Tea Party Candidate Identity Statements Could Be Invalid
The mysterious Tea Party candidates could face legal challenges because many of the candidates appear to have filled out their affidavits saying they accepted the party nomination before the convention was held, one election expert said.
Of the 20 affidavits reviewed by Michigan Capitol Confidential, all but one was signed before the reported July 24 date of the Tea Party Convention in Saginaw ... more …
This Week In Michigan - July 31
A weekly round-up of noteworthy news that you may have missed from this past week. more …
Full Time Stimulus Spending - Part Time Work
Last year, Ron Hesselink of Rudyard Electric Service took a job paid for by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Hesselink said it took two people three days to do the job which paid $11,933. It got reported as one job "created," according to Recovery.org, the U.S. Government's reporting site for the stimulus act. more …
Full Time Stimulus Spending - Part Time Work
... [I]t took two people three days to do the job which paid $11,933. It got reported as one job "created," according to Recovery.org, the U.S. Government's reporting site for the stimulus act ... more …
Michigan Stimulus Recipients Failing to Report – Part 2
More than two dozen Michigan companies, colleges and agencies failed to tell the government how they used nearly $59 million in stimulus money over the past two reporting periods. more …
Democratic Party Political Director Linked to Mysterious Tea Party Political Party
A tea party organizer says he has found the smoking gun that links the Democratic Party to the controversial "Tea Party" that is running candidates and seeking official ballot status in Michigan.
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Fake Political Party Runs Mystery Candidates
Tom Stillings said he learned the news late Monday afternoon - the Eastport man who belongs to four Michigan grassroots tea party groups is not the official Tea Party candidate vying to replace retiring Bart Stupak in the U.S. House of Representatives District 1. more …
Outbound Michigan
Michigan led the nation in percentage of interstate travelers headed outbound in the first half of 2010, according to United Van Lines statistics from January through June. more …
Three Unpaid Parking Tickets? No License!
Motorist with three or more unpaid parking tickets at one time should be looking warily over their shoulder at what state politicians are doing with legislation that has cleared the Michigan House but come to a stall in the Senate. more …
Analysis: Our Era's Tom Paine?
Here's how important I think this article is: It makes me think of Thomas Paine's Common Sense ... more …
Snyder and Cox - Top Spenders on Facebook Fans
Social networking site becomes campaign battlefield in 2010 gov raceIf money was the deciding factor and elections were fought on Facebook, then businessman Rick Snyder would decisively win ... more …
Mandatory Fire Sprinklers - Reigniting or Fizzling Out?
State agency looks into fire sprinkler mandate for new homes. more …
Auditor General Sees Dead People ... Getting Paid
There were Medicaid payments of perhaps up to $2 million paid to dead people. That was one of the more glaring findings in a recently released state audit ... more …
Green Jobs Training
Governor Jennifer Granholm recently announced the state has been awarded a nearly $6 million federal grant to train more than 1,000 Michigan people for "green jobs" ... more …
This Week In Michigan - July 24th
A weekly round-up of noteworthy news that you may have missed from this past week. more …
Voter Scorecard Designed to 'Make Lansing Listen'
The state's lawmakers need to understand that they will be judged by actual deeds and votes, not just the mere words that they speak on the campaign trail in advance of the Aug. 3 primary election. more …
You Do It? They Have a Tax For It
Septic tanks. Toll lanes. Vacant houses. High school athletic contests. Marriage. Beverage bottles. Nurses. What do they have in common? All were pitched by state legislators as a way to raise money for state government ... more …
The Art of the Ann Arbor City Budget
The debate in Ann Arbor, where firefighters are being laid off due to a multimillion dollar budget deficit, is over an $850,000 piece of art. more …
Derailed: Michigan Should Heed Greece's Experience With Light Rail
Michigan leaders who are enamored with building new light-rail passenger lines should look to Greece's experience with its railway system. The New York Times reports that Greece's Hellenic Railways is bleeding red ink at a rate of $3.8 million per day. more …
Gary Peters' 'Deathbed Conversion'
One of his political rivals called Gary Peters' "revolt" over spending a "deathbed conversion" and the Club for Growth says the Democrat Congressman approved trillions in spending and gave him a worse rating than Nancy Pelosi for his voting on economic growth bills.
more …Find Out Who Works for YOU in the Michigan Legislature
Michigan Capitol Confidential has now placed the recently acquired list of Legislative staff names and employees on its website. more …
Chetly Zarko - RIP
Michigan has lost forever the contributions of a stalwart freedom fighter: Chetly Zarko was found dead this morning at the age of 39. more …
Lawmaker Says Special Tax Favors Are 'Cronyism'
If a business is in need of a tax break, the quickest route may be the local politician. State Rep. Justin Amash, R-Kentwood, recently called out his colleagues for submitting bills that created tax advantages for single businesses.
more …More Federal Spending on the Way — And the Michigan House Asked for It
A $34 billion spending proposal in Congress was requested by a large bipartisan majority of the Michigan House. more …
An Impromptu Fishing Trip Isn't 'Pure Michigan'
One of the state's "Pure Michigan" ads talks about waking up on Saturdays in a state where we could "find ourselves fishing." more …
$41 Million in Stimulus Money Went Unreported by Michigan Agency
A Michigan agency landed on a government "naughty" list for not reporting how it spent $41 million in stimulus money, according to the official website that tracks the money disbursed by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). more …
Are We Really Being Stimulated?
The Lansing State Journal reported last week that the federal stimulus has been working. The White House projects the spending act created or saved between 2.5 and 3.6 million jobs. Experts at some limited government public policy think tanks give their opinions of the White House report... more …
Analyst - Cost to Revive Economy With Battery Plant Subsidies: $5 Trillion
In two respects, these plants appear to be signs of political development, not economic development... more …
This Week In Michigan - July 18th
A weekly round-up of noteworthy news that you may have missed from this past week. more …
Troy Takes Texting and Driving Ban to Another Level
Driving while talking on a cell phone could get you a ticket in Troy starting July 29. So could eating while driving, combing your hair, reading a map or putting on makeup if the motorists can't maintain control of their vehicle, according to a new city ordinance recently passed. more …
Michigan Taxpayers Writing Check to Second Electric Car Battery Maker for $100 Million
The operators of another Michigan electric car battery plant, A123 Systems, will receive a $100 million cash subsidy from the state for a 75-acre facility the company has leased in Romulus. more …
Taxing Canoes and Kayaks
People who hit Michigan's lakes and streams with their kayaks and canoes may have to pay a $5 fee to the state first as a host of bills looking to tax the state's summer activities are under consideration.
more …Analysis: Michigan Needs Regulatory Certainty
Regulatory uncertainty is a major barrier to job creation in this state. Companies are reluctant to invest in new or expanded operations in Michigan unless they have a reasonable expectation that if they meet the necessary environmental requirements they will receive a permit in a timely manner. more …
Analysis: Gulf Moratorium Similar to Directional Drilling Ban
The ban on drilling in the Gulf has much in common with the ban on directional drilling for oil and gas under the Great Lakes imposed by the Michigan Legislature - both are knee-jerk reactions that are short on science and technical merit and long on political posturing. more …
MichCapCon Profile: The 12th State Senate District Primary
Michigan's 12th state senate district is situated in the northwest quarter of Oakland County. It has traditionally had a very strong GOP base vote. Currently represented by Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, it will be an open seat because Bishop must leave due to term limits. more …
Michigan Exports to China Grow
The Chinese market for Michigan goods continues to grow. So it's strange that politicians here continue to point fingers at Chinese trade ... more …
Sun May Finally Shine on State Pols' Staff Salary Secrets
All five GOP Gov candidates support bill to remove special FOIA exemption for Legislature and governor's office
more …Bouchard Embraces Right-to-Work
Mike Bouchard became the first GOP candidate for governor to campaign on right-to-work legislation when he announced Wednesday in Grand Rapids that he would support it. more …
Union Lawyer Admits in Court that Stealth Unionization Is a 'Slippery Slope'
A fear that the "stealth unionization" of home-based daycare workers could just be the start of a bigger effort was acknowledged in court on Tuesday by a union lawyer. more …
The Book on ObamaCare’s True Cost
The federal health care law will still leave about 21 million Americans uninsured by 2019, will cost more than $2.7 trillion and add $352 billion to the national debt over 10 years of full implementation, says an expert at a public policy think tank. more …
Analysis: Michigan Public Payrolls Protected in Recent Recession
Since the beginning of the national recession in December 2007, Michigan's private sector has lost 70 times more jobs than its government sector... more …
