A wicked recent storm along with several harsh winters have hurt the bottom line for lodging, retail, fruit crops in northern vacation retreats.
Lindsay VanHulle
Lindsay VanHulle is a former reporter for Bridge Magazine
Posted inBusiness Bridge
Community colleges seek state OK to give bachelor’s degrees
Senate bill to expand the four-year degree offerings by community colleges faces stiff opposition from the state’s 15 public universities.
Posted inBusiness Bridge
Should electric vehicle owners pay higher fees to help fund state roads?
A state House bill is proposing EV owners pay up to $100 more in registration fees to help fund the state’s roads plan. Automakers counter that buyers should be given incentives to buy alternative-fuel cars, not penalties.
Posted inBusiness Bridge
State roads legislation getting bumpier than the roads that need fixing
House Republicans adjourn for the week after failing to square their measure with a bill passed by the Senate.
Posted inBusiness Bridge
Turf war: Community colleges want to offer more 4-year degrees
Senate proposal would allow community colleges to offer bachelor degrees in nursing and other fields. State universities push back.
Posted inMichigan Government
Newspapers take notice of revenue threat
Proposed legislation would move public notices – hearings, descriptions of property to be sold, election dates, all in tiny type – from print to the Web, and with it money that Michigan’s newspapers can ill-afford to relinquish.
Posted inMichigan Government
Legislature gets little respect from state voters in survey
Democrats disapprove of the work Lansing lawmakers do by a wide margin, but even Republicans were down on the GOP-dominated body.
Posted inBusiness Bridge
House summer plans including watching Senate’s move on road funding
Critics say legislative leaders should be meeting now with Gov. Snyder to hash out permanent roads fix for Michigan. But House prefers to wait to see what the Senate comes up with first.
Posted inBusiness Bridge
Bill would ban questions, discrimination over contraceptive use
Democrats introduced the bill to prevent employers from discriminating against workers or potential hires over the issue of birth control.
Posted inBusiness Bridge
Debate rages on whether ‘prevailing wage” repeal would save state money
A 2013 report promising more than $200 million in annual savings from a repeal has drawn criticism and some backtracking by its author. Republican leaders, defying Gov. Snyder, are pressing ahead with a ban.