Spartan Newsroom (https://news.jrn.msu.edu/tag/capital-news-serivce/page/3/)
Nov. 18, 2016
To: CNS Editors
From: David Poulson and Sheila Schimpf
http://news.jrn.msu.edu/capitalnewsservice/
For technical problems, contact CNS technical manager Pechulano Ali, (517) 940 2313,pechulan@msu.edu. For other issues contact David Poulson, poulsondavid@gmail.com. (517) 899-1640. Editors note: Stories next week will move Tuesday to accommodate Thanksgiving.
Michigan Births by Mothers Who Smoked During Pregnancy- 2014
County
Rate
Alcona
44.9
Alger
38
Allegan
19.5
Alpena
44.7
Antrim
34
Arenac
36.2
Baraga
46.4
Barry
23.6
Bay
36.6
Benzi
29.7
Berrien
23.8
Branch
26.2
Calhoun
26.1
Cass
34.1
Charlevoix
33.7
Cheboygan
34.5
Chippewa
39.9
Clare
41.9
Clinton
20.3
Crawford
47.7
Delta
37.3
Dickinson
24.8
Eaton
25.5
Emmet
26.5
Genesee
24.2
Gladwin
28.3
Gogebic
37.1
Grand Traverse
25.5
Gratiot
32.5
Hillsdale
34.8
Houghton
21.3
Huron
24.7
Ingham
22.6
Ionia
24.8
Iosco
39.5
Iron
32.4
Isabella
26.6
Jackson
30.7
Kalamazoo
21.4
Kalkaska
41.6
Kent
12.8
Keweenaw
25.5
Lake
39.7
Lapeer
29.9
Leelanau
21.3
Lenawee
23.2
Livingston
22.3
Luce
45.2
Mackinac
35.7
Macomb
19.1
Manistee
37.4
Marquette
30.3
Mason
25.6
Mecosta
31.2
Menominee
37.4
Midland
25.7
Missaukee
25.4
Monroe
26.6
Montcalm
26.3
Montmorency
36.8
Muskegon
33.2
Newaygo
30.5
Oakland
14
Oceana
28.5
Ogemaw
39.1
Ontonagon
34.4
Osceola
33.3
Oscoda
34.4
Otsego
33.7
Ottawa
11.2
Presque Isle
38
Roscommon
46.9
Saginaw
32.5
Saint Clair
30.9
Saint Joseph
27.8
Sanilac
26.3
Schoolcraft
42.9
Shiawasee
34.4
Tuscola
32.9
Van Buren
21.6
Washtenaw
18.2
Wayne
18.9
Wexford
33.8
By BRIDGET BUSH
Capital News Service
LANSING– Limited educational resources for smoking prevention and cessation, combined with limitless high-risk addictive substances caused a spurt in women who smoke during pregnancy, policy experts and educators say. Babies of smokers are at an increased risk of malnourishment, preterm birth, asthma, childhood obesity and sudden death, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. “More mothers smoking during pregnancy means more babies are being born with lifelong complications,” said Alicia Guevara-Warren, Kids Count project director at the Michigan League for Public Policy. The number of births to women who smoked while pregnant skyrocketed 18 percent from 2008 to 2014, according to a recent report by the league. That means that 21.4 percent of all live births in Michigan are to mothers who smoked during pregnancy, the 27th-highest rate in the country.
By CAITLIN DeLUCA
Capital News Service
LANSING — Michigan may see a new state flag waving over the Capitol in the coming years. A bill was introduced in the senate that proposes a contest that would create a new design for the state flag. Sen. Steven Bieda, D-Warren, sponsor of the bill, said the idea came from students in his district. “A few students wrote me a letter telling me about how they didn’t like the state flag and how other states had held similar contests with success,” Bieda said. “The flag is a little over a hundred years old, we have another couple generations who have gone on, we have lots of diversity and having a design that shows the contemporary nature of our state would be a great thing,” Bieda said.
By NATASHA BLAKELY
Capital News Service
LANSING – Archaeologists in northern Michigan have used pulses of light shot from airplanes to double their discoveries. This remote sensing technology is called light detection and ranging, or lidar. Lidar sends out a pulse of light that returns a measure of distance from the object it strikes. It can improve the efficiency of archaeological searches, particularly when scanning vast areas for small details, according to a recent study published on plos.org. Lidar helped locate cache pits in the upper Great Lakes region.
Nov. 4, 2016
To: CNS Editors
From: David Poulson and Sheila Schimpf
http://news.jrn.msu.edu/capitalnewsservice/
For technical problems, contact CNS technical manager Pechulano Ali, (517) 940 2313, pechulan@msu.edu. For other issues contact David Poulson, poulsondavid@gmail.com. (517) 899-1640. Here is your file:
SELFIES: In the age of smartphones, social media and selfies, millennials are especially eager to share photos, but Michigan law says to think twice before snapping one with your ballot.
By SHRUTI SARIPALLI
Capital News Service
LANSING — Michigan can save money in the move towards clean energy by choosing
a path that limits the amount of carbon dioxide produced by power plants, says a new electric industry report. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), a non-lobbying national research institute, reports that this is possible due to the expected closures of coal-based power plants in the next 15 years. By the year 2030, Michigan’s electric utilities have to cut emissions by almost 32 percent of their 2005 levels under the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan. The institute’s report explores two options to make that happen. The cheapest one is to limit the number of tons of carbon dioxide produced statewide each year, an option called the mass-based pathway, said David Young, project manager at the institute.
By RAY WILBUR
Capital News Service
LANSING — The use of prescription opiates, heroin and other drugs is a rising statewide epidemic that threatens the future of more children. Drug overdose was the number-one cause of injury-related deaths for Michigan adults in 2014 when they jumped to 1,745. That’s about a 12 percent increase over the previous year, according to Michigan Department of Health and Human Services data. The illegal use of drugs, specifically prescription opiates, has steadily increased during the past five years, said Alicia Guevara-Warren, Kids Count project director for the Michigan League for Public Policy. But the real state-altering issue here is the children’s lives that are uprooted as a result, she said.
By ALEXANDER SMITH
Capital News Service
See complete table
Percent Change
County
# of Accidents in 2015
# of accidents in 2014
28%
Van Buren
651
510
21%
Muskegon
541
447
18%
Marquette
295
249
16%
Berrien
830
716
16%
Ingham
1087
940
14%
Kent
1528
1338
14%
Bay
485
426
13%
Lenawee
651
574
13%
Alcona
443
391
13%
Ogemaw
418
370
12%
Calhoun
1009
900
12%
Washtenaw
1062
952
11%
Ottawa
970
874
11%
St. Joseph
484
437
10%
Isabella
907
823
10%
Ionia
494
450
10%
Kalamazoo
917
837
9%
Oscoda
144
132
8%
Cass
411
379
8%
Roscommon
306
283
8%
Tuscola
825
763
8%
Genesee
1037
964
7%
Menominee
160
149
7%
Livingston
773
722
7%
Otsego
226
211
7%
Oakland
1873
1750
7%
Lapeer
1230
1153
6%
Oceana
473
445
6%
Saginaw
882
831
5%
Hillsdale
814
773
5%
Missaukee
368
350
5%
Midland
828
791
4%
Iosco
198
190
4%
Branch
790
761
4%
St. Clair
784
755
4%
Jackson
1324
1279
3%
Montcalm
999
968
3%
Huron
937
909
3%
Shiawassee
783
760
2%
Newaygo
565
554
2%
Grand Traverse
629
619
2%
Mason
682
671
2%
Wayne
400
394
1%
Arenac
391
386
1%
Clare
517
512
1%
Allegan
838
831
0%
Macomb
630
627
0%
Montmorency
198
198
-1%
Eaton
1071
1077
-2%
Monroe
349
357
-3%
Lake
205
211
-3%
Osceola
588
608
-4%
Charlevoix
540
560
-4%
Manistee
455
474
-5%
Dickinson
400
419
-5%
Barry
595
624
-5%
Emmet
442
464
-6%
Clinton
959
1015
-6%
Gladwin
372
394
-6%
Gratiot
801
850
-6%
Chippewa
224
238
-6%
Alger
78
83
-6%
Antrim
409
435
-7%
Mecosta
737
792
-7%
Sanilac
980
1053
-7%
Leelanau
293
315
-7%
Ontonagon
140
151
-8%
Delta
488
532
-8%
Iron
229
250
-9%
Cheboygan
409
449
-12%
Benzie
281
319
-13%
Baraga
137
158
-14%
Crawford
228
265
-15%
Houghton
146
171
-15%
Alpena
291
341
-73%
Schoolcraft
119
437
-16%
Gogebic
42
50
-17%
Mackinac
221
267
-17%
Presque Isle
364
441
-18%
Keweenaw
18
22
-20%
Kalkaska
207
260
-28%
Wexford
343
479
-34%
Luce
54
82
Source: Michigan State Police
By KAREN HOPPER USHER
Capital News Service
LANSING — A lot of new faces will be in county boardrooms come January. More than 130 county commissioner seats statewide will be filled by people new to their jobs — a 21 percent turnover rate, according to the Michigan Association of Counties. And that’s just because of the August primary. In the November general election, 145 more seats remain in contention. If all of them get new commissioners, that would be a turnover rate of 44 percent, said John Amrhein, a public policy educator at Michigan State University Extension.