No one knows yet what the final economic impact will be when the film once known as “Category 6” and now called Untitled Tornado Project wraps production at Michigan Motion Picture Studios some time down the road, but Michigan taxpayers will be paying, one way or another. The studio, which was built as Raleigh Michigan […]
Were film tax incentives too good to last?
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest column: If Michigan prison costs are high, it's for good reason
By Jeff Sauter/Eaton County prosecutor The recently released PewCenter report on prison terms is an important source of statistical information which deserves careful study for policy use in Michigan. I want to warn, however, about drawing simplistic conclusions — which some will undoubtedly do in their perpetual advocacy for early release of prisoners or to […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest column: Michigan prison costs far exceed benchmarks; that should change
By Laura Sager/Citizens Alliance on Prisons & Public Spending Michigan taxpayers spend hundreds of millions of dollars more on prisons than public safety requires. How? By keeping people locked up far longer than we used to, than other states do and than is necessary to prevent recidivism. Every additional month, one person serves costs roughly […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“We owe almost all our knowledge not to those who have agreed but to those who have differed” — Charles Caleb Colton, 19th century English writer. * Bridge’s media partner, Mlive.com, is publishing an impressive series this week on self-defense shootings in Michigan. First major point: There are far more of these shootings than the […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Join school forums in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Dearborn
Michigan will spend nearly $13 billion out of its School Aid Fund for the coming year. Most of that money will go to public schools across the state. Is Michigan getting the most it can out of the school investment? The Center for Michigan stands ready to help you join the discussion on K-12 education. […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Michigan gets med-school boom, doctor bust
More doctors will be graduating from Michigan medical schools in the next decade. Whether that means more doctors practicing in Michigan is another matter. New medical schools have opened, or will open soon, at Oakland University, Central Michigan University and Western Michigan University. Michigan State University’s two medical schools also are greatly expanding their enrollment. […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Beaumont's success fuels medical brain drain
You can’t swing a stethoscope at Beaumont Health System without hitting a resident. More than 400 young doctors — 429, to be exact — are working as residents and fellows at hospitals in Royal Oak, Troy and Grosse Pointe, making Beaumont, until recently, the largest training hospital in the country without its own medical school, […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Study on Michigan early childhood efforts provides startling results
Children who attended a public pre-K school program had greater success throughout their K-12 career, including graduating at a higher rate, according to a first-of-its-kind study that followed more than 500 Michigan children for 14 years. That study, to be discussed today at a meeting of the State Board of Education, provides fuel to growing […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment” — Lao Tzu, ancient Chinese philosopher and founder of Taoism. * The Center for Michigan broke the story back in 2009 that the Michigan school calendar was shrinking right before parents’ eyes. The Legislature subsequently made changes to state law on the subject, but, for the 2012-13 […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest column: Invasive species burden Michigan, region with tens of millions in costs
By Helen Taylor/Nature Conservancy Tiny mussels that wash up on beaches and attach to boats, piers and underwater pipes. Mats of vegetation that blanket lakes and take the fun out of boating, fishing and water-skiing. Tall grasses that invade shorelines, blocking lake views. In the Great Lakes states, we’ve read about aquatic invasive species such as zebra […]