I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop listens as Sen. John Pappageorge talks about the budget shortfall. (Photo: Todd A. Heywood)
A somber Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm delivered this year’s State of the State address Tuesday in which she laid out plans to scale back Michigan government. But Republican leadership said while some of the ideas were theirs to begin with, Granholm’s proposals were short on detail.
Granholm declared it was time to reform government, “because we won’t settle for 9-to-5 government in a 24/7 world.”
In a press release distributed to reporters by staff, Granholm also declared, “The days when government could be all things to all people are behind us. It’s a time that demands relentless focus and discipline.”
In her speech she listed specific cost-cutting efforts, including reducing the number of state agencies to eight, reducing the salaries of elected officials by 10 percent, and shutting down state fairs in Detroit and Escanaba.
But State Republicans, led by Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, said after the speech that the speech was lacking in details.
“There were not any details,” Bishop said, but indicated the Republican caucus was ready to work with the governor on what he called Republican ideas.
Sen. John Pappageorge, R-Troy, echoed Bishop on the allegation Granholm had taken Republican ideas.
“There was so much that sounded Republican in there I was half expecting Ron Weiser to pull out a membership card,” Pappageorge jokingly said. Weiser is about to be installed as the new chair of the Michigan GOP.
But in all seriousness, Pappageorge lectured the gathered media about the failure of budget estimation, noting that the budget has been off by about 4 percent for years. “That’s $900 million than we are planning for,” he said. Right now the state expects a budget shortfall of $1.6 billion.
“You plan on the low side,” Pappageorge said, “and if you get more, great — that doesn’t matter.”
He said the issue could be addressed with a structural change in the budgeting process, noting that the estimation really was “very good” and put together by “very good people.”
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