MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. (WXYZ) - Mackinac Island, shrouded in wet, grey weather Wednesday, was an appropriate setting for the Mackinac Policy Conference. Some 1,400 political and business leaders from Southeast Michigan are here to talk about the solutions to the region’s problems.
WATCH STEPHEN CLARK'S REPORTS IN THE VIDEO PLAYER ON THE RIGHTIt’s no secret they are the biggest problems Michigan has ever faced.
“That’s true,” conference chairwoman Sandra Pierce says, “Therefore I say, and many agree, the conversation this year is as important or more important than any other year we’ve held the conference on this island.”
This week, attendees will hear from business owners who have successfully weaned themselves off of dependence on the auto industry… finding success in defense contracting and aerospace and the colorful oil man T. Boone Pickens joins Governor Jennifer Granholm Thursday for a discussion on wind power.
“There are good things happening in this great state,” Pierce reminds us. “We have great resources, not the least of which is our people.”
A couple items not specifically on the agenda, but guaranteed to generate buzz here on Mackinac this week: The expected GM bankruptcy and Cobo Hall. Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson is expected to hold a news conference here tomorrow with Rock Financial Showplace manager Blair Bowman. Patterson insists he’s going to clear the air about his “plan B” to expand the Novi facility if the Cobo deal falls through.
