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Today's News - Saturday, July 04, 2009

Terrance and George Portfleet of family-owned Michigan Lightning Protection inspect a lightening rod on a building at 25 Michigan Ave. in Grand Rapids.

Up on the roof
Pete Daly

The situation on high has changed since the day in 1926 when George Portfleet started selling and installing lightning rods for church steeples and silos in the Standale area west of Grand Rapids. more»

Captive insurance needs grow
Pete Daly

Some mid-size companies in Michigan might be able to save money on insurance through the creation of their own captive insurance companies. more»

Competition high, prices soft for workers' comp, official reports
Elizabeth Slowik

The Accident Fund Insurance Co. of America was again the Michigan market leader in workers’ compensation insurance last year, according to the state insurance commissioner’s annual report. more»

Environmental funds shrink, but duties grow
Tim Keith, Andrew Norman & Azira Shaharuddin - Capital News Service

LANSING — Abandoned industrial sites that spew toxic chemicals, poorly regulated dams that threaten people and wildlife, and the unregulated filling of wetlands are part of the cost of waning state revenues. more»

More news this week»

Survey

Kent County commissioners are studying how Pennsylvania has successfully preserved farmland through its purchase of development rights program. Kent County's PDR program has preserved 758 acres on seven farms in six years. Commissioners say there aren't enough funds available to purchase the rights from landowners to prevent significant farmland acres from being developed. Kent County should:

	Ask voters to approve a millage that would provide operating revenue for the park system and buy the development rights of farms.
	Borrow the money by going to the bond market in order to speed up the rights acquisition process.
	Stay out of the land purchasing business and allow development to take its own course.

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