692 Days until election day.
Just a reminder:
3rd Annual Troop Fundraiser on December 18 at Sangria's in Royal Oak
Attorney General Mike Cox, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Dennis Cowan, media partners WXYZ TV-7 Bill Spencer, and News/Talk 760-WJR for the 3rd Annual Support MI Troops Fundraiser. It will be Monday, December 18, 2006 from 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at Sangria's Restaurant, 401 S. Lafayette in Royal Oak, MI.
For more information see: http://www.mikecox2006.com/mondayminute.php
Saul Anuzis
STATE STORIES
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/AUTO01/612130444
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Reviving GM: Home and abroad
Inside GM-Asia's scret weapon
Acquisition of Korea's Daewoo powers growth in Asia
Christine Tierney / The Detroit News
BUPYUNG, South Korea -- As General Motors Corp. accountants picked through the assets of the crumbling Daewoo Group in 2001, rivals and analysts marveled at the U.S. automaker's appetite.
GM had recently bought Saab and part of Fiat Auto and held stakes in three Japanese carmakers. Ford Motor Co. had looked at Daewoo and walked away. To outsiders, the insolvent Korean carmaker whose fugitive founder had fled the country looked like a dodgy proposition.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/AUTO01/612130401
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Tradition, prestige rule in China
GM designers tap into expanding market where buyers want mainstream outside, elegance inside.
Christine Tierney / The Detroit News
BUPYUNG, South Korea -- GM designer David Lyon works out of a studio here in South Korea but spends a lot of time thinking about customers in neighboring China. It's Asia's second-biggest car market after Japan, and it's expected to become the world's biggest someday.
Yet China's market is still in the formative stages. "It's not like the U.S. or European markets where you already have something of every permutation or size," said Lyon, GM Asia Pacific's design director.
http://www.mlive.com/columns/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1165935132154990.xml&coll=5
One word: Aztek
Misfire of six years ago sends caution signal amid GM plans
FLINT
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
General Motors now promises to become a turned-around automaker putting vehicle design in the driver's seat: "We want you to see firsthand that we at GM are obsessed with, once again, making our cars and trucks leaders in design," says Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner.
Not to back-seat drive (well, maybe a little), but haven't we been down this road before? And is it the best route to where we need to go? After all, at this point in GM's journey, profitability is more important than design bragging rights. You can argue that the latter is a key to the former - many have, for years - but let's face facts:
Ford executive: 'Way Forward' showing in future products
12/12/2006, 6:12 p.m. ET
By DAVID RUNK
The Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) — Changes at Ford Motor Co. put in place as part of the automaker's "Way Forward" restructuring plan are showing up in future vehicle design, a company executive said Tuesday.
Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas, said work on turning around North American operations at the nation's second-largest automaker has helped better define its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands.
"A majority of these vehicles have it," Fields said of the design changes. "But clearly, some of the near-term vehicles we've only made some slight changes to."
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/OPINION03/612130369/1322/AUTO04
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Daniel Howes
Detroit showing some life
F or a city supposedly in the proverbial dumper, how come Detroit from Midtown to the river looks like anything but?
Answer: Because it isn't.
Whoever says Detroit, burdened by the weight of its own history, can't trudge the long road back to a new, albeit smaller, self might want to explain two permanent casinos and their adjacent hotels going up, pumping some 800 new hotel rooms into the local market.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/OPINION01/612130337/1008
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Reviving Metro Detroit
Creating job strategies puts region on road to renewal
Ralph W. Babb Jr.
Our region can wait no longer to focus on transforming our economy. That's why Detroit Renaissance developed the Road to Renaissance blueprint for growing the economy of Metro Detroit.
In partnership with key government, civic and private sector leaders, the road map addresses six strategic priorities to reshape the region's future:
http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-40/1165936826222990.xml&coll=5
Baker to give C-A students jump on jobs
FLINT TOWNSHIP
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
By Joe Lawlor
jlawlor@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6312
CARMAN-AINSWORTH - Students at a new high school that opens next year could be well on their ways to earning an associate's degree at Baker College of Flint by the time they graduate.
Students will take physical therapy, veterinary technology and other college courses alongside more traditional math, science and English classes at Carman Park-Baker Career Academy, which will be located at the current Carman Park Elementary School.
http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=66704
Manpower Survey: Job increases in the first quarter of 2007
Chris Zoladz
Created: 12/12/2006 4:39:40 AM
Updated: 12/12/2006 4:08:12 PM
The latest Manpower Report has been released and shows a favorable job market for West Michigan.
The survey released early Tuesday morning reveals Grand Rapids area employers are expected to hire at a steady pace during the first quarter of the new year.
The survey says from January to March, 20% of Grand Rapids area employers will hire more workers, while 70% will not make any changes, and 10% plan a decrease.
http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/news-20/116594059452320.xml&coll=7
Hiring outlook varies by industry
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
By Jane C. Parikh
jparikh@kalamazoogazette.com 388-8558
The outlook for new jobs is dim in some industries, according to results of a survey released this morning.
But that doesn't mean other industries aren't adding more workers.
Doug Phillips, a Galesburg construction industry executive, says his firm is ``absolutely in a hiring mode, '' and he's looking for four to five new project management people to help with corporate construction projects.
http://www.mlive.com/news/muchronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-10/116594014233210.xml&coll=8
Applicants fill jobs fair site for chance at prison jobs
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
By John S. Hausman
CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
The job applicants ranged in age from 20 or less, to 50 and more.
They included empty-nest mothers, long-laid-off security guards, substitute teachers, students seeking a career. Many are working part time but looking for full time. They came from all over the western half of lower Michigan.
And -- even before a Michigan Department of Corrections jobs fair aimed at helping fill 700 corrections officers jobs was scheduled to open this morning in Muskegon Heights -- there were lots of them. By 15 minutes before the official 9 a.m. start time, when officials opened the fair early, more than 100 applicants were in line down the hallway and out the door of the Muskegon Heights Workforce Development Center at 160 E. Barney.
http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/columns-2/116594068352320.xml&coll=7
State can't wait to replace SBT
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
In the early 1980s, when Michigan's economy was on the ropes and laid-off workers were moving to other states as fast as they could, the saying went: Will the last person to leave Michigan please turn the lights off?
It's reassuring to note that the lights are still on. The state pulled out of that plight. Unfortunately, it's back in another one.
And, after some eight years of job losses, there are still more obstacles ahead, according to University of Michigan economists who have forecast at least a couple more years of job losses.
http://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1165935174154920.xml&coll=9
Phase-in boosts on hunting fees
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Now that voters have told the Legislature to keep its sticky mitts off hunting, fishing and other conservation funds, the state Department of Natural Resources wants to bag bigger bucks by doubling the cost of hunting and fishing licenses in Michigan.
Two days after voters approved Proposal 1 -- a constitutional ban on raids on a dozen-plus state conservation and recreation funds -- a Natural Resources Commission panel issued a report urging the massive fee increases.
Resident deer hunting licenses would rise to $30 from $15 and an all-species fishing license would increase to $40 from $28. Senior citizens discounts would fall significantly -- to 20 percent from about 60 percent now. A senior citizen firearm deer hunting license would jump to $24 from $6.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/POLITICS/612130394/1022
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Leaders work to 'unsnarl' Michigan Constitution
Group pushing to alter state constitution wants to expand term limits, raise taxes for schools.
Mark Hornbeck / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
LANSING -- An under-the-radar, bipartisan group of state leaders and legal experts Tuesday recommended 63 changes to the Michigan Constitution, including expansion of term limits, making it tougher for outsiders to amend the constitution and raising state taxes to pay for school building projects.
The proposals will become part of the debate leading up to 2010, when Michigan voters next decide whether to hold a convention to craft a new constitution. The current one is 43 years old.
http://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf?/base/news-21/1165935065154920.xml&coll=9
Williams calls for state probe
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
BARRIE BARBER
THE SAGINAW NEWS
State police and the attorney general's office should investigate a ballot-counting "disaster" in Thomas Township, says an attorney for apparent losing state Senate candidate Carl M. Williams.
The Saginaw County Board of Canvassers met Monday to recount ballots from four Thomas precincts.
It could recount only two -- one ballot box had a broken seal, and the other tally didn't match the November count -- but reaffirmed the victory of Republican state Rep. Roger N. Kahn for the state Senate 32nd District seat.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/NEWS06/612130303/1008/NEWS
Prop 2 backers to take campaign to other states
December 13, 2006
Buoyed by a landmark victory in Michigan in November, backers of the anti-affirmative action Michigan Civil Rights Initiative -- also known as Proposal 2 -- are set to announce plans today for similar ballot proposals in other states in 2008.
Seven states, all west of the Mississippi River, are candidates for ballot efforts, said Jennifer Gratz, the Southgate native who directed the MCRI campaign and will participate in today's announcement.
http://www.mlive.com/news/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-20/1165938141263510.xml&coll=2
U-M files for delay on Prop 2
MSU, Wayne State also seek to retain policies for 2007 admissions
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
BY DAVE GERSHMAN
News Staff Reporter
The University of Michigan and two other state universities are seeking to delay the implementation of a voter-approved initiative that bans the use of race and gender in public education.
U-M, along with Michigan State University and Wayne State University, on Monday filed a motion in federal court seeking to continue using race and gender for the 2007 admissions cycle, which ends next spring.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-33/1165938595280800.xml&coll=6
GVSU sees $42.7 million growth spurt
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
By Nardy Baeza Bickel
The Grand Rapids Press
ALLENDALE TOWNSHIP -- An $18 million indoor athletic facility and a $20 million academic building soon will grace Grand Valley State University's campus.
The school's Board of Trustees on Monday approved the projects, and a $4.7 million electric and storm water upgrade, for a total project tally of $42.7 million.
Administrators said construction needs are being fueled by enrollment increases in the past decade.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/OPINION01/612130340/1008
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Don't let teachers block help for dropouts
Union should give waivers to keep alternative schools open
The Detroit News
I t's outrageous that the very teachers who contribute to the failure of more than half of Detroit's high school students also hold the power to deny those children a second chance.
Detroit Public Schools agreed to allow community groups to open up to 12 alternative schools this year to serve the city's large population of high school dropouts. Between 50 percent and 60 percent of students who start ninth grade in Detroit quit before graduating.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061212/NEWS05/612120337/1382
Published December 12, 2006
[ From Lansing State Journal ]
Show of Support: Eastern High School students walk out to back teachers
By Christine Rook
Lansing State Journal
About 190 Eastern High School students walked out of class Monday morning, giving an impromptu civics lesson of their own.
The Lansing students protested in support of the district's teachers, who have been working without a contract since September and recently lost a monthly stipend related to their health insurance benefits.
Tensions flared last week when about 130 teachers picketed the school, calling the district board unfair and demanding negotiations. Three sessions have been set during December and January.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/NEWS01/612130340/1003/NEWS
DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Coleman is out of race, Snead is in
Other hopefuls lead smaller districts inside, out of state
December 13, 2006
Detroit's school superintendent is on the way out and four candidates from small districts -- including one who used to run the district but resigned under pressure nine years ago -- will vie for the job in interviews with the school board this week.
David Snead, who was superintendent in Detroit from 1993 to 1997 and now works in Waterbury, Conn., is in the running for the position against a pool that includes Gerald Dawkins, the current superintendent in Saginaw, and two women from out of state -- Connie Calloway, superintendent of Normandy School District in St. Louis, and Doris Hope-Jackson, vice president of the school board of the Harvey Public School District 152 in Illinois.
http://www.mlive.com/news/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-20/1165938042263510.xml&coll=2
Ypsilanti schools to seek loan
$3.97 million needed to meet payroll, operating needs this year
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
BY LIZ COBBS
News Staff Reporter
For the first time in 10 years, the Ypsilanti Board of
Education will ask the state for a loan to help meet the district's cash flow needs for the next six months.
The board voted Monday to borrow $3.97 million so that it can meet payroll and other
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/NEWS02/612130310/1004/NEWS
Voters likely to approve proposal, survey shows
Plymouth-Canton schools seek money
December 13, 2006
A survey commissioned by the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools shows that voters would likely pass a $62.1-million bond proposal in February, despite rejecting a pair of requests in May.
The survey by EPIC-MRA, a Lansing polling firm, found that 55% of people would approve this winter's bond proposal.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/NEWS06/612130404/1008/NEWS
State board approves school restraint rules
December 13, 2006
The State Board of Education unanimously approved tough new restrictions Tuesday on the use of seclusion and restraint on students in public schools.
Although the policy -- which was prompted by the 2003 deaths of two students in cases where restraint was used -- prohibits the use of restraint or seclusion except in emergencies, it is only an advisory, meaning schools could opt not to implement the restrictions.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/NEWS06/612130405/1008/NEWS
New school restraint policy leaves more work ahead
Staff training big issue to be addressed
December 13, 2006
While approving new restrictions on the use of seclusion and restraint on children in public schools Tuesday, State Board of Education members said more work would be needed to ensure educators are properly trained.
The policy, which is advisory in nature and calls for seclusion and restraint to be used only in emergency situations, includes a training provision, but board members questioned Tuesday whether it goes far enough.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-33/1165938601280800.xml&coll=6
Grand Rapids school audits find failure
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
By Dave Murray
The Grand Rapids Press
GRAND RAPIDS -- After four years of educational reforms, Grand Rapids high schools have shown little improvement -- and in some cases have regressed, according to Superintendent Bernard Taylor's "instructional audits."
The review indicates 65 percent of freshmen in the district's four comprehensive high schools are failing classes, and most freshmen and sophomores carry less than a 2.0 grade-point average, Board of Education members heard Monday.
The audits also indicate two-thirds of high-schoolers are reading below grade level, and 31 percent are dropping out before they graduate.
http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/columns-2/116594069152320.xml&coll=7
Help students achieve on ACT test
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Kalamazoo Public Schools high school students need more help getting ready for college. Some schools in the district aren't making adequate yearly progress in the federal No Child Left Behind law.
KPS administrators have a couple of ideas that could help address those problems:
* Require that all high school students take the ACT college-admissions test as a graduation requirement. The ACT, used by most colleges and universities as an admissions measuring-stick for applicants, will replace the 11th grade Michigan Educational Assessment Program test.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006612130418
UAW BRANCHES OUT IN MICHIGAN: 40,000 launch child-care union
Home-based providers seek better pay, benefits and training
December 13, 2006
Michigan home-based child-care providers whose clients include children from low-income families have formed a union in an effort to win better wages and benefits.
They are joining forces with autoworkers.
The UAW and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees are expected to announce today that they've helped about 40,000 home-based child-care providers form Child Care Providers Together Michigan. This new group will operate under a program run by the UAW and AFSCME.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061212/NEWS02/612120350
Published December 12, 2006
[ From LSJ.com ]
Foster mother to stand trial in 2-year-old's death
Midday update
The Associated Press
PLYMOUTH - The foster mother of a 2-year-old girl who died of head injuries was ordered to stand trial on charges of first-degree murder, first-degree child abuse and involuntary manslaughter.
District Judge John E. MacDonald on Monday ordered Carol Ann Poole, 40, of Wayne County's Canton Township, tried in the death of Allison Newman in her home.
Prosecutors said Poole called 911 for help on Sept. 20 when the girl was unresponsive. Allison was pronounced brain dead two days later at Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor, where Poole gave detectives four different accounts of what had happened.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/OPINION01/612130350/1069
IN OUR OPINION: Too many foster kids still at risk
December 13, 2006
The State of Michigan did not actually kill Ricky Holland, but it surely failed to save him, and that's a fine line. Three new reports on how it was walked do not offer overwhelming confidence that what happened to this 7-year-old will not happen to some other child.
At least the couple responsible for Ricky's murder are now locked up where they can't hurt any more kids.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/OPINION02/612130351/1070
ROCHELLE RILEY: Find children at risk before the violence does
December 13, 2006
The state Department of Human Services was right to publicly reveal the roles of DHS workers in the death of Ricky Holland, the 7-year-old child who was being tortured while the state ignored signs that might have saved him.
The department's unprecedented report on the case outlined mistakes made by as many as 10 state employees, including a Jackson County foster care worker who did not visit Ricky at home for nearly two years.
http://www.mlive.com/news/statewide/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1165858803153220.xml&coll=1
More kids get government help
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
By Sharon Emery
Lansing Bureau
LANSING -- With their parents struggling and often stumbling in Michigan's economic downturn, more children depend on the government for basic necessities such as food and health care, a report released today found.
Nineteen percent of Michigan's children -- more than 513,000 -- last year were fed in part through the federal Food Assistance Program, also known as Food Stamps, nearly double the 10 percent who were served in 2000, according to Kids Count in Michigan. The annual assessment of child well-being is part of a national effort supported here by the Michigan League for Human Services and Michigan's Children advocacy groups.
http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=66692
Report: 40% of children in Michigan live in poverty
Val Lego
Created: 12/11/2006 5:35:33 PM
Updated: 12/12/2006 7:04:16 PM
Michigan's poor economy is being blamed for a rise child safety issues including healthcare and child abuse. The findings are from the most recent Kids Count in Michigan report which states among other issues, that two of every five children in Michigan live in poverty.
In the city of Grand Rapids, there are 45,000 kids under the age of five; nearly 13% of them are living in families with a federal poverty income of just over $20,000 a year. Despite that fact, Candace Crowling with Kent County's Child and Family Resource Council says there are some positive statistics coming out of this latest statewide report, "I would be happy if any time we took action we asked ourselves is this good for children? And I think kids count gives us an opportunity to take that pause and do that."
http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-8/116594019133230.xml&coll=4
Report: Poor economy erodes conditions for Michigan's children
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
By CRYSTAL HARMON
TIMES WRITER
The news is mixed for area children as reflected in the annual Kids Count in Michigan data book outlining trends in child-welfare statistics county by county.
Bay County logged a dramatic increase in the number of children in families being investigated for abuse or neglect; that number rose from 958 in 1997 to 1,587 last year. Confirmed cases of abuse and neglect are likewise up, from 140 to 239 over those same years, an increase of 71 percent.
Bay County Probate Court Administrator Marge Marchlewicz said that the glut of cases last year was noticeable.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-33/1165931103325620.xml&coll=6
Economy blamed as more kids rely on food stamps
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
By Sharon Emery and Barton Deiters
The Grand Rapids Press
With the economy in poor shape, the news only gets worse when the impact on local children is studied.
A report released today shows the percentage of children in Kent County receiving food stamps has more than doubled since 2000. In Ottawa County, that percentage has nearly quadrupled.
"It doesn't surprise me," said Joan Krause, chairwoman for the Kent County Department of Human Services Board, which oversees the food stamp program. "The economy is in terrible shape, and even food banks are struggling."
http://www.mlive.com/news/jacitpat/index.ssf?/base/news-19/116594141998230.xml&coll=3
Report: Lots of kids in poverty Reliance on food aid, Medicaid on the rise
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
By Tarryl Jackson
tjackson@citpat.com --768-4941
Killed by his mother after years of abuse, Ricky Holland's short life was undeniably tragic.
But though extreme cases like his draw intense scrutiny, child advocates say it's important not to forget the thousands of other children neglected or not given proper care.
"You don't get another chance with children," said Jane Zehnder-Merrell, senior research associate of the Michigan League for Human Services.
http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/news-20/116594054052320.xml&coll=7
Kids Count charts rising poverty
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
By Linda S. Mah
lmah@kalamazoogazette.com 388-8546
The percentage of children in Kalamazoo County who are on free or reduced-price lunch, eligible for Medicaid and receiving food stamps has grown in recent years.
Some 16.7 percent of the approximately 58,000 children living in the county were living in poverty in 2005, according to Kids Count in Michigan, a report on the well-being of children in the state that was released on Monday. That compares to 12.3 percent in 1999, according to the U.S. Census.
``The rate of children in poverty is much higher than adults,'' said Jane Zehnder-Merrell, senior research associate for the Lansing-based Michigan League for Human Services, which helped assemble the data.
http://www.mlive.com/news/muchronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-10/116594016833210.xml&coll=8
With lagging economy, more kids need food help from government
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
By Sharon Emery
CHRONICLE LANSING BUREAU WITH LOCAL REPORTS
With their parents struggling and often stumbling in Michigan's economic downturn, more children depend on the government for basic necessities such as food and health care, a report released today found.
Nineteen percent of Michigan's children -- more than 513,000 -- last year were fed in part through the federal Food Assistance Program, also known as Food Stamps, nearly double the 10 percent who were served in 2000, according to Kids Count in Michigan.
The figure was significantly higher in Muskegon County, where more than one in four children received Food Stamps.
http://www.livingstondaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061212/NEWS01/612120315
County has low rate of child poverty
By Lon Medd
Livingston County has the lowest child-poverty rate among the largest counties in the state of Michigan.
In the annual Kids Count in Michigan report, out of the 28 counties with a population of at least 65,000, Livingston County ranked the lowest with 6.3 percent of the county's children living at or below the poverty rate in 2005.
The report is compiled by the Michigan League for Human Services and Michigan's Children using data from the American Community Survey.
The child-poverty rate, from birth to age 17, in Michigan is 18.5 percent.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006612130311
New era arrives for cable customers
State moves to widen competition
December 13, 2006
BY CHRIS CHRISTOFF, DAWSON BELL and ZACHARY GORCHOW
LANSING -- Consumers can prepare for a new world of cable television, phone and Internet services as legislation to open up telecommunications to more competition in Michigan speeds toward enactment.
The change is expected to spur huge investment in money and jobs to extend fiber-optic lines that will carry service at warp speed.
Lawmakers approved new rules Tuesday that eventually will end contracts for TV service between local communities and cable companies, and place all cable providers under statewide rules.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/NEWS06/612130312/1008/NEWS
Consumers have to stay tuned
Where, when hazy on AT&T service
December 13, 2006
Here's a look at questions about the impact of the new cable television franchise law.
QUESTION: When might AT&T begin offering video service in my community?
ANSWER: Company officials wouldn't discuss Tuesday the geographic range of AT&T's plans, but the legislation would take effect Jan. 1 and then require the Michigan Public Service Commission to draw up statewide rules within 30 days.
http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/121206/loc_2006121226.shtml
Oakland wants state to alter law on health cost bonds
Web-posted Dec 12, 2006
By CHARLES CRUMM
Of The Oakland Press
For Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, there is only one highpriority issue remaining for state lawmakers to decide in their final week in session.
Patterson has been pushing for a change in state law to allow the county to issue bonds to fund its future health care obligations to employees and retirees.
"It's an important piece of legislation for Oakland County," Patterson says.
http://www.mlive.com/columns/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1165938070263510.xml&coll=2
State should allow use of medical marijuana Patients entitled to comfort without fear
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
There's a well-known drug available for pain relief - one that some patients already use, despite its illegal status.
But medical marijuana remains tainted, and another year has passed without that status changing in Michigan.
A bill co-sponsored by outgoing state Rep. Chris Kolb, D-Ann Arbor, would have blocked prosecution of patients who use marijuana to treat "debilitating medical conditions.'' They'd need a doctor's signed certification to do so, and that seems reasonable.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/OPINION01/612130328/1008
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Michigan can't afford mercury plan
Don't force costly, unproven fix on utilities that aren't pollution source
Diane S. Katz
T he Granholm administration is preparing to impose strict requirements on coal-fired power plants to reduce mercury emissions. The governor undoubtedly has the best of intentions in ordering the crackdown. Her strategy, however, bears no relation to the actual sources of mercury in Michigan, the risk of exposure or the availability of control technologies
Gov. Jennifer Granholm first pledged to "phase out and eliminate" mercury in her 2002 election campaign. But not until this year did she order the state Department of Environmental Quality to draft a rule to force Detroit Edison, Consumers Energy and other coal-burning utilities to reduce mercury emissions 90 percent by 2015.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/NEWS10/612130357/1007/NEWS
MATT HELMS: MDOT offers help to drivers facing monster shutdown
December 13, 2006
Here's a quick reminder for all the folks who'll be flummoxed next year -- starting in early February -- by the seven-month shutdown of the Lodge Freeway and Northwestern Highway in Detroit and Southfield.
Is there no mercy left?
The Michigan Department of Transportation is hosting an open-house style meeting for commuters and others who'll be struggling to get around the $140-million fix of the Lodge and Northwestern between Lahser in Southfield and I-94 in Detroit.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061212/NEWS03/612120356/1001/news
Published December 12, 2006
[ From LSJ.com ]
East Lansing project gets state assistance
Lansing State Journal
Campus Village East Lansing LLC will use a $700,000 tax credit to transform an obsolete car dealership into a 3.5-story mixed-use facility with 47 apartments and 5,300 square feet of commercial space.
The credit was announced today by Gov. Jennifer Granholm. It was one of several brownfield redevelopments receiving state assistance through the Michigan Economic Development Corp.
The East Lansing project's total investment for the project, expected to create 10 jobs, is estimated at $9.2 million. It is expected to create 10 jobs and have a local tax capture of about $1.5 million that will further benefit the development.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/POLITICS/612130386/1022
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Bill would allow wider use of Tasers
Legislation awaits likely signature from governor; some suggest shock is too routine.
David Eggert / Associated Press
LANSING -- A little-noticed bill that would let more people use Tasers and stun guns in Michigan is awaiting Gov. Jennifer Granholm's likely signature, though critics hope she wields her veto pen.
The legislation would exempt detention facilities and private security officers at some hospitals and malls from a ban against using stun guns. Police officers and others in law enforcement have been able to carry the weapons since 2002.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/METRO/612130397/1022/POLITICS
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Jury gives fired clerk $3 million
Bloomfield Twp. court plans to appeal verdict from trial where evidence has triggered fallout.
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
Lawyers for a district court in Bloomfield Township say they will appeal a $3 million verdict a federal court jury awarded Tuesday to a fired clerk who alleged she was a victim of courthouse politics.
But fallout was already spreading from disclosures made during the trial about operations of the 48th District Court. A Farmington Hills lawyer filed a lawsuit late Tuesday demanding that all the court's judges disqualify themselves from cases he handles.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/NEWS05/612130339/1007/NEWS
BRIAN DICKERSON: The jury speaks, and a district court trembles
December 13, 2006
For a while there, the case of Michelle Horton v. the 48th District Court looked like a remake of the classic film short "Bambi meets Godzilla."
Horton, 40, was a lowly counter clerk who earned little but praise from her supervisors at the Bloomfield Township-based court until she was abruptly fired in December 2004. In a wrongful discharge suit filed in U.S. District Court, she contended that she had been cashiered by superiors eager to curry favor with a newly elected judge, who mistakenly suspected Horton of slandering his spouse.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/OPINION01/612130347/1069
Break the hold on judge's confirmation
December 13, 2006
Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Janet Neff ought to be ringing in the New Year by moving up to the federal bench. Instead, Neff got a raw deal from a messed-up system. President George W. Bush should renominate her in January, and the Senate should fast-track Neff's confirmation and the other judgeships that are on hold because of it.
With the backing of Michigan's two senators, Bush nominated Neff, 61, to the U.S. District Court for Michigan's Western District. After a thorough hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmed Neff in September, along with many others for the understaffed federal courts. But Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan. -- who chaired her hearing -- blocked a full Senate vote.
NATIONAL STORIES
http://www.aim.org/media_monitor/5072_0_2_0_C/
Why Did the Republicans Lose?
By Roger Aronoff | December 11, 2006
That was the question that began a week-long cruise of the Pacific with an all-star lineup of conservative thinkers and writers gathered to discuss politics, culture, the status of conservatism, radical Islam and the war in Iraq.
The White House claims that, historically, the sixth year of a two-term presidency results in significant losses to the party in power. But that is really not the case. The sixth years of the Reagan and Clinton presidencies saw few or no losses to the party in control of the White House. So the fact that voters turned against the Republicans in 2006 is a major setback for the GOP. There is no other way around it.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=18380
Ideas Will Drive Conservatives' Revival
by Gov. Matt Blunt
Posted Dec 11, 2006
If Republicans, and more importantly, conservatives who want to preserve our culture and unleash the power of the free enterprise system, wish to return to power in Washington, then it is critical that ideas sustain public policy.
By focusing on just a couple of these ideas, conservatives will recognize how we lost our way by failing to turn to them, how Democrats have won victories by claiming them and how we can return to power by applying our ideas to the challenges before us.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110009379
Their Final Blow
Believe it or not, Congress leaves on a high note.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006 12:01 a.m. EST
Few things became the 109th Congress so much as its departure. After two years of missed opportunities and scandal, the Members were finally able to leave Washington on the weekend having made a few notable last-minute accomplishments.
At the top of the list, renegade GOP Senators Jim DeMint and Tom Coburn led the charge against 12,000 earmarks that Appropriators had hoped to stuff into the remaining fiscal 2007 spending bills. Among the early Christmas booty was $4.9 billion in "emergency" relief for farmers, and millions for parking garages, jazz museums and bike paths. Also on the favor list was a too-creative $682 million tax credit for a New York City rail project that these columns highlighted last week.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/K/KERRY_IRAQ?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Dec 13, 2:22 AM EST
Kerry to meet soldiers, leaders in Iraq
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. John Kerry, whose botched joke about U.S. troops in Iraq dealt a blow to his presidential ambitions, will travel to Iraq this weekend to meet with soldiers, political leaders and military officials.
"I've talked to plenty of guys who've come back from Iraq, who are there now, who understand exactly what happened," Kerry said of his joke in a telephone interview Tuesday with The Associated Press. "They laugh at it."
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/R/REID_ETHICS?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Dec 12, 9:51 PM EST
Senate panel clears Reid on free tickets
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid did not break Senate rules in accepting free ringside seats at boxing matches from the Nevada Athletic Commission, the Ethics Committee has concluded.
The committee disclosed the determination in a Dec. 7 letter to Las Vegas resident Robert Rose, who had filed a complaint on the matter.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DEMOCRATS_AGENDA?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Dec 13, 2:56 AM EST
Leahy to promise Justice Dept. oversight
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Justice Department officials can expect stepped-up oversight of the Bush administration's war on terrorism and - perhaps - some all-expense-paid tickets to Iraq to help train the corrupt police force there, the incoming chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee says.
Sen. Patrick Leahy's agenda includes a look at about a dozen recommendations by the Iraq Study Group to send law enforcement officials from the FBI and other offices in the Justice Department to the war-torn nation to boost a police force riddled with corruption. Leahy noted that over the weekend that Iraqi police allegedly helped Saddam Hussein's nephew, Ayman Sabawi, escape from a prison near Mosul.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CONGRESS_JEFFERSON?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Dec 12, 9:29 PM EST
Dems keep Jefferson off Ways and Means
WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Democrats, insistent that they will hold lawmakers to higher standards, decided Tuesday that Rep. William Jefferson will not return to an influential committee until a federal corruption investigation involving him is completed.
Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi said the Democratic Steering Committee had resolved that Jefferson, who last Saturday won a runoff election in his New Orleans district, will not be given back his spot on the Ways and Means Committee, the panel that determines tax and trade policies.
http://www.mlive.com/columns/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1165938098263510.xml&coll=2
Foley report an exercise in cowardice
House members guard own power and privileges
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Watching our elected leaders in action, it's not surprising that Americans wonder if there is any limit to the crass misbehavior that members of Congress are willing to tolerate from their colleagues to protect their privileges and hold on to their own jobs. The House ethics committee answered that question Friday with a resounding "No.''
Sixty-four days after it promised to find out who knew about Rep. Mark Foley's wildly inappropriate, sexually predatory behavior with teenage House pages, and why they failed to stop it, the bipartisan committee produced a report Friday that was a 91-page exercise in cowardice.
Its authors were clearly more concerned about protecting the members of the House than the young men and women in the page program. And they made absolutely no effort to define the high standard of behavior that should be required of all members of Congress and their staffs.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/12/AR2006121201602.html
Ex-Clinton Adviser Is Choice to Head CBO
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 13, 2006; Page A04
Peter R. Orszag, a Brookings Institution economist who served as a senior economic adviser to President Bill Clinton, was named yesterday to head the Congressional Budget Office, the nonpartisan agency that provides lawmakers with cost estimates for legislation and other budgetary analyses.
Incoming Senate Budget Committee chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) announced Orszag's nomination, saying the economist was selected from three finalists who were interviewed Monday by a bipartisan team of congressional budget leaders.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/12/AR2006121201601.html
Texas Republican Ousted As Last House Seat Filled
From Staff Reports and News Services
Wednesday, December 13, 2006; Page A04
SAN ANTONIO, Dec. 12 -- The last congressional race in the midterm elections went Tuesday night as so many others did over the past five weeks, with a Democrat ousting a Republican from office.
Ciro Rodriguez handily defeated Rep. Henry Bonilla (R) in a runoff election in Texas's 23rd Congressional District, the 36th congressional seat this year that switched from Republican to Democratic hands.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/12/AR2006121200525.html
Illegal Workers Arrested In 6-State ID Theft Sweep
By Spencer S. Hsu and Krissah Williams
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, December 13, 2006; Page A01
Federal agents targeting illegal immigrants raided meatpacking plants in six states yesterday, arresting hundreds of workers on the uncommon charge of identity theft and shutting down the world's second-largest meat processing company for much of the day.
About 1,000 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents with search warrants entered plants owned by Swift & Co., of Greeley, Colo., charging that "large numbers" of workers illegally assumed the identities of U.S. citizens or legal residents by using their Social Security numbers to get work, ICE officials said.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/OPINION01/612130341/1008
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Gas mileage ratings get real; so should lawmakers, buyers
Beware activists' interests in pushing for radical change
The Detroit News
The Environmental Protection Agency finally has figured out that most people don't drive like grandma going to church. Most have a heavier foot, use air conditioning in the summer and live in places that occasionally drop below freezing, all factors that affect gas mileage.
Those things have largely been ignored for the past 22 years by the EPA, which tested vehicles at an average speed of 48 miles per hour in temperatures of 75 degrees. Posted fuel economy ratings on new cars and trucks no longer will be based on such narrow factors.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BLIND_MONEY?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Dec 13, 5:35 AM EST
Government appeals currency redesign
WASHINGTON (AP) -- An effort to force a redesign of the nation's currency so paper money could be more easily used by the blind would be too expensive and could cause undue hardships on the vending machine industry, the Bush administration says.
The administration asked an appeals court on Tuesday to overturn a ruling that could require the introduction of such features as Braille lettering, micro-perforations or varying the sizes of denominations to aid the blind and visually impaired.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/POLITICS/612130400/1022
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
White House fights ruling that may force currency redesign for blind
Martin Crutsinger / Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration on Tuesday asked an appeals court to overturn a ruling that could require a redesign of the nation's currency to help the blind.
The appeal seeks to overturn a ruling last month by U.S. District Judge James Robertson, who ordered the Treasury Department to come up with ways for the blind to recognize the different denominations of paper currency.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/13/opinion/13wed3.html
Reining In the Watchdog
Published: December 13, 2006
One of the many areas of government neglect that needs urgent fixing is the lack of supervision of dollar burners like the Iraq war and homeland security: the Pentagon says it has 100,000 civilians now in Iraq on government contracts. Yet the new head of the General Services Administration — an executive agency that manages over $55 billion in contracts for Iraq, homeland security and other areas — is intent on cutting the budget of her agency’s inspector general.
The inspector general is one of the independent watchdogs created by Congress to make sure taxpayers get their money’s worth from mammoth agencies like the G.S.A. But the G.S.A. chief, Lurita Alexis Doan, plans a $5 million cut for the inspector’s office, aiming to replace some government auditors with hires from the private sector. Ms. Doan, who was appointed by President Bush, arrived from the private sector herself as a dynamic company executive vowing to wield a cost-effective broom.
Dec 13, 2:39 AM EST
Feds to update labels of Antidepressants
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Mental health experts are worried that additional warnings about the risk of suicides linked to antidepressants could curtail their use and ultimately do more harm than good.
Federal health officials plan to update the labels of antidepressants after finding use of the drugs may increase the risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior among young adults. The drugs already bear similar warnings about their use in children and adolescents.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/12/AR2006121201436.html
Inequality and Health Care
Two fixes for middle-class insecurity
Wednesday, December 13, 2006; Page A20
THE RISE of inequality over the past generation calls for a rethinking of tax and education policies, as earlier editorials in this series have said. But it also calls for reform of the health system. Because of a historical accident -- wage controls during World War II drove employers to compensate workers with perks such as medical insurance -- the health system is tied to corporations. This exacerbates inequality.
In most countries, rising medical costs are shouldered by taxpayers. Because tax systems are progressive, this means that the extra cost is borne by those who can afford it. But in the United States, where health spending per person has doubled since 1975 (after adjusting for inflation), the non-poor and non-elderly are expected to pay their own way. This is most clearly the case for Americans who lack a company health plan and must pay directly out of pocket. It's increasingly the case for Americans who have corporate coverage that comes with high deductibles and co-payments. But even workers who have generous, all-you-can-eat health plans end up paying indirectly, since their wages are held down to offset the cost of the plans.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/12/AR2006121201433.html
Fresh Air Under the Dome
Getting rid of the smoke-filled room
Wednesday, December 13, 2006; Page A20
LAST MONTH, The Hill newspaper reported that incoming House Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) is pushing to ban smoking in the ornate Speaker's Lobby, a room just off the House floor that is regularly clouded with smoke when Congress is in session. It is one of many venues legislators continue to reserve for lighting up in the Capitol -- despite the proven benefits of smoking bans in workplaces across the country. Last week, The Post's Lyndsey Layton reported that House Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is considering Mr. Waxman's idea; her support would probably be critical to getting a ban past the House Office Building Commission.
The Speaker's Lobby is not just a favorite hangout for legislators blowing smoke rings; it is also a work space for staff members and, yes, journalists trying to get them on the record. So Mr. Waxman's ban would make workdays much healthier for the staffers, pages and reporters who don't have much choice about congregating there, as well as for members themselves.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110009377
The Power of the Press
The media is in need of some mending.
BY PETER R. KANN
Wednesday, December 13, 2006 12:01 a.m. EST
Thomas Jefferson, a better president than we've had in a very long time, penned a line back in 1787: "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without government, I would not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." By 1807, in his seventh year as president and after seven years of being subjected to severe press criticism, he wrote: "I deplore the putrid state into which our newspapers have passed, and the malignity, the vulgarity and the mendacious spirit of those who write them."
You'll be relieved to know that Jefferson did remain true to his primary principle: "The press," he concluded, "is an evil for which there is no remedy. Liberty depends upon freedom of the press and that cannot be limited without being lost." He was right then, and we are right now, to prefer a free press, however flawed, to any controlled alternative. Still, as we watched CNN flashing its pre-election logos each day--"Broken Borders," "Broken Government," "Broken Politics," Broken Everything--I can't help thinking the media, too, is in need of some mending.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FBI_TERROR?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Dec 13, 2:49 AM EST
FBI papers on terror expertise to released
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Lawyers for a once-decorated terror-fighting FBI agent will make public hundreds of pages of testimony from the bureau's top brass declaring that terrorism expertise has been given little weight in promoting agents since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The evidence gathered during Agent Bassem Youssef's ongoing lawsuit against the FBI includes statements from the agency's director, Robert Mueller, and many of his top supervisors on how little Middle Eastern experience, Arabic language skills or formal anti-terrorism training has played in promotion decisions.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DETAINEE_LAWSUITS?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Dec 13, 2:41 AM EST
Terror case shows Bush, libertarian rift
WASHINGTON (AP) -- It's not every day that conservative lawyers Steven Calabresi and Richard A. Epstein agree with Clinton administration Attorney General Janet Reno or former American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Burt Neuborne.
Yet the conservatives joined their outspoken liberal colleagues Tuesday in arguing that an immigrant held as an enemy combatant has a right to seek his freedom in court - another instance in which the Bush administration's anti-terrorism policies have united libertarians and liberal Democrats.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/13/opinion/13cordesman.1.html
One War We Can Still Win
By ANTHONY H. CORDESMAN
Published: December 13, 2006
NO one can return from visiting the front in Afghanistan without realizing there is a very real risk that the United States and NATO will lose their war with Al Qaeda, the Taliban and the other Islamist movements fighting the Afghan government.
Declassified intelligence made available during my recent trip there showed that major Al Qaeda, Taliban, Haqqani Network and Hezb-i-Islami sanctuaries exist in Pakistan, and that the areas they operate in within Afghanistan have increased fourfold over the last year.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/12/AR2006121200278.html
Americans Say U.S. Is Losing War
Public, Politicians Split on Iraq Panel's Ideas
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, December 13, 2006; Page A01
Most Americans think the United States is losing the war in Iraq and support a bipartisan commission's key proposals to change course, according to a poll released yesterday. But the Iraq Study Group's report has become a political orphan in Washington with little backing from either party.
Nearly eight in 10 Americans favor changing the U.S. mission in Iraq from direct combat to training Iraqi troops, the Washington Post-ABC News survey found. Sizeable majorities agree with the goal of pulling out nearly all U.S. combat forces by early 2008, engaging in direct talks with Iran and Syria and reducing U.S. financial support if Iraq fails to make enough progress.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/12/AR2006121201663.html
U.S. Commander Says Withdrawal Won't Be Soon
By Nancy Trejos
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 13, 2006; Page A26
BAGHDAD, Dec. 12 -- The outgoing top U.S. operational commander in Iraq said on Tuesday that military might alone would not win the war and that the withdrawal of U.S. troops would not happen quickly.
"I wish I could tell you exactly how long it's going to take and exactly when U.S. forces and coalition forces could go home, but I am just not able to do that," said Army Lt. Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, commander of the Multi-National Corps -- Iraq.
http://www.mlive.com/news/jacitpat/index.ssf?/base/news-1/116594138498230.xml&coll=3
It's time for action: Iraq Study Group
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
"The situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating."
These eight words didn't come from the mouth of an armchair political pundit. It's the opening sentence of the much-awaited Iraq Study Group's report. The bipartisan commission was blunt: "There is no path that can guarantee success, but the prospects can be improved."
Stability in Iraq is so grave, even White House officials are conceding that democracy may not be a good fit for the Middle East's rule of mostly strongman dictators and monarchs.
http://www.mlive.com/news/muchronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1165934718141230.xml&coll=8
At least he read it
Monday, December 11, 2006
LOS ANGELES TIMES
If the Iraq Study Group is worried that its recommendations will not be taken seriously, then Thursday's news conference with President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair is cause for concern. "A lot of reports in Washington are never read by anybody," Bush said. "To show you how important this one is, I read it." A moment later he added, as if for emphasis, "This is important."
Oh well. At least the Iraq Study Group had one 24-hour news cycle before it was dismissed as "important." In Washington, importance is the last stop before irrelevance; it's a graceful way to offer praise without support. On that score, there is reason for more than just the members of the group to be worried. The president and the prime minister used the word 46 times in 53 minutes, including to describe the goal of eventual withdrawal of U.S. troops and the need to be engaged on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BUSH?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Dec 13, 4:27 AM EST
Bush decides direction of Iraq policy
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush has decided the general direction he wants to take U.S. policy on Iraq and has asked his staff to work out the details as he wraps up a highly public review of the war and its aims.
Military commanders who met Tuesday with Bush sought more advisers to train the Iraqis, not more U.S. combat troops in Iraq. They also urged the administration to pour significantly more funding into equipment for Iraqi security forces, according to a defense specialist familiar with the meetings.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/12/AR2006121200478.html
Bush Delays Speech on Iraq Strategy
Address on Policy Shift Postponed Until After Turn of Year
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 13, 2006; Page A12
Faced with a growing list of recommendations and a range of contradictory policy options from key advisers, President Bush yesterday delayed a planned announcement about a new strategy for the war in Iraq until the new year.
The administration had said the president would address the nation before Christmas but scrapped those plans as Bush grapples with a host of proposals for adjusting policy in the increasingly unpopular and costly war.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/13/opinion/13wed1.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Without Deliberate Speed
Published: December 13, 2006
The claims of calm deliberation emerging from the White House this week are maddening. The search for a new plan for Iraq seems to be taking place with as much urgency as the deliberations over a new color for the dollar bill.
In Baghdad yesterday, a suicide bomber killed at least 70 people, most of them Shiite laborers whose only sin was looking for work. In Washington, meanwhile, President Bush held a series of carefully stage-managed meetings with officials and outside experts whose common credential appeared to be their opposition to the recommendations of James Baker’s Iraq Study Group.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/12/AR2006121201270.html
Just Call Him Tony 'I Don't Know' Snow
By Dana Milbank
Wednesday, December 13, 2006; Page A02
To paraphrase Howard Baker's immortal question: What didn't Tony Snow know, and when didn't he know it?
The answer: A lot, and frequently.
When will President Bush roll out his new Iraq policy? "We do not know," Snow said at yesterday's White House briefing.
When did Bush decide to postpone the speech? "I don't know exactly when," the president's press secretary said again.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/OPINION01/612130327/1008
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Iraq needs reformed military to stabilize
Mohammed Alomari
A lmost every day we hear about how Iraq is spiraling quickly into the abyss of a bloody civil war and possible partition. Everyday hundreds of people are killed. How did this country get transformed into this ugly nightmare?
To truly appreciate what has happened in Iraq, consider this scenario:
Imagine one day waking up and finding out that our nation's leaders have dismantled all the police and military. As a result, there is not one policeman, or state or federal law enforcement agent, or even one National Guard or Army soldier to protect you from the criminal elements and terrorists. It would be total chaos.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MILITARY_RECRUITING?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Dec 12, 11:11 PM EST
Military meets, exceeds recruiting goals
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Though Americans are increasingly pessimistic about the war in Iraq, the Pentagon said Tuesday it is having success enlisting new troops. The Navy and Air Force met their recruiting goals last month while the Army and Marine Corps exceeded theirs, the Defense Department announced.
The Army, which is bearing the brunt of the work in Iraq, did the best. It signed up 6,485 new recruits in November compared with its target of 6,150 - meaning 105 percent of its goal.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/12/AR2006121201697.html
Army, Marine Corps To Ask for More Troops
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 13, 2006; Page A01
The Army and Marine Corps are planning to ask incoming Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Congress to approve permanent increases in personnel, as senior officials in both services assert that the nation's global military strategy has outstripped their resources.
In addition, the Army will press hard for "full access" to the 346,000-strong Army National Guard and the 196,000-strong Army Reserves by asking Gates to take the politically sensitive step of easing the Pentagon restrictions on the frequency and duration of involuntary call-ups for reservists, according to two senior Army officials.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121300081.html
Report: Saudis Warn They May Back Sunnis
The Associated Press
Wednesday, December 13, 2006; 1:43 AM
NEW YORK -- Saudi Arabia has warned it could decide to provide financial support to Iraqi Sunnis if the U.S. pulls its troops out of Iraq, where sectarian violence between the minority Sunnis and majority Iraqi Shiites has threatened to tear apart the country, The New York Times reported.
Saudi Arabia is a majority Sunni country and up to now has promised U.S. officials that it would not intervene to assist Iraq's Sunni insurgency, according to the report, appearing in Wednesday's edition of The Times and citing anonymous American and Arab diplomatic sources.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,,1970064,00.html
$20bn gas project seized by Russia
Cartoon: Kipper Williams's take
Check the latest share price
Terry Macalister, Tom Parfitt in Moscow
Tuesday December 12, 2006
The Guardian
Shell is being forced by the Russian government to hand over its controlling stake in the world's biggest liquefied gas project, provoking fresh fears about the Kremlin's willingness to use the country's growing strength in natural resources as a political weapon.
After months of relentless pressure from Moscow, the Anglo-Dutch company has to cut its stake in the $20bn Sakhalin-2 scheme in the far east of Russia in favour of the state-owned energy group Gazprom.
MIRS Capitol Capsule, Tuesday, December 12, 2006
John Reurink (517) 482-2125
Video Franchising Bill Headed To Gov
The video franchising bill shot through both legislative chambers and is headed to the governor in what will probably be the most important legislation passed during lame duck.
Gov. Jennifer GRANHOLM's Press Secretary Liz BOYD confirmed that the Governor will sign the bill, noting that at stake are more than 2,000 jobs being pledged by AT&T, who plan on getting into the video business after the bill is signed into law.
"It's good for competition and its good for Michigan jobs," Boyd said.
As expected, the final version of the video franchising bill (HB 6456) passed the Senate with very few changes to the version of the bill that came out of the Senate Committee on Government Operations (See "Video Franchising Deal Struck," 12/11/06). The most noticeable change in the final version of the Senate passed bill allows local governments to charge up to two percent, rather than one percent for PEG (public, educational governmental programming) channels.
HB 6456 creates a universal statewide franchise fee so that cable and video service providers no longer have to enter into separate franchising contracts with every local unit of government.
The PEG channel agreement is the most noticeable difference between the bill that moved out of the Senate Committee on Government Operations and the one that passed the whole Senate 26-12. HB 6456 passed the House 86-12.
The bill has provided constant work for Lansing's multi-client lobbying firms since it was introduced early this year and has inflamed different groups along every step in the process.
Although today's version earned bi-partisan and gubernatorial sign-off, it left a few factions behind. The Michigan Municipal League (MML), the Michigan Townships Association, Access Vision (a cable provider in Battle Creek) and the state chapter of the Alliance for Community Media are not supportive of the bill.
The groups have varying reasons for remaining opposed to the bill. Local governments are opposed to it because the bill allows cable companies such as Comcast to rip up their existing contracts as long as they agree to a new, statewide contract.
Locals are concerned this will cut into their franchising profits. They're also concerned that AT&T and other video providers will be able to cherry pick consumers and avoid providing service to areas of low profitability.
Internet giant Google also remained opposed because of the "net neutrality" issue. They argued that without certain provision written into the bill, Internet providers could block certain Web sites from consumers who pay for lower levels of service.
However, Google brought its cards to the table too late and a work group that was comprised of Sen. Wayne KUIPERS (R-Holland), Senate Majority Leader Ken SIKKEMA (R-Wyoming), Sen. Buzz THOMAS (D-Detroit) and Sen. Mark SCHAUER (D-Battle Creek) agreed that net neutrality should be dealt with separately.
Sen. Patty BIRKHOLZ (R-Saugatuck Twp.) and Sen. Gilda JACOBS (D-Huntington Woods) each submitted amendments to the bill that would have addressed the net neutrality issue, but then withdrew their amendments, suggesting that the issue be dealt with next session in its own bill.
Boyd said the Governor supports net neutrality and would like to address it in a separate bill next year.
Senators tried to add 16 different amendments to the bill, but the one that garnered the most discussion was a doomed Sen. Nancy CASSIS (R-Novi) proposal to force cable companies to wait until another competitor gets at least five percent of the market until they can scrap their current franchising contract.
Cassis argued that her amendment would ensure that the bill does exactly what it's intended to do, which is to open up competition in the video market. She said without her amendment, it can't be guaranteed that competition exists in a market.
Kuipers and Thomas both disagreed with Cassis. After telling Senators that he's always been an advocate for local government, Thomas said this about Cassis' amendment:
"I do not share their (local government's) belief that the sky is falling should this bill pass," Thomas said. "This bill is about creating an environment that is free from regulation and makes it easy for new companies to come in and invest in Michigan."
Kuipers said Cassis' amendment would undo the entire bill because it would not create a level playing field, which is what the bill does because it gets rid of old contracts and lets every provider start from scratch at the same level.
Cassis introduced a similar amendment when the bill was in the Senate Government Operations Committee. Both the amendment she introduced in the committee and the amendment she introduced on the floor failed.
Sen. Tom GEORGE (R-Texas Twp.) introduced several amendments that dealt with PEG channels and in-kind services. Schauer, Thomas and Kuipers agreed that George's amendments were covered in the bill and urged members to vote against them.
All of George's amendments failed with the exception of one that clearly states local governments will get paid for franchise fees on a quarterly basis.
The following Senators voted against the bill: Sens. Jacobs, George, Martha G. SCOTT (D-Detroit), Ray BASHAM (D-Taylor), Liz BRATER (D-Ann Arbor), Irma CLARK-COLEMAN (D-Detroit), Ron JELINEK (R-Three Oaks), Dennis OLSHOVE (D-Warren), Bruce PATTERSON (R-Canton), Mike PRUSI (D-Ishpeming) and Gerry VAN WOERKOM (R-Muskegon).
AT&T is pleased with the bill as passed and is urging the Governor to sign it. AT&T made the following statement about the passage of HB 6456:
"Once HB 6456 becomes law, we stand ready to deliver on our commitment to bring $620 million in new broadband investment and 2,000 new, full-time, high tech jobs to Michigan by 2009. The new investment and jobs will allow us to deploy next-generation broadband and video technologies to Michigan consumers and provide them with a new alternative to traditional television programming.
"By passing HB 6456, Michigan lawmakers have created an environment that promotes competition, new investment and technological innovation. Because of their actions, our great state is poised to join a pro-consumer reform trend that is spreading across the country."
Dillon On Cushingberry: 'We'll See'
Today, House Speaker-elect Andy DILLON (D-Redford Twp.) told MIRS he's taking a wait-and-see attitude on what, if any, impact felony perjury charges would have on whether Rep. George CUSHINGBERRY (D-Detroit) will continue to be considered a candidate for House Appropriations Committee Chair.
Well-placed sources have told MIRS that Cushingberry was promised the House Appropriations chairmanship in a deal that brought over key votes for Dillon in his caucus election. However, Cushingberry is charged with perjury in connection with his 2004 campaign filings. A hearing on the charges is scheduled for Dec. 19.
Dillon's remarks came in response to a question posed by MIRS during an interview. Other portions of the interview will be published in upcoming editions. The following are a few excerpts:
Q. In regard to Rep. George Cushingberry, would a conviction affect the possibility that he'd be chosen House Appropriation Committee chair?
A. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. If it ends up being just a minor misdemeanor it probably wouldn't have much effect. We've talked with George about it and I think he's comfortable with the situation.
By the way, he's just one possible nominee. No one has been named as chair of any of the committees, yet. At this point, we haven't even defined what the committees are that we're going to have.
Q. Do you believe the replacement for the Single Business Tax (SBT) should be revenue neutral?
A. I think it probably has to be — but I'm open to ideas. I'd love to provide a tax cut but, based on what we're hearing about the budget situation, I think it probably has to be revenue neutral. But the Republicans did maintain control of the Senate, so probably we will have to some sort of compromise.
Q. What about the idea of finding some way so both sides can claim victory on the SBT replacement and then do the real reforming outside of the replacement?
A. Actually that's where I am. We keep doing all of this fighting over $1.9 billion of a $40 billion budget. But full replacement of the SBT still won't fix the state's structural deficit.
House Halves U's, College Projects
The House Appropriations Committee today chopped down half of the Senate's recommended Capital Outlay budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 by scratching nearly all of the additional college and university projects the upper chamber had tacked on to Gov. Jennifer GRANHOLM's original proposal.
Under the House version of SB 1081, the Senate's $700 million Christmas tree of 13 university and 22 community college projects was significantly trimmed to six university and 11 community college projects costing a combined $365 million.
The House's recommendations actually look a lot like the version of SB 1081 Senate Appropriations Chair Shirley JOHNSON's (R-Troy) put forward before her Senate colleagues decorated it with more than 20 projects from their respective districts.
Like Johnson's original bill, the $70 million library for Grand Valley State University, which Senate Majority Leader Ken SIKKEMA (R-Wyoming) would like to see, made the House version, as did a $28 million health services building for Saginaw Valley State University, which is located in the home district of Senate Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Mike GOSCHKA (R-Brant).
Governor-recommended projects for Eastern Michigan, Lake Superior State, Northern Michigan and Oakland universities, which had been in the Senate version, also made the House bill. The only Governor-recommended university project not in the House version is the $6 million Teacher Preparation and Facility/Child Development Center at the University of Michigan Dearborn.
On the community college side, the House agreed with the Governor on including projects for Delta, Grand Rapids Community, Kalamazoo Valley Community, Lake Michigan, Mott Community, Muskegon Community, North Central Michigan, Oakland Community, St. Clair County Community and Wayne County Community colleges. The House scrapped $12.2 million in technology and infrastructure renovations at Henry Ford Community College, $4 million in renovations at Kellogg Community College and $2.2 million in renovations at Monroe County Community College.
Instead, the House put into its budget $3.9 million in student center renovations at Bay de Noc Community College.
House Appropriations Chair Scott HUMMEL (R-DeWitt) said he wore his Grinch tie today in recognition that he'd be seen as the bad guy for saying no to many worthy projects. He noted that the Governor's proposed list of projects was based on those schools that didn't see a new project in the last fiscal year. Also, the Senate's proposal would over shoot the state's $2.7 billion bond cap. The House proposal gives the state $470 to $490 million in bond cap room.
But Rep. George CUSHINGBERRY Jr. (D-Detroit) and other Democrats argued that the state needs to increase its spending on these vital university projects to keep Michigan moving forward in the advanced science fields, a field the state has targeted as economic jobs maker in the future.
"We shouldn't punt. We should move the ball down the field," said Rep. Chris KOLB (D-Ann Arbor).
In other action on the Capital Outlay budget, the Senate had halved the amount of money the administration could recommend for its new economic development-minded local projects from $100 million to $50 million.
The House not only increased the amount to $65 million but included some potential projects for this new state building authority money — the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Grand Rapids arts museum, Detroit's Hart plaza, the high throughput screening project at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, the Midland baseball stadium project, Traverse City's Opera House/Connie Binsfield Theater, the hanger project at Oscoda's Wurtsmith airport, the Arab American Museum, Grand Rapids' John Ball Zoo, the Grand Rapids amphitheater and MichBio.
The House also kept a provision in the bill that bans the Department of Transportation (MDOT) from spending another penny on the Detroit River crossing project and bans the state from participating in a proposal to bring the Michigan State Police (MSP) to downtown Lansing at a structure known around town as the "Triangle Property."
Rep. Mike MURPHY (D-Lansing) tried to get the Triangle project prohibition language taken off the bill. He argued that the MSP director is in support of the project and the state should not shackle itself from being open to a project that's important to downtown Lansing's redevelopment efforts.
Hummel expressed skepticism. He noted that the MSP currently only pays $1 a year for its facility. And since the department was one of three departments to overspend its FY 2006 budget, it probably wouldn't be wise to add new leasing costs onto its obviously strapped budget.
In another budget-cutting move, the House said no to the administration's proposed $17.5 million transportation center for MDOT, the Michigan Intelligent Transportation System (MITS), the MSP, SMART and Greyhound.
Several other amendments were offered to put projects at Ferris State University, Jackson Community College, Washtenaw Community College, the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Southwestern College and Schoolcraft Community colleges on the drawing board. None received significant support.
Rep. John PASTOR (R-Livonia) proposed a "work harmony" amendment designed to put union and non-union workers on the same footing for state-funded infrastructure projects. The proposal died from the lack of a second.
Term Limits Among Constitutional Changes Pitched
With Michigan voters facing a choice in 2010 on whether to call for a Constitutional Convention, a group of private citizens and public officials have come out with a bi-partisan series of recommendations on how the state's existing constitution could be improved upon.
The most controversial of the recommendations is a suggestion to change the state's 1992 voter-approved term limits to apply a 12-year limit to the House, Senate and the Governor as well as the Secretary of State and the Attorney General.
"Let's talk about the real world," said John HERTEL. "I cannot imagine Mike ILLITCH, after the third Stanley Cup, walking into the locker room and saying 'Well, you're all out of here.'"
The group also argued that it's far too easy for outside groups to try out new ideas in Michigan because the petition signature threshold for constitutional amendments is too low. They noted that Michigan is one of three states with large populations (more than 7.5 million) that allow a constitutional amendment to be placed before voters with a 5 percent signature requirement.
The net result — well-funded groups come in from out-of-state and try to implement government changes. An example was this year's Stop Overspending (SOS) campaign.
One possible solution is requiring voter-initiated constitutional amendments to be approved in back-to-back general elections, which is something the state of Massachusetts has done.
Former Attorney General Frank KELLEY noted that some of the motives behind some suggested amendments and initiated laws aren't pure.
"A lot of these politically noble ideas are thought up by scumbags," Kelley remarked.
Other recommendations include:
- Eliminating the state Natural Resources and the Agriculture commissions and allowing the governor to appoint her entire cabinet
- Allowing the governor to appoint members of the State Board of Education and the governing boards of the state's three largest universities, subject to advice and consent of the State Senate and a partisan balance. Currently, members of the State Board of Education, regents of the University of Michigan, trustees of Michigan State University and governors of Wayne State University are elected.
- Allow the governor to appoint Supreme Court Justices to a single 10-year term with partisan balance on the high court
- Levy an additional statewide mill to fund school district building programs that over time would reduce bonding mills at the local level
- Eliminate super-majority voting requirements spelled out in the constitution. Banking code amendments were one example of voting requirements.
- Eliminate restrictions on local taxation, particularly for transportation
- Eliminate the Headlee rollback provision in Article IX, Section 31
- Eliminate the ability of non-Michiganders to gather signatures to amend Michigan's constitution, or at least require back-to-back general election voter approval in order to amend the state constitute as is required in other states
- Alter language regarding local elected official recalls so that the only reason for recall would be malfeasance or misfeasance
- Allow the governor the option of a "pocket-veto"
Rick SIMONSON, who served as secretary for the group, said that twice Michigan voters have been faced with the ballot question of whether to hold a constitutional convention without any information.
"Michigan voters have been faced with this question twice before without any real information," Simonson said. "Our goal was to prepare a set of potential issues, possible solutions, and then to get out of the way and let the people and their elected officials decide what to do."
Some of the names whose input into the recommendations put forward by Citizens for Michigan read much like a who's who among Michigan political circles. Advisors included: John AXE, an expert in municipal finance and an instructor at Wayne State University School of Law; Madge BERMAN; former Sen. Dan DeGROW; David DIEGEL; Debbie DINGELL; Robert ELEVELD; former Sen. Harry GAST; Hertel; former House Speaker Paul HILLEGONDS; former Rep. Mick MIDDAUGH; Shelley PADNOS; Harriet ROTTER; Harold SCHUITMAKER; U.S. Rep. Joe SCHWARZ (R-Battle Creek); Phil POWER and former U.S. Rep. Paul TODD.
Simonson said that over the past three and a half years, the group has met in full committee or subcommittees at least once a month. During their project, they went through the constitution clause-by-clause and discussed whether any change was needed.
Constitutional advisors helped the Citizens for Michigan board members better understand the workings of each section. Advisors included the likes of Dr. Michael ADDONIZIO; Bill ANDERSON; Patricia BOYLE; Tom CLEARY; Doug DRAKE; Bob LaBRANT; Mike HODGES; Robert ORTWEIN; Lucille TAYLOR; Tom WHITE and many others.
The complete report of the group can be found on-line at http://citizens4mi.wordpress.com/
Bio-Tech Experts Label Michigan As Tier 2 State
Michigan is a "good" second-tier state on the life sciences front and whether it stays there, joins California and North Carolina at the top level or slides down the ladder depends on the state's long-term commitment to the effort, life science experts told attendees at a bio-tech industry conference in Lansing today.
Pfizer Senior Vice President David CANTER and MichiBio Executive Director Stephen RAPUNDALO told the media at the afternoon forum that Michigan needs to foster a positive atmosphere for bio-tech business expansion and that doesn't necessary mean cutting business taxes down to nothing.
On the state government front, it means focusing on ways to expand venture capital options for start-up enterprises, resisting efforts to eliminate Michigan's unique drug immunity law and opening the door to more stem cell research options.
"There is a need to be persistent," said Jeff MASON, senior vice president for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). "This is a marathon, not a sprint."
North Carolina is a national leader on the life science technology front. It's there because leaders in the Raleigh/Durham area have been working in this field since 1959, Mason said. While the $1 billion in 21st Century Jobs money is helpful, Canter and Rapundalo warned that the effort will be for naught if Michigan isn't willing to be innovative with their public policies.
Canter particularly mentioned Michigan's unique law that makes it difficult for consumers to sue pharmaceutical companies if their U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved products seriously hurt or kill a patient. House Democrats campaigned on the issue in the 2006 election and likely won at least one House seat because of it.
Canter warned that Michigan was forward thinking when it adopted this tactic to end what tend to be frivolous lawsuits. The state has a choice between continuing to be a leader by keeping the proposal on the books or it can "drop back into the pack."
On efforts to create a new business tax, Rapundalo said Michigan doesn't necessarily need the nation's lowest taxes to lure life science companies. More importantly are how the taxes go after a company's debt and how a company's equipment is taxed, be it as an asset or through the personal property tax.
"Taxes and death are inevitable," Canter said. "We realize that. But as long as they are broad based and fair, they won't be an issue."
He also added that allowing embryonic stem cell research also would be a big step in opening the door to possible start-up companies.
Today's forum brought together around 100 biotechnology executives, venture capitalists, academicians, policymakers and business leaders from across the state to discuss the current and future state of Michigan's biotech and life science industry.
Academics from Michigan's research universities and representatives from the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry emphasized the importance of creating a working partnership among business, higher education and state government. The event was held at the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and was sponsored by MichBio, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).
Audit: $19M Missed In Uncollected Taxes
The Department of Treasury isn't making sure businesses are paying all of its taxes, a situation resulting in more than $19 million not being collected from Jan. 1, 2005 to June 30, 2005, according to a Auditor General report released today.
The report labeled as "moderately effective" the efforts of Treasury's Customer Contact Division (CCD) at making sure businesses are paying its Single Business Tax (SBT) and sales use and withholding (SUW) business registration fees. The audit was conducted from May through December 2005, but the Auditor General looked at the department's activities from Oct. 1, 2002 through July 31, 2005.
One finding said that the CCD did not have a system to figure out whether businesses registered with the state so they can pay the SBT. Instead, it relies on companies to be honest, according to the Auditor General.
To figure out how the non-registered businesses are affecting the amount of SBT collections, the Auditor General looked at the department's database between Jan. 1, 2005 and June 30, 2005 and then compared the businesses listed in that database to the businesses with federal employer identification numbers (FEINs).
During that six-month period, 7,200 business had FEINs, but were not registered with the department. Of these businesses, 1,700 of them made payments to Treasury while 5,500 did not.
The Auditor General estimated that the 5,500 businesses that hadn't made any payments probably generated around $615 million and as a result, should have paid $19 million in employee income tax withholdings and undeterminable amount from sales, use or SBT taxes.
The department also received $16.8 million from April 2004 to July 2005 from unregistered businesses, but never tried to register the approximately 5,100 unregistered businesses that paid the taxes.
The department agreed with the Auditor General's findings and is developing a process to find and register businesses that should be paying the taxes, according to the Auditor General's report.
The Auditor General also found that the department paid about $1.5 million in interest from Jan. 1, 2004 to Dec. 31, 2004 because it did not send out tax refunds in a timely manner. The department said that since that time, it has significantly reduced backlogs of refunds.
The Auditor General also noted that the department didn't make sure employees couldn't have access to the system after they'd left the department. The department said its implemented new security measures to address this problem.
Highly Qualified Teachers Rank High In Michigan Schools
Only 98 of Michigan's 789 school districts have less than 90 percent highly qualified teachers in their schools, according to a report on Teacher Quality provided today to the State Board of Education. There are 284 school districts with 100 percent highly qualified teachers.
Dr. Flora JENKINS, of the Department of Education's Office of Professional Preparation Services, told State Board members the report is a requirement of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, that only 22 school districts have less than 80 percent of their teachers as highly qualified for their assignments.
Jenkins said those school districts are the highest priority for the Department of Education to assure that they reach the 100 percent goal.
Weiser To Continue In Advisory Capacity
Eileen WEISER, who was defeated in her bid for a second eight-year term on the State Board of Education in the November election, will continue in a volunteer advisory capacity serving on the 23-member Teacher Preparation Policy Study Group (TPPSG).
State Superintendent Mike FLANAGAN initiated the formation of the group in August to provide recommendations for policies relating to the teacher preparation requirements in Michigan.
A recognition luncheon was held for Weiser today at which time Board member Reginald TURNER who was victorious in his bid for an eight-year term, said he didn't vote for himself, but voted for both Eileen and Cassandra ULRICH, who replaces Weiser because they were both highly qualified to serve.
In a kidding response, Flanagan told Turner, “Now that the secret is out, you should know that I and the entire Board of Education staff also voted for Eileen and Cassandra.”
Bishop Names Staff
Senate Majority Leader-elect Mike BISHOP (R-Rochester) this week announced the second part of his key staff selections.
As reported Friday in MIRS, Bishop appointed Matt MINER to serve as his chief of staff (See "Minor To Be Bishop's COS," 12/08/06).
Other key appointments include:
- Cami PENDELL as deputy chief of staff/legislative director. Pendell is leaving her job as the director of the Office of the President for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan. Her legislative experience includes working in both the House and Senate as Legislative Assistant for former Senate Majority Leader Dick POSTHUMUS and as Chief of Staff and Legislative Director for former House Majority Floor Leader Andrew RACZKOWSKI.
- Carmel ROBERTS as deputy chief of staff and director of policy/communications. Roberts is leaving her post as General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Government for the Michigan Association of Insurance Agents. She previously worked for the Department of State as Legislative Director and in the House of Representatives as Policy Analyst and Assistant Majority Counsel. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and Law Degree from Cooley Law School.
- Matt MARSDEN as director of external affairs. Marsden most recently served as Chief of Staff for U.S. Rep. Joe SCHWARZ (R-Battle Creek). His previous employment includes presidential advance work for the President George W. BUSH campaign work for the Gordon C. James Public Relations firm in Washington D.C., and as owner of MSM Consulting. He began his career in Gov. John ENGLER's constituent relations office.
Ode To Drolet
Today, among the farewell addresses given on the House floor, was that of Rep. Leon DROLET (R-Clinton Twp.) In an unusual move, House Majority Floor Leader Chris WARD (R-Brighton) introduced Drolet with a poem. He prefaced the poem by calling on Drolet to get back to his seat and away from the news media desk.
The poem was as followed:
I dedicate this poem to the honorable Leon Drolet
One of the most conservative guys I've ever met
A political junkyard dog from the county of Macomb
That rough and tumble environment that he calls home
He began his career working for a guy named Dave JAYE
I wonder if Leon had to post bail for him from his pay
At first people thought Leon's rhetoric was a little wild
Then came Brandenburg and Garfield and now he looks mild
If you're looking for Leon look by the press table
His goal? To get his name in print as much as he is able
His mornings are spent plotting a way
Of getting the MIRS Quote of the Day
Never give him secrets. He's never quiet as a mouse
Leon has the honorary title of Leaker of the House
On the floor Leon has to sow down his bomb-throwing fun
A side effect of supporting a Speaker candidate who actually won
Here's a secret about this suburban taxpayer fighter
I have witnessed Leon Drolet as a mass transit rider
The County Commission of Macomb is in for a treat
Sadly for us, without Leon, this House won't seem complete.
GONGWER- Volume #45, Report #237 --Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Larry Lee (517) 482-3500
CABLE BILL GOES TO GOVERNOR WHO WILL SIGN IT
A compromise cable TV franchise bill, that boosts public access fees cable companies pay but does not deal with the question of local contract abrogation or of Internet neutrality, passed the Senate on a 26-12 vote on Tuesday.
The compromise on HB 6456
"We support the bill. We think it's good for consumers and for jobs," said Ms. Granholm's spokesperson, Liz Boyd.
Rep. Mike Nofs (R-Battle Creek) said those that supported the bill over its long controversial road still supported the measure and those that opposed it still opposed the measure.
After nearly a year's work in the House before the measure passed a week after the November election, the Senate moved the bill through in less than a month after a bipartisan group began discussing provisions that would reach agreement.
Under the bill, cable television providers would now get a statewide agreement instead of individual franchises for each community in the state.
Supporters have argued that the measure would provide greater competition and potentially lower costs to cable television subscribers statewide, but opponents charged that under the bill rural, less populated areas may not get access to service and local governments would lose funding.
AT&T, expected to be the company which would take the greatest advantage of the new franchising system, has said it would add as many 2,000 new employees if the measure passed.
And in a press release, AT&T executives praised passage of the bill, saying it would assure investment of as much as $620 million in the state by 2009.
But supporters of the bill did not win without at least having to debate the different contentious points, especially on the issue of abrogating local contracts.
Sen. Nancy Cassis (R-Novi) supported an amendment, which failed 11-22, which would have barred cable providers from ending local agreements until a competitor has signed up at least 5 percent of the households in the community as subscribers.
That provision would assure that local governments are not left out in the cold in terms of revenues, and probably help hasten the development of competition.
But Sen. Michael Switalski (D-Roseville) said the provision would have cable companies competing on a different basis, which would not be fair.
Two senators, Sen. Patricia Birkholz (R-Saugatuck) and Sen. Gilda Jacobs (D-Huntington Woods) both proposed amendments guaranteeing net neutrality, but withdrew them in favor of standalone legislation that should come in the 94th Legislature.
Net neutrality had not been raised as an issue as part of the bill before Google brought it out late last month. Ms. Birkholz said she would prefer the issue be dealt with federally, but Congress adjourned without action so the state should ensure neutrality at some point.
The issue has captured the attention of both liberal and conservative groups who are all concerned without a statutory guarantee that their web content could cost more or be sidetracked in favor of content sponsored by an Internet carrier.
Ms. Boyd said Ms. Granholm supports the idea of net neutrality but because jobs were at stake, felt the issue should be dealt with separately.
The major difference between the substitute passed by the Senate Tuesday compared to the version of the bill approved by the Government Operations Committee last week is that the fee cable providers would have to pay for public access and educational programs would be 2 percent of a customer's bill as opposed to 1 percent.
ROLL CALL: Here is the Senate roll call on HB 6456:
REPUBLICANS YES (18): Allen, Birkholz, Bishop, Brown, Cassis, Cropsey, Garcia, Gilbert, Goschka, Hammerstrom, Hardiman, Johnson, Kuipers, McManus, Sanborn, Sikkema, Stamas, Toy.
DEMOCRATS YES (8): Barcia, Cherry, Emerson, Leland, Schauer, Switalski, Thomas, Whitmer.
REPUBLICANS NO (4): George, Jelinek, Patterson, and Van Woerkom.
DEMOCRATS NO (8): Basham, Brater, Clark-Coleman, Clarke, Jacobs, Olshove, Prusi, Scott.
GROUP, FOCUSING ON TERM LIMITS, TAXES, EYES CON-CON
Extended term limits, gubernatorial appointment of all cabinet members plus appointment of Supreme Court justices and university boards and tighter controls on voter-initiated changes to the constitution are among the ideas put forth by a bipartisan group seeking to jump start discussion of changing Michigan's 43-year-old constitution.
The Citizens for Michigan report is the product of months of review of the current constitution, the amendments that have been adopted since it was adopted in 1962, and issues that have developed through amendments and the changing political environment.
Voters must next decide whether to call a new constitutional convention in 2010, and the group is supporting a move at that time, and some members of the group hope the Legislature will take up some of its key recommendations even before that date.
John Axe, an instructor at the Wayne State University School of Law and chair of the group, said, "The whole purpose in doing this and laying it out is to get the discussion started. We don't see our work as the end of anything; it may be the beginning of something."
Meeting since 2003, Citizens for Michigan included current and former elected officials from all branches of government representing both major political parties, judges, experts from academia and legal advisors to three governors. In the two elections since the constitution was adopted, voters have spurned their regular opportunities to call for a new convention, defeating it with 77 percent and 72 percent of the vote in 1978 and 1994.
Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said, "We assembled a 'Dream Team' of the best minds on government - Republicans and Democrats, elected officials and ordinary citizens - to go through our constitution with a fine comb and see where the snarls are. These recommendations offer the entire state a starting point from which to begin discussions on whether and how Michigan's constitution should be improved."
Former Attorney General Frank Kelley, now a partner in the Kelley/Hawthorne law/lobbying firm, said the recommendations were "apolitical" and designed to get a better document.
The group identified term limits as a key constitutional issue, a change that was initiated by voters, and said it should not be as easy to propose amendments. It suggested either banning out of state interests from gathering signatures or requiring such proposals to be approved at two successive general elections to be added to the constitution.
Mr. Axe said of the major states, Michigan has "by far" the easiest procedures to propose amendments to the constitution (requiring 10 percent of the number of persons who cast votes for all candidates for governor at the prior election, or 380,125 for the ballots in 2008 and 2010.) That means the state is a target for national groups looking to advance a cause in high profile states, he said.
He said activity on the amendment front has been increasing in the last several years, and only court action stopped some proposals such as a new spending limit that would have increased the words in the constitution by 50 percent. Only 15 states allow voter-initiated proposed amendments, Mr. Axe said.
The group, which did not seriously discuss a part-time Legislature, recommends a 12-year limit for each office currently governed by term limits (8 years for the governor, attorney general, secretary of state and Senate members and 6 years for House members).
It also recommended a single 10-year limit for Supreme Court justices and for Court of Appeals judges, who would be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. Elected justices and judges, who run for re-election with an incumbency designation, have no limits on how many terms they can serve, but cannot be elected to a new term after age 70?
Rick Simonson, a retired school administrator who has worked in all three branches of government, said he was one of the members who hope the Legislature begin dealing with the recommendations without waiting for the next call for a Con-Con.
"While we concur with the fact that there should be term limits, if we're going to pay for experience with our elected officials, then we should let them use that experience," former Sen. John Hurtle said. He said the current limit for members of the state House mean that "you're either asking the second most powerful person in the state (the speaker) to be someone with two years experience, or someone who is instantly a lame duck."
Paul Jacob, a senior fellow for the Glenview, Illinois-based U.S. Term Limits which led the push for Michigan's limits, said the recommendation to extend the limits to 12 years would "gut" the provision. "I'm sure that at a lot of cocktail parties in Lansing, it's a big hit, but it's dead on arrival with the people of Michigan," he said. "Any time a convention is called to gut term limits, and that is a gutting, it would reinstate the seniority system and cause officials to be arrogant."
He said leaders should "scheme up ways to make the state better" rather than trying to figure out how to stay in power. "This is their idea after the election, and they want to take the one idea the people feel the strongest about and destroy it," Mr. Jacob said.
He said the recommendation to make it harder for voters to initiate proposed amendments demonstrate that the group is "afraid of the people they intend to serve and it's sad."
Mr. Simonson said, "We know the populists will be concerned about taking away rights of citizens to vote, but rather than a partisan approach, we were talking about what was the best government." Members of the group said that the current system does not foster a deep discussion of changes in the constitution because they often reach the ballot close to the election when voters are focused on a wide array of candidate concerns.
Another major concern is the interlocking of the Head lee tax limitation amendment and the Proposal a school finance provisions adopted in 1994. The group recommended eliminating the provision to rollback property tax rates when revenues rise at rates greater than inflation and always establish the school foundation allowance guaranteed to each district the amount that was set the prior year.
The group addressed one issue omitted in Proposal A by recommending a statewide property tax of 1 mill, generating $300 million-$400 million, for a pool from which schools could tap for building and other infrastructure needs. Mr. Simonson said the tax could be partially offset by the reduced taxes required by school districts.
Also on the tax front, the group recommended local governments be given the option of levying taxes for roads and mass transit systems, allowing the possibility of local toll roads, and allowing an option for multi-county or regional transportation departments instead of county road commissions.
"The transportation issue is very significant," said Mr. Axe. "There is no ability today to get local taxation for this and without this we will not get a comprehensive system, whether it be roads or mass transit."
Other tax recommendations include removing the 4 percent limit on sales tax rates, eliminating the requirement for a three-fourths majority of the Legislature to approve increases in school property taxes, and addressing inequities that developed over time by limiting tax increases on residential property until it is sold.
Transportation, education and mental health are the likeliest areas that are in "serious jeopardy" because of under funding with the current constitution, Mr. Simonson said.
Other recommendations include:
- Gubernatorial appointment to replace a lieutenant governor who dies or vacates the office;
- A pocket veto (allowed now only after the Legislature adjourns sine die);
- Gubernatorial appointment of all cabinet members, including the Superintendent of Public Instruction, director of Agriculture and director of Natural Resources, and elimination of the Natural Resources Commission, the Commission on Agriculture and Transportation Commission.
- Gubernatorial appointment instead of election of the State Board of Education and governing boards of the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University.
- Allow recall of local officials only for non-political reasons such as misfeasance or malfeasance and barring recall at all when less than two years remain in a term.
- Eliminate all supermajorities to pass laws (such as changes in banking laws and to pass local laws).
PANEL SCALES BACK PROJECT FUNDING FOR COLLEGES
The capital outlay budget contains project funding for just six universities and 11 community colleges under the version approved by the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday - a much more scaled down bill compared to the Senate's, which included funding for all the universities save Wayne State University and 19 community colleges.
The Senate-passed version of SB 1081
Wearing a tie appropriately featuring the Grins, Appropriations Chair Rep. Scott Hummel (R-DeWitt) said lobbyists had done their due diligence in trying to get their respective institutions' projects attached to the bill, but there is only so much capacity in bonding and the House wanted to leave a $100 million cushion in case of emergency.
A few members questioned whether they couldn't increase the approximately $470 million cap, but Mr. Hummel said that would only add more debt to the general fund in the future and unlike in the mid-1990s when that tactic was used, the state does not have the revenues incoming to support that kind of measure. But the House later discharged from Appropriations HB 6660
The largest spending provisions in the bill are for projects at Eastern Michigan University, Grand Valley State University, Lake Superior State University, Northern Michigan University, Oakland University and Saginaw Valley State University, which total $240.7 million of which $180.5 million is in state spending. The universities will chip in $60.1 million. The Senate had approved $459.1 million in state spending for university projects.
The bill also includes $167.6 million, compared to $129.8 million passed by the Senate, which is split evenly between the state and community colleges, for projects at Bay de No, Delta, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo Valley, Lake Michigan, Mott, Muskegon, North Central, Oakland, St. Clair County and Wayne County.
The governor's recommendation approved spending for five state universities totaling $103.2 million and for 14 community colleges totaling $91.1 million.
Appropriations' members also concurred in Senate changes that prohibit the Department of Transportation from spending funds on a new crossing over the Detroit River as well as deletion of a $17.5 million integrated transportation service center in Detroit.
The budget bill also includes spending for a variety of waterway, parks and roadway projects.
The House committee also concurred in Senate changes to boilerplate that require watchtowers at maximum correctional facilities and requiring the Joint Capital Outlay Subcommittee to approve correctional facility sites. The bill also increases the state funded share cap for the regional economic development initiative from $50 million to $65 million and identifies the institutions that will be given preference for the projects.
Members offered several amendments, but were either withdrawn or failed to gain support by the panel. One of those, funding for the Triangle Project that relates to a new State Police Post in downtown Lansing, will be addressed further, Mr. Hummel assured.
Rep. Rich Brown (D-Bessemer), the top ranking Democrat on the committee, said he was concerned that the administration had not weighed in fully on the bill and that projects that were left out of the last budget were not all being addressed in the supplemental, but still he would vote for the bill to go to the floor.
Rep. George Cushingberry (D-Detroit), who voted against the bill, said that he was tired of the constant barrage against Wayne County and that part of the reason other states have prospered is not because of tax cuts but because infrastructure was invested in by the state.
And Rep. Michael Sak (D-Grand Rapids), while happy GAS and Grand Rapids would be seeing their projects funded, asked what criterion was being used to choose what projects were funded. Mr. Hummel said that the process is subjective and that there may be a better way, but he added, "I leave that to the House Democrats to figure out."
CASWELL: LAWMAKERS SHOULD BE AT TABLE OF LONG-TERM CARE
As the state moves forward in addressing the long-term care needs of its Medicaid population, lawmakers should be part of those discussions, Rep. Bruce Caswell (R-Hillsdale), chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Community Health said Tuesday.
Mr. Caswell said that the point of having the subcommittee meet was to inquire about the program because he did not feel lawmakers had been involved in discussions, but that he hoped that would change and continue on with the subcommittee under new Democratic leadership.
Mr. Caswell also asked that the state do better with long-term care than it did with the Michigan's mental health population, which can be done by making sure more people are at the table even before the state applies for a federal 1915 B and C waiver.
The state is in the beginning stages of addressing this cause, said Mike Head, director of the state's long term care office, and is contacting other states that have instituted similar programs. But Mr. Head emphasized the newness of the program, saying that even in some states with a long-term care setup have not rolled out their programs statewide yet.
Mr. Caswell said that before a waiver is sought that the administration should get a handle on how much cost will be associated with the program, as well as more information about the needs of the Medicaid population and what the consumer outcomes have been for other programs that already have been instituted such as PACE.
Mr. Head said the long-term care connection sites planned will help the state gather more accurate information about the needs of the population and a feasibility study is going to be required to understand the future costs. But Mr. Head also said that long-term care would save the system in the long run.
"We are talking about a choice-driven model," he said.
AUDIT: SLOW TAX REFUNDS COST STATE $1.5 MILLION
Michigan spent an extra $1.5 million in 2004 paying out interest to taxpayers because the Department of Treasury didn't issue tax refunds on time, said a report released this week by the Auditor General.
The law requires the department to issue a refund within 45 days of filing or to include interest along with the refund payment.
In more than 60 percent of cases that year, refunds were issued late, causing a needless expenditure, said the audit of the department's customer contact process, which covered the period of October 2002 through July 2005.
Auditors said the department should process the refunds on time and the department agreed, adding that the year 2004 presented specific financial constraints, causing lower staffing and elimination of overtime, resulting in a backlog of returns.
It said it has since significantly reduced backlogs of business tax refunds.
The report also found that 5,100 businesses weren't listed with the department as businesses with tax liability in the state.
From April 2004 through July 2005, the state received nearly $17 million in Single Business Tax and other payments from unregistered businesses.
It recorded the payments properly but failed to seek the legally required registration.
Auditors recommended that the department develop a process for recognizing unregistered businesses and getting them registered.
The department agreed with the recommendations made by auditors and said it has begun improvements to its process.
BIOSCIENCE FORUM SHOWS OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH
A forum Tuesday in Lansing brought together biotechnology executives, venture capitalists, academicians, policymakers and business leaders to discuss opportunities to increase the state's biotechnology sector.
The group particularly discussed the need for partnerships between business and universities to develop new businesses and to provide assistance to those already in existence.
"It's critical that we create an environment in Michigan that fosters economic growth for Michigan's biotech and life science industry that helps all companies - from the hundreds of small biotech start-ups to the large, international pharmaceutical researchers, all of whom call Michigan home." said Stephen Roundel, executive director of Mitch Bio, which sponsored the conference. "To create this environment, we must call on state lawmakers to support policies that will continue to help this industry flourish and give Michigan a strong competitive edge."
