Feb. 8, 2013 CNS Budget

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Feb 8, 2013 – Week 4
To: CNS Editors
From: Eric Freedman & Sheila Schimpf
http://news.jrn.msu.edu/capitalnewsservice/. For technical problems, contact CNS tech manager Alyssa Firth (alyssafirth@gmail.com); (248) 635-2398.
All articles ©2013, Capital News Service, Michigan State University School of Journalism. Nonmembers cannot reproduce CNS articles without written permission.
FARM BUREAU AHEAD: On Monday, Feb. 11, your correspondents will interview Wayne Wood, president of the Michigan Farm Bureau. Potential topics include shortage of farm labor, agricultural exports, development of new niche markets, environmental stewardship and enforcement, genetically modified crops, invasive pests and legislative priorities.
HERE’S YOUR FILE:
SCHOOLLUNCHES: Almost half the state’s public school students are eligible for free or reduced price lunches, an increase since 2010-11, Kids Count reports. The highest number of participants live in Wayne, Macomb, Oakland, Genesee and Kent counties. We hear about a Grand Rapids schools program.  By Celeste Bott. FOR MACOMB, ROYAL OAK, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, DEADLINE DETROIT, ALPENA, CRAWFORD COUNTY, MANISTEE, LUDINGTON, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, LAKE COUNTY, HERALD REVIEW & ALL POINTS.
w/SCHOOLUNCHESTABLE: 10 counties with the highest proportion of students eligible for free and reduced price lunches. Lake, Oceana, Iosco, Roscommon, Montmorency, Oscoda, Crawford, Clare, St. Joseph, Wayne. Credit: Kids Count.
PIPELINESAFETY: While cleanup of the Kalamazoo River continues after the Enbridge pipeline disaster of 2010, the General Accountability Office says pipeline operators can do more to prevent leaks that wreak ecological damage. By Michael Gerstein. FOR STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, LANSING, ROYAL OAK, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, SOUTH BEND, MACOMB & ALL POINTS.
TOURISM&ROADS: Michigan’s poor roads give tourists a bad first impression of the state, the MDOT director and head of the Marquette County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Legislators from Presque Ile and Traverse City are working on the issue. By Justine McGuire. FOR MARQUETTE, ALPENA, BAY MILLS, ST. IGNACE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS & ALL POINTS.
MEDICALRECORDS: Electronic records may make it easier for health care professionals to share information about patients, but the trend also could open the door to more hacking, the president of the Michigan State Medical Society warns. We hear from a Livonia web security expert, Wayne State health economist, Three Rivers hospital official and a national privacy expert. By Michael Gerstein. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, THREE RIVERS, STURGIS, SOUTH BEND & ALL POINTS.
PAY-TO-DRIVE: While the governor proposes higher fuel taxes and vehicle registration fees, technology may provide an alternative way to raise revenue for highway and bridge projects – but only way down the road. Several states are experimenting with a “vehicle miles traveled” tax. The MDOT director and Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association explain. By Edith Zhou. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, LANSING, & ALL POINTS.
ROADREPAIRNORTH: MDOT has more than a dozen highway and bridge projects scheduled for Northern Michigan this summer, including ones in Antrim, Emmet, Wexford, Chippewa, Baraga, Alger. Ontonagon and Iron counties. We talk to MDOT officials and the Grand Traverse County Chamber of Commerce. By Kyle Campbell. FOR TRAVERSE CITY, PETOSKEY, HARBOR SPRINGS, MARQUETTE, BAY MILLS, ST. IGNACE, CADILLAC, CHEBOYGAN & ALL POINTS.
BRIDGECONSTRUCTION: MDOT is proceeding with construction of the M-231 bridge across the Grand River in Ottawa County, but funding for completion remains uncertain. It would be the state’s 6th-longest bridge. We hear from MDOT and the Grand Haven Chamber of Commerce. By Cortney Erndt. FOR HOLLAND, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, SOUTH BEND & ALL POINTS.
STORMANNIVERSARY: Michigan communities, including Bloomfield Hills and Port Huron, are commemorating the centennial of the most devastating storms known to hit the Great Lakes, taking 250-plus lives and sinking 19 ships. Lake Huron was hardest hit. By Celeste Bott. FOR MACOMB, ALPENA, LAPEER, BROWN CITY, MARQUETTE, CHEBOYGAN, ST. IGNACE, BAY MILLS, LUDINGTON, MANISTEE, PETOSKEY, TRAVERSE CITY, HOLLAND, SOUTH BEND, HARBOR SPRINGS & ALL POINTS.
NONPARTISAN: Lawmakers from Clare, Pigeon, Lum and Troy want to make the 83 county prosecutors and 83 sheriffs nonpartisan. Current officeholders aren’t enamored with such a change. We hear from officials in Allegan, Mackinac and Montcalm counties and a Western Michigan University political scientist. Two legislators are ex-sheriffs, from Constantine and Grand Ledge. By Eric Freedman. FOR GLADWIN, HERALD STAR, LAPEER, BROWN CITY, BIG RAPIDS, HOLLAND, GREENVILLE, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, SOUTH BEND, LANSING, ROYAL OAK, MICHIGAN CITIZEN, DEADLINE DETROIT & ALL POINTS.
STURGEON: The Black Lake winter sturgeon season has ended—with anglers reaching the lake’s six-fish limit in four days. Sturgeon fishing is allowed elsewhere, including Lake St. Clair, the St. Clair River, Otsego Lake and the Menominee River. We hear from the Cheboygan-based Sturgeon for Tomorrow group and DNR. For news and outdoors pages. By Max King. FOR CHEBOYGAN, CADILLAC, PETOSKEY, ALPENA, TRAVERSE CITY, CRAWFORD COUNTY, MANISTEE, LUDINGTON, MARQUETTE, MACOMB & ALL POINTS.
w/STURGEONPHOTO: Great Lakes sturgeon. Credit: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
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