Detroit News. April 26, 2017
Keep working on corrections reform
Michigan lawmakers should continue the push toward building a corrections system that spares both lives and taxpayers. Though significant reforms were passed in the last legislative session, much more remains to be done.
This week, the Legislature has been hearing from prison reform advocates, including from what may seem an unlikely source - the uber wealthy conservative Koch Brothers, best known for funding Republican political candidates.
Mark Holden, senior vice president and general counsel for Koch Industries, testified before a legislative committee Tuesday, telling lawmakers there’s much more they can do to build a humane and effective system for punishing criminals. Charles and David Koch are pushing criminal justice reform nationwide, saying the current system is inequitable and falls too heavily on the poor. And it costs too much.
“It’s not soft on crime, tough on crime, or meaningless slogans,” Holden says. “We want to be smart on crime and really soft on taxpayers.
Michigan spends nearly $2 billion a year on the Corrections Department. Lawmakers, noting the falling prison population due to the decrease in violent crime, hope to trim that spending considerably.
That’s why Rep. Klint Kesto, R-Commerce Township, held this week’s hearings in search of alternatives to long and costly prison sentences that often do little to rehabilitate the convict but add strain on the state budget.
Kesto says reforms signed by Gov. Rick Snyder earlier this year are a good start toward the goal, but must be built upon.
The key elements of the 18-bill package, which started in the Senate, make granting paroles simpler and target recidivism.
Kesto wants the House to add on to those reforms, particularly by passing the so-called presumptive parole measure that was left out of the Senate package.
That bill would end Michigan’s practice of keeping inmates locked up well beyond their minimum sentences.
Hanging onto well-behaved prisoners who are eligible for release is a reason Michigan has among the largest average prisoner length of stay in the country.
It’s a costly policy, and does little to curb recidivism.
Letting prisoners go when they have done their time and no longer present a threat to the community is not only humane, it also frees up money for other spending priorities, including programs that will help assure the paroled inmates don’t return to prison.
Releasing convicts on a fair timetable is the first step. Prisons must also do more to prepare inmates to survive in the outside world without returning to crime.
To that end, Republican lawmakers should reconsider plans to cut $40 million from the Corrections budget proposed by Gov. Rick Snyder.
The governor wants to spend money on alternatives to prison, and on pilot programs to make sure inmates have work skills when they are released.
These measures are essential to cutting down on repeat offenders, and the Senate and governor should work together to keep them in place.
But the recognition by the Legislature that corrections reform is still a work in progress is encouraging. This is an important task that could redeem more lives and allow Michigan to spend its resources meeting its many pressing needs, including infrastructure and education.
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Lansing State Journal. April 27, 2017
Lansing Promise shows real impact for area high school students
Since 2012, more than $1.2 million from the Lansing Promise has been invested directly into scholarships for Lansing area students to pursue higher education.
758 students have been accepted into the program so far, and the first 4-year cohort of Promise scholars has yielded 100 graduations and certificate completions to date.
The Lansing Promise is a scholarship program for students who live in the Lansing School District and graduate from a Lansing high school. Scholars are eligible for tuition assistance for up to 65 credits at Lansing Community College or the equivalent dollar amount toward tuition at Michigan State University or Olivet College.
Today, April 27, is the third annual Lansing Promise Dinner, a celebration of Lansing area students who continue to beat the odds and the community that continues to support them.
These are real kids showing real results, creating a real future for themselves. And it’s all made possible by a community of supporters that truly believes in the importance and power of education.
Among Lansing Promise’s biggest supporters is Magic Johnson, a 1977 Everett High School graduate who’s put the weight of his celebrity behind the Promise’s fund-raising efforts. In the first two Lansing Promise dinners, more than $2 million was raised - from Johnson, some of his friends and the greater community.
Make no mistake. Magic is the all-star, but Lansing Promise doesn’t take hold without the contributions of residents, community leaders and business owners in Greater Lansing.
Creating pathways to employment certifications, college and university degrees combines the interests of students and area employers.
A lack of viable candidates for manufacturing, skilled trades and jobs in corporate offices had left employers in the area without a suitable pool of potential employees.
Many beneficiaries of the Lansing Promise scholarship might not have an opportunity to pursue post-secondary education otherwise; many would be first-generation college students.
This year, let’s keep up the commitment and show these students Greater Lansing believes in them and their futures. And let’s ensure success is within reach for every Lansing student looking to embrace the opportunity.
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Traverse City Record-Eagle. April 28, 2017
Language classes translate to cultural preservation
Northwestern Michigan College officials - with support from the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians - plan to launch two new language classes in Anishinaabemowin, the language of the local Anishinaabe culture.
The move is an encouraging step toward helping preserve both the history and the culture of local Native Americans.
Language is powerful. It’s cultural influence extends far beyond day-to-day communication.
Latin, for example, is considered a dead language because it is no longer used in daily speech. But it functions as a Rosetta stone of sorts for many European languages, including French and Spanish, which grew from it in antiquity. The English language originally derived from a Germanic language, but over time absorbed many Latin-based words. Studying Latin can teach much to speakers of modern languages. Because of those connections, the Latin language has survived many centuries longer than the culture that created it.
The Anishinaabemowin language will never have the widespread impact of Latin. But preserving it as a living language is a worthwhile endeavor because it can help preserve the Anishinaabe culture. It is spoken in Native American communities spread throughout the Great Lakes region and beyond.
Language derives from the culture that creates it. The Inuit language includes many more words relating to snow than does English because the Inuit people needed nuance to describe with accuracy the world around them. The language of the Sami people of northern Scandinavia is said to include about 180 words related to snow and ice - and about 1,000 words relating to reindeer.
Things that are important in a culture tend to acquire a vocabulary that helps define both those things and the cultural values that surround them. According to www.anishinaabemdaa.com, a web page operated by the Manistee-based Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, “Anishinaabemowin” means “the language of a good person.”
Anishinaabemowin includes words that have complicated meanings - some individual words translate into entire English sentences. Those complex words demonstrate that the language - and its associated culture - approaches life with a very different perspective than the Europeans who colonized America.
Situations, emotions and images are perceived differently for Native American speakers, said Todd Parker said. “It opens the door for culture for a lot of Native American people in the Grand Traverse region. Here on campus, it affords a better awareness of tribal citizens and the cultural aspects of what they bring to campus.”
A curriculum committee last week approved the classes, said Parker, so officials now can begin marketing the courses for student enrollment.
We salute NMC’s addition of Anishinaabemowin language classes, which will offer solid support for Anishinaabe cultural preservation efforts.
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Petoskey News-Review. April 28, 2017
Emmet County making the right move with audit
Recently, the Emmet County Commission voted unanimously to move forward with an audit to determine the value of services provided by independent contractor company Airport Rescue Fire Fighters.
The company, known as ARFF and owned by Pellston Fire Chief Randy Bricker Sr., has provided certified aircraft fire control and crash rescue services to the airport, along with additional services like cleaning, snow removal, grounds and equipment maintenance, and UNICOM services, which is general communications service between the airport and the pilots.
The contract with the third party was first entered into in 2005 at a rate of $540,000, and has been amended three times. The current contract terms provide for a flat-rate, 3 percent annual increase in a deal that expires at the end of 2020. The amount paid to the company in 2016 was $852,822.52.
In a story in the Petoskey News-Review, county board chairman Charlie MacInnis stressed the service provided from ARFF is not under consideration, and there’s no expectation of wrongdoing. But because the company is a single-source provider without a bidding process, an independent review can help the county determine the value of the service provided.
We are in full support of the county conducting an audit on this service, specifically because it was awarded through a no-bid process. Auditing these costs are a good way for the county to make sure it is paying a fair price for services that are provided through no-bids because of the specialty of the service they provide.
We think the county should take this audit approach with all of services that are being supplied to the county through no-bid providers, to make sure the taxpayers are getting their money’s worth. It is no knock on the service provider and can even help the provider make sure they are being paid fairly, as well.
Other counties should also look at their own no-bid service providers and consider taking a similar approach. It is good for the county, good for the taxpayers and good for the provider to do so.
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