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West Michigan Fares Relatively Well in Insurance
Coverage
While it is unfortunate that anyone would lack
health insurance, a 2008 report from the Michigan Department of
Community Health shows that West Michigan metropolitan statistical
areas (MSAs) have higher rates of insurance coverage than most other
parts of the state. While the average rate of uninsured in Michigan
is 12%, the Grand Rapids-Wyoming MSA was 9.9%, the Holland-Grand
Haven MSA was 8.2%, and the Muskegon-Norton Shores MSA was 8.4%.
Health care coverage is one of the Regional Indicators tracked by
WMSA. While this data does not include all persons throughout the
8-county region, it does show a positive relative comparison to
other MSAs.
Regional Transit in West
Michigan?
A
study about the feasibility of new regional transit service in West
Michigan is underway. Planners are examining the demand for
new commuter and intercity bus services connecting communities in
Ottawa, Kent and Muskegon Counties. The study will help
determine whether new services are feasible, and if so, how they
should be developed.
As part of this
study, a survey has been created to understand where people travel
in West Michigan and to gather public opinion about possible
regional bus routes. Because this is an important
effort, please take 5-7 minutes to complete the survey on-line
at www.westmichigantransitsurvey.info.
As an incentive, individuals who complete the survey will be entered
in a drawing to receive one of several $25 gift cards.
Thank you for taking a few minutes to complete this survey. And
please get your friends, coworkers and family members involved so
planners can hear from as many people as possible about regional
transit in West Michigan.
Area Employers
Get a First Look at the Second Chance Job Project
A relatively new
addition (summer 2008) to the WIRED West Michigan Innovation
portfolio, the Second Chance Job Project has faced many hurdles at
the start, not the least of which is a faltering economy and record
state unemployment. Despite these obstacles, the Innovation
has had some early success in actively recruiting area
employers.
The first employer event
was hosted by Rockford Construction on January 27, 2009, with
fifteen employer participants. Following the event, several
employers signed up to participate on RERC’s employer advisory
board. Beyond that, the event provided a key opportunity to
highlight and address employer concerns. Two more of these
events are planned for early spring.
Legal Aid is now working
with Goodwill Industries to conduct prisoner re-entry training at
the Goodwill locations. Additionally, the organization just
completed the development of a 24-page booklet entitled "Hiring
People with Records” to use as a resource to educate employers on
their roles and responsibilities when hiring people with
records.
NEW DATE –
2009 STATE OF THE REGION
The 2009 State of the
Region event originally scheduled for Wednesday, April 29, 2009 has
been rescheduled to take place on Wednesday, May 13,
2009. We elected to choose a new date due to another
big event taking place on April 29th. Though this may seem
like a problem, we are pleased that so many great things are
happening in the region and want to ensure we do not compete against
other organizations who are working hard to help make West Michigan
a best place to live, learn, work and play.
Look for
more information about the 2009 State of the Region coming
soon.
Join the many people and
organizations from around West Michigan who are contributors to the
work of regional collaboration by visiting our website wm-alliance.org or email info@wm-alliance.org
Note: This project is funded in whole or in part by a
WIRED grant from the U.S. Department of Labor - Employment Training
Administration
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