Today the Michigan Economic Development Corporation announced that the Port Huron Area School District was awarded a $99,365 grant for installation of energy efficient lighting in seven elementary schools. The project will replace or retrofit obsolete lighting and ballasts containing PCB with newer lighting technologies, helping the schools become more energy efficient and cutting costs. According to Port Huron Area District Superintendent, H. Ronald Wollen, the district is looking to save an estimated $15,000 per year on its energy expenses due to the lighting upgrades. With energy prices on the rise, finding solutions to help schools cut their energy budget is increasingly important and will provide a safer learning environment for students.

“Replacing obsolete lighting equipment will make the school environment healthier for student and also bring energy and cost saving benefits to the school district,” said MEDC President and CEO Michael A. Finney. “The State of Michigan is pleased to partner with the Port Huron Area School District to replace older, unsafe ballasts and inefficient lighting fixtures with environmentally friendly equipment.”

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, PCB ballasts can be a significant source PCB emissions in schools and can have a toxic effect, especially in elementary school-aged children.

“These grant funds are a breath of fresh air in a time of tight finances and moves us another step in the right direction of providing a great learning environment for our students,” said Wollen.

Grants are administered by the Michigan Energy Office through the State Energy Program of the U.S. Department of Energy. The State Energy Program provides financial and technical assistance to states through formula and competitive grants. States use the grants to develop state strategies and goals to address their energy priorities.

Port Huron School District will be responsible for the labor to remove and install the fixtures and proper disposal of disposal of the PCB ballasts in compliance with the Toxic Substances Control Act.

The project will be completed prior to the start of the 2013-14 school year.

Strategies of how to best turn around, grow and rebrand the vity of Detroit have been proposed and discussed in local and regional forums over the last two decades.

With the city’s plummeting population, eroding tax base, rising crime, high unemployment and many blighted neighborhoods, thoughts on how to fix Detroit have varied in scope and boldness.

On Wednesday, March 27, Central Michigan University Global Campus in Dearborn hosted a provocative town hall debate to offer ideas on how to transform Detroit into a prosperous metropolis. Titled “Turnaround in the City of Detroit,” the event featured two panels. Panel one consisted of CMU students Brandi Crosby, Dennis Hoy, Jamal Moore and Christopher Lawrence Smith, all of whom are enrolled in the school’s Master of Science in Administration (MSA) graduate program. Panel two was comprised of representatives from Foster McCollum White (FMW), a Troy-based political, governmental affairs and organizational development consulting firm. Panelists were Eric Foster, FMW’s president, co-founder and partner, and Jason Cole, a FMW associate.

Serving as one moderator for the event was Bishop Ben Gibert, senior pastor, Detroit World Outreach Church, who has also held top leadership positions with the Big 3 automakers. Darnell D. Jackson, senior vice president and financial advisor for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, also served as a moderator. Jackson has had extensive success in facilitating and managing public and corporate finance projects to the tune of more than $9.5 billion.

CMU students articulated a five-year transformation plan for turning Detroit around. The students’ plan calls for the city to enter into bankruptcy, create a massive regional transit authority, implement county-wide policing, adopt cutting-edge technology, adopt an alignment of 10-city clusters, remap the distribution of city services, implement an aggressive immigration program, and launch a national and international marketing campaign. As a result, the city’s population would grow from the current figure of around 713,777 to over 850,000. Students believe that in five years, city residents will see an annual rise in household income from $28,000 to $35,000, while experiencing a decrease in violent crimes.

“We believe to grow, the city should start over,” Hoy told a packed room of CMU Global students and other stakeholders. “We should start with a clean slate from a prepackaged Chapter 9 bankruptcy. This will assist the city in restructuring its debt and would protect the city against creditors. We don’t have cash. We need some type of government assistance to simulate our local economy, similar to what was done to save the banks, GM and Chrysler. We feel that the city can’t cut its way to prosperity. We believe that key bonds should be eliminated and CBAs (collected bargaining agreements) renegotiated. We feel that improved state and regional cooperation is needed for real fiscal solutions. We also believe that having an emergency financial manager is good for the city.”

FMW’s presenters also laid out their vision based on the firm’s 17-point strategy. Some key points presented were to separate EMS from the Fire Department and implement billing model changes for service options and expand units to excess medical treatment and transport capacity; use the city’s 2012-21013 fiscal year budget — based on potential realized revenue opportunities — to yield a surplus of $369,649,387 to fund nine city departments, inclusive of police, fire, EMS, recreation, building safety and engineering, law, human resources, budget, public works; and sell off all excess physical infrastructure and land inventory for down payment on long-term debt.

“We believe that in order to make the city grow, you have to make the city work,” Foster said. “We have revenue that’s coming into the city, but we are so leveraged in negative ways. We have to free up cash. We have to reduce the number of fiduciary responsible operating departments. The city is technically trying to fund over 40 agencies and departments, similar to what we did during Mayor Young’s days in office. We don’t have the revenue now to sustain so many departments. We have to get down to a responsible number of agencies that the city can manage and let the others go to an authority.

“We have to improve funding streams to departments that impact buying decisions and what monies are left must be put into core agencies such as police, fire and recreation. We have to push for legislative changes that will support private-public partnership.”

The town hall debate was based on the “Debt and Equity Restructuring...City of Detroit Turnaround Case Study Project,” which was researched and prepared by Dr. Clarence Nixon, Jr., a CMU Global program instructor and founder and CEO of Technology Laboratory & Professional Development Center.

“It gives me great pleasure to have worked with our great group of students in writing this case study that should be near and dear to all of our hearts,” said Nixon. “Never in the history of this city has there been an opportunity like this. We now have an opportunity to put our stamp and mark on how to turn around Detroit. That was the whole idea behind writing the case study and holding this town hall debate.”

Baseball is back with a bang!

After beating the Oakland A’s in the ALDS and then sweeping the Yankees in the ALCS, the Tigers took a much needed break and did a little housekeeping. They let go of Brennan Boesch and Delmon Young, welcomed back Victor Martinez and picked up four-time All-Star Torii Hunter.

With these changes, the Tigers have one of the most potent lineups in the American League and are projected to finish first in the Central Division. The Detroit Tigers begin their 14th season at Comerica Park and their 113th year in Detroit on Friday at 1:08 p.m., hosting the New York Yankees.

With the big game right around the corner, the Tiger’s newest member, Torii Hunter, gears up to don the old English D and gives us a glimpse of what his life is like on and off the field.

Torii Hunter On The Field:

Michigan Chronicle: Welcome to Detroit! What has your experience been like with the Tigers? Have you gelled with the team?

Torii Hunter: I have gelled with the team just fine. It’s a good group of guys. You don’t know what to expect your first day, but right away they made me feel welcome. Smiling all the time, cracking jokes, they keep you involved. It’s a good mixture of guys, great character.

MC: Could you give us three words to describe Coach Leyland?

TH: Funny. Old. Man.

MC: Do you have any predictions for the season?

TH: I predict that we’ll go out and play every day and we’ll win. That’s the only way you should predict. I think any team should predict that. We’re going to take it one game at a time and go out there and try to win. If you do what you’re supposed to do and leave it all on the field, I think you’ll look up in October and be in the playoffs.

MC: What are your pre-game traditions/superstitions?

TH: When I was younger I had superstitions, but now that I’m older and wiser, smarter and really believe in God I don’t have any superstitions.

MC: At 38 you are playing great baseball. Last year you had your highest batting average and second highest on base percentage. What is your secret to staying in shape and sharpening your skills?

TH: One thing you have to do is eat right. You have to keep training and keep yourself in shape. If you get the belly and the bad obliques, that’s when you start slowing down. I think you have to try to eat right, keep your weight down and not lift the heavier weights. You can’t try to lift like a 21 year old who’s trying to get bigger. As a man you have man muscles and if you lift the heavier weights you can get slower.

MC: The Torii Hunter Project Education Initiative has provided college scholarships to students in California, Arkansas, Nevada and Minnesota. Do you plan to bring your charitable organization to Detroit?

TH: Yes, that’s definitely one of the many good reasons why I wanted to play with the Tigers. The Torii Hunter project will work just fine in Detroit.