We live in the Manistee National Forest where, each year, as spring first creeps and then roars to life all around us, I think about death. It isn’t religion’s observance of Passover’s Seder or Easter’s resurrection that does this. It’s the land. ANGER WAFTS IN: The national anger and frustration over the behavior of elected […]
A country’s anger pierces even the silence of the forest
Posted inMichigan Government
No answer to the call button: Nursing shortage looms in Michigan
In 2007, warning of a nurse shortage in Michigan and long admission waiting lists for nursing schools, then- Gov. Jennifer Granholm proclaimed: “Something’s wrong with this picture and we are going to fix it.” ON CALL?: Michigan soon may confront a shortage of nursing professionals, say industry leaders. (courtesy photo/used under Creative Commons license) Well, […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Research: Politicians have little idea what voters are thinking
Politicians aren’t particularly adept at knowing the views of their own constituents – and conservative politicians are the least adept of the bunch. Those are some of the major findings of a recently released research paper co-authored by a graduate student at the University of Michigan. Chris Skovron, of U-M’s Department of Political Science, along […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
*Of all the … the federal government has been giving students money to mess around with experiments in burning animal dung. HELP FROM HOUGHTON: Students at Michigan Tech University used federal grants for research on making cooking fires safer. (courtesy photo/used under Creative Commons license) That’s one way to look at it. Here’s another: Michigan […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
State, citizens can’t treat dental care as a luxury
HEALTH POLICY: Michigan can’t continue to rely on an oral health policy built on charitable contributions from private dentists, argues Norm Palm. (courtesy photo/used under Creative Commons license) Any serious effort to provide dental care to underserved people in Michigan must better incorporate private practice dentists in the plan. A new survey released by the […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Region struggles with sick economy, sick families
(Bridge illustration/Howard Davy) When Dr. Marion Hautea looks out at the waiting room at Thunder Bay Community Health Service in Rogers City, he sees diabetes. He sees hypertension. He sees abscessed teeth and coronary disease. Mostly, though, he sees jobs. Jobs that have left Northeast Michigan, burdening the region with the highest unemployment rate […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Volunteers offer short-term foster care for families in crisis
Nothing matters more to Stephanie Murphy than her girls. So when the single Holland mother of three had a medical crisis in 2011, she felt backed into a corner. Her oldest, Alexis Borgman, then 13, could stay with her father, who had visitation rights. But she feared that her other two daughters — Aaliyah and […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
(Bridge archive photo) *Not all charter schools in Michigan are alike. Some focus on quality; others focus on marketing to attract parental attention, reports Michigan Radio. This leaves some high-quality charters still struggling to enroll students. *In Indiana, “lawmakers are considering forgiving $12 million in loans that ‘failing’ charter schools accepted from the state. Isn’t this […]
Posted inPhil's Column
Schools, colleges aren’t preparing students for careers in Michigan
Phil Power is founder and chairman of the Center for Michigan. Paul Hillegonds, who these days is a vice president at DTE Energy, is one of Michigan’s most plugged-in and thoughtful people. Whenever something valuable and useful is going on in our state, Paul, a former speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, is […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest commentary: Educators ready to join governor in open discussion of school reform
(Bridge illustration/A.J. Jones) By William Mayes/Michigan Association of School Administrators On April 22, leaders from the education, business, manufacturing, government, and nonprofit sectors gathered for Gov. Rick Snyder’s 2013 Education Summit. The day’s events focused on ways Michigan could better serve its students while boosting the economy by creating a smoother transition from school […]