Latest news with #Hohman
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Michigan House subcommittee interrogates economic development deals as companies fail to deliver
Rep. Steve Carra (R-Three Rivers), chair of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Corporate Subsidies and State Investments on May 21, 2025 | Kyle Davidson As Michigan Republicans continue to take a magnifying glass to economic development spending, the House Oversight Subcommittee on Corporate Subsidies and State Investments invited James Hohman of the free-market Mackinac Center for Public Policy to offer his analysis of the state's Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve (SOAR) Fund. Hohman, who serves as the Mackinac Center's director of Fiscal Policy, walked committee members through a collection of several projects through the state's critical industries program, comparing the number of jobs promised with the jobs delivered. As he broke down each agreement, Hohman repeatedly noted that these deals were structured to deliver short-term payoffs for companies, and were not tied to job creation, with many deals tying the bulk of their funding requirements to a company's capital expenditures, or money a company spends to buy, maintain or improve their assets. Additionally, not all deals move forward, with Hohman pointing to a $100.8 million dollar deal with Ford made in 2022 as an example. Hohman urged lawmakers and members of the public to bring more skepticism to these deals, noting they often fail to deliver on their promises. 'There's a massive difference between what gets announced and what actually happens when it comes to living up to expectations,' Hohman said. 'A lot of them wind up with no jobs at all. Some of them do meet [or] exceed expectations, but when you look at the rhetoric behind the deals, when they're getting made, there's rarely even an acknowledgement that deals might not deliver on their pledges,' Hohman said. If companies fail to create the jobs they promised, the state has to wait years before it can ask for its money back, Hohman said. If they eliminate jobs after the deal concludes, the state has no way of getting its money back, he said. Additionally when asked about the level of transparency offered into these deals, Hohman said they were meeting the minimum standard of transparency, publishing an annual report on how much money was offered, how much the company received and whether they created the jobs that were announced. However, the report's schedule leaves the status of most current projects unknown, while sometimes forcing people to wait 18 months to learn an agreement didn't move forward. Overall the state has allocated $1.46 billion in taxpayer funds to create 14,779 jobs, Hohman said. While lawmakers clearly had ambitious plans for the program, those goals have not panned out, he said. And while the companies receiving this funding will likely create jobs to fill the buildings they've built using state funding, the number of jobs they create will depend on an uncertain future, Hohman said. 'My major takeaway for you is that if you're going to continue operating the critical industry program, more of the deal needs to be based on actual job creation. When you have deals that consistently fall apart, that fail to deliver, you should not be paying them until they finally do the things they're obligated or that lawmakers expect them to do,' Hohman said. This would not require a change to the law, Hohman said, only a change in expectations for lawmakers, asking them not to approve projects based on capital expenditures rather than job creation. While there are a number of areas where the Mackinac Center believes these dollars could better benefit residents, Hohman offered his support for House Republicans' road funding plan, which draws the bulk of its funding by reallocating or eliminating funding set aside for economic development, including $500 million set for automatic deposits into the SOAR fund. Despite the issues with the program, State Rep. Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia) raised repeated concerns about ensuring criticism of the program was accurate. While some press releases may be disingenuous in promising to deliver jobs, SOAR funding that is allocated for site readiness should not be expected to create jobs. 'You can't put 2,000 jobs in a site that is not ready for 2,000 jobs,' Pohutsky said. While the SOAR program is not the best use of the state's money, there are enough flaws that are not based around promises made in press releases, she said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
State runner-up wrestler commits to major college program
GROVE CITY, Pa. (WKBN) – Grove City junior wrestler Hudson Hohman has committed to Bucknell University wrestling to further his academic and athletic careers after graduation. Hohman announced the commitment on social media on Saturday, April 19. The Grove City standout medaled in the 2025 PIAA Individual Wrestling Championships for Second Place in the 145 lbs weight class in March. Hohman is a three-time PIAA State Medalist throughout his high school career. He also earned placements as a Fargo All-American and Powerade All-American. This past season posted a record of 47-3 and owns a career record of 121-23. Bucknell is a Division I program that competes in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA). The Bison had five individual wrestlers qualify for the 2025 NCAA Championships. Bucknell as a team finished 5-12 on the season and fifth at the EIWA Championships. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
WCS approves new science textbooks for schools
Wilson County Schools approved new science books for the curriculum despite debate among the board members during Monday's school board meeting. Last October, textbook committee members were appointed to review and discuss state approved textbook options. After review, WCS Director of Schools Jeff Luttrell recommended the board approve the textbooks. For grades K-5, Savass Learning textbooks were recommended for approval and for grades 6-8, McGraw Hill textbooks were recommended for approval. Grades 9-12 have a mix of Savass and McGraw Hill. According to the State of Tennessee, the textbooks meet standards and are approved for all schools. 'I want to say that we appreciate each textbook committee member and the hard work of everyone involved,' Luttrell said. 'Our committee members did not take this lightly. This has been an ongoing process to ensure this curriculum will meet the needs of Wilson County students and teachers.' Textbook approvals and standards are on an eight-year cycle and Wilson County is at the end of that cycle. Luttrell said it's standard procedure in Tennessee to review curriculum standards at that time. 'I've had phone calls from all over the state from board members who have reviewed this, and there are some concerns that there's a lot of bias in these textbooks,' board member Dr. Beth Myers said. Board member Melissa Lynn said the committee, made up of teachers and parents, brought the recommendation of approval to the board. Board member Greg Hohman said there are concerns that the textbooks promote 'climate alarmism' which 'concludes that fossil fuels are leading to global demise.' 'Another being that of the outdated theory of evolution, whereby new genetic data has widened the gap of evolution…widened the gap between human and chimp DNA and making the jump between chimp and human nearly insurmountable,' Hohman added. According to the Smithsonian's Human Origins Program, current data on evolutionary theory says humans did not descend from chimps, but that merely humans and chimps share a common ancestor in the evolutionary line. 'I say all of this to inform parents to review these topics with their children, understand what is being presented to your child and engage in meaningful discussions with them,' Hohman said. 'Encourage them to challenge the narratives you find within these books that are in clear disagreement with modern science and genetics.' The board passed the adoption of the new science textbooks unanimously after discussion continued on parent input on content in the curriculum and textbooks. A budget amendment was also passed to allow for more substitutes to fill in while science teachers are updated on the new curriculum.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Spokane Valley City Council will sue Councilman Al Merkel over Public Records Act fight
Feb. 5—The Spokane City Council voted to sue one of its own members this week in the continuing drama over the actions of City Councilman Al Merkel. The extraordinary measure is aimed at forcing Merkel to comply with open records rules and his use of the social media platform Nextdoor. The council voted 6-0 Tuesday to allow City Manager John Hohman to move forward with the legal action. Hohman said the lawsuit is necessary because Merkel's compliance is needed to satisfy the city's legal obligation to adequately fulfill public records requests. The city could face its own potential legal action, and subsequent financial losses, for not adhering to state law as a result of Merkel's obstinance. "Violations of the Public Records Act may subject municipalities to significant liability, including daily monetary penalties and attorney's fees, and can erode public trust and reduce accountability," a release from the city states. Merkel, who refused to leave the chamber as the board deliberated, was not allowed to vote due to state law related to an elected official's potential conflict of interest. "It sounds like this is gonna go in front of a judge, so we'll have an actual judgment," Merkel said at the end of the meeting. "Not from some paid person, not from some lawyer, but from a judge. We'll see what happens then." Merkel said in a Wednesday statement that he is prepared to countersue the city for bringing forth a "frivolous action" and for "violations of my civil rights." City Attorney Kelly Konkright said legal action may be the last tool available to the council to get Merkel to comply, after an independent investigator determined the councilman's posts on the platform reached the burden of proof of being "more likely than not," open records, and that they were not being properly logged as required by the Public Records Act. That finding was upheld by the city's contracted hearing examiner Andy Kottkamp following an appeal by Merkel. His fellow council members then voted unanimously to strip him of committee assignments, and to publicly censure Merkel — a formal condemnation for his actions — in a special meeting Dec. 19. Hohman said Merkel still hasn't complied with Kottkamp's ruling as of this month. Merkel claims he has complied, and that the vote Tuesday was the latest effort from a council intent on "shutting me up." The councilman attempted to create a new "official" account in January, which was subsequently deleted by Nextdoor for being a duplicate account, Merkel said in an email. He then began using the old account again, despite it not being tied to his city email and failing to include his councilman title, as required by the council's governance manual, according to the city. He provided the necessary information to connect the account to PageFreezer, as well as spreadsheets from Nextdoor identifying his social media activity at the end of January. The spreadsheets did not include the necessary context of that activity and "therefore do not include all information sought by third parties submitting public records requests," according to a timeline published by the city. PageFreezer also appears to not be enough, as it does not capture Merkel's activity on other pages outside of his own profile. Merkel denied the city's request to provide screenshots to fill the gaps in the information provided, according to a release from the city. Konkright said he's also been uncooperative with login attempts after the initial connection with PageFreezer by failing to pass on codes sent to him as part of a two-factor authentication process. "Any inference that he has provided us with complete, unfettered access to everything on that Nextdoor page that may be a public record is false," Konkright said. Hohman said the city has received more than 60 public records requests related to Merkel since last January, and has been unable to respond fully to any because of Merkel's failure to produce his records. Merkel maintains the belief his social media activity does not constitute conducting city business, despite Konkright's, the investigating attorney's and Kottkamp's findings to the contrary. He said the lawsuit will be a waste of taxpayer money . Mayor Pam Haley took umbrage with Merkel's attempts to paint himself as the victim of his fellow council members. Haley told the public that she is not the one continuously attacking fellow council members and city staff online, in discussions with the community or in council chambers. She said Merkel has, however. "I can tell you 150 things he said about me, whether it be I'm a criminal, on the take, all kinds of things," Haley said. Haley added that she finds it disingenuous Merkel is concerned with wasteful spending, as he's the one who appealed the initial investigation finding, requiring the city to pay for the process. She stressed that the action is only intended to have Merkel follow state law, counter to what he may claim. "I have never said, I care what he says, because I don't. I have never said, I don't want him to say those things, because that's not it either," Haley said. "But there is a real financial risk to his behavior now, and I want to be able to pay for public safety." Several of the council members shared their displeasure in having to initiate legal action, citing a belief that there are more important issues in the city they should be concerned with. Councilman Ben Wick, who's tended to stay out of the fray between Merkel and the rest of the council, said he felt he didn't have much of a choice but to approve legal action. Three different attorneys have all reached the same conclusion, and the council needs to protect the city from potential legal and financial risks brought on by Merkel and a failure to provide public records, he added. "If anybody did come and claim and want those records, and we couldn't produce them, and we didn't take this step, I feel like it's going to look even worse to a judge," Wick said. "Where we knowingly had records out there, and we didn't do everything we could do to get them to produce them." Councilwoman Jessica Yaeger, advocated for criminal charges against Merkel "because he's stealing from all of you," she told the public. "He's stolen time, he's stolen money that could have gone to public safety," Yaeger said. "He's a thief. If he could be walked out of here in handcuffs, that'd be great." Yaeger continued, saying Merkel doesn't care for Spokane Valley residents, and that they should be organizing to remove him from office. She referred to Merkel as a "man-child," while expanding upon an earlier comment from Hohman that the council and city are a dysfunctional family. "The behavior that I have seen from this man-child would have gotten a spanking in my house, a time-out," Yaeger said. "He would have been kicked out of my house, which I really wish one of the voters would do, is to relieve all of us of this pain that we go through every day, every week in these chambers, expel this child from our family, because he does not belong here." A tumultuous year in office The lawsuit will be the latest installment in the controversy that's surrounded Merkel since his swearing-in ceremony in January 2024. Testy arguments have become a near mainstay of the Spokane Valley City Council's regular Tuesday meetings over the last year, as Merkel has repeatedly butted heads with the board over construction projects, grant applications and the complaints and investigations related to him. Last May, an independent investigator found Merkel repeatedly disrespected city staff, often engaging in "intimidating behavior." In one instance, he reportedly asked Haley to stay after a council meeting to speak, and then stood between her and the door as he got in Haley's face and yelled at her, according to a city staffer who witnessed the event. Haley confirmed the incident, telling The Spokesman-Review in May that he was "super aggressive." "He gets really close to you," Haley recalled. "I tried to leave. He would not let me leave. He blocked the door, continued to yell at me, and I just kind of shut down." Deputy Mayor Tim Hattenburg said Merkel continues to be disrespectful to staff, even after his office was moved from the dedicated office space for the council to the first floor of City Hall and the completion of a more than $40,000 remodel to implement more separation and safety measures between Merkel and city staff. Merkel found himself at the center of another city investigation into his conduct just two months after the initial investigation's report was released, and shortly after he entered the race for a vacant state Senate seat in Spokane Valley. Yaeger filed an official complaint against Merkel last June, alleging he blocked members of the public from viewing his posts on Nextdoor and was not properly keeping records of his social media activity as required by the Public Records Act and council policy. The investigation's findings that Merkel likely violated state law, which were subsequently upheld by the city's contracted hearing examiner, are the subject of the current back-and-forth between Merkel, the city and the rest of the council. The Public Records Act applies to every elected official, and is instrumental in ensuring those officials are transparent, Haley said. "The point is to give the records to the citizens who ask for them within a reasonable period of time, something that has not been done, which leaves us very open to huge financial risk," Haley said. "If you support him, then I would be more than happy to take donations into our legal fund, because this is going to be expensive," Haley added. "It's just so he'll follow state law."
