Happenings in Lansing, Michigan 12/3/2014

MIRS MIDDAY UPDATE: Capital Outlay Approves $370.4M In Project Planning

http://www.mirsnews.com/alert.php?alert_id=1866

The story comes from MIRS. My comments in red

Emphasizing to community college and university officials today that it's "not a promise to fund," the Joint Capital Outlay Committee today approved a Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 Capitol Outlay, which gives the green light for planning and fundraising to begin on 29 projects.

"This is not a spending bill," said Chairman Sen. Darwin BOOHER (R-Evart). "This is planning authorization only."
When does it become a “SPENDING BILL”? Who the hell does Senator Darwin Booher (R-EVART) think he is fooling?

SB 0761 provides funding for 13 university projects for a total state commitment of $291 million if the projects go forward. The total cost, including institution share of the university projects is $683 million.
Planning authorizations for community colleges covered 19 projects with a state share cost of $79.3 million. The total cost, including institution share of these projects is $158.7 million. Combined, the 29 projects will cost both the state and institutions $841.7 million.
Among the university projects, the largest is at the Ann Arbor campus of the University of Michigan for the School of Dentistry. The $122 million project renovated half the space in the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Institute to correct overcrowded and outdated lab space.
f universities have multi-million / billion dollar endowments, why is the state contributing any funds?

Among community colleges, the largest is a $20 million project for Northwestern to renovate West Hall to provide an additional 35,000 square feet for a Student Learning and Simulation Center.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to require schools with LARGE endowments to spend that before the state contributes? That would free up more money for community college development and improvements.

A Senate Fiscal Agency (SFA) issue paper on the projects as well as S-1, Draft A of SB 0761 can be downloaded from MIRS' information page for SB 0761. The emphasis on "planning authorization" follows a restructuring of the Capital Outlay process in the legislature during 2012. Essentially, the way the system works now is state agencies, universities and community colleges submit a "wish list" of projects to the state.
Does the wish list items benefit the university or the students?

Then the Chair and Vice Chair along with the Department of Technology, Management and Budget review, evaluate and score all the project requests using specific criteria. This review and scoring has to be done by March 1.
In developing the FY 2015 Capital Outlay project list, DTMB required more time to gather information and input from the universities and community colleges. As a result, only three projects were included in the governor's FY 2015 budget recommendation.

Inkster DHS Building Proposal Approved

A move by the Department of Human Services to consolidate operations from three current spaces into a new leased building in Inkster got the blessing today of the Joint Capital Outlay Committee.

The project had been aired out in an earlier hearing (See "DHS Building Proposal In Inkster Questioned," 09/10/14). During that hearing, Sen. Glenn ANDERSON (D-Westland) voiced concern over whether the state was getting the best deal by leasing the new property at $20.71 per square foot.

Most commercial real estate in Inkster is priced at less than $10.00 a square foot. There is a commercial / industrial site with buildings listed at $690,000 and it is equipped with cranes. Just about the same size building and it comes with 3.38 acres of land. 2830 Beech Daly Road
Inkster, Michigan
24,775 SF Total Building Size
3 Cranes: 2-10 Ton and 1 5-Ton
Newer roof (5 years)
20' Clear 3.38 Acres Fenced Outside Storage
Status: Active

Price: $637,000

Bldg. Size: 24,775 SF
Cap Rate: N/A
Primary Type: Industrial
Sub-Type: Warehouse

Anderson and Rep. Phil POTVIN (R-Cadillac) were the only no votes this morning in approving the 25-year lease that will cost the state $680,900 a year in lease payments.
What would it cost to PURCHASE a building in Inkster?

How do you get to a Reunion?

Thirty-five years. Wow, how did this happen, that these 35 years could pass without a second thought? Since I graduated high school, I have done so much, while accomplishing so little. Like so many people, I look back and find myself asking what proof is there that I have done anything that mattered. Graduating high school is supposed to be the beginning of independence. It is also the start of one’s influence in society and eventually one’s affluence within their community.

As I have written elsewhere, I graduated high school to do like my father had done—work at McLouth Steel. 1978 was a time when blue-collar jobs were withering and employment officially became a who-you-know process.

Everyone who hired in the summer of 1978 was connected to current employees. Some were connected to management; some with labor and others were friends of a friend whose mother was sleeping with someone that had enough influence to move their son’s application to the top of the pile. Me, I had my father who had been in management the past 6 years.

So with no thought or concerns as to what I was walking into, I went to work the steel mill in July 1978.

For those who have never worked a factory, the best way for me to describe it is by comparing industrial life with moving to another country with just the clothes on your back and a job you have never heard of or trained for until you arrive at the time clock.

The factory is a lot like high school. Everyone finds a clique and communities begin to take shape. I found myself floating between several communities. Eventually I found a home with the locals. Once you have a preferred community, it precludes your mingling with other folks, even those who are like-minded. Even amongst the deviant, there are cliques.

While you were preying...

Later in life I once again found myself drawn to the church. Though it wasn’t so much for the denominational theology as it was for the social intercourse.
I went to several of the institutions that had their teachings aired on the local Christian radio station—103.5 WMUZ—in Detroit. I had been listening to the station going on 3 years. It was after I found the station that I met Brett. For more on Brett and his religious influence on me see my previous post.
I eventually walked into a Presbyterian Church that was 5,000 plus faithful members. Jesus had said wherever two or more are gathered in his name, he is there. What could a gathering of 5,000 accomplish?

“For those who believe in God, most of the big questions are answered. But for those of us who can't readily accept the God formula, the big answers don't remain stone-written. We adjust to new conditions and discoveries. We are pliable. Love need not be a command nor faith a dictum. I am my own god. We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and our educational system. We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.”

― Charles Bukowski

Reading between the lines of Matthew 18

My father wasn’t particularly taken by religion. For whatever reason he never made a big production out of attending church. Though he always made it a point to watch the Reverend Billy Graham. Dad would say that was the only man of God he had any respect for. May be it was the experiences Dad had growing up in Harlan, Kentucky from 1929 through the early 1940s that neutered his interest in the church. It could have been the death of his older brother in 1937. Dad wasn’t anti-church; he just wasn’t enthusiastic about it either.
Mom was more likely to encourage our religious curiosity. However, she wasn’t going to turn us completely loose when it came to independent explorations. When I asked about running off with the neighbors to church on Sunday morning, she didn’t support the idea, but she didn’t exactly forbid it—not directly anyway.
Looking back, Mom seemed a bit apprehensive about the Catholic Church. Or may be it was just the holier than thou attitude many churches seem to have. When she was taking us on Sunday morning, it was to a small Lutheran Church. A single storey building, simple glass doors like those you would find on most retail businesses, and a small podium at ground level which the pastor stood behind to deliver his sermon of the day.


“Sometimes you climb out of bed in the morning and you think, I'm not going to make it, but you laugh inside — remembering all the times you've felt that way.”
― Charles Bukowski

Who rules the world?

To say I grew up in a church would be misleading. During my early years, my parents—that is to say mom—took her five kids to the neighborhood Lutheran Church. We sat with her and Dad in the pews every Sunday. Not sure why we didn’t go to the Sunday school classes. If I recall, Mom said something about being able to sit like humans and listen to the nice man talk. That and she wanted us to pay attention.
Eventually I was noticing my friends heading to church every Sunday as well. My immediate neighborhood, that is the street I lived on, was predominately Catholic. They all went to the same church every Sunday. This may have been because it was the only Catholic Church within 15 miles of our neighborhood.
After some prodding from my friends, I asked Mom if I could go to church with my friends.


“Sometimes you climb out of bed in the morning and you think, I'm not going to make it, but you laugh inside — remembering all the times you've felt that way.”
― Charles Bukowski

Disenfranchised from our values

I have always felt there has been a disenfranchisement between what we have been taught to believe / accept as righteous and beautiful, and that which is to be honored and valued.

This has never been more obvious than in church.


“Sometimes you climb out of bed in the morning and you think, I'm not going to make it, but you laugh inside — remembering all the times you've felt that way.”

― Charles Bukowski

Fixing some green velvet cake for St. Patrick's Day

Guest post written by Brenda Stevens It never hurts to do something a little special for your family. One of my favorite things to do is to bake treats. So I like to bake desserts for my family to mark special occasions. I started planning what kind of dessert I should fix for my family for St. Patrick's Day after our big dinner. We're of Irish heritage so I really love to fix some straight-up authentic Irish cuisine to help promote the holiday.

But I wanted to make sure that I pick out some food that my kids will eat. They're kind of picky, so the super authentic stuff sometimes doesn't pass their approval. When I was looking for some kid-friendly Irish dessert I saw the website http://www.debtsettlementusa.com and after I looked through it a little bit I decided to finally settle our debt. We've had financial issues for a while and I'm ready to have our finances be much better.

I found a recipe for green velvet cake, a twist on red velvet cake and just decided to fix that because I think that the kids will love that a whole lot more.