The Michigan State House Transportation Committee was in Traverse City yesterday (Mar 8). Because Michigan is unable to match federal transportation funds, the state is losing out on the federal dollars. As a result, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has been forced to delay indefinitely a significant portion of road improvement projects.
7&4 News was [...]
John Farrell is a researcher with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. He recently wrote this commentary for Minnesota Public Radio on how local communities in the Midwest can begin to take control of their energy futures.
"State policies to support local ownership can triple or quadruple the economic benefits of their wind resource. Energy efficiency standards can [...]
The Record-Eagle is reporting that the Bay Area Transportation Authority (BATA) has received over a million dollars towards the development of non-urban transit agencies:
"Bay Area Transportation Authority will receive a sizable chunk of federal stimulus money designed to support Michigan's rural transit agencies. State transportation officials will dole out $12.4 million to non-urban transit agencies [...]
February 24, 2010 – 3:23 pm
9&10 News has a video report, watch it here.
The Detroit News is also following the story how federal funds will be used to help homeowners in the five states hit worst by the housing crisis:
Financially strapped homeowners in Michigan and four other states with hard-hit housing markets could get help under a $1.5 billion federal [...]
February 22, 2010 – 1:52 pm
The Detroit News has this article about a study that will hook chickens up to a "mountable wireless system":
"Michigan State University has plucked a $375,000 federal grant to study the habits of commercial egg-laying hens by using wireless sensors to track "activity profiles." That's academic speak for how the hens pass the time when not [...]
February 12, 2010 – 1:16 pm
The "Farm to School: Setting the Table for Wellness" conference is offering scholarships to students of Northwest Lower Michigan schools.
In a press release issued yesterday, the conference organizers announced:
Schools in northwest Lower Michigan have until Feb. 22 to take full advantage of significant scholarships that cover registration costs and substitute pay for sending seven people [...]
February 10, 2010 – 12:58 pm
Tight budgets are forcing counties in Michigan to revert their roads to gravel to save funds that would go towards road maintenance.
The USA Today has this report:
"High costs and tight budgets have prompted communities in Maine, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Vermont to convert or consider converting their cracked asphalt roads back to gravel to cut [...]
February 4, 2010 – 1:09 pm
For the following counties that make up the northwest region labor market (Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Manistee, Missaukee and Wexford) the seasonally unadjusted jobless rate was 16.2 percent, up from 14.8 in November. Michigan's unemployment rate increased from 14.1 to 14.3 percent.
The Petoskey News-Review has this story:
“Regional labor markets in December [...]
January 15, 2010 – 11:57 am
Circle of Blue Water News has this story about efforts from the Granholm/Cherry administration to further what Circle of Blue dubbed Michigan's "Blue" or freshwater economy:
"John D. Cherry Jr., Michigan’s lieutenant governor, spent eight days last month on a trade mission to Israel and Dubai, and returned with inked deals for start-up technology projects with [...]
January 5, 2010 – 2:23 pm
According to Michigan's solar industry, 2010 could prove to be illuminating.
From the PR Newswire:
"Many people think that solar won't work in Michigan because it's too cold and it doesn't get as much sun as other places, but that's misconstrued," [Mark Hagerty, President of Michigan Solar Solutions] said. "Michigan has an average of 4.2 hours of [...]
