Emergency Managers: Not just for black cities anymore As I wrote last week, tiny Suttons Bay in the “Pinky” of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula is facing the imposition of an Emergency Manager for their school district. This past week they held a community budget forum to discuss the issue. Here is video of the 90+ minute forum: You can see the […]

Collective Bargaining Contracts Vulnerable I have been wondering how long it would take for a state other than Michigan to pursue an Emergency Manager law. The wait is over. This week, a Republican-sponsored bill allowing the imposition of an Emergency Manager on a “distressed political subdivision” (i.e., a municipality or school district) passed out of committee and goes on to […]

No earth-shattering news about Michigan’s on-going Emergency Manager Emergency, but there are some tidbits worth noting. Flint Community Leaders Hold Public Forum to Discuss Emergency Manager Emergency.Flint community leaders held a public forum on Tuesday to discuss Public Act 4 and its impact on the community. The panel discussion will revolve around “The Emergency Manager: Concerns and Outcomes for Flint,” […]

My wife, Anne C. Savage accompanied me and Christine Barry, owner of Blogging for Michigan, to the State of the State address on Wednesday. She was there, as were we, with media passes. However, her effort to actually do any photographing of the event was completely shut down by overly-aggressive security and what seems to be a clear effort by […]

Rick Snyder is the master of the “fake concession”. He takes money away from something, gives a little back and then paints it as a “concession”. It’s not. He did it on the Earned Income Tax credit in late April: Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s proposed budget eliminates the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) which helps the working poor, especially those […]

If you missed my discussion on the Governor’s State of the State address on Tony Trupiano’s radio show and are interested in hearing it, the podcast can be found HERE.

After reading a number of disparaging comments on the Facebook page of First Shift with Tony Trupiano, aimed at the organizers of Michigan Rising (formerly known as the Committee to Recall Rick Snyder, CRRS), I thought it would be a good idea to dig deeper and sort out truth from fiction. I have a piece up today at A2Politico titled […]

Steve Benen has a piece out today that debunks the absurd notion that “The Stimulus didn’t work!” In terms of metrics, keep in mind, when these jobless claims fall below the 400,000 threshold, it’s considered evidence of an improving jobs landscape. When the number drops below 370,000, it suggests jobs are actually being created rather quickly. The jobless claims number […]

Wanna see what it looks like when I’m out Eclectablogging an event for a liveblog? Here you go: Photo credit: William Archie | Detroit Free Press/Associated Press That’s me in the red hat, uploading a photo to my liveblog of the protest march on Martin Luther King Day earlier this week, caught in the act by Detroit Free Press photographer […]

Last night was the second State of the State address by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder. Pundits around the state are weighing in on how shallow it was, with no specifics or new initiatives announced. Before I get into my analysis, it’s worth noting how difficult the Republicans made it for me, my wife Anne and Christine Barry from Blogging for […]

Tune into First Shift with Tony Trupiano this morning at 7 a.m. if you’d like to listen in on our conversation about last night’s State of the State address by Governor Rick Snyder. You can stream it live from his website or listen on the radio on 1310 AM, WDTW.