LANSING - Michigan Economic Development Corporation CEO James Epolito this week announced three new Smart Zones in Sault Ste. Marie, Sterling Heights, and Blackman Township. Sault Ste. Marie - Supported by Lake Superior State University and officials from the city of Sault Ste. Marie, the zone will stimulate the growth of regional technology-based companies. It
LANSING - Governor Jennifer Granholm expressed wariness on Tuesday about re-opening a wide-ranging debate on the state's tax structure, but renewed her own proposal for a reduction in the Michigan Business Tax surcharge as part of the payoff from savings achieved through changes in prisoner sentencing policies. She also said she is looking at the
LANSING - Michigan's political outlook was jolted Thursday by the decision by the John McCain campaign to pull resources out of the state, a move that at least for now takes it out of the battleground territory. The decision came as Barack Obama, who held two rallies Thursday, has been increasingly visible and added to
LANSING - If the Legislature and Michigan voters approve a constitutional amendment changing the way property taxes are assessed, homeowners will see relief but it will be at the expense of services provided by local units of government, municipal officials said Friday. Bill Anderson, legislative liaison for the Michigan Townships Association, said his preliminary estimates
LANSING - In its latest analysis of the 2008 presidential race, Michigan State University's Institute for Public Policy and Social Research shows an Electoral College tie between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama - 269 votes each. A candidate needs 270 Electoral College votes, at a minimum, to win the presidency outright, said IPPSR
LANSING - Wall Street's newest crisis could force the national recession to go on longer and further hurt Michigan's economy, especially if there are more credit restrictions that could further hurt the automotive industry, state Treasurer Robert Kleine said in an interview Monday. But he said he hoped there would not have to be any
LANSING - With new turmoil roiling the state and national economic waters, the need is greater than ever for Congress to enact a second-stage economic stimulus package that could include loans for American auto manufacturers, Governor Jennifer Granholm and U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Detroit) said Monday. The two participated with U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)
LANSING - An economist told a Michigan Chamber of Commerce Future Forum on Tuesday that the U.S. economy, rocked most recently by the collapse of two of the top five financial firms, is going through a change of historic proportions, but also expressed optimism that the country contains strong "silver bullets" that will lead it
LANSING - Tensions between lawmakers regarding the Detroit River International Crossing study boiled over Tuesday as the conference committee on the Department of Transportation budget convened and could not reach agreement to move the final 2008-09 budget to the floors of the House and Senate. A vote to move the bill to the chambers resulted
LANSING - A report released by the House Fiscal Agency recently said the state's change from the Michigan Merit Award to the Michigan Promise Grant, which separates out financial aid to students based on finishing their coursework instead of giving them a lump sum at the start of their freshman year of college, could bring