TOO MUCH?: Almost a dozen bills are before the Legislature to alter requirements for a high school diploma – requirements adopted less than a decade ago. (Bridge illustration/A.J. Jones) Seven years ago, Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the Legislature surveyed Michigan’s high school academic landscape and did not like the view. The state had but one […]
Legislators eye changes to high school graduation requirements
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
*Michigan Capitol Confidential, an arm of the Mackinac Center, reports that, “For the first time since 2006, the Service Employees International Union is not deducting money from the Medicaid checks of the state’s 59,000 home-based caregivers. James Haveman, director of the Michigan Department of Community Health, confirmed that the money no longer is being taken […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Analysis: Detroit raises large sums with high tax rates
By Jeff Guilfoyle/Citizens Research Council With Michigan’s largest city now under the direction of an emergency manager, statewide attention has focused on the city of Detroit’s finances. The Citizens Research Council, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research firm, has published an analysis of the city’s fiscal structure and trends — Detroit City Government Revenues. This report attempts […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Let the river run: Dam removal accelerates in Michigan
THE GOAL: An artist’s rendering shows a section of the Grand River in downtown Grand Rapids after a nearly $28 million river improvement project is finished. (courtesy image) Michigan may be the Great Lakes State, but its 36,000 miles of rivers are becoming popular commodities for cities looking to revitalize downtowns, attract visitors and lure […]
Posted inQuality of Life
In Ottawa County, parks leader shepherds quarter-century of green growth
The Lake Michigan coast near Grand Haven features two spectacular natural areas, each of which gives rise to towering sand dunes that are cloaked by lush forests. John Smoltz, as head of Ottawa County’s Parks Commission, has spearheaded a massive increase in parks acreage in the county just west of Grand Rapids. He’s shown on […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
TASTY SAVIOR?: An economics blogger argues that Chelsea-based Jiffy Mix can help cure what ails America. (Bridge archive photo) *Jiffy Mix, the purveyor of delicious cornbread and muffin concoctions, has been given quite a responsibility: Save America. In his “7 reasons this muffin mix can save America,” Cory Suter argues: 1. “Jiffy mix sells over […]
Posted inPhil's Column
Change the school focus from spending more to spending smart
Phil Power is founder and chairman of the Center for Michigan. Can anything really move the “needle of achievement” in our kids’ schools? Over the years, we’ve sure spent a whale of a lot of money, time and lung power trying to answer that question. “School people” — by which I mean teachers, their […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest commentary: Focus on quality of education, not on structure of schools
By Wendy Zdeb-Roper/Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals Whether it was the debate over charter and cyber schools or, most recently, the Oxford Foundation report and the Educational Achievement Authority, the conversation about education reform has been focused almost exclusively on who should educate Michigan students — rather than on the quality of the education being provided. […]
Posted inBrunch with Bridge
In Michigan, small things add up to life writ large
NOT THE GOAL: The teeming sidewalks and streets of New York and other major coastal cities may draw young people from Michigan now, but the state can reverse the trend if it shows its young people that pursuit of no limits is no path to freedom, writes Conor Dugan. (courtesy photo/used under Creative Commons license) […]
Posted inBrunch with Bridge
Been here and there, but Michigan is best for young and young at heart
Hi. I’m Natalie. I’m a self-employed writer, I’m 31, and, if you listen to the headlines, I don’t exist. Like a centaur or a yeti, the well-educated, career-driven, creative-class Millennial like myself is not found in the wild here in Michigan. Supposedly, we’ve all left or are desperately attempting to do so. HERE TO STAY: […]
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