Category Archives: Fresh Thoughts

MSU dominates U-M in Legislature

By The Center for Michigan | Published: August 10, 2011
By Ron French The Michigan Legislature has voted over the years to designate a state rock (Petoskey stone), a state tree (white pine) and even a state fossil (mastodon). If lawmakers decide to name a state university, Wolverine fans should be worried. There are almost twice as many Michigan State University alumni in the House and Senate [...]
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Land O Links

By Derek Melot | Published: August 10, 2011
“It is no good to try to stop knowledge from going forward. Ignorance is never better than knowledge” – atomic physicist Enrico Fermi. * Our friend Kurt Metzger takes the positive approach to home values in Detroit — there are bargains aplenty for buyers: http://detroitdataguru.wordpress.com/2011/08/04/metro-detroit-real-estate-great-deals-in-a-great-area/ * Another survey in Michigan, this of the general public, finds unhappiness with [...]
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Where are the renaissance zones?

By The Center for Michigan | Published: August 10, 2011
Michigan has more than 150 renaissance zones, specific geographic areas or industry sites in which most state and local taxes are set aside to spur specific economic investments, though some have since expired. The Snyder administration is now scaling back the geographic zones, arguing that they have not proven effective in spurring job growth. View Economic [...]
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Prison industries: plenty of staff, losses

By Derek Melot | Published: August 4, 2011
A division of the state prison system designed to teach inmates trades — and produce everything from furniture to mops to, yes, license plates — continues to run annual deficits, owes the state general fund nearly $9 million and employs fewer prisoners — apparently due to consolidations in operations undertaken to cut costs and improve [...]
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Young techies find downtown Detroit congenial

By The Center for Michigan | Published: August 4, 2011
By Jon Zemke Through all of the hype at the press conference for Earvin “Magic” Johnson joining Detroit Venture Partners, you could tell it meant real change not by the tall, world famous African American at center stage, but by the small, locally known Asian American on the edge of the crowd, Henry Balanon. Normally, the young [...]
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Survey: Local government officials short on optimism

By Derek Melot | Published: August 4, 2011
A new survey out of the University of Michigan found that only 32 percent of leaders of local governments in the state see Michigan heading in the right direction. Half, meanwhile, see the state on the wrong track. “These views are strongly associated with partisan identification, with officials who identify themselves as Democrats more likely to [...]
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Foul called on Madoff claim

By The Center for Michigan | Published: August 4, 2011
The election for a U.S. Senate seat out of Michigan is more than a year away, but that hasn’t stopped the flow of distortions and misleading claims, the Michigan Truth Squad found this week. In analyzing a commentary from the left-of-center advocacy group Progress Michigan, the Truth Squad called a “technical foul” on the attempt [...]
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Land O Links

By Derek Melot | Published: August 4, 2011
“Knowledge and timber shouldn’t be much used till they are seasoned” — 19th century American author Oliver Wendell Holmes. * Grand Rapids is among the top 10 best places to relocate, according to an annual list compiled by RelocateAmerica. Ann Arbor also was noted among the top 100 places to relocate: http://www.relocateamerica.com/top-100-cities/index.cfm * The Michigan Campaign Finance Network [...]
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What do YOU want from Bridge, Michigan’s newest news source?

By The Center for Michigan | Published: August 2, 2011
Dear Center for Michigan readers: We are asking for about 5 minutes of your time to please complete this survey. Your opinions are important, and here’s why: In early September, The Center is launching an expanded e-Newsletter named Bridge. It will publish articles about the most important issues facing Michigan, including jobs and the [...]
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