Three months after the launch of an aggressive welfare reform, Michigan has kicked more people off the dole than expected and saved the state millions of dollars. How the approximately 15,000 families cut off from cash assistance are surviving, though, isn’t as clear. We may never know. The state isn’t monitoring the impact on those […]
Ron French
Ron French is the senior enterprise reporter at Bridge Michigan, covering a wide range of topics including rural communities, federal policy impacts, education and public health. Born and raised in Indiana, Ron came to Bridge in 2011 from The Detroit News, where he was a project reporter, and previously reported for newspapers across Indiana. He graduated from Purdue University.
Rooted in Okemos, Ron has become a true Michigander — complete with a family cabin Up North.
Posted inChildren & Families
Daily life gets harder for three families
Nearly 16,000 Michigan families were banned from cash assistance last fall, in the biggest one-day reduction of welfare recipients in the state’s — and possibly the nation’s — history. Did those families blend into the work force? Did they lose their homes? Did they find help from charities, churches and nonprofits? Over 12 months, Bridge […]
Posted inTalent & Education
We already did your college report card, Mr. President
Speaking at the University of Michigan today, President Barack Obama blasted rising college costs and called for a “report card” that families can use to check the true cost of attendance. Michigan families now have that information in a special report on college costs published in Bridge Magazine earlier this month. Obama echoed the findings of […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Feeling unloved, skilled public employees are hitting the exit
Michele Glinn loved her job, and she was good at it. As the only Ph.D toxicologist working in the Michigan State Police toxicology unit, she analyzed blood samples for alcohol and other drugs — and crisscrossed the state testifying in court. Frustrated by unpaid furlough days, a shrinking staff and a negative public perception of […]
Posted inMichigan Government
An 'eye-opening experience'
As readers of Bridge Magazine today may know, the last Ph.D toxicologist working for the Michigan State Police resigned in November, leaving the state with no one who can offer expert testimony interpreting the results of alcohol and drug tests. That’s bad news for the state, but it could be good news for Rep. Bob […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Michigan job forecast bright – for 2030
The Michigan economy is recovering. For those of you with weak hearts, let’s leave it at that. Spend a few minutes watching a kitten stuck in a hamster ball. For those of you still here: the economy is recovering slowly. Just how slowly? I could show you a chart, but this will give you a […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Senate Dems toss hat into college costs debate
College would be cheaper for Michigan families under a proposal made in Lansing the day after Bridge Magazine published an analysis of public university costs. That analysis, published Tuesday, found that Michigan families pay more to attend their state’s public universities than do families in almost any other state. Twelve of Michigan’s 15 public universities […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Parting gift for college grads: $25k in debt
Clark Eagling has $45,000 in student loans — and he’s the lucky one in the family. His wife, Aimee Kessel, owes $90,000 for her undergraduate and graduate college education. The debt is so large that the couple may be collecting Social Security before they finish paying for college. “We’ve both essentially said that we don’t […]
Posted inTalent & Education
EMU prez: Tuition is 'safety valve' for state budget
Legislators know universities are going to make up lost state revenue by raising tuition. In fact, that’s what makes cutting funds to higher education so easy, says Eastern Michigan University President Sue Martin. Martin knows what she’s talking about. She has a Ph.D. in accounting. She was deputy state treasurer under Govs. William Milliken and […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Legislator: Taxpayers get bad deal from universities
State Rep. Bob Genetski doesn’t have many fans at Michigan’s public universities. As chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education, Genetski, R-Saugatuck, has been an outspoken critic of how universities spend money — and a leader in the movement to reform the state’s higher education funding formula. A Bridge analysis found that Michigan […]
You must be logged in to post a comment.