Feb. 19, 2016 Budget

Capital News Service Budget – Week 5
Feb. 19, 2016
To: CNS Editors
From: David Poulson and Sheila Schimpf
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
Here’s your file:
TRAFFICDEATHS: The number of Michigan traffic deaths went up nearly 10 percent in 2015, just the fourth increase in the past 11 years and contrary to a long-term decline. Traffic officials attribute the rise to declining seatbelt use and to alcohol and drug abuse. By Jason Kraft. EDITORS NOTE THAT 2014 TRAFFIC FATALITIES (THE MOST RECENT AVAILABLE) ARE AT http://publications.michigantrafficcrashfacts.org/2014/MTCFVol1.pdf FOR ALL POINTS.
AGINGPRISONERS: The number of Michigan inmates older than 50 has grown nearly 150 percent since 1998, creating growing fiscal and health care challenges. We talk to a retired warden, the Department of Corrections and two civil rights lawyers who say older prisoners are sicker and require more medical care. By Joshua Bender. FOR MARQUETTE, GREENVILLE & ALL POINTS.
LURINGLAMPREY: A newly approved biocide that uses mating odors to lure the invasive sea lamprey could help control the alien species that damages fish in the Great Lakes. We hear from MSU researchers who developed the EPA-approved compound that is being welcomed by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and U.S. Geological Survey. By Liam Tiernan. FOR MARQUETTE, LUDINGTON, HARBOR SPRINGS, TRAVERSE CITY, MANISTEE, CHEBOYGAN, SAULT STE. MARIE, ALCONA, HOLLAND, HARBOR SPRINGS, LEELANAU, BAY MILLS & ALL POINTS.
w/LURINGLAMPREYPHOTO1: Sea lamprey mouth. Credit: T. Lawrence, Great Lakes Fishery Commission.
w/LURINGLAMPREYPHOTO2: Sea lamprey larvae. Credit: Hammond Bay Biological Station, U.S. Geological Survey.
OFFICESFORVETS: Almost $200,000 in state money is on its way to veterans’ services offices in 19 counties, boosting the number of counselors available to vets and speeding the time it takes to process claims. Another $50,000 could be coming by the end of the year. By Sheila Schimpf. FOR MARQUETTE, GLADWIN, MANISTEE, MONTCALM, MONTMORENCY, WEXFORD  AND ALL POINTS.
W/OFFICESFORVETSLIST – A list of Michigan counties, how much money they’ll receive from the program and what they will use it for.
ZIKAVIRUS: If the Zika virus reaches Michigan, it won’t be mosquitoes that bring it. The weather is too cold. But it likely eventually will show up at some point, state health officials said. It could come to the state if someone vacationing elsewhere becomes infected before returning home. We talk to a northwest Michigan health official, the state Department of Health and Human Services and an Ingham County health official. By Jason Kraft. FOR LANSING CITY PULSE, CHEBOYGAN, HARBOR SPRINGS, PETOSKEY AND ALL POINTS.
WALNUTS: Butternut canker has decimated Michigan’s butternut trees as far north as the U.P. while another fungus, thousand cankers disease, threatens to reach the state with potentially devastating impact on black walnut and English Carpathian walnut trees. We talk to nut growers in Eagle and Waterford and a U.S. Forest Service plant pathologist. By Eric Freedman. FOR LUDINGTON, MANISTEE, TRAVERSE CITY, PETOSKEY, CHEBOYGAN, CRAWFORD COUNTY, GLADWIN, ALCONA, MONTMORENCY, HOLALND, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, MARQUETTE, SAULT STE. MARIE, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, GREENVILLE, BLISSFIELD & ALL POINTS.
w/WALNUTSMAP: Native range of butternut. Credit: Purdue University Extension.
MENTALHEALTHFIRSTAID: The number of individuals trained in mental health first aid to help people detect early warning signs of mental illness is growing in Michigan, according to state health authorities. State grants are helping train health providers to act like mental health first responders. We talk to mental health officials from agencies that serve St. Joseph, Grand Traverse, Wexford, Missaukee, Crawford, Kent and Leelanau counties. By Joshua Bender. FOR STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, TRAVERSE CITY, CADILLAC, CRAWFORD COUNTY, BIG RAPIDS, LEELANAU AND ALL POINTS