* States, including Michigan, have been reducing their financial commitment to higher education. The result: “Tuition revenues are up substantially due to higher prices and more enrollments, but not enough to offset losses of public funding,” said Paul Lingenfelter, the president of the higher education group, based in Boulder, Colo. “Students are paying more, while public […]
Land O Links
Posted inPhil's Column
Michigan, nation will sorely miss Levin’s leadership, integrity
One major thought popped into my brain when I heard Carl Levin had decided not to run for a seventh term in the U.S. Senate next year: “Class is a lot like pornography. You can’t define it, but you sure know it when you see it.” Carl is a class act, through and through. And […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Legislators favor bear petting, despite zookeepers’ warnings
Despite resistance from the state’s traditional zookeepers, a bill written to keep visitors to an Upper Peninsula tourist attraction petting its bears appears bound for the governor’s desk. Senate Bill 48, written specifically for Oswald’s Bear Ranch near Newberry, passed the House last week on a 56-52 vote. It heads back to the Senate, where […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest column: Sunshine obscured by smog
By Rich Robinson/Michigan Campaign Finance Network “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” — Luke 12: 48 Dear State Officeholder: Please set aside the archaic sexism of the verse I’ve quoted to introduce this letter. Our […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest column: Michigan’s Great Start preschool program helps children learn
By Lawrence J. Schweinhart/HighScope Educational Research Foundation Dear Michigan Legislator: In recent testimony before committees of the Michigan House of Representatives, Michael Van Beek of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy challenged the evidence supporting expansion and improvement of Michigan’s Great Start Readiness Program. As director of the Great Start Readiness Program Evaluation and the […]
Posted inTalent & Education
School experts wrestle with choice, early ed policies (with video)
A capacity audience of parents and education leaders turned out for a televised townhall in Wixom Wednesday, co-hosted by the Center for Michigan and Detroit Public Television. The agenda of the session was to review and analyze the findings in CFM’s latest report, “The Public’s Agenda for Public Education: How Michigan citizens want to improve […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
State again riding auto upswing
Nearly given up for dead a few years ago, Michigan’s automakers have come roaring back and are leading one of the strongest state economic recoveries in the nation. Today, General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC are churning out billions of dollars in profits and are hiring thousands of workers. But we’ve seen […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Is ‘reshoring’ boosting Michigan’s economy?
Michigan Ladder Co., a 111-year-old Ypsilanti business that assembles wood and fiberglass ladders for the industrial market, used to buy its fiberglass ladders from suppliers in China. But the company recently decided getting ladders from suppliers that were thousands of miles away didn’t make financial sense. So, it began assembling its own fiberglass ladders in […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
* An Iowa legislator wants to move his state away from “no-fault” divorce. The no-fault system is the dominant one in the United States, including in Michigan. The state’s divorce (and marriage) rates have been on a consistent decline since at least 1990, according to the Census Bureau. However, Iowa’s marriage rate is higher and its […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest column: Expanding preschool is first step in education advance
By Michele Corey/Michigan’s Children Advocates across the state are rejoicing in Gov. Rick Snyder’s proposed $65 million expansion ($130 million over two years) for the Great Start Readiness Program– Michigan’s public preschool program for 4-year-olds at-risk of being under-prepared for kindergarten. Credit is due to the Center for Michigan and Bridge Magazine for bringing additional […]