By Debbie Dingell and Doug Luciani/Children’s Leadership Council of Michigan Debbie Dingell is president of d2 Strategies and a co-chair of the Children’s Leadership Council, a group of more than 100 business and other leaders from across Michigan. We tip our hats to Michigan’s governor and the Legislature for funding expansion of the state’s […]
Guest commentary: Michigan leaders recognize the wisdom of investing in preschoolers
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
This “heat map” shows the use of homophobic slur words via Twitter in Michigan. *Is the Traverse City area a “hateful” place? A new map presents a heat index of hateful words sent via Twitter and assigned to their origin points by county. As you zoom in on Michigan, the hottest spots are near Traverse […]
Posted inPhil's Column
On a day once called ‘Decoration,’ thoughts on what's left behind
Phil Power is founder and chairman of the Center for Michigan. As has been our custom for years, my wife, Kathy, and I take time over Memorial Day weekend to plant geraniums on my parents’ graves. The stones are black granite, with the inscriptions sand-blasted gray in a formal Roman type face. The bright-red geraniums […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest commentary: Policy-makers should skip Mackinac Island and visit some classrooms
By Ken Winter (courtesy photo/used under Creative Commons license) PETOSKEY – I won’t be one of the 1,500 or so of Michigan’s top businessmen, politicians and other leaders converging for three days this week on Mackinac Island for the Mackinac Policy Conference. I cancelled my plans to attend so I could substitute for a local […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Living for the city: Vibrant urban cores lure young talent
FLYING HIGH: Milwaukee’s avant-garde art museum is a landmark on its urban waterfront. Such amenities are seen as key to lure young talent to metro areas. (Courtesy photo/used under Creative Commons license) Detroit and Milwaukee have a shared history as blue-collar, manufacturing, shot-and-a-beer kinds of towns. In recent decades, the two Midwest cities also have […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
In turnaround, suburbs lose business to Detroit after years of flight
(Bridge illustration by A.J. Jones) The Southeast Michigan office of Grand Rapids-based public relations firm Lambert Edwards & Co. had been located for years in a gleaming high-rise Troy tower, surrounded by a sea of asphalt parking lots and clogged highways. “You couldn’t walk out your door to get a sandwich,” President Jeff Lambert said. […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest commentary: Time to lay down arms – and save money – in marijuana fight
By Rep. Jeff Irwin MAKING PEACE WITH MARY JANE: Marijuana, whether used medicinally or recreationally, is here to stay, writes Jeff Irwin. (Courtesy photo/used under Creative Commons license) The time has come for a more sensible approach to marijuana in Michigan. From a practical perspective, we know that marijuana prohibition is a failure. Michigan state […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
NOT SO OPEN ANYMORE: America’s standing as a land of new opportunities and new vistas is being pummeled by data showing that mobility is declining. (courtesy photo/used under Creative Commons license) *America, we hardly knew ye. Once we were considered a land of mobility – both by economic class and geography. The facts have gotten […]
Posted inBrunch with Bridge
Primary-less politics leaves out public’s interests to service financial necessity
OR JUST DON’T BOTHER. As election cycles de-emphasize primaries, voters have less of a chance to hear ideas and policy proposals from individual candidates, writes Brandon Hubbard. Voter apathy frequently follows. (Courtesy photo/used under a Creative Commons license) Cover politics like a tennis match. That depressing advice came from a former political reporter I met […]
Posted inBrunch with Bridge
Orr, what? Detroit EM’s first days show more loyalty to state than city
THIS IS NEWS? Detroiters are well-aware of their city’s problems. If they have to accept an emergency manager, he should work for the city, not the state, writes Karen Dumas. (Courtesy photo/used under a Creative Commons license) Detroit’s Emergency Manager, Kevyn Orr, started his job with mixed reviews. Some thought he was a necessary evil […]