The Children’s Leadership Council of Michigan, a collection of business, nonprofit and educational groups, has some advice for the Legislature and Gov. Rick Snyder on using the projected surpluses from the 2011 fiscal year: Spend it on the kids. In a new letter (see full draft below), the group argues, “Viewing them as investment strategies, […]
Group wants surpluses spent on children
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours” — John Locke, 17th century English philosopher * Propublica says the EPA has a report linking fracking chemicals to an instance of groundwater contamination in Wyoming. This has huge import for the state of Michigan, where hydrofracturing, […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Guest column: Snyder charts right course on roads
By James A. Jacob/Ajax Paving Cars swerving to miss potholes, bumper-to-bumper congestion, concrete falling from dangerous bridges and a lack of enhanced safety features such as broad shoulders along roadways create hazards for Michigan drivers. Michigan roads are notoriously known as some of the worst in the nation. A recent trucker survey ranked Michigan second-worst […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Kalamazoo gains strength from Promise
Jasmine Granville learned about the Kalamazoo Promise riding the bus back from a basketball game at Battle Creek Central. “I don’t remember if they played it on the radio, or people were calling people,” she said. “I remember a bunch of the seniors were just bawling their eyes out.” As a freshman at Kalamazoo Central […]
Posted inPhil's Column
Get the mentally ill out of prisons, jails
Michigan taxpayers could save millions of dollars every year, not suffer any hardship and do humanity a service. How? Simply by shifting treatment of the mentally ill from state prisons and local jails to a system of outpatient treatment and mental health courts. This shift also would reverse a past mistake of epic proportions. Over […]
Posted inQuality of Life
State effort to replicate Promise yields mixed results
The Kalamazoo Promise has inspired 10 Michigan communities to develop college promises of their own — without relying on a few generous benefactors to underwrite the whole thing. The communities, mostly distressed urban areas, are creating Promise Zones, with the goal of promising all high school graduates living within the school district boundaries financial support […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Promise helps Kalamazoo weather tough times
For a decade, Michigan’s economic dashboard has flashed red: high unemployment, record foreclosures, bankrupt automakers, population declines. And the Kalamazoo region hasn’t been spared from the pain that spread across Michigan. But leaders and families in Kalamazoo are hopeful that the start of the 21st century will mostly be remembered for the birth, in 2005, […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Snyder team reads Bridge
Perhaps a bit lost in the post Thanksgiving haze, or pre-Christmas shopping rush, Gov. Rick Snyder unveiled last week his message and plans for upgrading the talent and opportunities in Michigan. For a complete text of the message, click here. I will highlight one paragraph, for obvious — and self-serving — reasons: “A recent report […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Snyder gets his changes; consequences unclear
Michigan won’t be reinvented in a day. Or a dog year. But as Gov. Rick Snyder concludes his first (human) year in office, the general course he defined as a candidate is coming into view as legislative markers are set. Eight years of partisan division and economic decline prompted public interest groups such as The […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Analysis: Michigan makes huge strides in 2011
By Phil Power/Center for Michigan and Doug Rothwell/Business Leaders for Michigan Michigan has much to be thankful for as this year comes to a close: Better managed state and local government, a brighter economic outlook and more efficient delivery of public services. Our state’s turnaround has begun, but in many ways the hardest work still lies […]
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