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The Michigan Messenger going forward

By Staff Report | 11.16.11

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 [...]

Colorado-based abstinence program provided false and misleading information to Michigan students

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By Todd A. Heywood | 11.16.11

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.

Class action lawsuit filed against MERS over unpaid taxes

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By Todd A. Heywood | 11.15.11

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.

Schuette fights important mercury regulations

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By Eartha Jane Melzer | 11.14.11

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.

K-12 cuts could be twice what is budgeted

By Ed Brayton | 10.16.09 | 7:12 am

The Michigan Association of School Boards did some numbers crunching based upon a new memo sent by Department of the Treasury to Gov. Jennifer Granholm and say it appears that K-12 schools could face budget cuts twice as deep as those in the current budget because of continuing shortfalls in predicted revenues each month.

Schools are being held hostage to the outrageous antics and games with the school budget. Yesterday the state treasurer sent a memo to Gov. Granholm indicating that the predicted shortfall in the School Aid Fund (SAF) was much larger than expected. According to the memo, Treasury now estimates that the shortfall will be approximately $264 million for fiscal year 2009-10. To view the memo, click here.

To put that in perspective, that’s an additional $165 per pupil reduction on top of the $165 cut that the legislature passed last week. Without serious action by the legislature and governor in coming months, schools face total cuts of $330 per pupil.

If the monthly shortfalls in expected revenue continue and are as deep as Treasury is now predicting, that will force more cuts in the middle of the fiscal year on top of the cuts already present in the budget. The MASB says the resulting cuts would be a “devastating blow to public education” and they are no doubt right.

Comments

  • crapdetector46

    The problem has arisen due to our overextended, pro-growth, pro monetary inflation policies that have led us down a path of wanting/needing ever increasing consumption to fuel “growth”. Perhaps we can rein in these anti-humananist policies that by their very nature sow the seeds for their own destruction. Exponential growth in the USA has been fueled for the past 50 years by cheap energy but those days are coming to an end. We must re-order our priorities until we get a balance between production and consumption that is sustainable. What ever happenned to the promise of industrialization to REDUCE the time spent working? Surely we could feed, shelter and clothe ourselves in a reasonable manner without two parents working 50 hours per week. This would eliminate the ubiquitous 'need' for infant care, toddler-school, pre-k, and k, reducing costs for everyone. Stop consuming, start saving, work less, live more. That which is unsustainable IS BOUND TO STOP.

  • crapdetector46

    The problem has arisen due to our overextended, pro-growth, pro monetary inflation policies that have led us down a path of wanting/needing ever increasing consumption to fuel “growth”. Perhaps we can rein in these anti-humananist policies that by their very nature sow the seeds for their own destruction. Exponential growth in the USA has been fueled for the past 50 years by cheap energy but those days are coming to an end. We must re-order our priorities until we get a balance between production and consumption that is sustainable. What ever happenned to the promise of industrialization to REDUCE the time spent working? Surely we could feed, shelter and clothe ourselves in a reasonable manner without two parents working 50 hours per week. This would eliminate the ubiquitous 'need' for infant care, toddler-school, pre-k, and k, reducing costs for everyone. Stop consuming, start saving, work less, live more. That which is unsustainable IS BOUND TO STOP.

  • crapdetector46

    The problem has arisen due to our overextended, pro-growth, pro monetary inflation policies that have led us down a path of wanting/needing ever increasing consumption to fuel “growth”. Perhaps we can rein in these anti-humananist policies that by their very nature sow the seeds for their own destruction. Exponential growth in the USA has been fueled for the past 50 years by cheap energy but those days are coming to an end. We must re-order our priorities until we get a balance between production and consumption that is sustainable. What ever happenned to the promise of industrialization to REDUCE the time spent working? Surely we could feed, shelter and clothe ourselves in a reasonable manner without two parents working 50 hours per week. This would eliminate the ubiquitous 'need' for infant care, toddler-school, pre-k, and k, reducing costs for everyone. Stop consuming, start saving, work less, live more. That which is unsustainable IS BOUND TO STOP.

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