(Originally published February 24, 2011) There’s no doubt that the biggest and most controversial idea in Gov. Rick Snyder’s proposed state budget is the one calling for the state to tax income from both public and private pensions. As thing now stand, pensions for retired Michigan public employees – teachers, police and other government employees […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Scoring the '00s: How Michigan's 14 regions changed
Despite billions of dollars in construction projects on the University of Michigan’s campus and Ann Arbor’s reputation as a high-tech business hotbed, the regional economy there contracted slightly over the past decade. Gross domestic product in the Ann Arbor metro area fell 1 percent between 2001 and 2009 as several major businesses left town. Pfizer […]
Posted inSuccess
Michiganians find paths to success
Many Michigan entrepreneurs found ways to fly out of the ashes of the state’s lost decade. Bridge presents three such stories, drawn from the list of 50 Companies to Watch compiled the Edward Lowe Foundation: Higher Grounds of Traverse City ground out a new niche in the crowded coffee market. NOVO Motor Acoustic Systems in […]
Posted inSuccess
A new effort to 'Bridge' Michigan's gaps
An informed public is the iron core of our democratic system. But these days the iron is getting a bit rusty. The old media that served the country well for decades – national network TV news shows like Walter Cronkite’s and daily and weekly newspapers – are sadly in decline. When I started in the […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Snyder’s claim fans college readiness debate
Gov. Rick Snyder has made a blunt claim about Michigan’s schools in 2011: Few of their graduates are actually ready for college work. This spring, Snyder said only 16 percent of the state’s 2010 high school graduates were college ready and that 238 schools had zero — 0 — college-ready students based on ACT benchmarks. […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Expert: Just stop getting fatter
In anticipation of Gov. Rick Snyder’s special message on health and wellness in September, Bridge Magazine spoke with Dee Edington, one of the nation’s top experts on designing workplace wellness plans.
Posted inChildren & Families
100,000 Michigan kids still lack health insurance
(Originally published Aug. 18, 2011) Imagine a city somewhere between the size of Lansing (114,000) and Sterling Heights (129,000). Imagine this city is populated only by children. Imagine every single one of these children lacks basic health insurance. That’s the reality in Michigan, says a health expert engaged in a campaign to get tens of […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Billion-dollar bust?
(Originally published Aug. 10, 2011) A 15-year-long effort to spur jobs and vitality in some of the state’s most economically depressed areas by turning them into virtual tax-free zones — and thereby forgoing about $1 billion in tax collections — is being curtailed by Gov. Rick Snyder. Citing disappointing results in Renaissance Zones, the Snyder […]
Posted inSuccess
Flint enjoys 'Diplomat'-ic initiative
Flint is home to the largest privately held specialty pharmacy in the United States. Didn’t think you would ever read that sentence, did you? But Flint is indeed home to Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy, a firm with more than 500 employees that is winning national business growth awards as well as the adoration of the Flint […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Michigan's regulation of liquor business is sobering
(Originally published June 22, 2011) By Susan J. Demas No, it’s not your imagination. That bottle of Jack Daniels really does cost more in New Buffalo than in Michigan City, Ind. “There is a mark-up,” said Andrea Miller, spokeswoman for the Liquor Control Commission, the state agency that regulates alcohol. Why is that? The answer […]