Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
A STUDY in Contrasts and Dysfunction?
Yin
Detroit news briefs: DPS doesn't turn in finance reports
February 25, 2009
Detroit Public Schools has failed to submit financial reports that are required under a state mandated consent agreement, according to the Michigan Department of Education.
DPS has not turned in at least five required documents since state Superintendent Mike Flanagan determined Dec. 8 that the district is in a financial emergency and in need of a state-appointed manager to take over the budget.
DPS has a $139-million deficit and has not paid millions of dollars in vendor payments in order to make payroll.
In appointing a financial manager, the state has exhausted its most serious penalty for noncompliance with the consent agreement. The manager, Robert C. Bobb, a former Washington city manager and school board president, is expected to start on the job next week.
YANG
Obama's school plea may not be enough
BY PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • February 25, 2009
President Barack Obama said Tuesday that it was the patriotic duty of students to finish high school and at least one year of college to equip the country for the 21st Century, but some say it's going to take more than words to stop kids from dropping out.
"Dropping out of high school is no longer an option," Obama said. "It's not just quitting on yourself, it's quitting on your country -- and this country needs and values the talents of every American."
Eboni Ivory, 15, a student at Detroit's Southeastern High School, said students relate to Obama and will listen to him, up to a point.
"He said he's going to change everything and he said yes, you can," she said. His words will inspire students, but it's not going to be enough to stop kids who have made up their minds to drop out, she said.
Others say Obama ranks high enough with teens that his words could make kids listen.
"Look at him, he didn't have anything and he's president," said Raneisha Chatman, 18, a senior at Detroit's Henry Ford High School. "He can make a difference."
Michigan's Michael Flanagan is to be among several state superintendents meeting today with Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in Washington.
The Detroit Public Schools could be a topic of discussion. Duncan said last week he worries about the "poor quality" of education Detroit students receive.
Contact PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI at 586-826-7262 or mmwalsh@freepress.com.
Detroit news briefs: DPS doesn't turn in finance reports
February 25, 2009
Detroit Public Schools has failed to submit financial reports that are required under a state mandated consent agreement, according to the Michigan Department of Education.
DPS has not turned in at least five required documents since state Superintendent Mike Flanagan determined Dec. 8 that the district is in a financial emergency and in need of a state-appointed manager to take over the budget.
DPS has a $139-million deficit and has not paid millions of dollars in vendor payments in order to make payroll.
In appointing a financial manager, the state has exhausted its most serious penalty for noncompliance with the consent agreement. The manager, Robert C. Bobb, a former Washington city manager and school board president, is expected to start on the job next week.
YANG
Obama's school plea may not be enough
BY PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • February 25, 2009
President Barack Obama said Tuesday that it was the patriotic duty of students to finish high school and at least one year of college to equip the country for the 21st Century, but some say it's going to take more than words to stop kids from dropping out.
"Dropping out of high school is no longer an option," Obama said. "It's not just quitting on yourself, it's quitting on your country -- and this country needs and values the talents of every American."
Eboni Ivory, 15, a student at Detroit's Southeastern High School, said students relate to Obama and will listen to him, up to a point.
"He said he's going to change everything and he said yes, you can," she said. His words will inspire students, but it's not going to be enough to stop kids who have made up their minds to drop out, she said.
Others say Obama ranks high enough with teens that his words could make kids listen.
"Look at him, he didn't have anything and he's president," said Raneisha Chatman, 18, a senior at Detroit's Henry Ford High School. "He can make a difference."
Michigan's Michael Flanagan is to be among several state superintendents meeting today with Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in Washington.
The Detroit Public Schools could be a topic of discussion. Duncan said last week he worries about the "poor quality" of education Detroit students receive.
Contact PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI at 586-826-7262 or mmwalsh@freepress.com.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Friday, February 06, 2009
THINK: EduWood Digital Learning Studios!
Hollywood comes to Oakland
The Oakland Press/TIM THOMPSON A building in the General Motors Centerpoint complex in Pontiac, which will be the site of a $70 million movie studio with nine sound stages.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009 11:40 AM EST
By CHARLES CRUMM and RANDAL YAKEY
Of The Oakland Press
Founders of a movie studio planned for Pontiac want to be making movies within 90 days. That’s a realistic goal, says county Executive L. Brooks Patterson.
The movie studio initiative was the high point of Patterson’s State of the County address Tuesday in Troy. Gov. Jennifer Granholm was supposed to make the same announcement at the same time in her State of the State address to the Legislature. Patterson blamed the governor for leaking news about the studio a day before the concurrent speeches. “The governor got so excited about the news — you remember she lived in Hollywood for awhile — she couldn’t contain her girlish enthusiasm and let the cat out of the bag,” Patterson said.
Patterson is among a halfdozen Republicans considering a run for governor when the term-limited Granholm leaves office in 2010.
But all agree the studio is certain to generate much-needed jobs.
“It’s good news — it’s going to be 3,600 jobs,” Patterson said Tuesday.
The local investors in the new studio are Oakland County developers A. Alfred Taubman, Gary Sakwa of Grand Sakwa Properties in Farmington Hills and Linden Nelson of Nelson Ventures in Birmingham. They’re teaming up with Raleigh Studios of Hollywood, Calif., and Endeavor Talent Agency of Beverly Hills, Calif.
“They’re the real deal,” state Rep. Tim Melton, D-Auburn Hills, said of Raleigh and Endeavor. Melton’s district includes Pontiac.
The Michigan Economic Growth Authority also is putting up money for the venture, the reason it was included in both Patterson and Granholm’s speeches.
The new venture, called Motown Motion Pictures LLC and currently based in Birmingham, will include both a film studio and production company.
The investors plan to spend $70 million for a 600,000-square-foot development, including nine sound stages located inside General Motors’ former Centerpoint truck plant at South Boulevard and Opdyke Road in Pontiac.
The state’s growth authority expects the studio to create 3,600 direct jobs and another 1,500 indirect jobs by the year 2020 with an average weekly wage of $824.
The authority on Tuesday approved a state tax credit valued at $101 million over 12 years. The project also will receive $12 million in state incentives along with job training assistance through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
Also receiving assistance from the authority are two other film industry businesses — one to be based in Plymouth and one in Detroit.
Michigan currently has the most favorable tax incentives for the film industry in the country.
Movie studio a definite among many ‘maybes’
Thursday, February 5, 2009 6:08 AM EST
By The Oakland Press
Amid all of the promises and glowing predictions we heard Tuesday night from both Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, there was at least one bit of very good, defi nite news.
In their state of the state and state of the county addresses, we were informed of the establishment of a movie studio in Pontiac. Motown Motion Pictures will invest $70 million to build its new film studios at a former General Motors plant.
Granholm noted that Pontiac’s studio was one of three projects coming to Michigan to boost its ongoing efforts to attract Hollywood filmmakers to the state. The governor noted that Wonderstruck Animation Studios will invest $86 million to build a new studio in Detroit and Stardock Systems, a digital gaming manufacturer, will build its production facilities in Plymouth.
The local investors in the Motown studio are Oakland County developers A. Alfred Taubman, Gary Sakwa of Grand Sakwa Properties in Farmington Hills and Linden Nelson of Nelson Ventures in Birmingham. They’re teaming up with Raleigh Studios of Hollywood, Calif., and Endeavor Talent Agency of Beverly Hills, Calif.
The Michigan Economic Growth Authority also is putting up money for the venture.
Motown Motion Pictures LLC is based in Birmingham and will include both a film studio and production company.
The investors plan to spend $70 million for a 600,000-square-foot development, including nine sound stages located inside General Motors’ former Centerpoint truck plant at South Boulevard and Opdyke Road in Pontiac.
The state’s growth authority expects the studio to create 3,600 direct jobs and another 1,500 indirect jobs by the year 2020 with an average weekly wage of $824.
The authority has approved a state tax credit valued at $101 million over 12 years. The project also will receive $12 million in state incentives along with job training assistance through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
However, tax revenue for Pontiac is expected to be anywhere from $1.4 to $2.8 million annually, according to city officials. The state expects its tax revenues to be $178 million by 2020.
Patterson even mentioned the county was in the early stages of its first-ever film festival, possibly coming in 2010.
In speeches that made a lot of promises, it was good hear about some real, concrete projects coming to Oakland County and the state.
We commend Patterson, Granholm, the Pontiac mayor’s office as well as other local and state officials for their efforts in securing this project.
Generally, Granholm painted a beautifully bright future for Michigan.
Of course, she had to do something positive because with the highest unemployment in the nation and an economy that is reeling, gloomy doesn’t even do justice as a description.
Meanwhile, Patterson also did some painting. As usual, he focused on the county’s accomplishments.
Patterson, among other things, noted that Automation Alley, on the strength of a 17-percent increase in membership last year, has hit the magical 1,000 membership mark. He also said that 106 Emerging Sectors companies have either located in Oakland County or expanded here over the past four years, resulting in $1.3 billion in new investment and the creation of 14,762 new jobs.
The picture Granholm crafted certainly sounded good. She plans to shrink state government and balance Michigan’s budget while creating more jobs through diversification of the state’s industries.
Obviously, the devil is in the details.
Will the state balance the budget through some type of tax increases on the backs of businesses and individuals? Will Granholm remember that whatever federal stimulus funds the state receives will be a one-time shot, so they need to supplement Michigan’s finances, not just prop them up for one more year. We certainly can’t argue with anything Granholm and Patterson said. We hope their visions come true.
But just how realistic are they? Historically, we would predict that Patterson’s projections are more accurate because Oakland County has continually led the way in fiscal responsibility and acumen.
Time will tell.
We’ll get a glimpse of Granholm’s plans to finance her visions when she presents her budget next week.
But no matter how successful Granholm and Patterson are in their programs, one thing is certain: For the time being, we’re all in for a bumpy ride, so hang on.
The Oakland Press/TIM THOMPSON A building in the General Motors Centerpoint complex in Pontiac, which will be the site of a $70 million movie studio with nine sound stages.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009 11:40 AM EST
By CHARLES CRUMM and RANDAL YAKEY
Of The Oakland Press
Founders of a movie studio planned for Pontiac want to be making movies within 90 days. That’s a realistic goal, says county Executive L. Brooks Patterson.
The movie studio initiative was the high point of Patterson’s State of the County address Tuesday in Troy. Gov. Jennifer Granholm was supposed to make the same announcement at the same time in her State of the State address to the Legislature. Patterson blamed the governor for leaking news about the studio a day before the concurrent speeches. “The governor got so excited about the news — you remember she lived in Hollywood for awhile — she couldn’t contain her girlish enthusiasm and let the cat out of the bag,” Patterson said.
Patterson is among a halfdozen Republicans considering a run for governor when the term-limited Granholm leaves office in 2010.
But all agree the studio is certain to generate much-needed jobs.
“It’s good news — it’s going to be 3,600 jobs,” Patterson said Tuesday.
The local investors in the new studio are Oakland County developers A. Alfred Taubman, Gary Sakwa of Grand Sakwa Properties in Farmington Hills and Linden Nelson of Nelson Ventures in Birmingham. They’re teaming up with Raleigh Studios of Hollywood, Calif., and Endeavor Talent Agency of Beverly Hills, Calif.
“They’re the real deal,” state Rep. Tim Melton, D-Auburn Hills, said of Raleigh and Endeavor. Melton’s district includes Pontiac.
The Michigan Economic Growth Authority also is putting up money for the venture, the reason it was included in both Patterson and Granholm’s speeches.
The new venture, called Motown Motion Pictures LLC and currently based in Birmingham, will include both a film studio and production company.
The investors plan to spend $70 million for a 600,000-square-foot development, including nine sound stages located inside General Motors’ former Centerpoint truck plant at South Boulevard and Opdyke Road in Pontiac.
The state’s growth authority expects the studio to create 3,600 direct jobs and another 1,500 indirect jobs by the year 2020 with an average weekly wage of $824.
The authority on Tuesday approved a state tax credit valued at $101 million over 12 years. The project also will receive $12 million in state incentives along with job training assistance through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
Also receiving assistance from the authority are two other film industry businesses — one to be based in Plymouth and one in Detroit.
Michigan currently has the most favorable tax incentives for the film industry in the country.
Movie studio a definite among many ‘maybes’
Thursday, February 5, 2009 6:08 AM EST
By The Oakland Press
Amid all of the promises and glowing predictions we heard Tuesday night from both Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, there was at least one bit of very good, defi nite news.
In their state of the state and state of the county addresses, we were informed of the establishment of a movie studio in Pontiac. Motown Motion Pictures will invest $70 million to build its new film studios at a former General Motors plant.
Granholm noted that Pontiac’s studio was one of three projects coming to Michigan to boost its ongoing efforts to attract Hollywood filmmakers to the state. The governor noted that Wonderstruck Animation Studios will invest $86 million to build a new studio in Detroit and Stardock Systems, a digital gaming manufacturer, will build its production facilities in Plymouth.
The local investors in the Motown studio are Oakland County developers A. Alfred Taubman, Gary Sakwa of Grand Sakwa Properties in Farmington Hills and Linden Nelson of Nelson Ventures in Birmingham. They’re teaming up with Raleigh Studios of Hollywood, Calif., and Endeavor Talent Agency of Beverly Hills, Calif.
The Michigan Economic Growth Authority also is putting up money for the venture.
Motown Motion Pictures LLC is based in Birmingham and will include both a film studio and production company.
The investors plan to spend $70 million for a 600,000-square-foot development, including nine sound stages located inside General Motors’ former Centerpoint truck plant at South Boulevard and Opdyke Road in Pontiac.
The state’s growth authority expects the studio to create 3,600 direct jobs and another 1,500 indirect jobs by the year 2020 with an average weekly wage of $824.
The authority has approved a state tax credit valued at $101 million over 12 years. The project also will receive $12 million in state incentives along with job training assistance through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
However, tax revenue for Pontiac is expected to be anywhere from $1.4 to $2.8 million annually, according to city officials. The state expects its tax revenues to be $178 million by 2020.
Patterson even mentioned the county was in the early stages of its first-ever film festival, possibly coming in 2010.
In speeches that made a lot of promises, it was good hear about some real, concrete projects coming to Oakland County and the state.
We commend Patterson, Granholm, the Pontiac mayor’s office as well as other local and state officials for their efforts in securing this project.
Generally, Granholm painted a beautifully bright future for Michigan.
Of course, she had to do something positive because with the highest unemployment in the nation and an economy that is reeling, gloomy doesn’t even do justice as a description.
Meanwhile, Patterson also did some painting. As usual, he focused on the county’s accomplishments.
Patterson, among other things, noted that Automation Alley, on the strength of a 17-percent increase in membership last year, has hit the magical 1,000 membership mark. He also said that 106 Emerging Sectors companies have either located in Oakland County or expanded here over the past four years, resulting in $1.3 billion in new investment and the creation of 14,762 new jobs.
The picture Granholm crafted certainly sounded good. She plans to shrink state government and balance Michigan’s budget while creating more jobs through diversification of the state’s industries.
Obviously, the devil is in the details.
Will the state balance the budget through some type of tax increases on the backs of businesses and individuals? Will Granholm remember that whatever federal stimulus funds the state receives will be a one-time shot, so they need to supplement Michigan’s finances, not just prop them up for one more year. We certainly can’t argue with anything Granholm and Patterson said. We hope their visions come true.
But just how realistic are they? Historically, we would predict that Patterson’s projections are more accurate because Oakland County has continually led the way in fiscal responsibility and acumen.
Time will tell.
We’ll get a glimpse of Granholm’s plans to finance her visions when she presents her budget next week.
But no matter how successful Granholm and Patterson are in their programs, one thing is certain: For the time being, we’re all in for a bumpy ride, so hang on.
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