Helping vulnerable children all across Metro Detroit is the goal of Starfish Family Services, but the Inkster-based nonprofit decidedly recent it needed to go local with its work – like right outside the door local. Of Inkster’s 26,000 residents, about 1,500 children under the age of 5 are considered high-risk, according to an assessment done […]
Starfish group leads charge for Inkster families
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
* Lou Glazer at Michigan Future Inc. has new reports out on metropolitan economies in Michigan between 2001 and 2010. He writes on Grand Rapids: “From 2001-2010, the seven county Grand Rapids regional economy performed better than the Michigan economy. That said it was a decade of decline. And the region in 2010 was one […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Money doesn’t buy happiness – or amendments
Michigan voters did something Tuesday that caught some by surprise: They made their own decisions. More than $33 million in advertising by one motivated billionaire, including out-spending his opposition by twenty-fold, couldn’t get a ballot proposal passed. Persistent campaigning by the governor for another ballot proposal didn’t work either. After months of robocalls and fliers […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Bid to head off ‘Right to Work’ may propel its adoption in Michigan
While voters defeated proposals to lock collective bargaining rights in the constitution and restore bargaining rights to home health workers on Tuesday, the battle over labor rules is far from over in Michigan. The defeat of Proposal 2, the collective bargaining ballot issue, clears the way for a possible Right to Work bill to be […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Political winds bolster bridge, fuel-tax review, but not renewable energy
On energy, bridges and taxes, voters spoke volumes on Tuesday. Defeat of Proposal 3 means, for the foreseeable future, that Michigan will pursue a more limited investment in wind power and renewable energy than neighboring states. Defeat of Proposal 5 means a simple legislative majority remains the threshold for statewide tax increases, perhaps opening the […]
Posted inMichigan Government
For the Legislature, an active and speedy 'duck,' followed by a cautious 2013
The smoke is still clearing from the statewide legislative elections, but Michigan residents should not be surprised if Lansing provides a two-pronged response to the voter’s will: First: A flurry of activity on legislation in the “lame-duck” sessions of the Legislature scheduled through the end of 2012. Hot topics for action include changes to the […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Ad campaign leaves voters, experts unimpressed
Conventional political wisdom about ballot proposals says that they’re almost always an uphill battle. The “no” side has an advantage with an electorate that often looks on change with skepticism. So says Robert Kolt, whose Okemos-based Kolt Communications specializes in advertising. (He also teaches at Michigan State University.) But, he adds, that’s not to say […]
Posted inPeter Luke: Eye on the Capitol
Voters endorse a ‘simmer down’ approach to state’s challenges
By a 47-41 margin, respondents in Marketing Resource Group’s fall poll said Michigan was on the right track. The plus 6-point spread in the biannual survey was the largest recorded by the Lansing firm since March 2003, three months into Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s first term. Three months into Gov. Rick Snyder’s term in March 2010, […]
Posted inPhil's Column
Lessons for the day: Voters show wisdom; Snyder gains
It was a close election, one with many cross currents surging under the surface vote count. In the aftermath, everybody will be asking “who won and who lost?” More important is looking into what the wins and the losses really mean. I suggest these takeaways: * Michigan voters continue to be plenty sane and sensible. Despite $150 […]
Posted inMichigan Government
In Marquette, Detroit, voters opine on process
Michigan’s a big place, with nearly 10 million citizens who have varying views on what is good politics and what isn’t. Bridge sent contributors Taylor Trammell and Christie Bleck to the northern (Marquette) and southern (Detroit) margins of the state to collect voters’ views on Election Day: Marquette – voter information “I seemed to get […]
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