Representative Jeff Irwin, a Democrat, served for a decade as a Washtenaw County Commissioner. In January 2011, he began his first term in the Michigan House of Representatives. In his regular column, House Calls, A2Politico will pose a single question to Representative Irwin and he will answer it. The questions will focus on his work in [...]
A2P Notes: In Fall 2010, A123 Systems opened what the company touted as the “world’s largest lithium ion automotive battery manufacturing plant in North America” in Livonia, Michigan. According to a September 13, 2010 piece in the New York Times, the company was able to open the plant thanks to the fact that the move [...]
by Rob Smith In the March 13th issue of the New York Times there is an article about the severe economic problems that face Italy. That country, like Michigan, has been in one of the deepest recessions on record. Unemployment in Italy last measured at 9.2 percent in March 2012—just about the same as Michigan’s [...]
by Rob Smith Federal funding for rail. Federal funding for roads. Federal funding for green energy. Between 2009 and 2011, the state of Michigan has been the recipient of over $17 billion dollars in federal stimulus money also known as “recovery” money. In Wayne County, local K-12 school and governments received over $2.4 billion dollars [...]
by P.D. Lesko Guess what you can get in Michigan for a $10,000 donation to Rick Snyder’s campaign? You can get $18,000,000 in state money to bail you out when your project crashes and burns just 10 months after it’s launched. You can also get a seat on the board of the economic development entity [...]
by P.D. Lesko Michigan has bled jobs, and the state’s residents have suffered Depression-era unemployment levels. The Detroit Free Press recently concluded in its report card evaluation of Governor Rick Snyder that Snyder’s first year in office has been all about “jobs and kids.” The Freep went on to give Mr. Snyder a rather inflated set [...]
by P.D. Lesko The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, one of the nation’s premier policy organizations working at the federal and state levels on fiscal policy and public programs that affect low- and moderate-income families and individuals, released a report that concludes Michigan is one of just three states in the country that has [...]
by P.D. Lesko Oddly enough, one of the five upcoming City Council elections—Ward 2—could have a major impact on Ann Arbor SPARK and CEO Paul Krutko’s fantasies of using money generated by Ann Arbor taxpayers on becoming a regional player. Some have posited that Ann Arbor Second Ward Council member Stephen Rapundalo (left) is in [...]
by P.D. Lesko Livingston County has a population of about 180,000, less than half the number of residents of Washtenaw County. However, Livingston County politicos have more than twice the smarts than have Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County politicos when it comes to spotting boondoggles that are a huge waste of taxpayers’ money. First it [...]
by P.D. Lesko The Boomers on Ann Arbor City Council are fixated on turning the city into a mecca for Young Professionals. After all, 35,000 wanna-be YPs study at the University of Michigan, and if all of them would just stay put, in less than 10 years Ann Arbor could have a population to rival, [...]
