If you live in Michigan, your high-schooler is probably less prepared for college than the average American student. Your teen has only an average chance of graduating from high school, and a below-average chance of enrolling in college. And if your son or daughter makes it to campus, he or she is less likely to […]
Jennifer Granholm
Posted inBusiness Watch
Awaiting green energy's payoff
A North Carolina company canceled a wind farm project in January that would have placed as a many as 112 towering turbines across two counties in northwest Michigan. Energy Conversion Devices, one of the state’s pioneer manufacturers of advanced batteries and solar panels, filed for bankruptcy protection in February. Several ethanol refining plants planned for […]
Posted inPeter Luke: Eye on the Capitol
Legislators want to run, not pay for, Mich. universities
Spring budget treks to the State Capitol by the presidents of Michigan’s public universities weren’t always this pointless. When lawmakers appropriated half the money or more that universities spent for operations, it paid for presidents to express gratitude to the veteran legislators whose long careers were built on protecting the interests of their favored (hometown) […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom” –Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 19th century English poet. * We in Michigan all know that Gov. Rick Snyder is ga-ga over “dashboards” — sets of figures that show progress, or lack thereof, on economic or government service matters. Snyder wants to use state money […]
Posted inPeter Luke: Eye on the Capitol
Snyder's message wasn't friendly to Capitol majority
Gov. Rick Snyder may not be a typical politician, but he’s also no fool. With fresh good news to share in his second State of the State address before a statewide television audience, Snyder led with it. And he invited Republican lawmakers in the House chambers to take credit for the positive unemployment report released […]
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 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 inBusiness Watch
Jobs of the future: Where they'll be in Michigan
Jim Danielski tells horror stories, but not the kind shared with toasted marshmallows around a campfire. Danielski’s horror stories are the kind that should keep Gov. Rick Snyder awake at night. At his career counseling center in Plymouth, Danielski sees a steady stream of people who aren’t ready for Michigan’s new economy. Some have no […]
Posted inChildren & Families
Don't count out early education
(Originally published Feb. 3, 2011) By Susan J. Demas How’s this for a contrast? Last year, the Early Childhood Investment Corp. (ECIC) released a study showing that Michigan’s budget saves a whopping $805 million because of pre-K programs. And yet in fiscal 2010, Michigan was among the 17 states that put their programs on the […]
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