The firearm hunting season is in full swing. And even though a new state law that removes a minimum age for children to hunt won’t be fully implemented until next spring, there’s reason to believe some youngsters are hunting this month who shouldn’t. That’s a conclusion drawn from a new Auditor General’s report on the […]
Derek Melot
Derek Melot is a former assistant editorial page editor, columnist and reporter at the Lansing State Journal, where he covered state and local issues extensively, earning awards from the Associated Press and Michigan Press Association. The Oklahoma native moved to Michigan in 1999, and served as Bridge editor through mid-2013.
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“I love talking about nothing. It is the only thing I know anything about” — Oscar Wilde, British playwright and writer. * As a lover of Thanksgiving since, oh, the early 1970s, I’m confident I share culpability in this trend. For the record, I prefer a mix of breast and leg meat from the Turkey, […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“Sorrow is knowledge, those that know the most must mourn the deepest, the tree of knowledge is not the tree of life” — Lord Byron, 19th century English poet. * “Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!” So, one state lawmaker gets recalled in a quarter-century and there’s a bipartisan rush to change the recall rules in Michigan? […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Voters choose to tax themselves
A powerful trend in state government this year has been to take decisions that reduce the amount of money flowing to local governments; money that gets spent to provide all manner of services. Details, in fact, are still being worked out on another state decision to alter the state’s personal property tax, which will lead […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Bridge seeks reporter to expand team
Bridge Magazine, a project of The Center for Michigan, a 501(c)3 nonprofit “think-and-do” tank, seeks a dynamic journalist with proven expertise in covering Michigan policy and life to serve as a reporter/writer on our growing staff. This is a full-time position featuring competitive salary, bonus structure and benefits based on the successful candidate’s experience. (UPDATE: […]
Posted inMichigan Government
'No fault' and Lansing's fault
For a quick and thorough review of what the issues are in the push to change Michigan’s no-fault/unlimited medical coverage system for catastrophic injuries in auto accidents, check out Pat Shellenbarger’s piece last week in Bridge. Pat made two points that have received far little coverage elsewhere, but reflect, I think, the fundamental dysfunction in […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Coming to your hometown: Fewer services
While there has been much talk in Lansing in recent weeks about reducing revenue — again — for local governments, the folks actually in charge of running public service on the city/township/village level are dealing with the consequences of previous reductions, caused either by a bad economy or state funding choices. Tom Ivacko and the […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Will they ever work again?
File this under depressing chart of the day: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/11/chart-of-the-day-long-term-unemployment-is-a-huge-problem—-especially-if-youre-old.php?ref=fpa About 1 in 3 of the officially jobless have now been without work for more than a year. For the context: The previous high for that figure in the last half-century was about 14 percent. With Michiganrunning a jobless rate above 11 percent — and with […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“It is not the quantity but the quality of knowledge which determines the mind’s dignity” — William Ellery Channing, an American writer. * “Michigan now consistently ranks in the bottom of states in both performance and improvement in student achievement, after a continued relative decline, according to data released today from the 2011 National Assessment […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“It is the province of knowledge to speak, and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen” — 19th century writer Oliver Wendell Holmes. * The folks over at the Mackinac Center, via their Capitol Confidential site, have a list of recommendations for reforming the state’s archaic liquor control system. Take a look and the […]