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Incentive funds should help Michigan compete for jobs

If Michigan has to get back in the corporate welfare game, the approach moving through the state Legislature is better than past efforts, which spent a lot of taxpayer money but didn’t produce much in terms of jobs and other spin-off benefits. Lawmakers, in consult with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office and the Michigan Economic Development Corp., have passed bills that would provide the state with more incentives to offer businesses seeking to locate or expand here. The three-bill package would create the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve (SOAR) fund in the Department of ...

Insurance refund checks don’t fix no-fault reform shortcomings

Four hundred bucks doesn’t go as far as it once did. It’s about what a typical family of four spends for a couple weeks worth of groceries. Or a car payment. Or a couple of utility bills. Four Benjamin Franklins would mean quite a bit to many of us. That’s probably why so many Michiganders were ecstatic to hear the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association will send about $3 billion of a $5 billion surplus back to insurance customers in our state. The over collection of fees accrued after lawmakers passed a 2019 reform to the state’s no-fault insurance system – changes ...

State: Remember rules for removing snow along highways

Now that the white stuff has arrived in earnest — with another 7 to 13 inches possible by Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service — the Michigan Department of Transportation is reminding residents living along state highways to keep safety in mind and follow the law as they plow or shovel snow. Two primary concerns are when residents and businesses pile snow at the ends of driveways along the highway shoulder, and when snow is pushed across the road, leaving snow or slush on the road surface. Michigan Vehicle Code 257.677a prohibits “the obstruction of ...

Avoid injuries when shoveling snow

With Michigan’s snow shoveling season upon us, the Michigan Primary Care Consortium is offering guidelines to avoid personal injury or a serious health care consequence. Of special concerns are individuals facing chronic back challenges, heart disease, high blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as being a tobacco user. – Snow shoveling is no different than any other physical activity. For your personal safety, consult with your physician to determine if snow shoveling is safe for you. – If there is a personal or physician concern, hire an individual to help you with ...

A number of organizations are struggling

During the holidays, the to-do list is long, but everything else feels short. Tempers? Short. The days? Shorter. Staffing? Really short. Our checking account balance? Visible only under 10x magnification. We dwell a lot about our individual struggles, knowing that if we fall short — hopefully there’s someone, or some organization there to catch us. But organizations find their resources falling short, too, and COVID-19 has taken a bite out of many budgets. In some cases, COVID-19 kept organizations from their missions — from school assemblies and performances; from ...

School shootings are reality now, not myths or stories

We continue to reel from the events of last week in Oxford. Author Steven T. Seagle wrote, “Something isn’t fiction just because you choose not to acknowledge it.” This has become the sad reality of American culture and it’s long past time that we address the neverending wave of school shootings in U.S. schools. On Tuesday of last week, a 15-year-old sophomore opened fire at his Michigan high school, killing four students, including a 16-year-old boy who died in a deputy’s patrol car on the way to a hospital, authorities said. Seven other people were wounded, some ...