Friday,
July 17, 2009
We are resuming sending out talking
points on current issues for the governor’s friends and family. Talking
points will be issued the final day of every work week.
American
Graduation Initiative / State Education and Job Training
Efforts
President Obama’s $12 billion
American Graduation Initiative supports the governor’s education and job
training efforts in
Since 2004, the Granholm
administration has implemented several initiatives to prepare students for
success in college and the workplace, as well as to ensure that workers of all
ages have the training they need for 21st century
jobs.
Talking
points:
•
• Every
• Every child now takes a college
admissions test.
• Early College High Schools around
the state let students earn both a high school diploma and an associate’s degree
in just five years of study.
• The Michigan Promise scholarship,
the state’s first universal college scholarship, helps nearly 100,000
• For adults who are unemployed or
looking to upgrade their skills, the governor’s No Worker Left Behind program
can help. No Worker Left Behind provides up to two years of free tuition
at a community college, university or technical school. Through June 30 of
this year, almost 82,000
Law
Enforcement Grants
The governor announced that the
state awarded more than $41 million to 93 different state, county and local
agencies to help local communities bolster law enforcement activities and create
or retain jobs. The $41 million comes from the Edward Byrne Memorial
Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) program included in the federal Recovery
Act.
Talking
points:
• Grant money will help law
enforcement agencies enhance public safety by putting additional police officers
on the street. The money also can be used to target gang activity and
specific high-crime areas.
• Funds also can be used for
multi-jurisdictional task forces, crime prevention and domestic violence
programs, technology upgrades and information-sharing
initiatives.
• The funds are particularly helpful
given reduced revenue sharing for local
communities.
The governor announced conceptual
plans for a
A
The board is created by Executive
Order 2009-36 that also abolishes the Department of History, Arts and Libraries
and transfers that department’s functions to various other state departments,
agencies and commissions.
Talking
points:
• MCIR would promote understanding
of state history and the cultural diversity of
• The center would draw upon
• Elimination of the Department of
History, Arts and Libraries is part of an ongoing effort to streamline state
government. This will be the third state department eliminated during the
Granholm administration, plus more than 150 state boards and commissions.
Lt. Governor John D. Cherry Jr., at the governor’s request, is leading an even
broader review of state government that could eventually result in the number of
state departments being reduced to eight.
Settlement
of Female Prisoner Litigation
Based on the advice and
recommendation of the attorney general, the governor authorized a settlement of
pending litigation against the Department of Corrections that predated the
Granholm administration and resulted in the governor ordering policy changes
early in her tenure. According to the attorney general, the settlement is
in the best interests of the state because in the long run it will save the
state millions of dollars. The class action litigation involved the claims
by up to 500 female prisoners of sexual assault, abuse and harassment by male
corrections officers. Under the terms of the settlement, the department
has agreed to implement various measures to further improve its internal
procedures with respect to grievances and complaints by female prisoners
alleging sexual harassment or assault by male prison staff. The department
also has agreed to pay the plaintiffs $100 million over six years, with the
first payment of $10 million to be paid on Oct. 15,
2009.
Talking
points:
• This settlement was based on the
advice and recommendation of the attorney general.
• By settling the litigation, the
state will save millions of dollars.
• The plaintiffs’ claims in these
cases predate the Granholm administration. At the direction of the
governor, the Department of Corrections changed the staffing of the housing
units in female correctional facilities to specifically address and reduce
sexual assaults and sexual harassment by male corrections staff toward female
prisoners. The department also implemented policy and training changes to
improve its investigations of grievances and complaints related to sexual
assaults and sexual harassment by male staff against female
prisoners.
# # #
AP: Granholm applauds Obama's
college retraining plan
Granholm told reporters
following Obama's speech Tuesday at
http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/national-35/1247608853230050.xml&storylist=newsmichigan
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON THE
AMERICAN GRADUATION INITIATIVE
First of all, one
of the best governors in the country, please give Jennifer Granholm a big round
of applause. (Applause.) Lieutenant Governor John Cherry -- give
John a big round of applause. (Applause.) . . . Now is the time to create
the jobs of the future by growing industries, including a new clean energy
economy. And Jennifer Granholm has been all on top of this as the governor
of
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-on-the-American-Graduation-Initiative-in-Warren-MI/
http://www.freep.com/article/20090715/NEWS06/907150345/1001/NEWS/Obama-in-Warren--New-skills-are-key
http://www.detnews.com/article/20090715/POLITICS02/907150361/1031/Obama-pledges-$12B-for-community-colleges
WEYI-TV: MI officials comment on
President's speech
“Five years ago, we embarked on
an aggressive agenda to double the number of college graduates in
http://www.connectmidmichigan.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=324402
There's no sense putting more
people on the unemployment line if we can prevent it. Ms. Granholm deserves
credit for seeing an opportunity and grabbing it. Neither state's budget woes
will be solved by this arrangement. But it could spare some communities in
http://www.mlive.com/opinion/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2009/07/editorial_ok_california_lets_d.html
WEYI-TV: Video:
FJ: Gov. Jennifer Granholm awards $5
million in police grants to
Announcing the grants Wednesday, Governor
Jennifer Granholm said the money will help clean up the streets and incorporate
technology. “What those Recovery Act dollars mean is that people can shore
up technology as well as (additional) bodies on the street,” Granholm said. . .
. Governor Granholm said
http://www.connectmidmichigan.com/news/video.aspx?id=325118
http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2009/07/gov_jennifer_granholm_awards_5.html
MLIVE: Gov. Granholm:
http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2009/07/gov_granholm_southeast_michiga.html
FARM FUTURES: Final Push for Higher
Ethanol Blend Made by Growth Energy and NAEDA
Midwest
governors agree and send letter to EPA
In a related development,
governors from 10 Midwestern states have asked EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to
increase the blending levels of ethanol to 15%. In a letter to the Environmental
Protection Agency, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm wrote that the
http://www.farmfutures.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=CD26BEDECA4A4946A1283CC7786AEB5A&nm=News&type=news&mod=News&mid=9A02E3B96F2A415ABC72CB5F516B4C10&tier=3&nid=E63BCAED98A04522912EF600A14EC2C3
BAY CITY TIMES: Caro company says
increasing ethanol-gas blend could pump up jobs in
Growth
Energy estimates increasing the blend rate to 15 percent would create 136,101
new jobs and inject $24.4 billion a year into the American economy.
http://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/index.ssf/2009/07/increasing_ethanol_in_gasoline.html