Long-time Michigan journalist John Lindstrom blasts the cynical ploy Republicans are considering that would suppress voting and proposes a constitutional amendment to prevent it.
John Lindstrom
A guest author for Bridge Magazine.
Posted inQuality of Life
Michigan policymakers work on climate change – even as some avoid the term
Has global warming cooled off as an issue in Michigan? Just looking at how it is, or is not, dealt with by state leaders, one could guess it is in a deep freeze. It is not discussed daily among lawmakers and policymakers, at least not publicly. The closest the Legislature has to any legislation dealing with […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Michigan environmentalists aren’t hiding on climate change after 2012 ballot defeat
Proposal 3 was soundly defeated last November, with 62 percent of voters rejecting a constitutional amendment to set higher renewable energy standards. But its supporters are not demoralized. Proposal 3 would have required 25 percent of the state’s electrical generation come from renewable resources by 2025. Today, several members of the Michigan Energy/Michigan Jobs coalition are continuing […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Craft brewers’ recent success runs into old way of doing things in Lansing
Laura Houser, a brewer, tends to the huge tanks at Founders Brewing Company in Grand Rapids. Founders is one of Michigan’s largest craft brewers. (Bridge photo/Lance Wynn) Beer — the brewing of it, shipping, selling and quaffing of suds — is, by one measure, a nearly $6.1 billion industry in Michigan. And it’s an industry […]
Posted inMichigan Government
In charity poker vs. regulators, who's holding the cards?
RUN OF THE CARDS: In the last decade, public poker games have proliferated across Michigan as a quirk in the state’s bingo law allows such gambling in support of charitable groups. As play, and revenue, has grown, casinos have cried foul, arguing that these “millionaire party games” are poorly regulated and vulnerable to criminal activity. […]
Posted inMichigan Government
For cities in crisis, a wonk in wingtips
Fred Headen has been in the news lately, for reasons that do not necessarily burnish Michigan’s image. As director of the Department of Treasury’s Bureau of Local Government Services, Headen has played a regular role in reviewing the finances of Michigan’s most troubled cities. He’s served on local finance review teams and helped oversee how […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Ex-city manager teaches emergency manager avoidance tips
When Ed Koryzno talks to officials in financially troubled communities, he can say to them with conviction, “Been there, done that.” Koryzno, hired earlier this year by the administration of Gov. Rick Snyder to help advise troubled communities, used to work through many of the same difficulties that financially troubled local governments are struggling to […]
Posted inMichigan Government
This man has power over 1 in 5 Mich. lives
Stephen Fitton has a corner office on the top floor of a state office building in Lansing, which is perhaps fitting for the person who directs the second-most expensive program in Michigan government To be clear, the corner office, like the man who inhabits it, is far from ostentatious. Fitton has plenty of windows — […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Veteran regulator prefers to say 'yes'
Getting to “yes” is a mission for Jim Sygo, the deputy director of the Department of Environmental Quality. It’s an answer, he believes can help Michigan’s environment and its economy. And it is a fundamental reason why Sygo is still on the job after nearly 30 years of state service that has taken him from […]