LANSING - Making it more likely that the tactic could be used to help balance the 2009-10 budget, a spokesperson for Gov. Jennifer Granholm said Thursday that she is open to using some School Aid Fund monies to help offset cuts in the general fund budget. House Speaker Andy Dillon (D-Redford Twp.) also said he
HOLLAND - For the first time since the Technology Employment Forecast began in 2003, not one of the participating companies reports that they will decrease their information technology staffs. Every category of business plans to increase IT staffing in West Michigan. Almost three-quarters of computer consulting firms will be hiring. Nearly half of the participating
SAN FRANCISCO - A group of hackers exploited a hole in an AT&T Web site to get e-mail addresses of about 114,000 iPad users, including what appears to be top officials in government, finance, media, technology, and military. The leak could have affected all iPad 3G subscribers in the U.S., according to Gawker, which broke
LANSING - Unless the Department of Transportation turns over revenue data on how much money the tolls from a new Detroit River International Crossing would generate, the Senate will not vote on the legislation, Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop said Wednesday. And in another development, Sen. Jim Barcia (D-Bay City) said he is leaning against
ANN ARBOR ? Four Michigan companies recently received a combined total of $122,000 through the Michigan Microloan Fund Program, bringing the total amount invested through the Fund to over $1.2 million. Akervall Technologies, Blaze Medical Devices, Ellison Corp., and Waste Water Heat Transfers Systems received the funding to support commercialization of their core products. Based
LANSING - The Department of Natural Resources and Environment announced Wednesday that anglers can now purchase a 24-hour fishing license with any web-enabled mobile device. The project - called Mobile Fish - is a joint effort between the DNRE and the Department of Technology, Management and Budget. Mobile device users can access Mobile Fish at
ANN ARBOR - Plymouth Management Company, a recipient of a Michigan Venture Capital Association Fund Development award, has reached a first close of $15.65 million on its Plymouth Venture Partners II, L.P. The company expects to begin investing the money in growth stage companies in the Great Lakes region immediately, while raising an additional $15
LANSING - With three weeks left in the month, House Speaker Andy Dillon remains hopeful lawmakers will complete a budget plan in June that will both close the current year deficit and provide appropriations for the 2010-11 fiscal year. Dillon said meetings on the current-year deficit were held Tuesday and more would occur Wednesday. And
LANSING - Most of the seven candidates running for governor agree that the state should go to two-year budgets, that public employees should not be paid more than the average private sector pay, and that binding arbitration for police and firefighters should not be dropped. And four of the candidates indicated they could support a
MACKINAC ISLAND - The latest study to look at the nation's most prosperous states shows the state should spend more effort on education, especially higher education, than on taxes if it wants to promote prosperity, officials from the think tank Michigan Future said Thursday. The study, the third annual progress report prepared by the group,