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| New rules from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) regarding hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the southeast part of the state have divided many of the state’s residents.
According to a February 10 Royal Oak Patch article, the DEQ’s new rules require drilling companies to give advance notice of upcoming exploration projects to nearby residents. In addition, the rules mandate additional safety precautions for fracking and well exploration in the Detroit metropolitan area. Fracking, a method of extracting oil and gas from shale deposits with blasts of high-pressure water mixtures, is currently responsible for about 43% of oil production and 67% of natural gas production throughout the United States. However, many environmental groups oppose fracking due to its ability to release harmful chemicals and pollutants into the environment and water supply, among other things. The DEQ’s rules, which are only effective in counties that have populations of at least 750,000, have already spurred protests from activist groups and residents who claim the rules don’t do enough to protect the environment or public health. One of these activist groups, Citizens Against Residential Drilling, claims the rules largely failed homeowners who live near fracking exploration sites, as they don’t make any provisions for residential zoning or other setbacks. The radioactive waste that fracking releases into the environment is another point of contention. According to the Detroit Free Press, Southeast Michigan’s landfills have recently become home to low-level radioactive waste generated by fracking projects across the country. “Southeast Michigan is the new ground zero for radioactive frack waste,” LuAnne Kozma, a campaign director at the Committee to Ban Fracking in Michigan, said. In response to these protests, DEQ officials have said their hands are largely tied; Michigan state law prohibits local laws from banning oil and gas drilling operations, the Royal Oak Patch reports. “Drilling is specifically protected by law from local bans,” Brad Wurfel, spokesman for the DEQ, said in a statement. “In that context, we’ve done a lot of good work toward addressing the issues and trying to make sure everyone’s interest is addressed.” |
Category: Uncategorized
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Michigan’s Fracking Industry Initiates Debate Over Radioactive Waste
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Detroit Schools Are in Desperate Need of Subsidized Early Education Programs, And This Is Why
“We’ve tried everything, and my jails are still bursting at the seams,” said Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon, speaking about Michigan’s high incarceration rate. Napoleon and Bettison were just two Michigan law enforcement officials who recently met with members of the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, which conducted a study on the connection between high incarceration rates and low-quality early education in the state of Michigan.
The study, “Cost Savings of School Readiness Per Additional At-Risk Child in Detroit and Michigan,” predictably showed that higher-quality education, starting as early as preschool or kindergarten, is inextricably linked to lower crime rates and lower incarceration rates.
“In this state, only 4% of the prisoners under the age of 20 have a high school diploma…I get people in the jail that can’t spell the name of the street they live on. Some of them can’t spell their mother’s name,” said Napoleon.
“Everyone wants to get tough on crime, and build more jails and prisons, but getting to the root causes of crime is getting tough on crime,” agreed Detroit Police Cmdr. Todd Bettison.
According to the Detroit News, researchers conducting the study have estimated that for each child in Detroit enrolled in an early education program, taxpayers save about $96,000, which would otherwise be funneled into the criminal justice system.
Ideally, the Detroit News states, politicians will recognize the importance of funding early education programs, especially for children living in low-income households. Law enforcement officials, like Napoleon and Bettinson, are hoping to continue working with education advocacy groups, like the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, to convince Michigan lawmakers to reallocate federal and state funding.
In a perfect world, every child would have the opportunity to attend a private school that provides exceptional care to young children, such as one with a Montessori-based learning system. According to a February 2015 article by the U.S. News and World Report, the majority of the 8,000 Montessori schools across the country focus on early education programs; studies have proven that students in these programs are more likely to develop better academic, social, and emotional skills.
Although Detroit is far from a perfect world, simply creating a safe space for young children to develop healthy skills would be incredibly beneficial. For the parents with limited incomes who can’t afford to send their young children to anyextra programs, Napoleon has explained that even the smallest amount of funding would help get young kids off the streets, into classrooms, and out of jail cells.
“We’re all winners when we can see our kids in a cap and gown instead of an orange jumpsuit.”
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Coffee Company Owned by Detroit Equity Firm Makes New Acquisition
Detroit- and Toronto-based equity firm Huron Capital Partners announced Feb. 11 that its portfolio company Ronnoco Coffee has acquired the Des Moines, IA, coffee producer U.S. Roasterie.
“Over the past 20 years, U.S. Roasterie has partnered with hundreds of customers in developing and supporting their private label brands,” Scott Meader, Ronnoco’s chief executive officer, said in a news release. “The addition of this facility and management team gives Ronnoco another platform through which to pursue alternate channel growth in a large and growing segment of the coffee industry.”
Coffee is the second most sold commodity in the world, following only oil. That makes it a $20 billion industry globally. While coffee is typically grown in less developed countries, for reasons both of climate and agricultural cost, it is often roasted closer to the distribution point, in order to maximize flavor.
U.S. Roasterie is a private label roaster with approximately 60 employees. Ronnoco purchased it from Howard Fischer, but the terms of the deal have not been made public.
Ronnoco, which is itself jointly owned by Huron and Ronnoco management, has made four other acquisitions in the past two years as part of a buy-and-build business plan. By acquiring International Blends, Henderson Coffee, the coffee and tea aspect of Love Bottling Company and Biff’s Coffee, the company has expanded into Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, with its products being sold in restaurants, convenience stores, offices and casinos.
Since Huron’s initial investment in 2012, Ronnoco’s revenue has increased by over 40%.
Meader promised to “leverage the capabilities, systems and outstanding customer service of Ronnoco” to make the latest deal a profitable one, with Huron Senior Partner John Higgins commenting that “We are thrilled to see Ronnoco continue to expand and execute on the buy-and-build strategy we envisioned, and we’re confident in the management team’s ability to use this as a runway to drive continued growth of the business.”
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Gov. Snyder Plans To Expand Michigan’s Healthy Kids Dental Program To Cover an Additional 275,000 Kids
Gov. Rick Snyder’s $54 billion 2016 budget for Michigan wasn’t an easy one to create, especially after it became clear that the state would have to cut funding in multiple areas due to a predicted $532 million in lost revenue. There’s one issue that Snyder isn’t giving up on, however: dental care for low-income families, especially kids. According to the Detroit News, Snyder wants to expand the state’s taxpayer-funded dental program by allowing an additional 875,000 individuals from low-income families to be eligible for financial assistance that the program provides.
Snyder reportedly wants to add spaces for up to 613,000 low-income adults in the program by increasing the number of dentists that accept Medicaid insurance plans.
He also wants to expand the Healthy Kids Dental Program, which currently provides dental care for more than 544,000 children across 80 counties in Michigan. This new expansion would provide dental care to an estimated 275,000 children who come from low-income households in Wayne, Oakland, and Kent counties.
The Healthy Kids Dental Program, which began 15 years ago under former Gov. John Engler, has provided valuable dental care for thousands of children whose parents would otherwise be unable to pay for regular dental checkups. The Detroit News explains that children are automatically enrolled in the program if they’re under eight years of age and live in households that have an income 150% below the poverty level.
The expansion would cost an estimated $21.8 million for Michigan taxpayers and would certainly put an extra strain on the state’s already-tight budget, but it would provide invaluable healthcare advantages for children in Wayne, Oakland, and Kent counties. As MLive explains, these three counties are the only ones that aren’t covered in the Healthy Kids Dental Program, despite being the most populous counties in the state.
As the Michigan League for Public Policy has noted, this program expansion plan is “long overdue,” especially considering that dental health is much more affordable for households of any income level when it is preventative, rather than reactive. The cost to maintain one missing front tooth, for example, can range anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 over a lifetime — but with regular dental cleanings, kids can learn better dental hygiene practices to prevent tooth decay and dentists can catch cavities early with regular screenings.
While the program expansion will take a while to implement — in regards to the funding alone — it’s clear that Gov. Snyder has no intention of letting this major healthcare problem continue.
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Detroit Drivers Pay Nearly 800% More for Car Insurance Than Drivers in Cheapest Areas, According to New Study
A new study commissioned by CarInsurance.com suggests that of all the factors that go into determining car insurance rates, just five digits — your ZIP code — can have a surprisingly large impact.
In order to control for considerations such as gender, age, car model, driving record and financial history, the California-based website compared rates from six major Medicare agents near me providers for a hypothetical 40-year-old man driving his 2014 Honda Accord 12 miles each day (with a clean driving history and good credit).
The Motor City turned out to be the most expensive place for this driver to get coverage, with Detroit’s 48227 zone averaging an annual premium of $5,109. If that driver lived just over 100 miles south, however, he’d be living in the cheapest ZIP code in the country; in Green Springs, OH, the same coverage would cost only $647 on average. The national average came in at $1,231, and cities such as Palo Alto, CA, and Denver, CO, were closest to that figure.
Why does ZIP code factor so heavily into insurance rates? “Based on the number and severity of car insurance claims within the area, insurers assign ZIP codes different risk levels,” Michelle Megna, managing editor of CarInsurance.com, wrote in an explanation of the study’s findings. “Insurers take into account the frequency of thefts, collisions and vandalism to gauge the likelihood of such incidents happening to drivers within the ZIP code.”
The most expensive areas after Detroit were 11226 in Brooklyn, NY ($3,877 annually); 19132 in Philadelphia ($2,760); 02903 in Providence, RI ($2,760); and 70117 in New Orleans ($2,542).
The top five discount ZIP codes were rounded out by 28704 in Arden, NC ($671); 04072 in Saco, ME ($709); 24073 in Christiansburg, VA ($751); and 83706 in Boise, ID ($753).
It’s unlikely that drivers will move across the country to take advantage of some of these ultra-low rates. But it’s good for them to know that moving even a few miles can raise or lower premiums.