My mom is SO Courtney Cox in the Bruce Springsteen Video.

Today Mi Mama saw JG herself at Sparrow Hospital in downtown Lansing, following up on her State of the State regarding educational policy.

Of course, being the dynamic diva she is, my mother had to go visit our own Gov. I mean, it's Granholm! A PR woman from the Rossman Group pushed her toward the Gov, and after a quick Quake shout-out, JG gave Mi Mama a super-hug and chatted for a bit. Infectious! Fabulous! A true woman of the people!

Funny thing is, Tom George spoke after Granholm to give the Republican POV. As with the crummy YouTube clip, no one bought it and the crowd dispersed! Ha!

Republicans, you're in for some stormy weather. No hot, middle-aged women want to give Tom George a hug. No sir-ee.

Granholm almost at another touchdown: possible score of 300 jobs!

Not a done deal yet, but hopefully contracts like these can undo the foundation of spin from the MI-GOP about that "single state recession" nonsense.

From the Detroit Free Press:

In addition, Gov. Jennifer Granholm laid a hard-sell pitch on Tesla founder and CEO Martin Eberhard last week to also put a $100-million, 300-employee Tesla manufacturing plant in Michigan -- a factory earlier reported to be headed for Arizona, North Carolina or California.

It would be a serious boon to the Michigan economy, and also be a nice bonus for alternative energies -- one of the four cornerstones to the 21st Century Jobs Fund.

Tesla Motors was formed in 2003 by Eberhard, 46, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who sold the digital book company NuvoMedia for $187 million, and by his partner Marc Tarpenning. Last year, they began selling their first product, the $100,000 Tesla Roadster, which is powered by lithium-ion batteries and boasts a range of 250 miles per charge.

[...]

Tesla's U.S. manufacturing plant and the Rochester Hills engineering center would be focused chiefly on the company's next-generation electric vehicle, a sedan that Eberhard hopes will cost around $50,000 and sell about 10 times the volume of the roadster.

If this goes through it will be a huge touchdown for team Michigan. And it might keep pushing the Big 3 toward that little thing called an electric (or a plug-in hybrid) car.

You go, JG! Let's hope Tesla comes over to the Great Lakes State!

Further Proof that JG Rocks It, Inner-City Style

The Michigan State Police may have a shiny new headquarters in downtown Lansing -- on Grand and Kalamazoo to be exact. The same spot of triangle-shaped property Engler had wanted to develop on.

But thank you, Gov. Granholm for investing in our cities:

Meanwhile, DMB [Department of Management and Budget] officials feel the triangle property, now a parking lot alongside the Michigan Department of Human Services Building, would fall in line with Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s executive directive to move all state buildings into urban centers whenever possible.

Of course, the project has been -- and may continue to be -- mucked up by Republican politics. Oh, and of course, there's the why-can't-we-build-with-Eyde jab. I'm so sick of Eyde whining on about bids. As if that family hasn't time-stamped all of Metro Lansing up and down forever and always enough.

Kyle Melinn has the low-down on the Lansing City Pulse. Man I love that paper.


For a flip side of the coin regarding inner-city development via the "Jobs Today, Jobs Tomorrow" plan (which the paper snidely headlines "Jobs Today, Jobs Anywhere"), the City Pulse has a fantastic article that's worth a read.

Blast From the Past!

As we're approaching the 2nd inauguration of Jennifer Granholm as our Michigan Governor, here's a little blast from the past!



This is from my senior year of high school in the Eastern High School parking lot. My BFF and I painted our rear windows for JG in 2002. Of course, my car was viciously attacked with a barrage of Posthumus bumper stickers one day -- but no one could stop the Granholm train that was being pimped out via my 1985 Oldsmobile Delta '88! People would honk and wave as election day approached; it was a big hoot. ;)


Just a little bit of fun! Happy Holidays; Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays to All, with a Little Granholm Magic.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, everyone! I'll be venturing the long Amtrak-ish trek back for the holidays myself, so I wanted to share a little moment of happiness.



Isn't that the most adorable photo ever? It's Governor JENNIFER GRANHOLM with first husband DAN MULHERN on the eve of the 2006 election. It's just an electrifying photo, and makes me smile every time!
The photo (hence the PROOF) is from The Granholm Express Bus Tour, and you can visit the gallery and order original prints from the photographer.*

*Sorry to borrow! It was just such a great photo, I had to use it. I don't want to step on copyrights, so I've linked the original site and photographer. Check it out, and look for yourself if you happened to be at some of the events!

The campaign was such a difficult one: we were up against Dick DeVos of the Amway Corporation and his infinite resources. We had to endure "fire the Governor!" and the negative, noir-style ads that screamed: "Michigan: You're Losers!" But our hope in a 21st-century Michigan endured.

Here was a little ditty JG wrote as a 2006 retrospective:

"We continued our efforts to both put people first, to put them to work, and to invest in them. Michigan citizens understand that we are a state in transition and this year they clearly said they want leadership that invests in people, leadership that creates opportunity. My comprehensive economic plan, which continued to drive the state's agenda this year, provides that investment and that opportunity." - Governor Jennifer M. Granholm, December 21, 2006

That's right! And be sure to check out the Gov's inaugural events for January. Show her some love! Don't let the political fires die just because Nov 7 has come and gone.

All the best to you and yours! Safe travels!

Granholm pushes to clean up Michigan!

While traveling through Michigan, you've probably seen the many scenic sites of this great state. Whether the rolling dunes of Lake Michigan, or the bountiful forests near Roscommon, you can lose yourself in the natural wonder.

Oh, and along the way, you can see the enticing wonders of Subway, Taco Bell, FIREWORKS IN 4398745 MILES, casinos, car dealerships, Meijer, Denny's, and the list goes on-and-on.

I'm talking about billboards. Those ever-present, every quarter-mile part of the natual landscape. But thanks to the State Legislature and the Groovy Guv, the Weed-B-Gone has been sprayed on these eyesores.

Over 14,000 billboards exist in Michigan, but starting in the rockin' 07, we can feel the winds of change:

Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today signed legislation prohibiting new billboard permits in Michigan. The laws also create new penalties for billboard permit owners who fail to properly maintain their existing billboard sites.
[...]
The laws also increase penalties and streamline administrative processes to help deter illegal advertising and failure to properly maintain sites as well as provide a consistent, statewide process to determine appropriate maintenance of billboard sites. Increased sign registration fees and late payments will provide funding for the program.

Link: Granholm Signs Legislation Permanently Capping New Billboard Permits

All this little Michiganian can say is it's about time!

Although who could ever forget this little gem?