What happens to great ideas a few years after they’re hatched? That question was on my mind last week when I drove to Detroit last week to visit University Preparatory Academy, the public charter launched back in 2000 by my old friend, Doug Ross. Ross, a former state senator, Michigan Department of Commerce director, and […]
Strong leaders, strong school
Posted inBusiness Watch
Libraries strained by budget cuts
A JOB LIKE NO OTHER: Librarian Devan Green sometimes finds herself doing the job of a social worker. (Bridge photo by Dustin Blitchok) When librarian Devan Green first read the policy on proper behavior at the Pontiac Public Library, she couldn’t believe some rules didn’t go without saying. The rules prohibited everything from offensive body […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
In migration, New Jersey giveth to Michigan, and Florida taketh away
Welcome to Michigan… Donor state Incoming population Maine +145 Louisiana +204 Oregon +241 Wyoming +312 Massachusetts +383 New York +540 Alaska +589 New Mexico +716 Wisconsin +851 New Jersey +1,293 Source: U.S. Census Bureau While the Internal Revenue Service works to fix the problems with their 2010-2011 state-to-state migration data files, the Census Bureau has […]
Posted inTalent & Education
One in four aspiring teachers pass new teacher test
Becoming a teacher in Michigan just became a lot more difficult. Only one in four aspiring teachers passed a beefed-up version of Michigan’s teacher certification test – an exam that teachers must pass to be hired to lead a classroom – when the new test was administered for the first time last month. The initial […]
Posted inBrunch with Bridge
Root for the Pack above the Mack? Heretic!
DIVIDED LOYALTIES: Live in Michigan, but root for Green Bay? You must be a Yooper. (Photo by Flickr user Mike Morbeck; used under Creative Commons license) If you live in the Upper Peninsula and fly a booger-green and pus-yellow flag from your house, please realize you are grossing us out. And you should move. Back […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
A steady job, with fewer perks
Tim Bradshaw knew he was entering a working world much different from that of his parents when he accepted a job more than 2 years ago with the City of Kentwood. Unlike many of his older coworkers, he would not earn credit toward a guaranteed monthly retirement check, and “my wife and I just assume […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
You’re the Mayor
Tell us how cities can reduce worker retirement costs So you’ve read Bridge’s fairly terrifying report about how Michigan cities and towns have failed to fund employees’ pension and health-care plans, sometimes ignoring the problem for decades. The result: billions of dollars in unfunded retirement obligations across the state. Add to that crumbling infrastructure, dwindling […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Two cities that took control of retiree costs
They are the exceptions, but leaders in a handful of Michigan cities and towns foresaw the financial crisis that would overwhelm their communities if they didn’t begin setting aside enough money to pay the pensions and health insurance they promised workers when they retired. “It took about 10 years to figure this out,” said Eric […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Oakland County proposes legacy solution
Not long after Robert Daddow came to work for Oakland County 20 years ago, a couple of elected officials suggested the county should stop setting aside money for its retirees’ health insurance. No law required Michigan’s local governments to prefund the health care plans promised to retirees, so why pay for something now that you […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Michigan needs vibrant communities to attract business
Michigan native Kate McEnroe travels the country helping companies decide where to locate new manufacturing plants and offices. Firms typically weigh factors like access to transportation and customers, land and wage costs and the skill level of the labor pool. But one combination can be a deal-killer: high taxes and low quality of life. “If […]
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