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 […]
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
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 […]
Posted inMichigan Government
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 […]
Posted inMichigan Government
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 […]
Posted inMichigan Government
At Michiganology, using history to help preserve history
(courtesy image/Michiganology) Back in the 1950s, business leaders gathered to consider how best to promote Michigan as a great place to live, work and do business. From that idea sprang an event — Michigan Week — and an image to promote it: a little bird named “Chesty Robin.” Well, he’s back – with a name […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Survey: Michigan can do much better on volunteering, being neighborly
Fewer Michigan residents may be freely offering their time and energy to good causes — or even saying hello to the senior citizen down the block — a recently released study on volunteerism and social interaction has found. A 2012 survey on the state’s “civic health” found that the percentage of Michigan residents volunteering their […]
Posted inMichigan Government
No answer to the call button: Nursing shortage looms in Michigan
In 2007, warning of a nurse shortage in Michigan and long admission waiting lists for nursing schools, then- Gov. Jennifer Granholm proclaimed: “Something’s wrong with this picture and we are going to fix it.” ON CALL?: Michigan soon may confront a shortage of nursing professionals, say industry leaders. (courtesy photo/used under Creative Commons license) Well, […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Research: Politicians have little idea what voters are thinking
Politicians aren’t particularly adept at knowing the views of their own constituents – and conservative politicians are the least adept of the bunch. Those are some of the major findings of a recently released research paper co-authored by a graduate student at the University of Michigan. Chris Skovron, of U-M’s Department of Political Science, along […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Group aims to make voting cool in Detroit
At 27, Allison Kriger knows why many people her age choose to live in Detroit, but not necessarily vote there. As a Bridge story pointed out last month, expensive auto-insurance rates drive many residents to conceal their true addresses from their insurers, and fail to register to vote at their Detroit addresses. But Kriger, an attorney […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Easier carry permits haven’t led to more gun deaths
(Bridge illustration/A.J. Jones) Before Michigan joined a growing number of “shall issue” states on July 1, 2001, making it easier for residents to get concealed pistol permits, opponents feared and argued it would lead to an increase in gunplay, violence and death. It hasn’t. “Even legislators who voted against it have told me they […]