http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/News and Notes on Michigan GovernmentenSat, 04 Jul 2009 21:15:32 PDTMovable Type Enterprise 1.52 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/noNews and Notes on Michigan Governmentmichigan_political_reporthttp://feedburner.google.comhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/rzK2G8r4ZVk/detroit_blight_an_economic_anc.htmlColumnOpinion - KalamazooPeter Luke | mlive.comSat, 04 Jul 2009 21:15:32 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.3151111 ]]>In a month that saw General Motors commit to building its next generation small car in Oakland County, the old Packard complex in Detroit that hasn't produced a car in a half-century caught fire --as it does with some frequency....http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/07/detroit_blight_an_economic_anc.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/MrPZpq1URH8/michigan_tax_reform_requires_u.htmlColumnOpinion - KalamazooPeter Luke | mlive.comSat, 27 Jun 2009 21:19:28 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.3108753 ]]>Spending advocates say a tax increase is needed to balance Michigan's budget and avert fiscal catastrophe in 2011 when federal stimulus money currently propping up the state's finances runs out. Business groups say the state budget is already being balanced...http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/06/michigan_tax_reform_requires_u.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/e5uAqIrA6Uc/exit_land_who_benefits.htmlColumnPeter Luke | mlive.comThu, 25 Jun 2009 11:18:50 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.3098255 ]]>Unless U.S. Rep. Candice Miller jumps into the GOP race for governor, Terri Lynn Land's surprising departure from the contest removes gender from the mix and elevates the importance of geography. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard obviously benefits in two...http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/06/exit_land_who_benefits.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/_1FBDbosx9A/senate_budget_cuts_point_to_co.htmlColumnOpinion - KalamazooPeter Luke | mlive.comSat, 20 Jun 2009 21:18:49 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.3035115 ]]>Want to balance Michigan's budget without tax increases, loophole closings or using every last dime of the federal stimulus money? The Michigan Senate last week showed the only way it can be done is by laying out the types of...http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/06/senate_budget_cuts_point_to_co.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/nchPRXoHTBw/the_us_supreme_court_last.htmlColumnPeter Luke | mlive.comSat, 13 Jun 2009 21:18:33 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.2998855 ]]>The U.S. Supreme Court last week left it to state courts to determine under what circumstances the interplay between judicial elections and campaign contributions should factor into judicial disqualification. Right now in Michigan, despite the role millions of dollars in...http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/06/the_us_supreme_court_last.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/pamODYo1Rok/a_new_gm_means_michigan_must_r.htmlColumnOpinion - KalamazooPeter Luke | mlive.comSat, 06 Jun 2009 21:06:19 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.2941324 ]]>Now that General Motors has filed for bankruptcy, Michigan has "hit bottom," is "turning the page," and there is "light at the end of the tunnel." So says Gov. Jennifer Granholm, whose assessment last week assumes that GM's bankruptcy, and...http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/06/a_new_gm_means_michigan_must_r.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/3KPc4edcyDc/after_decades_of_growth_michig.htmlAnalysisMLive - NewsMLive - PoliticsMLive.com - Home Page - NewsNews - Grand RapidsNews - MuskegonPeter Luke | mlive.comFri, 05 Jun 2009 15:04:59 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.2940868 ]]>After decades of growth, Michigan's prison system is getting smaller. And the economic reality of that is now clear. The downside to Michigan's relatively high prison population has been its cost to taxpayers. The upside has been the thousands of...http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/06/after_decades_of_growth_michig.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/gqgkIBYFqvk/is_a_michigan_obstetrician_who.htmlColumnOpinion - KalamazooPeter Luke | mlive.comSat, 30 May 2009 21:22:12 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.2881832 ]]>Is a Michigan obstetrician who will now receive 4 percent less in state reimbursement for delivering the baby of a woman covered by Medicaid effectively being assessed a tax increase? How about a senior at one of Michigan's public universities...http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/05/is_a_michigan_obstetrician_who.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/AYQu_FPevks/michigan_economy_can_be_repair.htmlColumnOpinion - FlintPeter Luke | mlive.comTue, 26 May 2009 04:53:20 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.2833315 ]]>Michigan's full-time Legislature is enjoying a Memorial Day weekend break having passed one significant piece of legislation in the first five months of the worst year economically this state has seen in decades. And even then, the bills were followup...http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/05/michigan_economy_can_be_repair.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/JoGKkGB51_E/its_a_crooked_path_to_michigan.htmlColumnOpinion - FlintPeter Luke | mlive.comMon, 18 May 2009 08:22:40 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.2782137 ]]>Michigan's state government, including its budget for K-12 education, is essentially broke. And the good news, to the extent there is any, is that it could be worse. Absent revenue from the 2007 tax increases and the 2009 federal economic...http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/05/its_a_crooked_path_to_michigan.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/WsRLupk0DqY/a_few_dozen_new_state.htmlColumnOpinion - KalamazooPeter Luke | mlive.comMon, 11 May 2009 05:06:28 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.2716730 ]]>A few dozen new state police troopers milled outside a House committee room last week hoping their presence might dissuade lawmakers from axing their jobs in June, per Gov. Jennifer Granholm's budget reduction order. But while they have the power...http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/05/a_few_dozen_new_state.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/gbWlNcjj_1M/any_plan_to_salvage_michigans.htmlColumnMLive - NewsMLive - PoliticsMLive.com - Home Page - NewsPeter Luke | mlive.comTue, 05 May 2009 03:59:41 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.2680246 ]]>AP File PhotoThen President-elect Obama and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm laugh during a news conference in Chicago, Friday, Nov. 7, 2008. Any plan to salvage Michigan's battered economy had better be big given a decade's worth of damage to an...http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/05/any_plan_to_salvage_michigans.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/wh9BHTzzxBo/bills_may_or_may_not.htmlAnalysisPeter Luke | mlive.comTue, 28 Apr 2009 15:54:17 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.2642477 ]]>Bills may, or may not, be introduced next week that would increase transportation revenue over the next several years by more than $1.5 billion towards the goal, along with increased federal funding, of boosting state and local road repair by...http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/04/bills_may_or_may_not.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/hGiIWQjY4Kc/if_you_seek_a_pleasant_peninsu.htmlColumnOpinion - FlintOpinion - KalamazooPeter Luke | mlive.comTue, 28 Apr 2009 08:49:05 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.2617527 ]]>All those "Pure Michigan" ads now playing coast to coast on cable television not only counteract the bad PR the state's economy receives on a daily basis but remind residents why they can be proud of their state. Aerial shots...http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/04/if_you_seek_a_pleasant_peninsu.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan_political_report/~3/x5G6Gdp8e_0/gov_jennifer_granholm_last_yea.htmlColumnOpinion - KalamazooPeter Luke | mlive.comMon, 13 Apr 2009 04:12:40 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/peterluke//3589.2533391 ]]>Gov. Jennifer Granholm last year offered Michigan business a deal. She would push for overdue cuts in prison spending and split the proceeds with employers in the form of tax cuts. The 2010 Michigan Department of Corrections budget approved by...http://blog.mlive.com/peterluke/2009/04/gov_jennifer_granholm_last_yea.htmlnonadult