The end-of-year reports on 2012 are coming in at a quick clip now – and the news appears to be consistently positive. Michigan’s jobless rate came in at 8.9 percent for 2012 and the state experienced its second straight year of job growth. (The 2009 rate was 13.4 percent.) Total nonfarm employment rose by 47,300 […]
Demographic trends improving in Michigan, but need to bolster education remains
Posted inTalent & Education
School in Thumb takes online learning to the max
Allison Ruiz was attending the Thanksgiving parade in downtown Detroit two months ago when she got a call from a student with a homework question. Nothing unusual for a teacher whose classes are 100 percent online — and whose students hit the keyboards whenever and wherever the mood strikes. “I was a little leery about […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Whole Foods exec sees opportunity in Detroit’s urban farming, artisanal food scene
Red Elk Banks, executive operations coordinator for Whole Foods Market, is playing a role in one of the bright spots in Detroit’s tumultuous recent history – overseeing the construction of a Whole Foods Market in the city’s Midtown neighborhood. Detroit has long been (wrongly) perceived as a “food desert” for its lack of any national-chain […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest column: Audit should prompt scrutiny of MEDC’s fundamental purpose
By Gary Wolfram/Hillsdale College A recent Auditor General’s report found that the Michigan Economic Development Corporation has failed to establish a comprehensive method to properly evaluate the effectiveness of one of its major programs: Renaissance Zones. From the inception of the Renaissance Zone program in fiscal year 1995-96 through fiscal year 2009-10, the MEDC abated […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
* Michigan is no. 11 in this chart of 38 states that have “slashed” higher funding in recent years. “Cash-poor state legislatures have gone to town on their higher education budgets, and as they’ve hacked away, tuition has risen along with the sums undergraduates have had to borrow. In total, 38 states cut post-secondary funding since […]
Posted inPhil's Column
Legislators missed chance to have eyes opened on K-12 reform
In my experience, there are two basic types of conferences: * The rehash, where you see/meet new people but don’t learn much new. * The eye-opener, where you hear something quite new that shoves your thinking in new directions. Tuesday’s gathering in Lansing, sponsored by the Center for Michigan to consider expert response to the report, “The […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Snyder adviser, educator pull no punches before large audience at education summit
MAKING HIS CASE: Sen. Roger Kahn (far left) discusses the need to vastly increase funding for early childhood programs during a panel at the Center for Michigan’s “Future of Education” summit in Lansing Tuesday. “If the governor’s budget falls short, I’ll push for $140 million,” Kahn said. (Bridge photo/Lon Horwedel) Oakland Schools Superintendent Vickie Markavitch […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Who said what at the ‘Future of Education’ summit
Nearly 500 people convened in Lansing Tuesday to listen to and question education leaders and experts about the findings in the Center for Michigan’s new report, “The Public’s Agenda for Public Education.” While audience members had plenty of information to chew on from the three panels – on early childhood, teacher preparation and accountability and current […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Traverse City’s growth draws attention
In 2007, when Michigan was in the throes of the recession, a young entrepreneur named Chris Treter opened a coffee shop and cafe in Traverse City. The Ohio native could have launched his Higher Grounds Coffee Trading Co. in any number of places. But Treter, who spent many summer vacations at a family cabin on […]
Posted inSuccess
Leader of Grand Rapids homeless shelter keeps the focus on accountability
NO FREEBIES: Stuart Ray’s philosophy in leading the Guiding Light Mission in Grand Rapids is that giving a homeless people food and shelter without requiring work or effort in exchange is self-destructive to the men he’s trying to help. (Bridge photo/Lance Wynn) GRAND RAPIDS — A decade back, Stuart Ray was immersed in the business […]
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