By Patty Birkholz/Michigan Office of Great Lakes During these cold wintry days, you may not be thinking about invasive species. Maybe you should be. While we await warmer weather — the type conducive to walking beaches, boating or swimming on our inland seas — invasive species are being shipped around the world; they are stowing […]
Guest column: Silent invaders threaten our waters
Posted inBusiness Watch
Perks are the point in 'amenity-driven' growth
When Dawn Barry and her husband, Mark, decided to sell their townhouse and buy a house eight years ago, they had a few criteria common to couples in their early 30s. It had to be affordable on their teacher salaries, located in a safe neighborhood with good schools for the children they planned to have […]
Posted inTalent & Education
We already did your college report card, Mr. President
Speaking at the University of Michigan today, President Barack Obama blasted rising college costs and called for a “report card” that families can use to check the true cost of attendance. Michigan families now have that information in a special report on college costs published in Bridge Magazine earlier this month. Obama echoed the findings of […]
Posted inMichigan Government
AG office offers details on '4 strikes' thinking
As readers of this post know, Attorney General Bill Schuette’s proposal to add a “four strikes” provision to Michigan sentencing law has folks in Lansing doing some quick calculations on what this would mean for prisons and prison costs. Today, Rusty Hills of Schuette’s staff outlined what the AG’s Office did prior to the proposal’s […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Capitol vote won't guarantee lower auto insure rates
An array of groups allied to defend Michigan’s “no-fault” system of auto insurance claims and payments for catastrophic injuries resulting from auto accidents has filed a lawsuit against the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association. This quasi-public entity calculates the projected costs of paying for catastrophic care and levies an annual fee against auto insurers — which […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Schuette may need big taxpayer bucks to get tougher on crime
Editor’s Note: This post, originally published at 8 a.m. on Jan. 26, was updated at 1 p.m. the same day, 10 minutes after Bridge received new estimates from the Michigan Department of Corrections. A summary of the original estimates provided by MDOC are in this updated post. “AG asks Michigan to spend big to get tougher […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Feeling unloved, skilled public employees are hitting the exit
Michele Glinn loved her job, and she was good at it. As the only Ph.D toxicologist working in the Michigan State Police toxicology unit, she analyzed blood samples for alcohol and other drugs — and crisscrossed the state testifying in court. Frustrated by unpaid furlough days, a shrinking staff and a negative public perception of […]
Posted inMichigan Government
An 'eye-opening experience'
As readers of Bridge Magazine today may know, the last Ph.D toxicologist working for the Michigan State Police resigned in November, leaving the state with no one who can offer expert testimony interpreting the results of alcohol and drug tests. That’s bad news for the state, but it could be good news for Rep. Bob […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Pure snark: St. Clair Shores man scores with video spoofs
A slow fade in, and a tinkling piano picks out a familiar phrase. The camera watches a familiar Metro Detroit main drag bathed in the golden light of a summer afternoon, while a mellow man’s voice speaks: “Downtown Royal Oak brings to mind one word.” The shot dissolves to a quartet of young men walking […]
Posted inPhil's Column
Learning still starts at home
Over the years, I’ve been a big admirer of Rochelle Riley’s columns in the Detroit Free Press: Last Friday, she had a particularly valuable piece concerning the Detroit Parent Network, which is developing parent resource centers and connecting parents with those who teach their children. “The result is that a third more parents attended parent-teacher […]