Monday, April 20, 2009

Six O'Clock News - Our Pal Arnold Edition

My how things change. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, one-time critic of Detroit, now is calling for the feds to help out the domestic auto manufacturers.

"Detroit is going to be back. ... We all need to help Detroit," Schwarzenegger told the Society of Automotive Engineers convention here. "Right now, they are going through some painful times."


Schwarzenegger has converted two of his Hummers, one to biofuel and the other to hydrogen. Hey Arnie, could we interest you in buying the entire line? Give ya a good deal right about now.

  • On top of that news, it comes out today that GM will lay off 1,600 workers in the next few days to "ensure long term viability". 47,000 jobs are expected to be cut by year's end.

  • Some laid-off and/or bought-out autoworkers are taking the plunge into entrepreneurship, attending training and starting their own small businesses. The Detroit News features a few of those adventurous souls here. It's an incredible amount of work, but with the right idea...

  • Michigan stimulus news: Water projects in the state are set to receive a total of $236 million, $168.5 million will be used for wastewater treatment and $67.5 million for drinking water improvements. The DEQ reports that 25% of that money has not been earmarked; communities have until May 1st for drinking water, July 1st for wastewater, so get those applications in. The arts community is also receiving some funds; $345,100 from the National Endowment for the Arts, and $87,000 through Arts Midwest. May 15th is the deadline for applications there, see the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs site for more details.

  • The Freep wins a Pulitzer for its coverage of the Kilpatrick scandal. In a show of class, the DNews acknowledges the honor on their front page. Very nice, on both counts.

  • From the This Would Certainly Be Ironic Department: Rick DeVos, son of Dick and grandson of Rich, is planning a "a major initiative that will affect the city of Grand Rapids for years to come". Rumor has it that it may be a movie studio - Pomegranate Studios was registered with the state earlier this year under the RDV Corporation name. It may not, big secrecy involved so far... the announcement is set for Thursday morning.

  • Looking for Earth Day (this Wednesday!) activities in your community? The DEQ has an interactive web page that features some activities by region. Check out their Earth Day page to see some of the things they are doing with the schools. They give trees to kids and have them make posters and everything. Surprised Cropsey hasn't accused them of recruiting for ELF.

  • Lions reveal their new logo - eh. Drew Sharp was not impressed. Glad they didn't go all kiddie cartoonish (think Ravens - who at one time had a cool bird that they ditched for the stupid one they have now). You can check out the new look at the Lions store. I'm waiting on the draft myself.