Government

Assisted suicide bill introduced — again

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By CHAO YAN
Capital News Service
LANSING — Earlier this month, Rep. Tom Cochran recalls, a Michigan resident approached him during a coffee hour to tell him her family was moving to Oregon. The woman’s father suffers from cancer, and when the time is right, he wants to be able to choose to die painlessly using lethal drugs with the aid of a doctor, Cochran said. That’s a right the man will have in Oregon that he doesn’t have in Michigan. “Her story is tragic,” said Cochran, a Mason Democrat. “It’s a topic we need to have discussion on, and it has been around for a long time.”
Late last month, Cochran re-introduced a bill, named the “Death with Dignity Act” — the latest attempt to legalize assisted suicide.

CNS Budget

April 14, 2017 CNS Budget

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April 14, 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. Here is your file:
RELIGIOUSFREEDOM: Some religious leaders are questioning the necessity of a House bill aimed at further protecting their First Amendment rights. The bill would allow ministers, clerics and other religious practitioners to refuse to marry couples who violate their religious beliefs. We talk to the bill co-sponsor from  Potterville, a youth pastor from Three Rivers, a rabbi from Kalamazoo and the executive director of a Kalamazoo LGBT resource center.

News

Old dams threaten downstream life

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By LAINA STEBBINS
Capital News Service
LANSING — Since Michiganders drive on them every day, roads and bridges are often the first things that come to mind when it comes to the condition of Michigan’s infrastructure. Less visible – but just as hazardous if not properly maintained – are the state’s 2,500 dams.
Just as deteriorating roads and bridges can cause significant damage, aging dams in high-hazard locations have the potential to do great harm to the environment and to human life. The Otsego Township Dam on the Kalamazoo River is one such dam. It’s in poor condition and located in an area that would see serious consequences if the dam were to collapse. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Director Keith Creagh said his department is removing the dam in conjunction with the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

Business & Economy

40 percent of households struggle in Michigan, study shows

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By CHAO YAN
Capital News Service
LANSING — While state officials celebrate the plunge of Michigan’s unemployment rate from its 14.9 percent peak in 2009 to around 5 percent today, more than a million families are missing the party. Some 40 percent of Michigan households, or 1.53 million, are considered as either living in poverty or among the state’s working poor, according to a new report from the Michigan Association of United Ways. That group includes both the 15 percent of households living beneath the federal poverty level and the 25 percent of struggling households that earn too much to meet poverty standards but not enough to afford basic household needs. The United Way, a nongovernmental health and human services provider, reached these conclusions after studying income and employment in the state from 2007 to 2015. According to the report, the average 2015 cost for necessities including housing, child care, food, health care and transportation for a family of four ranged from $43,920 in Osceola County to $64,320 in Macomb County – well above the family federal poverty line of $24,250.

Environment

Prehistoric hunting grounds found deep in Lake Huron

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By ERIC FREEDMAN
Capital News Service
LANSING — Deep below the chill waters of Lake Huron, scientists have found long-submerged physical evidence that prehistoric peoples systematically and strategically hunted caribou thousands of years ago. Searching 50 miles offshore from Alpena, researchers discovered “drive lanes” — in effect, runways of death that channeled unwitting caribou into the clutches of hidden hunters — and stone hunting blinds where hunters awaited their prey. “Caribou have a thing for linear features. They like following lines,” said scientific researcher Lisa Sonnenburg of the environmental consulting firm Stantec Consulting Inc. in Hamilton, Ontario. “Line stones up in a row and caribou will follow them.

Agriculture

Computer model bolsters sustainability, production for dairy farms

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By IAN WENDROW
Capital News Service
LANSING — Researchers at Michigan State University are creating a computer model to help make pasture dairy farming more sustainable. The project draws upon several research papers released in the past three months that discuss the environmental impact of livestock farms and how climate change affects them. They also address the challenges of moving cows from barns to pastures. Mecosta, Sanilac and Hillsdale counties have more than 100 dairy farms each, according to the United Dairy Industry of Michigan. Allegan and Huron counties have between 76 and 100, while Gladwin, Missaukee, Newaygo, Montcalm, Ionia, Clinton and Isabella counties have between 51 and 75 each.

CNS Budget

April 07, 2017 CNS Budget

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April 7, 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. Here is your file:
PUBLICLANDS: DNR has been having conversations on public land ownership, especially with the counties that have a large amount of public-owned lands. We interviewed county leaders who expressed their concerns that high percentages of state lands can be a burden on their tax revenue, and revenue brought by tourism and recreation activity are not enough to offset the loss. The Legislature and the DNR are working on a bill and managed lands strategy to try to give more voice to these affected counties.

Environment

Contest to stop invasive carp gets many bites

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By LAINA STEBBINS
Capital News Service
LANSING — The clock is ticking. What happens when state and federal agencies lack the technology to prevent a potential ecological disaster? What happens when the well-being of Michigan’s ecosystems and economy is on the line? If it’s up to the governor, Legislature and Department of Natural Resources (DNR), you hand the problem over to the international community. You make it a contest.

Environment

Contest to stop invasive carp gets many bites

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By LAINA STEBBINS
Capital News Service
LANSING — The clock is ticking. What happens when state and federal agencies lack the technology to prevent a potential ecological disaster? What happens when the well-being of Michigan’s ecosystems and economy is on the line? If it’s up to the governor, Legislature and Department of Natural Resources (DNR), you hand the problem over to the international community. You make it a contest.

Environment

Contest to stop invasive carp gets many bites

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By LAINA STEBBINS
Capital News Service
LANSING — The clock is ticking. What happens when state and federal agencies lack the technology to prevent a potential ecological disaster? What happens when the well-being of Michigan’s ecosystems and economy is on the line? If it’s up to the governor, Legislature and Department of Natural Resources (DNR), you hand the problem over to the international community. You make it a contest.