A mishmash of things we noticed this week…
THE DILLON RECALL FOLLY: An appeals court decision means voters in Redford have a ridiculous choice at the ballot box in November. They can simultaneously recall House Speaker Andy Dillon and vote him back into office. The Freep’s Stephen Henderson pokes fun at this last remnant of the wasteful recall efforts after last fall’s tax increase.
TALE OF TWO SCHOOL DISTRICTS: Kalamazoo Public Schools Superintendent Michael Rice had big shoes to fill when he started his job a year ago. Outgoing superintendent Janice Brown gets much of the credit for convincing local philanthropists to launch the Kalamazoo Promise college scholarship guarantee. A year later, Rice gets rave reviews, according to the Kalamazoo Gazette’s ace education reporter, Julie Mack. Under Rice’s leadership, KPS launched full-day kindergarten in 14 schools, launched a new dual-language elementary school, launched a new school for students with behavioral issues, beefed up regional pre-school programs, sharpened district-wide curriculum, launched numerous parent- and student-outreach programs, improved high school security, and sharpened teacher training and recruitment. It’s a somewhat different story an hour up U.S. 131, where teachers and adminstrators in Grand Rapids have long been mired in a contract standoff.
WILDLY OPPOSITE WAYS TO ATTRACT PEOPLE TO FLINT: Well, you can’t accuse Flint Mayor Don Williamson of failing to make headlines. The brash mayor’s latest idea? Publicly funded drag racing. Meantime, Flint’s gaining in another more traditional measure of attraction — attendance at the Flint Institute of Arts is soaring.
A ‘COMMITTEE OF 100′ FOR DETROIT? Crain’s Detroit Business Publisher Mary Kramer suggests the best way to pick up the pieces and move past Kwamegate may be to form a group of several dozen business, religious, and community leaders who could draft candidates for 2009 city elections and propose other reforms to improve citywide representation and protect against a repeat of the scandals now stabbing at what remains of the city’s spirit.
