Spartan Newsroom (https://news.jrn.msu.edu/tag/cns/)
By KAREN HOPPER USHER
Capital News Service
LANSING — Greener trains are coming to the Great Lakes region. Technically, they’re locomotives. That’s the part of the train that does the pushing or the pulling. The Siemens Chargers, which are due to arrive by fall, meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s “tier four” standards. Tier four is the agency’s highest standard for emissions.
By CARIN TUNNEY
Capital News Service
LANSING — A common ancestor of fruit flies and humans emerged about 600 million years ago, long before the formation of the earth’s continents as we know them today. Scientists discovered the link in the early 1900s, opening the floodgates to genetic research. Fruit flies are cheap, grow rapidly and are easy to mutate. Their genetic likeness to humans allows researchers to study diseases like cancer, diabetes and immune resistance. That makes them a model species for genetic research, said Thomas Werner, a professor of genetics and developmental biology at Michigan Technological University.
Bonus Week, May 5, 2017
To: CNS Editors
From: Perry Parks, Eric Freedman 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 Perry Parks, perryrobertparks@gmail.com, (517) 388-8627 or Eric Freedman, freedma5@msu.edu. THIS IS BONUS WEEK: Here is our end-of-the-semester file of stories that you may not have had space for in the past few months but remain timely. SUMMER ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS PACKAGES: Again this summer, CNS plans to move three packages – in June, July and August — of Michigan environmental stories in partnership with Great Lakes Echo. Here is your file:
(New story) DEERDISEASE: As the Department of Natural Resources expands educational efforts about chronic wasting disease, a bipartisan bill to raise awareness and prevent spread of the disease is moving through the House.
By LAINA STEBBINS
Capital News Service
LANSING — As the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) expands educational outreach about chronic wasting disease, a bipartisan bill to raise awareness and prevent spread of the disease is moving through the state House. The bill would increase the fine for importing deer carcasses or parts into the state, from the current range of $50-$500 to a new range of $500-$2,000. The goals of the increased penalty are both to reduce the likelihood that chronic wasting disease will spread among Michigan deer and to raise awareness about the seriousness of the problem. The bill unanimously passed the House Committee on Natural Resources in late April. Rep. John Kivela, D-Marquette, is the main sponsor, as well as the committee’s minority vice-chair.
April 28, 2017
To: CNS Editors
From: Perry Parks 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 Perry Parks, perryrobertparks@gmail.com, (517) 388-8627. BONUS WEEK AHEAD: This is the last original file of the semester. Next week (May 5) we will move a bonus file of stories that moved previously this semester but remain timely. SUMMER ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS PACKAGES: Again this summer, CNS plans to move three packages – in June, July and August — of Michigan environmental stories in partnership with Great Lakes Echo.
By LAURA BOHANNON
Capital News Service
LANSING — Some lawmakers are working to remove the licensing requirement for concealed pistol carriers. Rep. Triston Cole, R-Mancelona, has introduced bills to eliminate concealed pistol license, or CPL, laws. Cole said he doesn’t want to make it easier to obtain a gun or loosen those regulations, but he wants to ensure that “law-abiding citizens” don’t need to jump through hoops to carry a concealed pistol for self-defense. “The idea is to promote constitutional freedom,” Cole said. Cole also argues that current law can create “inadvertent criminals.”
“I have a CPL, my wife does not.
By LAURA BOHANNON
Capital News Service
LANSING — People with concealed pistols could avoid felony charges for expired licenses under a bill introduced by Rep. Shane Hernandez, R-Port Huron. Under current law, anyone with an expired concealed pistol license who still carries his or her concealed weapon could be charged with a felony, even if it’s only been a few days since the license expired, Hernandez said. Hernandez said he was inspired to introduce the bill after hearing about a staffer’s friend who faced such a charge because of a recently expired icense during a routine traffic stop. The bill would reduce that felony to a civil misdemeanor with a $330 fine if someone’s license has been expired for six months or less. Hernandez also said offenders could get out of paying the fine if they’re able to prove they renewed their license within 60 days of the violation.
By CHAO YAN
Capital News Service
LANSING — On May Day, workers and immigrants across Michigan will rally to protest President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. Under the slogan “Rise up,” the Michigan effort is a part of national action across 200 cities on Monday, May 1. The seven Michigan cities scheduled to participate are Detroit, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Pontiac, Battle Creek and Rochester. The action in Michigan is primarily sponsored by Michigan United, a statewide civil rights organization. Other pro-immigrant groups, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, Michigan Muslim Community Council and Emerge USA, are also supporting the event.
By ISAAC CONSTANS
Capital News Service
LANSING — What do young people want? It’s a question employers, officials and educators are working overtime to answer. A “brain drain” has leeched Michigan’s up-and-coming workforce for decades, with young professionals opting to live in other states. About a quarter of the state’s population is in the 20- to 40-year-old bracket, one of the lowest rates in the Midwest. But state leaders say they’re beginning to siphon this demographic back in.
By ISAAC CONSTANS
Capital News Service
LANSING — The state plans to use part of an incoming $16 million federal grant to help prevent and treat opioid addiction in underserved rural areas. The money comes through the 21st Century Cures Act of 2016, which promised funds to all 50 states to fight the growing epidemic linked to prescription painkillers. Michigan received the seventh-largest aid package. The state’s 1,980 opioid-related deaths in 2015 were also the seventh-highest mark in the country. In addition to rural expansion of a program that offers medicine and other treatment to opioid addicts, known as Medication Assisted Treatment, University of Michigan opioid research funding will be enhanced.