MichiganVotes.org, a free, non-partisan website created by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, providing concise, non-partisan, plain-English descriptions of every bill and vote in the Michigan House and Senate.  … more

Highland Park was spending nearly $20,000 per student. And somehow, the bathrooms were filthy. Somehow, holes in the ceiling were never repaired. Somehow, students at the high school saw rodents in their classrooms. … more

Ecorse no longer is under emergency management and a number of safeguards are in place to make sure the city doesn't need another emergency manager anytime soon. … more

The IRS questioned how much I had reported for a salary; wanted me to explain how my activities would not be "political;" and requested assurances that my news site wouldn't "discredit particular institutions and individuals on the basis of unsupported opinions …" … more

Medicaid expansion appears to face as many obstacles in the state Senate as it does in the state House. … more

A couple of Michigan charter public schools are facing the harsh realities of being held accountable for performance.  … more

When the Ottawa County Patriots tried to register as a non-profit a few years ago, the IRS dragged its feet for over a year. The group joins the ranks of those across the nation which were singled out for additional scrutiny because of their politics, says the group's leader. … more

In Pontiac, the district spends about $16,400 per pupil, according to the state. In recent years, the district has lost 45 percent of its students — but the local school board and union negotiated a contract that caused the average teachers' salary to jump 35 percent, from $56,781 in 2007-08 to $76,449 in 2010-11.  … more

Jason Mellema, superintendent of Pewamo-Westphalia in Clinton County, said the union leadership was 100 percent behind allowing right-to-work as an option for their teachers. … more

Mothers of school-age children were surveyed by phone and asked whether they supported specific school choice programs. Nearly 70 percent of moms said that they support tax credit scholarships for students.  … more

“I'd say that the auto industry is an important part of it, especially in the early stages of the recovery,” said University of Michigan Economist Don Grimes. ”But it has really been much broader than that. There has been quite remarkable growth in other sectors, such as construction. If anything, the economic rebound in Michigan has been underestimated.” … more

The Wall Street Journal reports that the part-time Florida Legislature has adjourned for the year without approving the Obamacare Medicaid expansion, which Gov. Rick Scott famously flip-flopped into supporting earlier this year.  … more

Michigan House Republicans unveiled legislation Thursday that would expand Medicaid, but the measure includes conditions the federal government might reject.

The proposal requires that the Obama administration agree to significant revisions including a provision to allow Michigan to back out if the federal government doesn't cover all the costs. … more

When it comes to teacher salaries, 13 of the top 23 states were right-to-work states in terms of "salary comfort index," which factors in salaries and cost of living, according to a national survey.  … more

An appeals court ruling that school districts can no longer automatically withdraw union dues from paychecks will be “devastating” to the Michigan Education Association, says a union president whose teachers left the MEA to start a local union. … more

The difference between the left (and far too many who call themselves conservatives) and those who favor the free-market is that one side believes that tax breaks and subsidies create jobs when the government gives them to favored companies while the other side believes it is more efficient to have a level playing field, with lower overall tax rates for everyone. … more

By 2011-12, the school district's deficit increased to $1 million, and the district is now making national news because it closed its doors because it could no longer pay its staff. … more

The Walled Lake bus drivers who called in "sick" likely will still receive their paycheck at the end of the month. Instead of being paid for a day spent using Walled Lake students to exact revenge on officials faced with tough decisions, they should be fined. … more

When the movie "Love and Honor" was filmed in Ann Arbor in 2011, it received statewide media attention. But when it was released, the film was more like its original working title, "AWOL."  … more

The agency used as the "employer" of home-based caregivers who were forced into a union claims it was never the employer. So why does the SEIU maintain otherwise? Because if the union admits the Michigan Quality Community Care Council is not the employer, the unionization would not be legal. … more