What the Governor’s Talking about
Today
Thursday, January 14,
2010
Governor Applauds $224
Million in Recovery Act Funds to Stabilize Neighborhoods, Rebuild Local
Economies
U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun
Donovan announced today that HUD is awarding $2 billion in Recovery Act funding
to states, local governments and nonprofit housing developers under HUD’s
Neighborhood Stabilization Program to spur economic development in hard-hit
communities and create jobs.
Michigan’s share
of the $2 billion is almost $224 million. The funds are going to a
consortium of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, 12 cities and
eight land banks.
“Michigan will now have the resources we need
to help some of the state’s hardest-hit communities, thanks to HUD’s generous
investment of Recovery Act dollars,” the governor said. “We have
identified the scope of the challenge we face and our ability to tackle
it. We’re ready to put these dollars to good use shoring up Michigan communities and
families, creating jobs and boosting local economies.”
The 12 cities are Battle
Creek, Benton Harbor, Detroit,
Flint, Grand
Rapids, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Kalamazoo,
Lansing, Pontiac,
Saginaw and Wyandotte. The eight land banks are
Berrien County Land Bank, Calhoun County Land Bank, Genesee County Land Bank,
Ingham County Land Bank, Kalamazoo County Land Bank, Michigan Land Bank Fast
Track Authority, Saginaw County Land Bank and Wayne County Land Bank
Corporation.
Governor Celebrates
Advanced Battery Manufacturer’s Expansion That Will Create More Than 500
Jobs
The governor today joined employees of A123 Systems to
celebrate the company’s expansion into plants in Livonia and Romulus, and its plans to hire more than 500
skilled workers beginning this year.
A123 Systems develops and manufactures advanced
lithium-ion batteries and battery systems. Today’s jobs creation
announcement is the first by a battery cell manufacturer since Michigan established its
first-in-the-nation advanced battery credits last
year.
Key
messages:
- Today’s news is
further evidence that the strategy we developed in 2006 to make Michigan the advanced
battery capital of the world is working.
- Michigan’s
groundbreaking incentives for battery development and manufacturing have been
vital to helping A123 Systems and other advanced battery companies to locate
and grow in our state.
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