Michigan

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March 26, 2012 | 12:05 PM | By Dustin Dwyer

Answers To The 9 Most Important Questions In Detroit Right Now

Downtown Detroit. Credit: David Tansey.

One way or the other, today is likely to go down as a historic – and possibly transformative – day for the city of Detroit. The city is burning through its cash, and fast approaching bankruptcy. By the end of the day, we could know more about what approach the state will take to help avoid that bankrupcty.

But the negotiations over Detroit’s future have taken a lot of confusing turns in the past couple of weeks, so we’ve tried to put together some answers to the city’s most pressing questions.

What’s happening today? Today is the deadline for the city to sign off on a proposed consent agreement with the state. The agreement would lead to the creation of a new panel to restructure Detroit’s finances.

What’s actually in the consent agreement? A lot. Sarah Cwiek at partner station Michigan Radio has an explainer.

What happens if the consent agreement isn’t signed today? Some say the state’s financial review team will be forced to recommend that Gov. Snyder appoint an emergency manager. Then, the governor will have 10 days to do so. But the Detroit Free Press says some of the details are still up for debate.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Communities, Government, consent agreement, Dave Bing, Detroit, emergency manager, Michigan, Rick Snyder
March 23, 2012 | 2:00 PM | By Dustin Dwyer

In The Race For “Green Jobs,” The Midwest Is Doing OK At Best

Credit: flickr user agrilifetoday

Not too long ago, jobs in the new green economy were seen as the number one solution to transform the Midwest economy. You almost couldn’t go to any sort of economic luncheon or policy briefing without hearing about it.

So, how is the Midwest actually doing when it comes to creating these “green jobs”?

Meh. We’re doing all right. Not great. Not horrible.

Yesterday, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics for the first time released data on how many jobs there are in “green goods and services.” The figures include construction jobs for people who weatherize homes, manufacturing jobs for people who make fuel efficient cars and scientific jobs for people who try to come up with environmental solutions, among many other kinds of jobs.

The headline is that the U.S. had about 3.1 million of these green jobs in 2010, accounting for about 2.4 percent of all jobs in the country.

If you just look at the sheer number of jobs, the Midwest did pretty well: Both Illinois and Ohio rank in the top ten. But those are also big states, with lots of jobs. So, if you look at the numbers just based on the percentage of the states’ overall jobs that can be classified as “green,” then the numbers are less impressive.

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FILED UNDER: Communities, Industry, Innovation, Jobs, Bureau of Labor Statistics, clean economy, clean energy, green economy, green jobs, Jennifer Granholm, Michigan
March 20, 2012 | 1:15 PM | By Micki Maynard

Road Trip! Michigan’s Governor Goes To Europe

Michigan’s governor, Rick Snyder, is following a well-worn path this week, making a trade mission to Europe.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder with Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne/photo via @onetoughnerd

Snyder’s tweeting photos of his trip via his @onetoughnerd account. Here’s one he sent home from Turin, Italy,  of himself with Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne (we’re pretty sure that’s not a hockey beard).

Snyder is also answering tweets from his followers about the trip, pointing out several times that the trade mission is paid for with private funds and isn’t costing the state’s taxpayers anything.

The governor’s goal is to promote the state to foreign investors as a good place to invest.Thus far, his itinerary has taken him to Turin, where he’s met with Fiat officials and company suppliers, and to Stuttgart, Germany, home base for Daimler. (Remember that Daimler used to own Chrysler, now under the wing of Fiat.)

Snyder is also taking some time out to be, well, nerdy. In a tweet this morning, he wrote, “Whoever is the next person to follow me on Twitter becomes my 8,297th follower, which is exciting because that’s a prime number.”

FILED UNDER: Government, Industry, Politics, Daimler, Fiat, Michigan, Rick Snyder, Sergio Marchionne, trade mission
March 15, 2012 | 12:29 PM | By Micki Maynard

Zingerman’s Turns 30 And Shares Some Secrets to Its Success

It was 30 years ago today that Ari Weinzweig and Paul Saginaw opened the doors to Zingerman’s, a New York style deli on an Ann Arbor, Mich., side street. 

Nobody knew if their concept of high quality, high priced and highly stuffed sandwiches would work. But it did.

Now, Zingerman’s is a $40 million collection of eight businesses with hundreds of people, all based in Ann Arbor, the only place where the company wants to be. And Weinzweig is out with a new book, “Zingerman’s Guide to Good Leading, Part 2: A Lapsed Anarchist’s Approach to Being a Better Leader.”

Packed inside the book are tons of tips to turn employees into energy filled, creative staffers. One of Weinzweig’s ideas is that leaders shouldn’t be the ultimate authorities: they should be servants. How do you instill servant leadership? Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Communities, Jobs, Ann Arbor, business, Food, leadership, Michigan, tips, Zingerman's
March 12, 2012 | 10:44 AM | By Micki Maynard

4 Things The Japanese Earthquake Taught The Midwest

Mt. Fuji, as seen from the bullet train/photo by Micki Maynard

A year ago, people in the Midwest were realizing the damage that the massive earthquake and tsunami had done to Japan. And, while the region affected by the earthquake is starting its long recovery, everyone here has learned some permanent lessons.

1) We are all connected. To borrow a phrase from the Symphony of Science, the earthquake on the coast of Japan reminded us of how closely linked everyone is on earth. The earthquake disrupted parts and vehicle production for automakers overseas and in the United States for months — and had a significant impact on the Midwest.

In the Midwest, our Niala Boodhoo found that 160,000 people in the Great Lakes states worked directly for Japanese based companies. She reported on the impact for Morning Edition.

All across the region, companies, charities and even chefs stepped forward to help people affected by the disasters in Japan, sending everything from portable toilets to gas tanks and of course, cash. At Takashi, in Chicago, an all-star team of restaurant owners from around the city stepped up to cook a meal whose proceeds benefited the American Red Cross.  Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Communities, Government, Industry, earthquake, Illinois, Indiana, Japan, Michigan, nuclear power, Ohio, tsunami, Wisconsin
March 8, 2012 | 11:06 AM | By Micki Maynard

Michigan Lawmakers Take Aim At Teachers’ Union Dues

Michigan’s Republican governor, Rick Snyder, says a Right to Work law is not a priority for his administration, and a number of Midwest governors agree. But the Michigan legislature has taken aim at a tenet of collective bargaining for the state’s teachers. 

On Wednesday, the Republican controlled legislature sent Snyder a bill that that prohibits public schools from automatically collecting dues from teachers and other school employees’ paychecks. The step affects teachers and employees from kindergarten through high school.

Supporters say the legislation will free up schools from doing the bookkeeping for unions, and require union members to write separate checks, or arrange for the money to be withdrawn from their accounts.

The ability to pay union dues via deduction has long been a method used by organized labor to encourage people to sign up. Labor leaders often have worried that if it’s difficult to pay dues, many people won’t bother.

“It could not have been a worse day,” David Hecker, the president of the Michigan branch of the American Federation of Teachers, said in a email to his members. (Read and listen to Changing Gears’ coverage of the issues facing teachers.) Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Communities, Government, Jobs, Politics, Michigan, Republican, Right to Work, teachers, union dues
March 7, 2012 | 10:53 AM | By Micki Maynard

Michigan And Ohio: Political Sisters Under The Skin

Of course, Michigan and Ohio will always be rivals — some might even say enemies on the football field, at least. But when it comes to politics, these two Great Lakes states are sisters under the skin. 

Last night’s Super Tuesday primary showed just how alike the two states are.

As he did last week in Michigan, Mitt Romney again squeaked out a victory in Ohio’s Super Tuesday primary. As he did last week, Rick Santorum showed that his strength lies with the most conservative Republicans, many in rural areas and in smaller towns.

And both men face the prospect that no matter what they did in the Michigan and Ohio primaries, President Barack Obama could beat either one come November. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Government, Politics, Illinois, Michigan, Mitt Romney, Ohio, Republican, Rick Santorum, Super Tuesday
March 2, 2012 | 2:27 PM | By Dustin Dwyer

Confessions Of An Urban-Exploring, Ruin-Fetishizing, White Non-Detroiter

The room where my complicated, naïve love-affair with Detroit began. The building was demolished in 2006. Credit: Michael Fitzgerald

I have been pretending to know Detroit for most of my adult life.

It’s a common affliction among youngish white journalists in Michigan who’ve never lived in the city. Even the fact that I talk about “knowing” the city is probably a giveaway that I’m not a Detroiter. My friends who are Detroiters, and Detroiters who comment on my stories, seem pretty tired of the discussion about what Detroit is or isn’t, what it represents or doesn’t and what the rest of us think about any of it. They’ve moved on.

But I can’t seem to stop myself from writing about Detroit as if I know what I’m talking about. I’ve even attacked other non-Detroiters for their lack of understanding (most people who read that rant believed it was written by a Detroiter, which only embarrasses me more).

Like most white, non-Detroiters, my fascination with the city started in my early 20s. And it involved urban exploring.

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FILED UNDER: Communities, Detroit, Eddie Singletary, Michigan, motown, Motown Building, Packard Plant, ruin porn, ruins, rust belt, urban exploring
February 29, 2012 | 5:00 AM | By Kate Davidson

Student Debt: The Cost Of Learning A Trade

Kate Davidson
For $2, this little guy gets a “college boy” cut from barber student Tom Amundson
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America’s student loan debt is now bigger than its credit card debt. It’s approaching a trillion dollars. Student loan default rates are rising too. While many families struggle to afford traditional colleges, a lot of student debt comes from attending private, for-profit schools that focus on vocational training. These students default on their loans twice as often as students from public colleges. Today we’re looking at one small school battling big defaults.

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FILED UNDER: Communities, Industry, barber, Changing Gears, debt, Flint, jobs, Kate Davidson, Michigan, student loans, trade school
February 28, 2012 | 6:59 PM | By Micki Maynard

Election Night in Michigan, From Changing Gears

Thanks for reading our updates on the Michigan primary race. We’ll be back on Wednesday with a look ahead to Ohio’s contest on Super Tuesday.

10:35 pm ET News organizations declare Romney the winner. It wasn’t the blow out that Romney might have wanted, but virtually all the major news organizations, including NPR, the New York Times, and the broadcast and cable networks, have called the Michigan primary for him.

With about 70 percent of votes in, Romney is leading Santorum by 41.6 percent to 37.3 percent. Since delegates are awarded on congressional districts, and the vote totals are not in, it’s not possible to divide them up yet. But both will get some.

CNN reports that Santorum called Romney before his speech to concede.

“Thank you, Michigan, what a win. Thanks, you guys,” Romney said at his campaign event. in Novi, Mich. “This is the place where I was born, this is the place that I was raised…I know that Michiganders in this room, we consider you all family.”

He added, “We didn’t win by a lot, but we won by enough, and that’s all that counts.”

10:15 pm ET. NBC calls it; Santorum speaks. NBC News becomes the first network to call the state for Romney. In Grand Rapids, an upbeat Santorum speaks to his followers. He thanks his supporters and says, “A month ago, they didn’t know who we were. They do now.”

He talks about his mother, who lived in Saginaw, and speaks of his college-educated wife. The comments are a contrast to Santorum’s dismissal of President Obama as a “snob” because he supports college education programs. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Government, Politics, Michigan, Mitt Romney, Primary, Republican, Rick Santorum