A suggestion. Where State Fairs and the like are being sacrificed for other budget priorities, I suggest these events be treated in similar ways as any Olympic Games or Superbowl. The States should 'sell the franchise' rights to private contractors and collect a percentage of profits as well.
I would think this could be a perfect opportunity for 'Six Flags' to come up with a corporate strategy to 'service' such events while using their larger market share of 'wholesale supply' purchasing power to bring costs down.
I mean after all, we need to know who can actually grow the largest watermelon, right? And what about those '4-H' kids and their prize dogs, cats, cows and horses. We can't let them down now, can we?
Granholm's State of the State speech a mix of cutbacks, 'green' initiatives (click title to entry - thank you)
Gary Heinlein / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
LANSING --Gov. Jennifer Granholm delivers her seventh State of the State address just after 7 this evening.
She is expected to call for downsizing state government, the end of the Michigan State Fair and the Upper Peninsula State Fair; a freeze on tuition at state universities; and a mini-moratorium on new coal-fired power plants.
And Granholm, aides say, will seek a 10 percent pay cut for elected state officials, and a moratorium on utility shutoffs.
Many of the governor's plans require legislative approval.
Her speech, televised statewide, will be delivered to a packed state House chambers, where representatives, governors, judges, top bureaucrats and guests will gather.
While focusing on government belt-tightening in tough times, the governor is expected to devote a third of her speech to proposals for "green" energy, with a plan to reduce the state's reliance on fossil fuels for energy generation 45 percent by 2020. It means some of the eight coal-fired power plants now in the pipeline will never be built.
YES !
And while that may be welcomed by environmentalists, the Granholm's plan to turn wetland regulation over to the federal Environmental Protection Agency has not been well received.
You can reach Gary Heinlein at (517) 371-3660 or gheinlein@detnews.com. You can reach Gary Heinlein at (517)371-3660 or gheinlein@detnews.com.
