You'll want to check out the Grand Rapids Festival of the Arts and Be a Tourist in Your Town this weekend!

Michigan Homeowners Insurance Rates Rise Sharply
The Detroit News reports that Michigan homeowners have seen their annual insurance premiums rise 85% since 2000 ($430 to $797 annually) according to the Insurance Institute of Michigan in Lansing. Michigan residents are paying at least $100 more than the national average due to increased flood claims and rising rebuilding costs.

DeVos Announces Candidacy
The Associated Press via the TC Record-Eagle reports that former Amway/Altair president Dick DeVos announced yesterday at the the Detroit Regional Chamber's annual Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island that he will enter the 2006 Michigan governor's race.

Michigan Teaching Programs Good, But Teacher Job Market Poor
The State News reports that due to local and state budget cuts, many recent teaching graduates from Michigan universities are entering a difficult job market and considering moving away to find opportunity. As teaching programs in Michigan rank among the highest in the nation, recruiters from other states and cities in need of teachers are flocking to Michigan.

Verizon Testing Broadband Wireless
Detroit Free Press technology writer Mike Wedland reports that Verizon has been quietly testing EV-DO (Evolution Data Optimized), a new wireless broadband system that covers not just Oakland County but pretty much all of southeastern Michigan. Wedland speculates that it will be available in the metro area by the end of the summer and all over Michigan in 2006.

Regulators Upset Over Dow Dioxin Studies
The Detroit Free Press reports that state and federal regulators say Dow Chemical Co. conducted secret dioxin studies in violation of their operating license. The testing occurred in 2003-05 and the company is required to have such work approved by regulators. Dow countered that the studies will help to create a better a cleanup strategy for the Tittabawassee River.
Also see Dioxin Q & A in the Freep

Read More (external link) »