Results 51 to 100 of 382
State Supreme Court Failure to Rectify Disastrous FOIA Ruling ‘Must Be Fixed,’ Says Center Attorney
Legislature should act swiftly to restore the intent behind Michigan’s public disclosure law
New Online Database Provides Unique ‘Context and Performance’ Information for Every Standard Michigan Public High School
Data for 678 schools range from ACT and MME scores to percentage of students qualifying for federal school lunch subsidies; chance to ‘uncover hidden gems’
Veteran Lansing Reporter Jack Spencer Joins Michigan Capitol Confidential
‘Highly regarded’ MIRS reporter and analyst will cover Capitol beat
Center Study Compares Financial Data for Michigan’s Urban, Suburban, Town and Rural School Districts
Kent County Court Rules That Straightforward Provision of State Public Bargaining Law Is Essentially Unenforceable
‘The court’s decision should send the Michigan Legislature back to the drawing board,’ says Mackinac Center lawyer
State of Michigan to Stop Illegal ‘Union Dues’ Withdrawals From Checks to Home-Based Day Care Providers
‘Fantastic news’ needs to be coupled with legislative action to prevent similar schemes in the future, says Mackinac Center attorney
Study: Michigan’s Public Employment Relations Act Should Be Overhauled or Eliminated
‘Collective bargaining for government workers is a privilege, not a right,’ says Mackinac Center labor analyst
Gov. Snyder’s Proposed Corporate Income Tax, Including Elimination of MEGA Program and Film Subsidies, Holds Promise for Michigan Economy, Analyst Says
‘Jobs’ programs not only failed, but distracted policymakers from effective tax reform
Nearly 3,000 Roll Call Votes of State Representatives and Senators Tallied for 2009-2010
More than 7,100 votes missed during session, according to MichiganVotes.org “Missed Votes Report”
Study: High Cigarette Taxes Cause Widespread Smuggling in Michigan, Elsewhere in U.S.
Smuggled imports make up an estimated 26 percent of Michigan’s total cigarette consumption in 2009
Mackinac Center Legal Foundation Files Suit Against 10 Kent County School Districts, KCEA, on Behalf of Taxpayers
Suit seeks to purge illegal “no-privatization” contract language
Mackinac Center Legal Foundation Asks Michigan Supreme Court to Review Day Care Union Case
Wright: Case involving 40,000 Michigan home-based businesses, $4 million and illegal government actions deserves hearing
Michigan's Regulatory Climate Drives Businesses and Jobs to States With Fewer Barriers, According to New Mackinac Center Study
Harding: Legislature should act quickly to streamline 'dysfunctional' system, adopt specific reforms to make Michigan competitive
Michigan Court of Appeals Denies Motion to Recommit — Once Again Without Comment — in Day Care Union Case
Mackinac Center Legal Foundation will ask Michigan Supreme Court to reverse lower court’s dismissal, put an end to illegal unionization scheme
GlobalWatt Claims on Applications for MEGA Deals Disputed, Raise Questions About MEDC Scrutiny
State Should Investigate GlobalWatt's Claims, Says Center Analyst
Michigan Court of Appeals’ Second Terse Dismissal of Day Care Union Suit Again Fails to Address Core Legal Questions
Court’s inaction allows illegal stealth unionization to continue
Michigan Supreme Court Votes Unanimously to Require Michigan Court of Appeals to Explain Its Rejection of Day Care Unionization Lawsuit
Court of Appeals will have to elaborate on six-word denial issued last December
Public School Support Service Privatization Increases 8.0 Percent in Michigan
Largest single-year increase, according to Center analyst
Center Analyst: MSU School Consolidation Study Appears to Contain Plagiarized Material
A school consolidation study published by Michigan State University's Education Policy Center appears to contain plagiarized material.
moreCenter Video: Gov. Granholm Boasts of Role in Forced Unionization of Home Day Care Workers
Mackinac Center President Joseph G. Lehman To Discuss Overton Window on Glenn Beck’s Fox News Show Today
Beck’s new book borrows title and premise from theory developed by late Center vice president
MIDLAND — Mackinac Center President Joseph G. Lehman is scheduled to appear on "The Glenn Beck Show" on Fox News Channel at around 5:20 p.m. EDT today to discuss the Overton Window of Political Possibility, a theory created in the mid-1990s by the late Joseph P. Overton, formerly the Center's senior vice president. Beck's new book, "The Overton Window," was released June 15, and it already tops the bestseller list. Lehman was a guest on Beck's nationally syndicated radio show on June 9.
moreGov. Granholm’s Tax Hike Proposal Would Kill 30,000 Michigan Jobs in First Year, According to Tax Analysis Model
Losses eventually moderate to 13,500 if tax cuts phased in
MIDLAND — Mackinac Center President Joseph G. Lehman is scheduled to appear live on The Glenn Beck Program during the 10 a.m. hour EDT (or second hour if tape delayed) on June 9 to discuss the Overton Window of Political Possibility, a theory created in the mid-1990s by Joseph P. Overton, the Center's late senior vice president. Beck's newest book is a work of fiction titled "The Overton Window," due to be released June 15. The program is carried on 400 stations nationwide, including 15 in Michigan.
moreMackinac Center President to Discuss Overton Window Theory on Glenn Beck’s Radio Show Wednesday
Beck’s new book borrows title, premise from theory developed by Center scholar
MIDLAND — Mackinac Center President Joseph G. Lehman is scheduled to appear live on The Glenn Beck Program during the 10 a.m. hour EDT (or second hour if tape delayed) on June 9 to discuss the Overton Window of Political Possibility, a theory created in the mid-1990s by Joseph P. Overton, the Center's late senior vice president. Beck's newest book is a work of fiction titled "The Overton Window," due to be released June 15. The program is carried on 400 stations nationwide, including 15 in Michigan.
moreState Report Shows Status of State Employee Pension Plan Worst in 15 Years: Less Than 80% Funded, With More Than $3 Billion in Unfunded Liability
MIDLAND — Richard C. Dreyfuss, an actuary and Mackinac Center adjunct scholar, today responded to new state data showing substantial unfunded liabilities in state employees' pension and retiree health care plans by calling on Michigan legislators to "address state employee retirement cost burdens now, rather than later, when they will become even worse."
moreFunding Questions Surround Hangar42 Studios Deal, According to Center Analyst
State officials mum on details surrounding possible $45 million project touted by Gov. Granholm in State of the State address
MIDLAND — Recent data compiled by the National Education Association shows that average salaries for Michigan public school teachers from 2003 to 2009 outpaced those of teachers in all other states when factoring in states' per capita personal income levels, according to analysis by Mackinac Center Education Policy Director Michael Van Beek.
moreAverage Teacher Salaries in Michigan Highest in the Nation When Compared to Relative State Wealth
Analysis of school employee ‘concessions’ and how the foundation allowance works part of new Mackinac Center series on school funding myths
MIDLAND — Recent data compiled by the National Education Association shows that average salaries for Michigan public school teachers from 2003 to 2009 outpaced those of teachers in all other states when factoring in states' per capita personal income levels, according to analysis by Mackinac Center Education Policy Director Michael Van Beek.
moreEven at Michigan Supreme Court, State Continues to Duck Central Question of Whether Home-Based Day Care Providers Are Government Employees
In Loar v. DHS, state’s meager 12-page Supreme Court brief concedes the main issue by never addressing it, notes Mackinac Center attorney
MIDLAND — In a filing yesterday with the Michigan Supreme Court in the lawsuit Loar v. DHS, Mackinac Center attorney Patrick J. Wright lodged a response to a Department of Human Services brief that he later described as a "thin hodge-podge of technicalities." The filing by Wright, director of the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, called on the Supreme Court to immediately rule in favor of the home day care business owners the Mackinac Center represents in the case.
moreNews Release: Mackinac Center, Michigan Press Association Ask Michigan Supreme Court to Overturn Ruling That Would ‘Gut’ State’s Freedom of Information Act
Public officials could cover up criminal, improper or irresponsible activities by simply claiming communications to be ‘personal’
MIDLAND — A lower court's interpretation of what constitutes a "public record" under Michigan's Freedom of Information Act would shield criminal and other improper government activities from public scrutiny, according to an amicus brief jointly submitted to the Michigan Supreme Court today by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and the Michigan Press Association.
moreNews Release: Fewer People Employed in Michigan Movie Industry Than Before Film Tax Credits Began, According to Center Analyst
Despite state giving away $117 million in subsidies over two years, there are nearly 10 percent fewer industry jobs
Mackinac Center Legal Foundation Appeals Loar v. DHS to Michigan Supreme Court
Wright, clients hold press conference at the Hall of Justice in Lansing
LANSING — The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation will appeal the case of Loar v. DHS to the Michigan Supreme Court, according to Director Patrick Wright.
The public-interest law firm brought suit against the Michigan Department of Human Services in September on behalf of home-based day care providers who were forced into a government employees union and had dues withheld from state subsidy payments provided to low-income families. In late December, the Michigan Court of Appeals dismissed the case without explanation.
moreSunshine Week 2010 Update: Several Kent County Schools Now Posting Checkbooks Online
Algonac, Meridian and North Branch schools also make spending records available to public
Show Michigan the Money project Director Ken Braun said he is pleased that at least eight Kent County school districts began posting their check registers online in early 2010. In response to a news release issued earlier today, one Kent County school district notified Braun that the district had been posting check registers online. Repeated requests from Braun seeking participation from the region's districts appeared to produce no posted check registers — and even some resistance — in 2009, but a breakthrough appears to have occurred this year in eight Kent County districts.
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