Retailers Optimistic About Holiday Sales
New data show Michigan retailers are optimistic that they’ll see increased sales during the holiday season. The Michigan Retail Index showed November had the best monthly year-over-year sales increases since 1999. The Index is put together by the Michigan Retailers Association and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. The National Retail Federation predicts holiday sales will improve by 3.3% this year, Steve Carmody reports.
Snyder Announces Directors for State Police, Transportation
Governor-elect Rick Snyder announced yesterday that he’ll keep Kirk Steudle, current Director of the Michigan Department of Transportation, on the job in his new administration. Steudle has been director of the department since 2006. Snyder also announced that he will appoint State Police Lt. Col. Kriste Etue to be the Director of the Michigan State Police. Etue is currently the department’s deputy director and, when she begins the new job in January, will be the first woman to hold the post. As The Detroit Free Press reports, Snyder:
…still needs to make several key cabinet additions. Still unfilled are director positions for the departments of human services, corrections and labor and economic growth.
Snyder takes the oath of office on January 1st, 2011.
Number of Homeless Kids Rise
The state has released its latest count of homeless children (grades K-12) in Michigan. The state counted 23,000 in 2009-2010, up from 7,500 kids two years ago, Kyle Norris reports. Shereen Tabrizi, with the Michigan Department of Education’s office of field services, says the state’s high unemployment rate and foreclosures are some of the reasons for the increase.
