In five years, total Michigan property values plunged by more than $260 billion, according to an analysis of state records by Bridge Magazine. But while the decline continued over the last year, it slowed considerably. Values dropped from $725.5 billion in 2011 to $698.6 billion in 2012. Adjusted for inflation, that amounts to a drop […]
Billions more lost, but property value drop slowing
Posted inBusiness Watch
Detroit’s problems echoed in a (far) smaller Flint
The website is not the type of brand identity any city would seek. Called “Abandoned Flint,” it posts photos of ruined homes and businesses and a running commentary that reads like a post-modern apocalypse. Under photos of “Abandoned Travelodge,” it notes: “… people have totally trashed and looted it. Every single window was shattered. And […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Traverse City, Ann Arbor home sales point to brighter 2013
In parts of Michigan, a “For Sale” sign in front of a house is quickly followed by another: “Sold.” Realtors from Grand Rapids to Ann Arbor to Traverse City are reporting trends notably absent in Michigan for years. Home values are rising. And marketable houses in decent shape are often snapped up in a matter […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
What's property worth in your hometown?
The total value of property in Michigan dropped about $36 billion, in inflation-adjusted terms, between 2011 and 2012. And that constitutes good news on the property front in the Great Lakes state in recent years. The $26 billion drop – a loss of 5.7 percent – is far less than the declines seen since the […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
*Perception and reality in our society: “A Gallup poll reported nearly nine out of ten people think LGBT people are already protected. They are not. And, according to the pollsters, three out of four people believe they should be protected,” reports Lester Graham of Michigan Radio. Michigan’s civil rights law, the Elliott-Larsen Act, does not […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest column: Kindergarten retention, in current form, doesn’t help children
By Larry Schweinhart/HighScope Educational Research Foundation One of our conclusions from the 2012 Great Start Readiness Program Evaluation was that grade retention is a major state policy, made locally, that deserves serious study. Of students who had the Great Start program, 37 percent repeated a grade during their schooling, as compared to nearly half the comparison […]
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 inSuccess
High hopes, high energy: Detroit teacher leads with flair
At the beginning of every school year, while other teachers are going over their first day lesson plans minute by minute, Pamela Harris-Hawthorne has a different goal. In fact, for the first couple weeks at Detroit Innovation Academy, Harris-Hawthorne doesn’t teach her fifth-graders a thing. She’s too busy getting to know them. “Once you know […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
*Uh-oh: “Asian carp are reproducing in more places and under more varied conditions than experts had believed they could, yet another reason to worry about the greedy invader’s potential to infest waterways and crowd out native species, scientists said.” *Meanwhile, legislation is moving to bar the state Department of Natural Resources from using biodiversity in […]