Sept. 14, 2012 – Week 2
To: CNS Editors
From: Eric Freedman & Sheila Schimpf
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MICHIGAN ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL AHEAD: On Monday, Sept. 17, your correspondents will interview the president of the Michigan Environmental Council.
Possible topics include environmental cleanup, 25×25 energy ballot proposal legislative priorities and the Snyder administration’s record on environmental matters.
HERE’S YOUR FILE:
ANIMALSONTHEMOVE: Some northern Michigan species are moving south as cut- over forests regenerate, while southern Michigan species are moving north due to climate change. Among the impacts: more deer-car crashes, bobcats along the Ohio border and special deer hunts in Ottawa and Ingham counties. DNR experts in Oakland County and Grand Rapids, a U-M expert and the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy in Bath explain. By Silu Guo. FOR HOLLAND, LANSING, ROYAL OAK, ANN ARBOR, BLISSFIELD, HOLLAND, LUDINGTON, GREENVILLE, MANISTEE & ALL POINTS.
w/ANIMALSONTHEMOVEPHOTO: Black bear. Credit: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
NORTHERNTOURISM: Fall is just beginning but planning and promotion for winter tourism in northern Michigan is underway. We hear from Pure Michigan and from tourism officials in Marquette County and Traverse City. By Lauren Gentile. FOR TRAVERSE CITY, MARQUETTE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS & ALL POINTS
COLLEGE-BUSINESSPARTNERS: Business groups are partnering with private colleges and universities such as Davenport, Baker and Walsh to provide training and new skills for employees. We hear from Mayor Bing, Davenport, Small Business Association of Michigan and Michigan Business & Professional Association. For news and business pages. By Celeste Bott. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, MACOMB, ROYAL OAK, LANSING, ANN ARBOR, HOLLAND, CADILLAC, JACKSON, TRAVERSE CITY & ALL POINTS.
LANDCONSERVANCIES: A proposal to tax preserves of nature conservancies that limit wide-open public access worries nonprofit groups in Southeast Michigan, including groups with preserves in Jackson, Washtenaw, Macomb, Oakland, Lapeer and Genesee counties. The proponent, from Escanaba, says groups receiving such tax exemptions should do something for the public. By Yanjie Wang. FOR MACOMB, ROYAL OAK, BLISSFIELD, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, ANN ARBOR, LAPEER, JACKSON, BROWN CITY, MARQUETTE & ALL POINTS.
SOURAPPLES: A little-noted effect of this year’s poor apple crop is the lack of jobs and lower earnings for seasonal workers, many from southern states. One concern is that they won’t come back to Michigan next year when a good crop is expected. Growers are taking a major financial hit too. We talk to an Extension educator specializing in commercial tree fruit in Southwest Michigan, a St. Johns grower and the Michigan Apple Committee. By Lauren Gibbons. FOR HOLLAND, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, GREENVILLE, TRAVERSE CITY, LUDINGTON, MANISTEE, SOUTH BEND & ALL POINTS.
LOWINCOMETAXATION: Despite a widespread misconception, the poor do pay taxes—a significant amount, according to a Michigan League for Human Services study—and deserve tax cuts too. We talk to U of M experts and an Okemos-based advocacy group. By Saodat-Asanova-Taylor. FOR MICHIGAN CITIZEN, ANN ARBOR, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, LANSING & ALL POINTS.
PERSONALPROPERTYTAX: Local officials in the northern Lower Peninsula are worried that the Legislature may eliminate the state’s personal property tax paid by businesses without fully replacing the money for counties, townships, cities and school districts. We talk to officials from Gladwin, Mason and Crawford counties and legislators from Hart and Harrison Township. By Anjana Schroeder. FOR GLADWIN, CRAWFORD COUNTY, LUDINGTON, MANISTEE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, MACOMB & ALL POINTS.
SPECIALTYPLATES: Want to see Sleeping Bear Dunes on your license plates? Girl Scouts? And are you willing to pay extra? Proposals for those and other pet causes are floating around the Capitol. Sponsors from Taylor and Lansing explain, as does the Secretary of State’s office. By Edith Zhou. FOR TRAVERSE CITY, LANSING, MICHIGAN CITIZEN & ALL POINTS.
DANGEROUSCURRENTS: A new Great Lakes study using radar could save swimmers’ lives by enabling prediction of dangerous currents before they form. Experts at Michigan Tech and in Marquette explain. Tests begin the week of Sept. 24 in Mackinac County and in the Holland-Grand Haven area. By Matthew Hall. FOR HOLLAND, LUDINGTON, MANISTEE, TRAVERSE CITY, PETOSKEY, CHEBOYGAN, ST. IGNACE, HARBOR SPRINGS, SOUTH BEND, MARQUETTE & ALL POINTS.
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