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Could Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder be a vice presidential pick?

That's what one Republican political consultant is betting on in an opinion piece published Thursday naming Michigan's "one tough nerd" freshman governor as Mitt Romney's running mate.

"My bet is he's Romney's man for vice president," Chris Ingram, a Tampa Republican political consultant, wrote in an opinion piece for Tampa Bay Online.

Snyder's office said the speculation is a sign people are taking notice of changes in Michigan and focused on Michigan's progress.

Ya right, don't bust your arm patting yourself on the back, Rick.  5th worst.

"There is that perception that Michigan still has a ways to go," said J.P. Donlon, editor in chief at Chief Executive Group. "We haven't received much in the way of feedback that evidences the changes are yet significant for them at this stage."

Donlon said CEOs criticized Michigan for a strict regulatory environment that issues penalties instead of working with and helping businesses.

Actually, Snyder makes a lot of sense for Romney, especially when the Obamneycare debates start in the general election.  Snyder is the only governor pushing hard for the Health Insurance Exchange.  That should be a huge clue that the GOP heir apparent will merely tinker with retooling the ACA.  Wanna bet $10,000 on that?  LOL

Fort Wayne, Ind. - Android Industries, a specialty equipment manufacturer and complex assembler, announced plans today to locate a new operation here, creating up to 66 new jobs by 2013.

The Michigan-based automotive company, which specializes in sub-assembly, sequencing and logistics, will invest $8.97 million to lease and equip a 55,000 square-foot space at 13008 Fogwell Parkway Rd. Android, which plans to begin facility renovations this spring, will also add 4,000 square feet to the office area and additional shipping bays.

"We have worked hard to create one of the best business climates in the country," said Governor Mitch Daniels. "I am happy that Android chose Indiana to open this new operation. Their new home will give them every opportunity for success due to our pro-growth environment and the unrivaled work ethic of Hoosiers."

Android, which has more than 2,000 employees globally, will begin hiring manufacturing and robotic programming associates in Allen County this summer.

"Android chose Indiana and specifically Fort Wayne because it's both an employee- and employer-friendly environment," said David Donnay, vice president of human resources at Android. "Recently, Indiana became a right-to-work state and offers us a competitive location and a skilled work force to complement our state of the art technology. All of these factors went into choosing Indiana as an optimal location."

Founded in 1988, Android today serves automotive clients at its 17 plants worldwide, including locations in Mexico, Spain and Brazil. Android's team also manages more than $8 billion of material each year in its supply chain management division.

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Lansing- The University of Michigan and Michigan State University could lose millions in state aid next year if they don't  comply with legislative dictates that some view as ideological micromanaging of the state's largest universities.

The Republican-run House higher education appropriations subcommittee approved a plan Friday to withhold $4.78 million in state aid from U-M next year if it fails to report how many human embryonic stem cell lines it has in its research labs.

MSU could lose out on $6.79 million for requiring students to have health insurance, the committee said. Under the label of "performance measures," the panel attached the restrictions to a pool of $36 million in new money for universities.

It is very important to note the following.

Voters authorized a constitutional amendment in 2008 to allow Michigan scientists to create embryonic stem cell lines. But lawmakers included a requirement in the 2012 budget to have researchers file an annual report with a handful of figures, including how many stem cell lines it has created.

The Senate and Gov. Rick Snyder did not include such restrictions in their recommended university spending plans, Boulus said.

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Detroit - The Westin Book Cadillac avoided defaulting on a $15 million loan this month after a city pension fund intervened, raising questions about the health of a landmark hotel and symbol of the city's economic redevelopment.

The Detroit Police and Fire pension fund made a partial interest payment March 1 after hotel owner John Ferchill outlined the Book Cadillac's financial condition.

The Cleveland-based developer told pension trustees the project has lost $23 million after deals to sell condominiums atop the hotel fell through.  ~Rest here

Yup.  Just like Ferchill Group boasts on its own website.

"The high cost of renovating The Book-Cadillac Hotel required creative financing involving the city, county and state, along with tax credits and other sources that previous developers couldn't handle. The Ferchill Group brought to the table financing tools that Detroit had never used. With the Ferchill team on board, we are confident that we will finally see this project become a reality."

Walt Watkins
Former Chief Development Officer, City of Detroit

Detroit - Part of an $11 million grant intended to provide business attire to 400 low-income job-seekers instead helped only two people, an audit of the city's Department of Human Services has found.

The audit, conducted by the city's auditor general for the period from July 2009 to September 2011, found the department failed to control the operations and finances of a boutique that was to provide the clothes.

The department did not safeguard grant funds or create an inventory for the clothing, the audit found.

Among the most telling findings, which will be discussed today during a City Council committee meeting, is that a third-party contractor advanced $148,000 to a downtown Detroit clothing store and opened an account, but did not include the city on the account.

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Michigan's tax on pensions and retirement accounts kicked in on Jan. 1 and, not long after that, Jack Vassallo kicked back.

When the retired chemical engineering technician got his monthly payment from his Fidelity Investments 401(k) retirement savings account, the check was short. The $87.43 withheld for the new state tax would have made the check the right amount -- except that Vassallo is 79 years old and exempt from the retirement levy.

"I was furious," says the Woodhaven retiree. "It really irked me."

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Caterpillar has caused an uproar in Canada with a controversial plant closing. But the company attracted so many people to an Indiana jobs fair that the event had to be shut down earlier than planned.

On Friday, Caterpillar's Progress Rail Services said it was closing the 62-year-old Electro-Motive Canada plant in London, Ontario, about two hours west of Toronto.
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In explaining the shutdown, Billy Ainsworth, the CEO of Progress Rail, said in a letter to employees that all the company's facilities "must achieve competitive costs, quality and operating flexibility to compete and win in the global marketplace, and expectations at the London plant were no different."

It's the second big closing in that part of Canada in a year's time. Navistar shut its truck plant in nearby Chatham, Ontario in 2010, eliminating 1,100 jobs.

But at the moment, Caterpillar is the toast of Muncie, in east central Indiana.

Over the weekend, Caterpillar held a jobs fair that attracted about 3,000 applicants for jobs paying between $12.50 and $18 an hour, according to the Muncie Free Press.

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