CLICK to enlarge While Michigan may be aging faster than any other state, our overall death numbers are not growing. Provisional death totals for 2011, just released by Michigan’s Department of Community Health, show that the total number of deaths in Michigan fell by 313 between 2010 and 2011. If we were to look at […]
Black males in Michigan die at an alarming rate
Posted inTalent & Education
Now hiring: Bridge Magazine seeks senior editor
The Center for Michigan has an immediate opening for a creative, entrepreneurial, senior-level editor to manage and grow Bridge Magazine (www.bridgemi.com). Bridge Magazine is a national award-winning, online publication dedicated to in-depth news and analysis of issues affecting Michigan residents. We focus on the “How” and the “Why” of life in our state, offering scope […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Auto rates drive voters into hiding
Alok Sharma analyzes data for a living. In 2010, he had a client, a politician, who was running for office and wanted to know if it was worth his time to campaign door-to-door in Detroit’s high-rise apartment buildings. Sharma thought the answer might be found by running a high-rise address through the Qualified Voter File, […]
Posted inSuccess
A multi-talented horse spreads joy across Michigan
Clifford the wonder horse Clifford is quite accomplished. He’s an abstract painter, a dancer and the subject of a published biography, and goes on statewide tours to spread the message of empathy. He also has four hooves and a tail. Clifford , also known as “Clifford of Drummond Island,” is the Morgan horse owned, trained […]
Posted inTalent & Education
School Quality: Detroit’s other big results due tomorrow
Editor’s note: The Excellent Schools Detroit scorecard is now viewable online. Schools being schools, there’s no shortage of measurements to track their progress and quality. Actually finding useful information in that sea of data? That’s something else entirely. Tomorrow, Excellent Schools Detroit will roll out the result of two years of work – a comprehensive, […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Common Core is common sense
As a member of Business Leaders for Michigan, I support the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and urge the Michigan Legislature to swiftly move forward with their implementation. In Michigan today, only 68% of third graders are reading proficiently; only 20% of high school graduates are considered career- and college-ready; and 21% of high school […]
Posted inTalent & Education
We're hiring: FULL-TIME OPENINGS FOR OUTREACH COORDINATORS
The Center for Michigan has immediate job openings for individuals with excellent communications, networking and organizational skills and a track record of high achievement. If you are passionate about the future of our state, have strong public speaking skills and a working knowledge of current events, we may have an exciting opportunity for you. We […]
Posted inBrunch with Bridge
Now more than ever, say nice things about Detroit (because they’re true)
NOTHING BUT BLUE SKIES: If you think Michigan’s largest city is defined by its fiscal troubles, you haven’t been there lately. At least not downtown. (Photo by Flickr user April Janowski; used under Creative Commons license) After weeks of press about Detroit’s bankruptcy, I am clearly not the only one who feels compelled to speak […]
Posted inBrunch with Bridge
Guest column: Even in a beleaguered economy, culture affects success
PUT A RING ON IT: Michigan’s economic problems are well-known, but children raised in intact homes can still rise succeed in hard times. (Photo by Flickr user Anthony Kelly; used under Creative Commons license) By Jeffrey Polet The New York Times recently published a comprehensive article on income mobility. The data clearly indicate that income […]
Posted inBrunch with Bridge
Drama in household appliances, or how a dehumidifier united three strangers
SHE LOOKS SO…TIRED: Sometimes, just buying a simple home appliance can be fraught with drama. Will Eduardo get the sale he worked so hard for? And what about the manager’s puppy? (Photo by Flickr user Gerard Stolk; used under Creative Commons license) In need of a dehumidifier, I go to Sears, where there are only […]