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 - Michigan has the infrastructure to see major progress in attracting biotechnology businesses, but the state is hurting itself by failing to develop and stick to a plan to promote the industry, top biotechnology executives said. As a result, Michigan is losing out compared to states like Ohio and Indiana, which in some
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,
MACKINAC ISLAND - A new agenda of state policies, driven by the concerns expressed by thousands of Michigan residents, and focusing on several key issues including a revised tax system, extending term limits for state politicians and changing spending priorities, is critically needed, said Phil Power, president of the Center for Michigan. In addition, Power
MACKINAC ISLAND - All seven Republican and Democratic gubernatorial candidates were on the stage, but the fight was between Attorney General Mike Cox and Ann Arbor business executive Rick Snyder as Cox accused Snyder of insider trading and Snyder made a thinly veiled reference to Cox's extramarital affair. Before hundreds of business executives during the
ANN ARBOR - The results are in and social media marketing for businesses is here to stay. The benefits of social media marketing to business are countless: it provides a way for businesses to market without having to loosen their financial belts. A survey by Re:NEW Michigan reported that 74.6 percent of respondents state social
KALAMAZOO - The first female as well as three other students from western states will join 11 Michigan students when Kalamazoo Valley Community College's second Wind Turbine Technician Academy starts its 26 weeks of intensive training on June 14. The first-of-its-kind training academy in the nation received 90 applications for the 16 slots. Six of
BATTLE CREEK - As part of the Totally Technology Series, Google executive Michal Lorenc will present to local businesses and non-profit organizations June 9th in the Branson Ballroom at the McCamly Plaza Hotel in Battle Creek. The presentation will deliver information about Google and tips on how to use Google technology and tools to promote
AUBURN HILLS - Plex Systems announced that independent research from Boston-based Aberdeen Group reveals Plex Online users are more likely to achieve Best-in-Class performance than those manufacturers using Enterprise Resource Planning software solutions from other vendors. The study, "Manufacturing Operations Management: Capitalizing on the Economic Recovery," concludes that manufacturers using Plex Online ERP, delivered as