LANSING - Retail sales in Michigan showed a slight improvement, officials with the Michigan Retailers Association said Wednesday. James Hallan, president of the association, said even with the increase retail sales are still struggling in Michigan because of the severe winter weather. The association said 42 percent of retailers reported increased sales during February while
LANSING ? The Michigan Strategic Fund is investing more than a half-million dollars in Short's Brewing Company in Bellaire, and in metal-stamper Proos of Grand Rapids that is expected to leverage about $6.3 million in private investment. Proos is a family-owned and operated ISO certified manufacturer that creates sophisticated metal stamping products, welded assemblies, sheet
LANSING - Some local governments would not receive full reimbursement from the revenues lost as a result of phasing out portions of the personal property tax under legislation pending in the Michigan House, but the chair of the House Tax Policy Committee said Monday he anticipates fixing the problem without difficulty. When the bills flew
LANSING - House Speaker Jase Bolger said Wednesday both tax relief and road funding can be priorities with a $1 billion surplus. "When you're dealing with $1 billion, what it comes down to is balancing those priorities," Bolger (R-Marshall) said. "I think we need to fix our roads. I want to see us continue to
LANSING - A leading Pennsylvania transportation official came to Lansing to speak to local road officials in Michigan about how his state passed a combination of gas tax and fee increases to raise $2.3 billion for roads and encourage those in Michigan that the task, while difficult, can be done. Michigan and Pennsylvania share several
LANSING - The House Appropriations General Government Subcommittee heard from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority and the Michigan Land Bank on Tuesday, the agencies made their case for receiving the recommended funding for fiscal year 2014-15. Michael Finney, president of the MEDC, said much of the program's budget priorities
LANSING - The executives of the state's three biggest counties, at a joint press conference Monday, urged Michigan legislators to reject proposed changes to the state's auto insurance system. Supporters of the changes said the three officials were out of their depth to weigh in on the plans. Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano, Macomb County
WASHINGTON DC - U.S. personal income increased by 0.3 percent in January, driven by Increased government benefits from the Affordable Care Act and from cost-of-living increases, Comerica Bank said in a report issued Tuesday. The expiration of long-term unemployment benefits was a drag, as was the after-effect of the December boost in lump-sum social security
LANSING - Doubt is mounting among House Republicans about using the state's surplus funds for tax relief with momentum building to instead use the funds for road repairs as the pressure from constituents, especially after the first thaw of the year, builds to improve the state's crumbling roads. Rep. Tim Kelly (R-Saginaw Township), sponsor of
SAN FRANCISCO - Total Kickstarter pledges have surpassed $1 billion, the company announced Monday. The total came from 5.7 million donors, and half of the sum was pledged in the last 12 months alone. In Kickstarter's first month in April 2009, its users raised nearly $3,900. Kickstarter, along with competitor Indiegogo, have become funding places