What the Governor’s Talking about
Today
Thursday, January 21,
2010
White House Agrees to
Governors’ Request for Summit on Asian
Carp
Nancy Sutley, chair of the White House Council on
Environmental Quality, has agreed to a request from Governor Granholm and
Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle for a summit between Great Lakes governors and
senior White House officials to identify a rapid response to the threat of Asian
carp entering the Great
Lakes.
Sutley suggested a meeting during the first week in
February to discuss the strategy to combat the spread of Asian carp and ensure a
coordinated, effective response to the threat across all levels of government.
Key
messages:
- The Obama
administration clearly understands the urgency of this critical issue.
We look forward to meeting with them on the Asian carp threat to the
Great Lakes.
- We must ensure
that everything possible is done to protect the Great
Lakes.
- The Granholm
administration has taken aggressive steps to stop the spread of Asian carp
into the Great Lakes
including:
- Directing the
attorney general to explore all possible legal actions to protect the
Great Lakes from the imminent
threat
- Prohibiting the
possession of live Asian carp
- Providing direct
financial support for the electrical barrier in
2004
- Urging
additional protections be put in place to block carp from entering the
Great Lakes
State Awards $547,902
Grant to Western
Michigan University
The Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic
Growth has awarded $547,902 through its Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS)
bureau to Western
Michigan University to establish a rehabilitation
internship/employment recruitment model program.
The program will provide funded internships with MRS for
students in rehabilitation counseling programs at WMU, Michigan State University, Wayne State
University and Northern Illinois University. The WMU Department of
Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology will administrate the grant and
work in collaboration with the MRS Workforce Improvement/Central and Northern
Division.
Key
messages:
- We’re committed to
training and hiring the most qualified candidates in rehabilitation
counseling. Increasing the employability of all Michigan workers,
including those with disabilities, is our top
priority.
- There is a growing
need for qualified rehabilitation counselors. The U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics projected that the need for vocational rehabilitation professionals
would increase 23 percent between 2006 and 2016. MRS staff currently
includes 265 certified rehabilitation counselors with master’s degrees who
provide individualized employment services to people with disabilities in all
83 Michigan
counties.
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