State Rep. Ken Horn, R-Frankenmuth, tried for four years to reform Michigan’s welfare system for cash assistance. On his fifth try, bolstered by the solid Republican majorities in the House and Senate and a Republican governor brought in via the 2010 elections, Horn shepherded a massive reform effort into law. The keystone of that reform […]
Ron French
Ron reports on a variety of subjects across the state. Ron came to Bridge in 2011 from The Detroit News, where he was a project reporter. Born and raised in Indiana, Ron graduated from Purdue University. He reported for newspapers across Indiana before moving to Michigan in 1995. Ron lives in Okemos, and like the true Michigander he’s become, he now has a family cabin Up North. You can reach him at rfrench@bridgemi.com or 517-214-3636.
Posted inQuality of Life
How do you hold on to the hipsters?
The biggest danger to the revitalization of Detroit’s Midtown — and, by extension, the city itself — doesn’t pack a gun or wield foreclosure papers. He wears a backpack and chews bubble gum. Children — and their parents’ perceptions about local schools — will determine whether the young professionals now streaming into Midtown stay in […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
How far will Midtown's momentum go?
There are two Detroits in the life of Theo Nicholaidis. The first is a city of cafes and galleries, with his favorite crepe restaurant just down the block from his two-bedroom condo, a newly rehabbed unit with hardwood floors, a fireplace and deck. “We go for walks at night through the neighborhood,” Nicholaidis said. “There […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Advocate keeps selling Detroit to young professionals
Dave Egner has traveled a long way to end up right where he started. Egner’s hometown is a third of the population it was in 1950. It has a high poverty rate and high crime rate. Ninety percent of its residents are African American. It’s surrounded by richer communities. Having grown up in East St. […]
Posted inChildren & Families
Too poor for a homeless shelter? Only in Michigan
In Michigan, some families may be too poor to stay at a homeless shelter. That’s the sad reality facing some Michigan families who will be facing the double-whammy of being cut off from cash assistance Oct. 1, and being kicked out of homeless shelters because they then have no source of income – a requirement […]
Posted inMichigan Government
How 15,000 lost a lottery they didn't even play
Did one man’s luck turn into a financial catastrophe for Michigan’s poor? Mention the name Leroy Fick in a room of social service agency directors, and the temperature drops. Heads shake. Shoulders slump. Curses are mumbled. Fick won the lottery — and 15,000 people will lose their food assistance, as of Oct. 1. That’s the […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Schools take tax repeal personally
Elimination of the personal property tax could cost schools $548 million, according to an analysis by the non-partisan House Fiscal Agency. The state’s personal property tax isn’t really personal, but rather a tax mainly incurred by businesses for things such as commercial furniture, industrial machinery and utility equipment. Senate Bill 34, now under consideration by […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Michigan can't fit college grads into job slots
If Amy Dobson is a rock and Gentex is a hard place, Gov. Rick Snyder is stuck between them. Dobson, an effervescent 23-year-old from Okemos, finished a five-year degree program in education from Michigan State University last spring. Despite holding a bachelor’s degree from a top-ranked education school, Dobson couldn’t find a job in her home […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Other states have tried to buy college results
Tying higher education funding to graduation rates, or even to certain types of degrees, may sound radical to Michigan policy-makers, but it’s been discussed and tried for years in other places. Here are some examples: Indiana: In 2007, our southern neighbor tied a portion of its higher education funding to degree completion, on-time graduation and […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Climbing pole to $100,000 per year
When Michigan legislators seek guidance for the state’s economic woes, they may want to look up … they may just catch a glimpse of the future of workforce development. His name is Dan Kilgore, a 31-year-old from Battle Creek. Working today as an electric line technician, Kilgore got his job by participating in a partnership between […]
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