From this round-up at slate.com about various redistricting reform efforts around the nation: “As for the various state contests that invite average citizens to submit their own plans, they’ve proven to be mostly for show. No state has yet adopted an outsider’s plan, even though many have been objectively superior to the real maps on […]
Keep your views to yourself
Posted inMichigan Government
Guest column: Right to vote is under attack
By Melanie McElroy/Common Cause Michigan As Americans, we believe it is fundamental that each citizen must have a say in how he or she is governed. It is a right for which many have fought — and for which many continue to fight to preserve. But, as we head into a presidential election year, we […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Aerotropolis searches for dollars, stability
To proponents of Detroit’s “aerotropolis,” the airplane could be as important to Michigan’s economy in this century as the automobile was in the 20th century. The “aerotropolis” sounds like something out of “The Jetsons” — an airport surrounded by a bustling city fueled with a constant stream of people and cargo coming and going from […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Guest column: Rural investments pay off via schools
By James J. Turner/U.S. Agriculture Department The academic success of small schools in Michigan comes as no surprise to USDA Rural Development (“Small schools dominate championships” — Nov, 17, 2011). Our agency has long known that rural Michigan residents are resilient and resourceful – and the most important resource in our state. USDA Rural Development […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
For $400 million, you get a double-decker rail tunnel
A freight rail tunnel under the Detroit River — nearly two decades in the planning — is nearing the construction phase, its backers say. The $400 million Continental Rail Gateway would replace an obsolete, 102-year-old rail tunnel that is too small to accommodate modern, double-stacked rail cars. “We’re really excited about it,” said Marge Byington, […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Economists pitch Halifax-Detroit freight link
Detroit could become a major inland port by establishing a rail link with the expanding deepwater port of Halifax, Nova Scotia, say three Michigan economists who have formed a nonprofit group to promote the idea. The Great Lakes Global Freight Gateway ultimately could create 150,000 jobs associated with transporting billions of dollars of auto parts, […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Tracking the consequences of Michigan's welfare experiment
More than 11,000 Michigan families were kicked off cash assistance last month in what amounted to a huge experiment in social welfare policy. No other state has removed so many families from welfare in such a short amount of time with so little notice. Bridge Magazine is collaborating with Michigan Radio in a year-long project […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Education reform: It's gonna hurt
As readers of Bridge and supporters of the Center for Michigan know, the Center is spending the next year hosting conversations around the state about K-12 education and how citizens can improve it. Without doubt, it is vital to get more citizens involved in the policy process. I’m going to indulge my curmudgeonly side a […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Delray neighborhood has hopes, worries for a new bridge
If advocates get their way, the Next International Trade Crossing bridge would be built with its U.S. terminus in the Delray neighborhood of Detroit, southwest of downtown and of the existing Ambassador Bridge. Community leaders and residents who spoke to Bridge Magazine about the proposal offered mixed views, with hopes of improved economic activity leavened […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Michigan lost more people in 2009-10 than once thought
Larry Rosen of Public Policy Associates in Lansing recently utilized data from the Census Bureau’s 2010 American Community Survey to analyze residential patterns for Michigan in- and out-migrants between 2009 and 2010. This analysis has drawn significant media coverage. Sometimes, though, the data can lead you astray. The conclusion that “The data indicate a continuing […]