Michigan college students might have a more difficult time affording summer school classes. There’s a debate in Congress that might put restrictions on one certain type of federal tuition assistance.
Pell Grants help many financially needy students afford college classes. For example, 15 hundred Wayne State University students used their Pell grants to pay for classes last summer.
Democrats at the state Capitol are calling for a law that would allow unmarried couples to adopt children. Right now only married couples or individuals can adopt children.
State Representative Jeff Irwin says it makes sense to allow couples who want to adopt but can’t get married to share the rights and responsibilities of raising children.
University of Michigan professor Dr. Terri Orbuch goes by the nickname of the Love Doctor, and she has some suggestions for things lovers and spouses should remember to say to each other on Valentine's Day. From the Huffington Post:
"I love you even more now than when we first met." This tells your partner you are still interested and gives him or her a sense of hopefulness, reassurance and security.
"You are my best friend/the best lover/the best partner." This tells your spouse that you notice who your spouse really is and do not take him or her for granted.
"I would still choose you." Every partner needs to hear these words on occasion. They are affirming, nurturing, and appreciative. It is also a reminder that you are renewing your commitment in this relationship.
"Let's plan _____ [a vacation, a date, getting pregnant]." This says you want your partner in your future, and he or she is your top priority. It also says that you and your partner are a team and that you are committed to the relationship!
"I've really noticed that you have _____ [been helping more around the house, been working really hard these past several weeks, been helping your mother through rough times, etc.]." This shows you are paying attention to the particulars of your partner's life and that he or she matters. It also says to your partner, "You are not invisible to me and I do not take you for granted.
Meanwhile, Allan Parkman, the author of the 2004 article “The Importance of Gifts in Marriage,” has some thoughts on why—and when—gift-giving becomes less important to a relationship. From the New York Times:
“Early in life, presents and occasions are important, but as you get older, you have everything you want.”
“We gave away a lot of money, but it wasn’t tied to an occasion, and it was not required.”
“You know you are doing the right thing. It’s not stressful at all.”
Dr. Orbuch—featured in the same article—suggests that couples should be spontaneous, and that this sense of novelty and adventure can be at least as important as what gift you give on Valentine's Day:
“Romance and passion is all about using the elements of surprise and the elements of newness.
“That’s what couples say, and that’s what I’ve found in the research.”
Whatever kind of research you get up to today, Michigan Radio wishes you a Happy Valentine's Day.
Well, it’s Valentine’s Day, and Mother Nature has shown Michigan a little love, at least. The temperature this morning was about forty degrees warmer than just a few days ago.
That makes a considerable difference when you have a puppy who wants to go for a mile and a half walk every morning, regardless of the weather. Nevertheless, Michigan needs all the love it can get.
Before April showers can bring May flowers, January snows bring February potholes. Roads all across Michigan are showing the strain of the premature Spring thaw, with in some cases cavernous holes opening up.
DETROIT (AP) - Detroit Mayor Dave Bing is meeting with New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu to discuss that city's recovery more than five years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the 9th Ward and
other parts of the Gulf Coast. Bing spokeswoman Karen Dumas says that both mayors were
preparing to take a walking tour of parts of New Orleans on Monday, and that the city bears "a lot of similarities to Detroit."
Bing is working to strengthen Detroit's most viable neighborhoods while formulating plans to deal with huge swaths of vacant land. He has said incentives will be used to encourage people to move into certain areas of Detroit, which has lost more than half its population since peaking at nearly 2 million in the 1950s. He plans to present a study April 1.
Michigan Radio traveled to New Orleans last year to learn some lessons as well. Rebuilding Detroit Schools: ATale of Two Cities looked at school reform in Detroit and New Orleans. The program explored successes and failures in New Orleans to see whether the lessons learned in New Orleans could offer some insights for education reform in Detroit.
This week, for our series “What’s Working,” Morning Edition Host Christina Shockley sits down with Karl Covert, the Dean of Washtenaw Technical Middle College.
Located on the campus of Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, Washtenaw Technical Middle College offers high school students the chance to complete their high school education in a college setting, while also earning either an associate’s degree or technical skill certification.
The Middle College was founded in 1997 by a group of educators who were concerned about two things: high school graduates being unprepared for college and a decreasing number of vocational training programs in the area.
How important is the quality of leadership to the economic vitality of a city? And what role can leaders play in the transformation of our region? Changing Gears is exploring these questions in a three-part series on leadership.
We start with the man who may have the toughest job of any big city mayor: Dave Bing of Detroit.
He has to keep his economically depressed city running, while convincing residents that Detroit must shrink to survive.
Detroit rap star Eminem, who was nominated for a record 10 Grammy Awards, took home two top honors: Best Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Album. Brother and sister duo BeBe & CeCe Winans won Best Gospel Performance for their song "Grace." Best Classical Contemporary Composition and Best Orchestral Performance went to University of Michigan composition professor Michael Daugherty for his piece, "Deus Ex Machina."
You can find the complete list of Grammy Award winners here.
Borders Books is expected to begin its next chapter this week. The Ann Arbor based bookseller is expected to file for bankruptcy protection Monday or Tuesday.
On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported Borders will likely file for bankruptcy protection this week. Borders stock fell by a third on the news.
It’s not like the news was unexpected. Borders has been struggling financially for years. Less than a year ago, investors were paying more than $3 for a share of Borders stock. When the market closed Friday, you could have bought a share of Borders Books for 25 cents.
Borders is still the nation’s number 2 traditional bookstore with more than 600 stores. But as book buyers have spent more online, Borders’ share of the total book market has shrunk.
It’s been delaying payments to publishers and others since December, as the company has tried to hang on to some cash. Borders’ bankruptcy plan reportedly includes closing more than 200 stores.
No word on what the plan is to convince book buyers to return to Borders.
He didn't liken the proposed state budget to an atomic bomb this time around, but Lt. Governor Brian Calley continues to talk about the big changes Governor Snyder is seeking with his budget proposal.
The Snyder Administration will unveil the budget proposal to the State Legislature this Thursday. The Muskegon Chronicle wrote about Calley's remarks made on Saturday:
Michigan Lt. Gov. Brian Calley told the Muskegon County Republican Party that Gov. Rick Snyder's first proposed budget to be unveiled Thursday to state legislators will make good on the promise of “shared sacrifice” and a taxing system that is “simple, fair and efficient.”
He said the first weeks of the Snyder administration has laid the groundwork for the most extensive change in public policies this state has seen in generations.
Detroit Symphony Orchestra talks continue
The DSO is trying to avoid a cancelation of its entire season with stepped up talks between management and the striking musicians. Both sides were negotiating over the weekend, the Detroit News reports:
While both sides were tight-lipped Sunday, musicians spokesman Haden McKay did confirm late this afternoon that talks that began Friday to end the work stoppage and avert cancellation of the rest of the 2010-11 season were still ongoing.
Friday and Saturday's talks were indirect, with each side making its case to an unnamed intermediary, who then communicated it to the other party in a form of shuttle diplomacy. McKay did not specify whether today's talks were face-to-face or indirect.
Aretha Franklin Honored
Aretha Franklin was honored last evening at the 53rd Grammy Awards. The Detroit News writes:
A noticeably slimmer Aretha Franklin appeared in a videotaped message at the 53rd Grammy Awards, following a tribute to the singer that kicked off today's awards show. She thanked fans for their support since her "hospitalization" but didn't get into any specifics of her illness, and she apologized for not being at the ceremony in person. "Next year, OK?" she said.
A video of what some of the artists think of Aretha:
The Michigan Small Business Tax isn’t the only tax getting attention right now: A lawmaker from Battle Creek wants to eliminate the personal property tax that businesses pay.
State Sen. Mike Nofs, R-Battle Creek, says Michigan doesn’t create a very welcoming climate for business.
Nofs wants to get rid of a tax that businesses pay on things like equipment and furniture.
Michigan’s current personal property tax is based on a community’s millage, and generates revenue for local governments.
Joseph Cassias once stocked shelves at the Walmart in Battle Creek. He was fired after he tested positive for marijuana. Cassias has an inoperable brain tumor and qualifies as a patient under Michigan’s medical marijuana act.
An agreement between Detroit’s mayor and suburban leaders could end years of wrangling over how the city’s massive water system is run.
The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department serves more than 4 million people in Southeast Michigan. It’s been the center of controversy for years. Suburban customers have complained about rate hikes and cost overruns, and they’ve demanded more say over how the department is run.
"Of all the regional issues that we’re at odds over, this is one that if we can show we can make it work, we can certainly apply the same formula to all the other challenges in the region."
The plan calls for Oakland, Wayne and Macomb counties to each choose an appointee to the board that oversees the department. A supermajority would be required to approve rates and contracts.
Wayne County Executive Bob Ficano says it’s a good deal for everyone:
"This thing’s been a political football for decades now. And in the past, the parties weren’t able to come together and have a common basis. And plus Mayor Bing is not the previous administration. And I think that went a long way in galvanizing where everybody could work together."
The deal requires the approval of a federal judge. The water department has been under federal oversight since the late 1970s for environmental violations.
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