKEY, HARBOR SPRINGS, HOLLAND, MONTMORENCY, ST. IGNACE, SAULT STE. MARIE, MARQUETTE AND ALL POINTS.
           w/FROZENFISHPHOTO1: Fish stomachs are stored in this freezer, sharing space with samples from another study. Credit: Evan Kutz
           w/FROZENFISHPHOTO2: MSU grad student Katie Kierczynski slices fish stomachs in half, like this one belonging to a walleye. Credit: Evan Kutz

HURRICANES: What does a hurricane sound like from underwater? Researchers may soon find out after recovering listening devices planted off the coast of Puerto Rico in a test that could lead to year-round underwater monitoring of the Great Lakes. Ann Arbor-based researchers are part of the project, and the results could be used to monitor environmental impacts of the upcoming construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge spanning the Detroit River between Detroit and Windsor.  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) researchers in the agency’s Great Lakes office in Ann Arbor secured $60,000 to monitor reefs off the southern coast of Puerto Rico, in part to learn more about how they might be used in the Great Lakes. By Steven Maier. FOR MARQUETTE, SAULT STE. MARIE, ALCONA, LUDINGTON, MANISTEE, PETOSKEY, TRAVERSE CITY, CHEBOYGAN, ST. IGNACE, HARBOR SPRINGS, LEELANAU, HOLLAND AND ALL POINTS.

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