The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is charged by Congress with maintenance of a variety of harbors and channels around the Great Lakes. However, despite the existence of a federal fee-based fund to finance such maintenance, Congress has not appropriated sufficient funds in recent years to cover all the work. In response the Army Corps […]
Michigan's recreational trouble spots
Posted inTalent & Education
Businesses endorse preschool expansion
To the 100 business leaders who signed the Michigan Early Childhood Business Plan, the choice is simple: Pay a little now, or pay a lot later. And so they gathered on the porch of the Grand Hotel Wednesday at the Mackinac Policy Conference to call for publicly funded preschool for 38,000 eligible 4-year-old children currently […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Early childhood proposal draws media gaze
A coalition of business and community leaders announced the backing of 100 business leaders Wednesday for a plan to commit $130 million to insure that all eligible 4-year-olds in Michigan can attend half-day preschool. Research shows that as many as 38,000 eligible preschoolers are not receiving preschool services because of a lack of funds in […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Join school discussions in Dearborn, Inkster, online
Another school year draws to a close as parents, patrons, educators and lawmakers continue to debate how best to serve Michigan’s schoolchildren and the future of our state. The Center for Michigan stands ready to help you join the discussion. CFM, parent to Bridge Magazine, is engaged in a year-long series of community conversations on […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Oh, quit whining
MACKINAC ISLAND — Everybody knows a chirpy optimist, one of those sunshiny people always telling you to turn your frown upside down and look on the bright side. But spend a while listening to Fareed Zakaria, and it’s hard not to be swept along by this self-described seeker of the bright side. The writer, editor […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“Every addition to true knowledge is an addition to human power” — Horace Mann, 19th century American educator. * George Romney was the first member of his family to bid for the presidency. His effort for the 1968 Republican nomination disintegrated, however — and in ways that may have influenced his younger son’s political career […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Snyder's legislative rocket slows in year 2
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder started his term in Lansing in 2011 on a hot streak. For six months, he consistently won quick legislative approval of his prime agenda items, capped by a $1.7 billion business tax cut and a balanced state budget months ahead of expectations. In the nine months since, however, Snyder’s rocket has slowed. […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Tallying up the Snyder administration
Rick Snyder took office in January 2011 as Michigan faced yet another budget deficit and as plenty of citizens wondered whether state government could act with alacrity. Armed with large Republican majorities in both chambers of the Legislature, and aided by a good economic tailwind, Snyder rushed through the first six months of his term […]
Posted inPeter Luke: Eye on the Capitol
Gov. Rick Snyder misses big opportunities in 2011-12
Determined to measure their work against the bipartisan legislative train wrecks of past years, Republicans who run the Legislature are pretty close to their goal of closing up shop for the summer by the end of the week (June 1). That’s three weeks ahead of last year when they overhauled the business tax code and […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“The degree of one’s emotions varies inversely with one’s knowledge of the facts” –Bertrand Russell, 20th century British philosopher. * A CBS reporter this month said that no person born in the U.S. circa 1985 and after has ever experienced “normal” weather — at least as defined by average 20th century conditions. Since 1985, the nation’s been […]