If you live in Michigan, you’re more likely to die from a bullet than from a motor vehicle accident. In 2010, the death toll from motor vehicle traffic accidents in Michigan was 942, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported. That same year, 1,056 people died from gunshot wounds, including 440 homicides and 599 suicides, […]
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
ID gap makes streets meaner for ex-cons
GRAND RAPIDS — Jeff Lowery figured it was going to be a tough road as he left state prison in late February, hoping to find work and housing. But without proper identification, he feared it would be impossible: “There is nothing you can do. It’s absolutely horrible.” Six months before was discharged, Lowery said, he […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Bridge survey finds big support for easier absentee voting, yet legislation lags
Michigan has plenty of people who commit a crime come election time. They aren’t trying to vote twice, or do anything to improperly tilt the results of an election. They simply want to vote at their convenience. But in Michigan, convenience is something meant for only a select group of voters: the elderly, the disabled, […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Auto rates drive Detroit voters into hiding
Alok Sharma analyzes data for a living. In 2010, he had a client, a politician, who was running for office and wanted to know if it was worth his time to campaign door-to-door in Detroit’s high-rise apartment buildings. Sharma thought the answer might be found by running a high-rise address through the Qualified Voter File, […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Detroit’s troubles spreading to other Michigan cities, finance expert says
With Detroit’s recent appointment of an emergency manager, the state and the region will witness a long-deliberated and – for many city residents – hotly contested financial restructuring in one of the nation’s major municipalities by a gubernatorial appointee. Eric Scorsone, who studies local government finance at Michigan State University, discussed last week the potential […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Handshake deal with state haunts Detroit
DEAL BREAKER: Fifteen years ago, the state and Detroit agreed on a funding scheme – a deal that Detroiters say the state soon broke, helping propel the city into its current fiscal crisis. That agreement has been a point of contention between Detroit mayors (Dennis Archer, Kwame Kilpatrick, Dave Bing) and Michigan governors (John Engler, […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Michigan’s obesity straining more than waistlines
If Michigan took an honest look in the mirror, the reflected image would reveal far more than a few unsightly extra pounds. Now ranked fifth in the nation in obesity, state residents are on track to rack up 1.4 million new cases of type 2 diabetes, 2.9 million cases of coronary heart disease and 2.6 […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Blue Cross revamp: What does it mean for your pocketbook?
Blue Cross Blue Shield is, in some ways, health care in Michigan. The nonprofit firm and its family of companies cover 4.4 million Michigan residents – or almost half the state. It paid out more than $18 billion in claims in 2011 – most of it in Michigan – while doing business with 158 hospitals […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Truth Squad calls foul on ‘birthday tax’ claim on Snyder road proposal
MICHIGAN TRUTH SQUAD ANALYSIS: “Happy Birthday From Governor Snyder” Who: Joel Charles Featured Material: Web video Truth Squad Call: Foul To background sounds of the Beatles’ “Birthday,” Gov. Rick Snyder is portrayed in a clownish birthday hat, noisemaker in mouth and birthday cake in front of him. What follows is an attack on Snyder’s plan […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Hunters, anglers get Michigan licenses cheap
Much has changed in Michigan since 1997: Gasoline prices have tripled, food prices increased more than 40 percent and health-care costs have skyrocketed. It seems that everything costs more today than it did 16 years ago — unless you hunt or fish in Michigan. The price of hunting and fishing licenses here hasn’t increased since […]
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