State Roundup

Grosse Pointe Residents ponder effect of open enrollment GROSSE POINTE FARMS, Mich. (AP) -- Some people who live in the elite Grosse Pointe school district are expressing misgivings about Gov. Rick Snyder's proposal to require all districts to open their schools to nonresidents. The district encompasses the five affluent Detroit suburbs of Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Park, Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe Woods and Grosse Pointe Shores, as well as part of neighboring Harper Woods. It borders Detroit, where schools have suffered years of declining enrollment and low scores. A state manager now runs Detroit's schools. Snyder told legislators April 27 he wants to require all districts to enroll outside children when space permits. "Resident students in every district should have first choice to enroll, but no longer should school districts be allowed to opt out from accepting out-of-district students," the governor said. About 200 people attended a July forum at Brownell Middle School in Grosse Pointe Farms to hear how open enrollment might affect them. Grosse Pointe Woods resident Becky Zerilli said she was concerned about an influx of low-achieving students from the Detroit Public Schools. "I wouldn't want to happen here what has happened there," Zerilli told the Detroit Free Press after the forum. "No one wants to see what they've held dear and protected harmed. I don't think the governor has done enough to instill confidence in his plan." Grosse Pointe school board member Brendan Walsh told the meeting that no one on the board backs the change but said the district should get ready for the change because "in Gov. Snyder's tenure, he's pretty much gotten what he's wanted." East Lansing MSU students scout sites for EarthScope monitors EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Sensing stations for improving the seismic mapping of America are going up around the Lower Peninsula, thanks to a pair of Michigan State University graduate students participating in the National Science Foundation's EarthScope program. The goal is to better predict natural disasters. Nationwide, thousands of seismic, GPS and other geophysical instruments will be part of EarthScope. They'll study the structure and evolution of the North American continent and the causes of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Benjamin Johnson and Jamie Ryan are identifying locations across lower Michigan that will host 25 seismic stations. So far, they've found 14 of the locations. "The seismometers will record earthquakes to produce high-resolution images of the earth's interior and allow us to better understand origins and characteristics of earthquakes, both local and distant," Michigan State geology professor Kaz Fujita said in a prepared statement. "These advanced instruments will provide 3-D images of the Earth from 2,000 locations across the continent," said Fujida, who heads the program at the East Lansing school. Johnson and Ryan aim to finish by the end of July. Installation is planned for 2012. The students' role involves using geographic data to identify good locations, and then visiting the sites to seek landowners' approval and see if, on closer inspection, the sites are appropriate for the project. "There are many environmental sources like wind, rivers, and road traffic that can reduce the quality of the data recorded by the seismometer, so we are looking for quiet locations with minimal noise," said Johnson, who is seeking a master's degree in geology. "Farm fields are a favored location. Once we identify a suitable location, it really becomes personal as we work with landowners and ask them to host a site." According to Michigan State spokesman Michael Steger, it requires "a degree of expertise is required in order to find locations, which have to be away from rivers, trees, or busy roads that would disrupt the signal." "Each site must also have a strong wireless phone signal so that the equipment can transmit data," Steger said. Information from the monitoring stations is available online to the public and to scientists. Kalamazoo Suit dismissed over branch that killed man KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) -- The Michigan appeals court won't hold a couple responsible for a tree branch that fell and killed a 45-year-old Kalamazoo man during high winds in June 2008. Joseph Clock's estate sued Neal and Susan Kemp, claiming they should have known about the dangerous condition of the choke cherry tree. A large branch had fallen off the tree in a storm six years earlier. But in a 2-1 decision last week, the court says evidence of visible decay was based on "conjecture, speculation and misinterpretation of facts." The judges say there's no guarantee that an arborist would have found the problem. Judge Douglas Shapiro disagreed. He says his appeals court colleagues disregarded valuable testimony from a tree expert. Published: Tue, Jul 26, 2011