Tagged: Stateside

The State Supreme Court began hearing cases this week with a full bench.

With Governor Snyder's appointment of new Justice David Viviano to replace former Justice Diane Hathaway, it was the first time in some six weeks that the court has had seven sitting justices.

Of course, Diane Hathway had to step down from the court in January and has since pleaded guilty to a federal bank fraud charge in connection with a family real estate deal. Detroit News columnist Laura Berman had been giving a lot of thought to the appointment of Justice Viviano, and her column in Tuesday's Detroit News reflects her disappointment in Governor Snyder's  choice of a man to replace Diane Hathaway. We now have five men and two women on the Supreme Court. Click the audio link above to hear the full interview.

Like it or not- for it or against it - Obamacare is coming, and coming soon.

The Affordable Care Act requires that most Americans carry some form of health insurance beginning next January or pay a fee. And by October 1, less than seven months from now, states need to have health care exchanges in place where consumers can buy the required insurance.

Last week, the State House agreed to let the state spend a federal grant worth nearly $31 million to help set up that health care exchange.

What would it mean for Michigan to partner with Uncle Sam in running this exchange?

For that answer, we spoke with Helen Levy. Levy is a research associate professor at the Institute for Social Research, the Gerald Ford School of Public Policy, and the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan.

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra has just wrapped up its Beethoven Festival to great acclaim and great ticket sales.

For the finale, they played Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in D-Minor.

The DSO streamed that final concert in hi-def over the internet. It's a clear sign that the DSO is finding new ways to reach more people to become a true 21st Century Orchestra and to become "the most accessible orchestra on the planet."

Just what does it take to keep the DSO thriving, and to make it a more "sustainable" business?

Paul Hogle is the man who has been tasked with that challenge. He's the Executive Vice President of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and he joined us today in the studio.

To listen to the full interview, click the audio above.

The Affordable Care Act requires that most Americans carry some form of health insurance beginning next January or pay a fee.

And by October 1, 2013, states need to have health care exchanges in place where consumers can buy the required insurance.  What would it mean for Michigan to partner with Uncle Sam in running this exchange?

For that answer, we spoke with Helen Levy. Levy is a research associate professor at the Institute for Social Research, the Gerald Ford School of Public Policy, and the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan.

The state Supreme Court is back in action this week. We speak with one columnist who isn't so happy with Governor Snyder's recent appointment of a male judge to replace former Justice Diane Hathaway. Does gender matter on the state's highest court?

And then, we'll take a look at the business side of classical music. What’s the future like for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra? We talked with Paul Hogle, the Executive Vice President of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Khalid Hanifi is a singer-songwriter who brings an unusual perspective to the songs and lyrics that he writes.

He's based in Ann Arbor, but as the son of an Afghan man who came from Kabul to the United States in 1956, Khalid has a foot in both worlds, and that informs his writing, from songs to his blog on the Huffington Post.
 
His latest CD is "A Brief Respite From Shooting Fish In A Barrel."

To hear the full interview, listen to the link above.

Anyone writing tuition checks to a college or university will tell you it takes a big bite out of your checking account.

Senate Democrats in Lansing are now re-introducing their Michigan 2020 plan.

Under their plan, Michigan high school grads would receive grants allowing them to pay tuition at our state's public universities and community colleges.

So, we're still here in it.

Stuck in the middle of winter and its hard to think about putting on flip-flops, sunglasses, and heading out for fresh, summer veggies from the farmers market.

But, it seems more and more people are going to farmers markets throughout the year, and paying for their purchases with Bridge cards.

Numbers are out from last year and they show the use of Bridge Cards at farmers markets around the state went up by 42 % in 2012.

Amanda Shreve joined us today. She's the Food Assistance Partnership Coordinator with the Michigan Farmers Market Association.

We always like to say here on Stateside that we are eager to get your ideas for stories that we should tell and people we should profile.

So when we got an email from Charlie Todd and Barb Schmidt of Howell - proud grandparents - telling us about a very special teacher at Howell High School, and his very special students, we soon realized that this was a story we wanted to share with the rest of Michigan.

We hear lots about the victories of high school teams all over the state. Generally it has to do with football, basketball, soccer, hockey.

This victory is different. The competition is called "We The People."

Schools compete based on their students' knowledge of the U.S. Constitution.

And this year Howell High School came in first in the state in the "We The People Competition," which was a first for Howell High and for any high school on the east side of the State.

The three competing students, Jon Reck, Aaron Osborne, Jake Tholen, and their teacher Mark Oglesby joined us today. Oglesby won the Michigan Civic Education Teacher of the Year in 2011.