GRAND RAPIDS - Michigan Governor Rick Snyder announced today that Consumers Energy has doubled ? to $500 million ? its commitment to Pure Michigan Business Connect, a key initiative putting people back to work in Michigan. The announcement took place at the West Michigan Policy Forum and it featured business owners of several west Michigan
LANSING - A new poll from EPIC/MRA suggests President Barack Obama is enjoying a bump from the Democratic National Convention and that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's task in Michigan is growing more difficult. The survey, commissioned by the Detroit Free Press and several television stations put Obama at 47 percent and Romney at 37
LANSING - If Governor Rick Snyder's plan to overhaul Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan becomes law, one potentially major result of the proposal would be the ability for Blue Cross and its subsidiary, Accident Fund, to branch out into other forms of insurance. Andy Hetzel, Blue Cross vice president for corporate communications, said the
DETROIT - The New International Trade Crossing would be able to contain Canadian steel under a waiver the state has requested from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Federal rules require projects using federal funds to contain U.S.-sourced materials, and the new bridge would fall under that rule because the state is planning to use money
LANSING - In a new effort to cut down on government requirements that hamper state worker efficiency, Governor Rick Snyder on Wednesday announced a program called Bureaucracy Busters that will encourage workers to provide direct input on innovative ideas for enhancing efficiency, customer service and their workplace. Since taking office, Snyder has had regular meetings
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm has long resented Mitt Romney for his insistence on putting Chrysler and General Motors into bankruptcy and she uncorked a tirade of a speech Thursday at the Democratic National Convention that delighted the Democratic audience. Granholm, now host of "The War Room," a liberal political talk show
LANSING - Teachers unions quickly won a temporary restraining order on part of the new law overhauling public school employee retirement benefits as they filed litigation before Governor Rick Snyder had even signed the law. Ingham Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, ruling from the bench, placed a restraining order against the state from forcing public school
LANSING - A partisan split occurred Monday when the Michigan state Board of Canvassers could not reach an agreement on three proposed controversial ballot proposals-including one to expand the number of casinos in Michigan that the Supreme Court essentially ordered on the ballot - likely sending them back to court and keeping their place on
LANSING - The Department of State on Thursday gave the okay to ballot signatures from the group aiming to put a two-thirds majority vote for tax increases on the ballot, as well as a proposal to designed to thwart Governor Rick Snyder's new bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario. A staff review found that the
LANSING - In the first full-scale departure of a department head during the administration of Governor Rick Snyder, state capital observers were surprised Wednesday when it was announced that Department of Community Health Director Olga Dazzo is resigning. She was replaced by James Haveman, who led the department for many years under former Governor John