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. […]
Michigan Government
Citizens cannot do their job of running their government if they don’t know what their public servants are doing.
Posted inMichigan Government
An ordinary bar on an ordinary night, but poker supplies the drama
Temporarily minus the long hair and beard that gave him his nickname, Scott “Caveman” Miller is a frequent visitor to “charity” poker rooms in Southeast Michigan. (Bridge photo/Lon Horwedel) Thursday night at the Electric Slick, and the poker tournament does not really have 100 percent of the Caveman’s interest. The NFL draft is playing on […]
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Best, worst of Michigan communities’ fiscal ratings
(courtesy photo/used under Creative Commons license) David Hollister knows a bit about how public budgets work. He served as mayor of Lansing for a decade. Before that, he served two decades in the Michigan House, representing Lansing. And he says, “We need to recalculate how urban centers are funded.” A Munetrix review of data from […]
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Kalamazoo, Muskegon make tough calls, rise in fiscal ratings
Muskegon has made major cuts in public spending in recent years. And the city’s fiscal stress score looks much better in a recent analysis by Munetrix. (Bridge archive photo) A gritty, blue-collar city on Lake Michigan, Muskegon faces headwinds similar to many Michigan communities: factory closings, job losses, an eroding tax base. But in the […]
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Stressed cities hear little sympathy from State Capitol
DISCUSSION CLOSED: Republican leaders who run the State Capitol have rebuffed appeals from local governments to boost the flow of tax dollars from the state. Will last week’s announcement of nearly $500 million in “new” revenue change the debate? (Bridge archive photo) Michigan cities expecting a helping hand from Lansing as they dig out of […]
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Sewer overflows declining, but heavy rains still push sewage into streams
APRIL SHOWERS BRING …: Torrential rains across Michigan overwhelmed sewer systems, leading to the release of more than 1 billion gallons of tainted water into lakes and streams. (courtesy photo) Billions of gallons of raw and partially treated sewage are still fouling the state’s rivers, lakes and streams, despite years of work by state and […]
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New rankings find fiscal troubles for city halls across Michigan
TROUBLE AHEAD: An analysis by Munetrix found that dozens of Michigan communities were in troubling financial shape in 2011, with 2012 data still to be filed. (courtesy photo/used under Creative Commons license) While the financial problems of Detroit have captured the headlines this spring, a new analysis released today on government finance finds that […]
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See how your hometown’s checkbook is holding up
Nearly a decade ago, as Michigan struggled through a massive recession, the state Department of Treasury began to look at how the tough times were affecting the bottom lines in city and village halls across the state. These fiscal scores and Treasury’s “fiscal watch list” quickly became a source of controversy as local leaders contested […]
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Thousands of failed septic tanks threaten Michigan’s waters
Public health sanitarian Regina Young wasn’t sure what her staff would encounter when the Barry-Eaton District Health Department clamped down on failed septic systems in 2007. IT WENT WHERE?: More than 100,000 septic systems are estimated to be malfunctioning and polluting the surrounding environment. (Bridge photo illustration/A.J. Jones) They quickly discovered more problems than anyone […]
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Michigan has nation’s weakest regulations on septic systems
A WORLD OF …: This riding lawnmower was swallowed by a pit created by a failed septic system in Midland County. The state estimates that 10 percent of septic systems in Michigan – more than 130,000 – have failed. (courtesy photo/xxxx) In 2004, former Gov. Jennifer Granholm unveiled a water protection plan that called for […]