http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/News and Notes on Michigan GovernmentenFri, 06 Nov 2009 14:21:19 PSTMovable Type Enterprise 4.29-advance http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/noNews and Notes on Michigan Governmentmichigan_political_reporthttp://feedburner.google.comhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/-hJTFMz9XGo/independents_rule_and_theyre_n.htmlColumnMLive - PoliticsPeter LukeFri, 06 Nov 2009 14:21:19 PSTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.3889171 ]]>Last week's election last week can’t predict what will happen in Michigan a year from now, self-identified independents in Michigan are no less angry with the economic status quo than the independents who put a Republican in the New Jersey governor's office. And aren’t likely to feel much better next November if unemployment remains in the double-digits. In fact they already say they won’t be.http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/11/independents_rule_and_theyre_n.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/wN3hQqRaqfg/post.htmlBreaking NewsMLive - PoliticsPeter LukeMon, 02 Nov 2009 13:48:15 PSTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.3865379 ]]>Want to tell Michigan's next governor, and the general body politic, what you'd do to balance the budget, create jobs, fix the roads, improve K-12 schools and make higher education more affordable? Join the debate.http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/11/post.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/EZVuJNZSL8w/2010_budget_fails_michigan_res.htmlColumnMLive - PoliticsPeter LukeFri, 30 Oct 2009 14:41:48 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.3848648 ]]>Freshmen members of the Michigan House are lodging fresh complaints that this year’s budget process that missed the Oct. 1 deadline by a couple of hours was frustrating, a fiasco, partisan, an embarrassment and a general blow to their standing with the public--such as it is. The problem wasn’t the process. It’s the budget freshmen lawmakers either advocated for or declined to much protest. The failure to pass a budget on time doesn’t hurt Michigan residents, as the new legislators claimed, the budget does. http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/11/2010_budget_fails_michigan_res.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/Fgjvwyn4Ghg/this_is_a_test.htmlColumnPeter LukeMon, 26 Oct 2009 07:40:08 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.3810664 ]]>Something between "yes" and "no" could help fix state's problems.http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/10/this_is_a_test.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/tqaX73q3V9U/michigan_republicans_face_inte.htmlColumnGR PressMLive - NewsMLive - PoliticsMLive.com - Home Page - NewsNews - Grand RapidsNews - MuskegonOpinion - Grand RapidsPeter LukeSun, 27 Sep 2009 08:18:50 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.3690076 ]]>You won't find the words "there is no free lunch" stamped on each page in the mountain of spending bills lawmakers are sorting through as they figure out how to produce a balanced budget by Thursday. The reminder is there nonetheless no matter how easily it's forgotten in political campaigns.http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/09/michigan_republicans_face_inte.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/mQgm6-XENOs/legislative_committees_ok_cutt.htmlMLive - NewsMLive - PoliticsNews - KalamazooPeter LukeThu, 24 Sep 2009 12:14:42 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.3675318 ]]>Lawmakers also agreed to a Michigan State Police budget that restores the jobs next month of 55 of the 100 troopers laid off in June. http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/09/legislative_committees_ok_cutt.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/oigMvEjj26U/column_dillon_laying_groundwor.htmlMLive - NewsMLive - PoliticsNews - Grand RapidsNews - MuskegonOpinion - Grand RapidsPeter LukeMon, 21 Sep 2009 17:48:12 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.3660018 ]]>Without big risk, there's no big reward. And there is no doubt in these past weeks Andy Dillon is taking big risks with a political career that may include a run for the 2010 Democratic nomination for governor.http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/09/column_dillon_laying_groundwor.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/rkHAQz2dgVI/deadline_looms_for_state_budge.htmlMLive - NewsMLive - PoliticsNews - Grand RapidsPeter LukeSat, 19 Sep 2009 17:05:48 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.3659897 ]]>As they scramble to piece together a new state budget, key lawmakers in charge of crafting budget bills for individual departments have until Tuesday to complete their work. It will not be easy.http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/09/deadline_looms_for_state_budge.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/QUNl3mUl4Tg/michigan_budget_woe_just_a_sym.htmlColumnMLive - PoliticsMLive.com - Home Page - NewsNews - Grand RapidsOpinion - Grand RapidsPeter LukeMon, 14 Sep 2009 05:45:17 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.3607746 ]]> http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/09/michigan_budget_woe_just_a_sym.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/kRkdHfw9_TI/michigan_budget_full_of_tough.htmlColumnMLive - PoliticsMLive.com - Home Page - NewsNews - Grand RapidsNews - MuskegonOpinion - Grand RapidsOpinion - KalamazooPeter LukeSun, 06 Sep 2009 05:51:01 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.3555974 ]]>A state budget is more than a ledger that per Michigan's constitution has to balance the amount it spends with the amount of tax revenue it takes in. It's also a document in which choices are made, but also avoided....http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/09/michigan_budget_full_of_tough.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/SNUXNFW5zog/in_the_economic_development_ga.htmlColumnPeter LukeSat, 29 Aug 2009 21:19:34 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.3522278 ]]>In the economic development game that pits state against state in the competition for jobs, it's nonsensical for any state, particularly one with a 15-percent unemployment rate, to unilaterally disarm. So Michigan will not do that per last week's agreement...http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/08/in_the_economic_development_ga.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/C1Zbo3EYZ9Q/granholm_lawmakers_can_avoid_a.htmlColumnMLive - NewsMLive - PoliticsMLive.com - Home Page - NewsNews - Grand RapidsNews - MuskegonOpinion - Grand RapidsOpinion - KalamazooPeter LukeSun, 23 Aug 2009 06:48:02 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.3442778 ]]>Federal economic stimulus plan will help state avert massive spending cuts.http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/08/granholm_lawmakers_can_avoid_a.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/r8uqbQ3jltQ/michigan_can_handle_guantanamo.htmlColumnMLive - NewsMLive - PoliticsMLive.com - Home Page - NewsNews - Grand RapidsOpinion - Grand RapidsPeter LukeSat, 15 Aug 2009 23:01:39 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.3442773 ]]>A possible federal offer to house terror suspects in Standish means more than jobs. http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/08/michigan_can_handle_guantanamo.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/Ikzrp63MNrI/gop_says_no_harm_no_foul_in_el.htmlBreaking NewsMLive - PoliticsPeter LukeMon, 10 Aug 2009 14:49:57 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.3412399 ]]>Complete with security camera tape, three eyewitnesses and sketch diagrams, a report released Monday provides "insufficient evidence" to warrant official Senate action concerning a June 17 incident in which a Detroit senator claims she was physically intimidated by Sen. Roger...http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/08/gop_says_no_harm_no_foul_in_el.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/pKzBEsh0xyQ/despite_assurances_offered_up.htmlColumnMLive - NewsMLive - PoliticsMLive.com - Home Page - NewsNews - Grand RapidsNews - MuskegonOpinion - Grand RapidsOpinion - KalamazooOpinion - MuskegonPeter LukeSat, 08 Aug 2009 22:25:37 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.3399123 ]]>GOP leadership not buying their former leader's push to raise gas taxes.http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/08/despite_assurances_offered_up.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/XJ4kalm4YzE/detroit_schools_taxpayers_dese.htmlColumnPeter LukeSat, 01 Aug 2009 21:18:43 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.3315910 ]]>Can one person make a difference? In the case of Robert Bobb, the one-time Kalamazoo city manager who is seeking to transform the state's largest school district, obviously so. The emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools has taken all...http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/08/detroit_schools_taxpayers_dese.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/tbR5onnTgjc/michigan_deserves_a_campaign_t.htmlColumnOpinion - KalamazooPeter LukeSat, 25 Jul 2009 21:04:00 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.3315860 ]]>"This is unacceptable. We deserve better." So said Ann Arbor venture capitalist Rick Snyder as he launched his bid for the Republican nomination for governor in 2010. His complaint outside a quiet Michigan Capitol last week as lawmakers were taking...http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/07/michigan_deserves_a_campaign_t.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/XE4UPIZh82c/the_marker_that_speaker_andy.htmlColumnOpinion - KalamazooPeter LukeSat, 18 Jul 2009 21:22:15 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.3261859 ]]>The marker that Speaker Andy Dillon has laid down for his colleagues on both sides of the House aisle, in the Senate, and for Gov. Jennifer Granholm, is this: Do Michigan's elected officials still have the political will, or even...http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/07/the_marker_that_speaker_andy.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/yqbLCcHjcPU/pure_rubble.htmlBreaking NewsPeter LukeFri, 17 Jul 2009 12:07:25 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.3261605 ]]>In its effort to convince lawmakers to hike road taxes, Michigan's transportation advocates have used billboards, the delivery of gravel-filled containers to legislative offices and now, a Wed ad http://www.youtube.com/user/FixMIRoads you are not likely to see added to the "Pure...http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/07/pure_rubble.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/XSv76f2bjSw/whats_good_for_gm_is_critical.htmlColumnOpinion - KalamazooPeter LukeSat, 11 Jul 2009 21:18:56 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.3208689 ]]>It's still storming, but apparently the roof isn't going to blow off. In May, auto economists were saying there was a 50-percent chance that General Motors' bankruptcy filing could go terribly wrong, resulting in eventual liquidation, widespread economic chaos for...http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/07/whats_good_for_gm_is_critical.htmlnonadult