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.
The battle over Michigan’s nation-leading film incentives is gearing up in the state legislature.
Some, like Roseville Democratic Sen. Mickey Switalski, say the year old incentive is chewing away at needed revenues for the state. In an article at Mlive.com, Switalksi is quoted as saying the legislation is costing Michigan millions.
“The state is broke, and we can’t afford the subsidy,” state Sen. Mickey Switalski (D-10) told Paul W. Smith this morning on WJR AM-760. “It was about $50 million last year, and we budgeted it for ’09 at about $130 million. It’s an open ended commitment that could got to $200 million.”
“Really, what we end up subsidizing is people from out of state — Hollywood, California — coming in, working, and we’re paying 42 percent of their salary.”
For comparison’s sake, $130 million could restore the now eliminated Michigan Promise Scholarship, which offered students of Michigan public schools a cash grant to attend Michigan universities and colleges if they performed well on state standardized tests.
But supporters of the 42 percent incentive say it will help the state develop a film industry. In fact, the incentive has already landed several films with big names attached to them, including one being shot near Flint featuring former Republican Presidential candidate Fred Thompson.
Actor Mike Manasseri says Michigan can see how the incentives work by looking at other states.
“Louisiana started their incentive less than a decade ago. And it’s a $600 million industry with studios, with a strong, tremendous work force in that area. It’s the same with New Mexico, Connecticut, New York, Canada is a prime example, which has been taking production jobs from the United States for years.”
And Mlive.com sweetens Manasseri’s observation by dropping this stat from Louisiana:
According to a study commissioned by the state, Louisiana has seen an estimated $6.64 in economic activity for each $1 it’s spent on film tax incentives.
And while the incentives worked in Louisiana, Iowa lawmakers eliminated their incentive recently after discovering abuses.
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