For local governments across Michigan, budgets are looking a lot less grim than they were last year. Ann Arbor is a good example of that. City Council came into this year thinking it would have to cut another 14 positions from the police and fire departments. Instead, council members now ...
This month, a number of CEOs from West Michigan had the chance to meet with Gov. Rick Snyder on the topic of developing, attracting, and retaining talent in our state. After being involved in such a positive meeting, I'm shocked that House Bills 4770 and 4771, negative measures that bar state employers from offering domestic partnership health benefits, have passed the Legislature and are waiting on the governor's desk.
A new proposal to save Michigan’s film incentive program scales back the current program that expires at the end of the year and provides more money for productions that use Michigan workers and facilities. “I don’t want to pull the rug out from under the industry,” Senate Majority Leader Randy ...
LANSING - Republicans in the Senate have rejected the House GOP’s version of a sweeping statewide requirement that public employees pay more for their health insurance. The 36-0 vote Wednesday sends the bill to a conference committee where members will work over the summer to cobble together an agreement on ...
LANSING - With more than 12,600 welfare recipients and their children poised to lose monthly checks effective Oct. 1, supporters of a strict 48-month benefits limit say its time to end endless entitlements. But critics said legislation approved in the Michigan Senate Wednesday leaves unanswered the fate of about one ...
Some of our state lawmakers made a courageous move this past week, approving legislation that would slash lifetime health care for themselves and their families. The House bill, which still must be approved by the Senate, would eliminate the state paid health care insurance for retired lawmakers, a perk the ...
What was your home heating bill last month? Was it $300, $400, maybe even $500? All around us, there is much buzz about the green economy. From clean energy projects to advanced batteries, Michigan is properly branding itself as a world capitol of innovation and green technology. Catching the clean ...
In Ypsilanti, a number of hard-working parents have organized to save their schools as the district faces a huge deficit. In Ann Arbor, we will lose teachers, see program cuts, and have to privatize services (lose loyal district-employed custodians) among other hardships. Saline almost had to cut its entire math ...
Officials from Concordia University Ann Arbor said they were shocked to hear of plans to end need-based tuition grants for private college students. The move proposed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm would save Michigan $30 million, but cost some local students up to $1,600 per year.
I just read the AP story in which Senator Mike Bishop proposes a constitutional amendment that would force local government workers to take a 5 percent pay cut and freeze pay at that level for the next 3 years. He wants to balance the state budget on the backs of ...
Do you have both hands on the wheel at all times while driving? This is a question many folks often cannot answer yes to. In today’s fast paced society, we get wrapped up in things such as driving too fast to get where we are going, eating, drinking, putting on ...
Hail, all hail, to the State. The State has banned smoking. Don’t you feel safer? The State has banned cancer. Don’t you feel healthier? You no longer live in a country where people choose their own fate. The State will choose it for you.
We, as the leaders of Michigan’s major providers of health care, want to congratulate the Legislature for doing the right thing - passing a law to make workplaces smoke-free. It was imperative to get a bill passed in 2009 and we appreciate that the Legislature understood that. It will be ...
The unbalanced state budget. Cuts to school funds. Statewide unemployment of 15 percent. The steady flow of residents leaving the state. A foreclosure rate rivaling only the speculator markets of Nevada, Florida, and the like. Michigan is an exacerbated example of the woes facing the U.S. economy - the poster ...
In less than 30 days a new state budget must be in place for the next fiscal year. The budget decisions facing the Legislature and administration are gut wrenching and boil down to matter of priorities. How our legislators prioritize next year’s spending will shape the future for all of ...
Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com AnnArbor.com's partner news site MLive.com is on a quest to find the best barbecue in ......
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