Feb. 26, 2021 CNS Budget — Week 5
To: CNS Editors
From: Eric Freedman & Judy Putnam
http://news.jrn.msu.edu/capitalnewsservice/
For technical problems, contact CNS technical manager Eryn Ho at (616) 485-9295; hoeryn@msu.edu.
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HERE’S YOUR FILE:
ORGAN DONORS: A new survey of Michigan and Ohio teens explores reasons why some sign up to be organ donors and others refuse. Participants were taking drivers’ ed at schools run by an Ann Arbor-based company. We hear from Ann Arbor-based Gift of Life Michigan, the researchers and a Portage High School student who received a kidney transplant. By Brandon Chew. FOR STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, DETROIT AND ALL POINTS.
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ASL INTERPRETERS: Law enforcement agencies need to use more American Sign Language interpreters to interact with the 7.4% of state residents who identify as deaf, deaf/blind or hard of hearing, experts say. Some situations prove unnecessarily fatal. We talk to the Warren police commissioner, Civil Rights Department director, Michigan Deaf Association, a Birmingham expert and the Michigan Sheriffs’ Association. By Sophia Lada. FOR DETROIT, LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS.
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PRIVATE PRISONS: President Biden’s executive order against renewing contracts with private companies to hold federal prisoners has anti-private prison advocates happy but could mean a hard financial hit to Baldwin, the Lake County community where the state’s only private federal prison is located. We talk to criminal justice experts at Grand Valley State, Oakland University and Wayne State. By Sheldon Krause. FOR LAKE COUNTY, LUDINGTON, MANISTEE, GREENVILLE, DETROIT, LANSING CITY PULSE, IONIA, MARQUETTE AND ALL POINTS.
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DEATH RECORDS: The state’s heavy death toll from COVID-19 has delayed the issuance and delivery of death certificates that families need to handle financial assets, life insurance and real estate ownership. We talk to the Department of Health and Human Services, an Oakland County official and funeral home company with locations in Brighton, Clawson, Lapeer, Milford, Oxford and Walled Lake. By Sophia Lada. FOR DETROIT, FOWLERVILLE AND ALL POINTS.
w/DEATH RECORDS GRAPHIC: Michigan deaths in December 2019 and December 2020. Source: Department of Health & Human Services.
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PASSENGER TRAINS: Amtrak trimmed service on its three Michigan routes due to lower passenger demand during the pandemic but has plans to restore service and provide new passenger cars. There’s also some discussion of adding service between Ann Arbor, Howell and Traverse City. We hear from MDOT, Amtrak and an Allen Park legislator. By Samuel Blatchford. FOR HILLSDALE, COLDWATER, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, FOWLERVILLE, LANSING CITY PULSE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, CORP! DETROIT AND ALL POINTS.
w/PASSENGER TRAIN PHOTO: Amtrak’s new passenger cars will be in service later this year on Midwest routes. Credit: Michigan Department of Transportation.
w/PASSENGER TRAIN RIDERSHIP 2005-2020:Ridership on Michigan Amtrak routes between 20015 and 2020. Credit: Amtrak.
w/PASSENGER TRAIN RIDERSHIP MONTHLY RIDERS: Monthly ridership on Michigan Amtrak routes in 2020. Credit: Amtrak.
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RABBITS: Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, rabbit owners are concerned as another infectious disease spreads across the country, although it hasn’t yet been detected in Michigan. The rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2 is highly contagious and almost always fatal. Although humans can’t contract the virus, it can still be spread through human-to-rabbit contact. Rabbit shows across the state have been canceled. We talk to a Michigan State Rabbit Breeders Association officer from Reed City and MSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine. By Kristen Rintelmann. FOR BIG RAPIDS, CADILLAC, MICHIGAN FARM NEWS AND ALL POINTS.
w/RABBITS PHOTO: Credit: flickr.com
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HAIR DISCRIMINATION: A group of lawmakers want to extend the state’s Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Law to prohibit discrimination based on hair style. Researchers from Michigan State and elsewhere found employers are likely to rank the job performance of Black women with textured hair lower than that of Black women with straight hair and white women. Sponsors include representatives from Lansing, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Warren and Redford Township. By Chloe Trofatter. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, CORP! DETROIT, LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS.
w/HAIR DISCRIMINATION PHOTO: Rep. Sarah Anthony of Lansing. Credit: Michigan House of Representatives.
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WATER INFRASTRUCTURE: Dramatic damage to water infrastructure in Texas raises the question of how well-prepared Michigan’s water systems are for extreme weather and natural disasters. We talk to the water system officials in Cheboygan and Midland, where two dams collapsed last year, forcing evacuations and causing massive property damage. A U.S. representative from Southfield is cosponsoring new federal legislation that would pour billions of dollars into water infrastructure systems nationally. By Sheldon Krause. FOR CHEBOYGAN, MICHIGAN FARM NEWS, DETROIT, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS AND ALL POINTS.
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FARM BANKRUPTCIES: Farm bankruptcies declined nationally last year, but many farmers are still struggling financially, even if they received federal payments. Farmers from Shiawassee and Ingham counties, and experts from GreenStone Farm Credit Services based in East Lansing, Michigan Farm Bureau and Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. For news, business and agriculture sections. By Elaine Mallon. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, MICHIGAN FARM NEWS, MONTMORENCY, ALCONA, GREENVILLE, TRAVERSE CITY, IONIA, CLARE, BLISSFIELD, HILLSDALE, COLDWATER, HOLLAND CRAWFORD COUNTY, FOWLERVILLE, CORP! MANISTEE, BENZIE COUNTY, CORP!, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, LUDINGTON, CHEBOYGAN, HERALD REVIEW AND ALL POINTS.
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PRISON SOCIAL WORKERS: The pandemic has increased pressure on social workers in state prisons who are largely cut off from helping inmates in person with their mental health problems. A social worker at a prison in Ionia and the Michigan chapter of the National Association of Social Workers explain. By Kristia Potsema. FOR IONIA, GREENVILLE, DETROIT, MARQUETTE, LANSING CITY PULSE, COLDWATER AND ALL POINTS.
CNS