' Tag Archives: 'state''

100,000 Michigan kids still lack health insurance

100,000 Michigan kids still lack health insurance

 (Originally published Aug. 18, 2011) Imagine a city somewhere between the size of Lansing (114,000) and Sterling Heights (129,000). Imagine this city is populated only by children. Imagine every single one of these children lacks basic ...

Billion-dollar bust?

Billion-dollar bust?

(Originally published Aug. 10, 2011) A 15-year-long effort to spur jobs and vitality in some of the state’s most economically depressed areas by turning them into virtual tax-free zones — and thereby forgoing about $1 billion ...

Flint enjoys ‘Diplomat’-ic initiative

Flint enjoys ‘Diplomat’-ic initiative

Flint is home to the largest privately held specialty pharmacy in the United States. Didn’t think you would ever read that sentence, did you? But Flint is indeed home to Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy, a firm with ...

Learning from prison cuts in other states

Learning from prison cuts in other states

(Originally published Feb. 3, 2011) When Judge Steven Alm was appointed to a Honolulu felony court in 2004, it didn’t take long before the new jurist identified what he considered a major flaw in the system: ...

Touting Michigan in 100% cotton

Touting Michigan in 100% cotton

(Originally published May 4, 2011) Jon Bell got so tired of hearing friends slam Michigan as a place with no future, he started a company that promotes the state everywhere people go. Since the day he ...

Early childhood funds in tug of war

Early childhood funds in tug of war

(Originally published April 14, 2011) In last year’s gubernatorial campaign, candidate Rick Snyder touted the importance of pre-school education and outlined a vision of integrated P-20 education from birth through graduate school.  This year, Michigan early ...