Last week, I received a torrent of comment on my column about the astounding efforts by Manuel J. “Matty” Moroun, owner of the Ambassador Bridge, to block a new bridge over the Detroit River, which would provide competition to his very profitable monopoly. Virtually every corporate interest and political leader wants the new bridge, which […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“It is the province of knowledge to speak, and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen” — 19th century writer Oliver Wendell Holmes. * The folks over at the Mackinac Center, via their Capitol Confidential site, have a list of recommendations for reforming the state’s archaic liquor control system. Take a look and the […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Is state losing its love of fish?
Longtime fly fisherman Robert Thorsen enjoys solitary fishing experiences, but the suburban Detroit resident fears he and other anglers may be enjoying too much of a good thing. “I see a lot of stretches of rivers that are deserted,” Thorsen said. “As a fisherman, I don’t mind if there are fewer people on the water […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Quiet settles over environmental debate at Capitol
Gov. Rick Snyder and the Legislature have gone big on many issues so far this year — taxes, public employee benefits and education, to name a few — but one area that has drawn less attention has been their work on bills affecting the environment. That’s about to change. So far, the push for changes […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Veteran regulator prefers to say 'yes'
Getting to “yes” is a mission for Jim Sygo, the deputy director of the Department of Environmental Quality. It’s an answer, he believes can help Michigan’s environment and its economy. And it is a fundamental reason why Sygo is still on the job after nearly 30 years of state service that has taken him from […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Priceline expansion propels policy questions
Priceline plans to add more than 500 jobs to its call center in Wyoming in the Grand Rapids area. More jobs equal good news in Michigan, of course. But an online discussion shared with us between Milt Rohwer of the Frey Foundation and Birgit Klohs of The Right Place, Inc., may provide more illumination on […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Deer have Michigan on the run
Michigan’s 2010 firearm deer season was in its first week when a bizarre car-deer accident in suburban Grand Rapids killed a 17-year-old girl. Barbara June Barnick, of Ionia, was driving toward Grand Rapids when an approaching vehicle hit a deer and catapulted the animal into Barnick’s minivan. Stunned by the violent collision, the teen veered […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Fund-equity deals break teacher contract logjams
In March 2010, members of the Grosse Pointe Education Association held a noisy demonstration before a meeting of their district’s board, calling attention to the fact they’d been working without a contract for six months, and negotiations were going nowhere. The district was planning layoffs and pushing for concessions to cover a shortfall of around […]
Posted inMichigan Government
City manager embraces Cedar Springs' intimacy
Many people would be uncomfortable having everyone in town know their salary and handing out their cell phone number to take evening and weekend calls. Not Christine Burns. She welcomes the scrutiny that being a city manager brings. “The part that I like the best about it is everything is out in the open,” said […]
Posted inPhil's Column
Moroun's money writes sad tale for state
You might not think finger-pointing could make a sound of its own, but it does. High, thin and very penetrating. And it could be heard all over Lansing after last week’s vote in the Senate Economic Development Committee sunk — at least temporarily — the much-debated project to build another bridge connecting Detroit with Canada. […]