“Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment” — Lao Tzu, ancient Chinese philosopher and founder of Taoism. * The Center for Michigan broke the story back in 2009 that the Michigan school calendar was shrinking right before parents’ eyes. The Legislature subsequently made changes to state law on the subject, but, for the 2012-13 […]
Land O Links
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest column: Invasive species burden Michigan, region with tens of millions in costs
By Helen Taylor/Nature Conservancy Tiny mussels that wash up on beaches and attach to boats, piers and underwater pipes. Mats of vegetation that blanket lakes and take the fun out of boating, fishing and water-skiing. Tall grasses that invade shorelines, blocking lake views. In the Great Lakes states, we’ve read about aquatic invasive species such as zebra […]
Posted inPhil's Column
Michigan voters could decide casino locales, emergency manager law on 2012 ballot
Sheesh. We’ve already seen a ton of dueling political TV ads already, and we’re not even into summer — which officially begins this year on June 20, the day with the most sunlight in the year. Regardless of the season, you might say we need a little more light shed on our political process. And […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
On tax tactics, Snyder picks 'all of the above'
During his campaign for governor in 2010, Gov. Rick Snyder said he would focus on tax cuts and end tax incentives in trying to attract jobs and business investment to Michigan. Snyder and the Republican-controlled Legislature delivered on the tax cuts, trimming business taxes by $1.7 billion. But although he ended former Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Broad tax cuts won't propel Michigan to prosperity, says economist
George Erickcek, a senior regional economist at the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo, says Michigan might encourage more new investment by offering targeted tax credits on new manufacturing equipment rather than eliminating the personal property tax. Erickcek also says Michigan’s new 6 percent Corporate Income Tax might leave the state strapped for tax […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Michigan's venture capitalists step up to start-ups
If Michigan’s economy is to become more innovative and entrepreneurial, as Gov. Rick Snyder says it must, then it will need more start-up companies like 3D Biomatrix in Ann Arbor. The company, spun out of research at the University of Michigan, produces three-dimensional cell culture plates used in medical research. Its products could lead to […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Pew study says Michigan spends cash it doesn't have to on prisons
Michigan almost doubled the average time behind bars for its prisoners between 1990 and 2009, says a new study by the Pew Center on the States released Wednesday. While the trend mirrored a national one, Michigan’s practices on longer incarceration for all types of crimes was particularly notable, and expensive, the report’s authors stated. “The […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Do liquor control rules fail public?
While the Snyder administration has reported consistent progress on pruning Michigan’s regulatory thicket, the matter of how much to regulate the liquor market has proven to be more ticklish than most. As Bridge reported in April, “The one exception to the smooth process of developing (reform) recommendations could be the Liquor Control Advisory Rules Committee, […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“True scholarship consists in knowing not what things exist, but what they mean; it is not memory but judgment” — James Russell Lowell 19th century American poet and editor. Welcome to a special Ron French edition of Land O Links. Each link you see here was recommended by Bridge’s senior writer, a master of the […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Festivals haul in $700 million for Michigan
They celebrate fruit, cheese, beer, wine, music, the arts, holidays, seasons, cultures, industries, hobbies, geography, history and … well, pretty much all things Michigan. They go by all sorts of names — fairs, festivals, events — but the roughly 4,000-5,000 such gatherings annually share an important attribute: the generation of millions of dollars for the […]