Oct. 27, 2017 – CNS Budget

Oct. 27, 2017 — Week 8
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 Dave Poulson: poulsondavid@gmail.com.
 
Here is your file:
SUPERINTENDENTS: As the job of school superintendent gets tougher, the pool of applicants for the roughly 80 positions that open a year is increasingly inexperienced. It’s a dilemma that can be felt by teachers and students. Since 2013, the number of experienced superintendents applying for the role has fallen from 33 percent to 25 percent. At the same time, the number of applicants looking for a job as a superintendent almost doubled from 20 a year to 35. State school officials are trying to improve the situation with training and mentorship programs. We talk to superintendents in Gladwin County and elsewhere, and to the state associations of school boards and school administrators. By Jack Nissen. FOR GLADWIN AND ALL POINTS
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LAGGINGKIDS: Michigan has the lowest score for overall well-being of African-American children across the nation. White children fare better but  lag behind the average of white children nationwide. The Kids Count people have things to say about what this means. The state tells us they are on track to right things in 10 years. The Michigan Education Association says the new third-grade reading program should help. We also hear from the Michigan League for Public Policy and the state Education Department. By Kaley Fech. FOR LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS
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FANTASYSPORTS:  Attention sports and business editors. Michigan could join 16 states in regulating fantasy sports that offer cash prizes. A key question to resolve: Do they require skill or are they simply luck-based gambling. Right now they are unregulated in Michigan — anyone can sponsor a league and anyone can play. The bills would bar anyone under 18 from playing the games and bar contests from being based on youth sports, high school sports or college sports. Sponsors are from Traverse City and East Lansing. By Stephen Olschanski. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, LANSING CITY PULSE & ALL POINTS
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BROWNFIELDS: New developments are springing up around Michigan on formerly polluted, abandoned sites, thanks to the state-funded Brownfield Redevelopment Program. Since 1992, the program has awarded $200 million in brownfield grants and loans for 350 projects, including ones in Holland, Greenville, Traverse City, East Lansing, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, Detroit and Dowagiac. Just last year, $6.1 million was awarded for 26 new projects. By Carl Stoddard. FOR GREENVILLE, HOLLAND, TRAVERSE CITY, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, LANSING CITY PULSE, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS AND ALL POINTS.

 
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EXCUSESEXCUSES: Deer firearm season is nearly here but DNR’s 212 conservation officers are busy year-round with problems such as illegal baiting, hunting and fishing without licenses, ORV and boating violations, even illegal trash dumping and public urination. Not surprisingly, some suspects lie to COs or weave bogus excuses. We draw on recent Law Enforcement Division field reports to tell such stories. Local references to the Boyne and Pere Marquette rivers, Drummond Island,  Western UP and Oceana, Marquette, Benzie, Lake, Mason, Gladwin, Charlevoix, Ottawa and Chippewa counties. By Eric Freedman. FOR MARQUETTE, SAULT STE. MARIE, BAY MILLS, LAKE COUNTY, GLADWIN, LUDINGTON, MANISTEE, OCEANA, TRAVERSE CITY, PETOSKEY, CHEBOYGAN, HOLLAND AND ALL POINTS.
           w/EXCUSESEXCUSESPHOTO: A conservation officer talks to hunter in the woods. Credit: Department of Natural Resources