The political dynamics of each state will vary, but the trend toward changes in how states deal with prisons and holding felons is unmistakable. A few highlights from around the nation: * A full rundown, from an advocacy group, of state by state reform efforts, including whether the states have sentencing commissions: http://www.famm.org/StateSentencing.aspx * Georgia […]
Land O Links: Prison edition
Posted inQuality of Life
Private-public pact gets Troy on track
For the entire 10 years Michele Hodges had been president of the Troy Chamber of Commerce, a new rail-and-bus transit center for the Oakland County community had been in the works. Then, on Dec. 19, 2011, the Troy City Council voted 4-3 to turn down $8.5 million in federal funds for the transit center, which […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Government dollars and rural Michigan
A small Michigan subplot to the New York Times’ story about how opposition to government benefits programs appears to spike in areas where government benefits are most prevalent. In 2010, Dan Benishek ran for — and won –Michigan’s 1st Congressional District, which then covered the U.P. and a good hunk of the northeastern quadrant of […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Ah, so! Second thoughts for Hoekstra's star?
Before the furor over Pete Hoekstra’s “Debbie Spenditnow” ad dies down — the usual suspects having read their lines and otherwise played the parts they were assigned earlier in the week — take a moment to read this, a briefing on the Chinese-American actress whose role was right out of Central Casting, c. 1932. An […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Guest post: K-12 'increase' is actually a cut
By Mitch Bean Compared to last year, this year’s gubernatorial budget presentation was a bit boring. There were, however, a few interesting aspects worth mentioning. Let’s start with the way funding for K-12 was described. The description in the budget document is that the recommendation for FY 2013 is a 2.5 percent increase, and the […]
Posted inChildren & Families
More families set to lose welfare assistance
Needy families who kept their cash assistance after last fall’s massive welfare reform shouldn’t get too comfortable. Almost 500 more families per month are projected to lose cash assistance during the second year of reform, which begins in October of this year. According to Gov. Rick Snyder’s budget proposal released Thursday at the Capitol, 7,130 […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Reactions to Snyder budget coming in
Reactions to Gov. Rick Snyder’s 2013 budget proposal are coming in. Below are some notable excerpts: State Board of Education President John Austin, D-Ann Arbor: “While Governor Snyder’s budget proposal begins to reverse decimating cuts to pre-K, K-12, and higher education; more strategic investment in education is needed to achieve the performance we are demanding […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Guest post: Speak out on SE Michigan roadways
By Paul Tait/Southeast Michigan Council of Governments Southeast Michigan residents have a unique opportunity to provide valuable guidance to elected leadership in Lansing and help shape how we will maintain and improve the transportation system – roads, bridges, and transit – in Southeast Michigan through a regional online survey sponsored by the Metropolitan Affairs Coalition […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Budget translated: Don't get excited
In line with expectations, the governor’s formal budget proposal for fiscal year 2013 (which begins Oct. 1) and budget outline for fiscal 2014 is a quiet document. “Quiet” in that it shouldn’t engender shouts of excitement or opposition from the various special interests that bid for state funding. Gov. Rick Snyder is pushing money into […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Bridge reports, budgets rise
After years of being ignored, the Michigan State Police forensics lab got a $3.1 million big, wet kiss from Gov. Rick Snyder today. And the lab may have Bridge Magazine to thank. In Snyder’s annual budget proposal presented today, the governor proposes $3 million for additional staffing for the lab that tests alcohol and drug […]