LANSING - A plan by Michigan Senate Republicans to create $300 million in new revenue for the current fiscal year in exchange for phasing out the surcharge on the Michigan Business Tax will add to the state's structural deficit in the long run, said Craig Thiel with the Citizens Research Council. The proposal calls for
LANSING - There will be plenty of energy to meet Michigan's needs this winter because electric use is expected to fall 4.3 percent for the year and natural gas could fall 10.1 percent, the Public Service Commission said in its annual energy appraisal released Friday. Some of the use and cost reductions are based on
LANSING - In what could prove to be a major step toward ending the final deadlock on the 2009-10 budget, Senate Republicans developed a proposal Thursday that would raise more than $300 million a year for the next two fiscal years, with the proviso that the money would then go to reducing the surcharge on
LANSING - On Thursday, Gov. Jennifer Granholm issued orders (E.O. 2009-44 and E.O. 2009-45) creating a new Department of Natural Resources and Environment to encompass the duties of the current departments of Environmental Quality and Natural Resources as well as some functions of the Department of Agriculture. Administration officials estimated the changes, which would be
LANSING - After so many years of fighting to end what he called the unfair practice of basing insurance rates on credit scores, it's about time the Supreme Court give the state the power to stop the practice that results in higher rates for many Michigan residents, said state Insurance Advocate Butch Hollowell on Wednesday
LANSING - The Michigan Senate passed bills Wednesday that would require the Department of Human Services to work with utilities to identify residents who are eligible for assistance programs. The bills (SB 553 and SB 555 ) are part of a package of bills designed to protect residents from unwarranted utility disconnection, particularly by municipal
BLOOMFIELD HILLS - Butzel Long attorney and shareholder D. Stewart Green has been elected President of the Board of Directors of Lighthouse Community Development, a non-profit low income housing organization. It is a subsidiary of Lighthouse of Oakland County. Other subsidiaries include Lighthouse PATH and Lighthouse Emergency Services. Green has been a member of the
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Ca. - In a quest to woo customers from rivals, Google's Eric Schmidt and Verizon Wireless' Lowell McAdam announced Tuesday a strategic partnership to create devices based on Google's mobile platform, Android. But analysts are already questioning the competitive impact of the alliance since it is not exclusive. The agreement will produce a
DETROIT - A $250 million grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, could easily resolve the late breaking issues that prompted the unexpected, last minute collapse of the proposed Penske Automotive Group purchase of Saturn, according to Todd Ingersoll, Saturn's Retailer Council member. "This is well within the parameters of grants already made through
SOUTHFIELD - The outlook for U.S. light vehicle sales is beginning to improve, according to a recent R. L. Polk & Co. analysis. Polk estimates new light vehicle sales in 2010 will be up 9.6 percent over 2009, to 11.2 million units, with third quarter 2010 sales estimated to be the strongest, at an anticipated