caterpillars (Laura) has a degree in anthropology and studio arts, many cameras (mostly film) and a yard full of lionhead rabbits. She will also totally shoot your wedding, event, or portrait, so contact her.

Check out her Michigan slideshow. Her photo sets include metro-detroit, MCS and SuperSampler you may just want to dive into her Flickriver.

We say Detroit Auto Show, you say..?

We're going to continue to call the 2008 North American International Auto Show the "Detroit Auto Show" until we receive a convincing argument to stop. "North American International Auto Show" is just too long and NAIAS sounds like some kind of acronym thought up to make everyone happy that doesn't. The NAIAS history page doesn't explain why the Detroit Auto Show changed its name after 82 years in 1989. Concept Carz suggests that it was because Detroit Auto Show became an international event that year, but Edmunds says that BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volvo first joined the show way back in 1957.

Blogging the Detroit Auto Show

If you like your coverage on the irreverant side, look no further than the 2008 Detroit Auto Show on Jalopnik. Gawker's car blog features coverage headlined by Detroit's own Ray Wert, photos, video, an active user community and a weakness for bad jokes. Over at Autoblog they pile up the photos as fast as the car companies can dish them out - check out this post on the Cadillac Provoq fuel cell concept for a taste. If you like your cars oil-free, you should keep an eye on Autoblog Green (be sure to watch the video of the Toyota A-BAT - it's got "cutest pickup" nailed down). Pretty much everyone with a blog is covering it of course, from Cars.com to Popular Mechanics to the My Little Pony blog. We were going to run down newspaper coverage as well, but it's enough to give you the links to the Detroit News Auto Show pages - their article on The Race to Be Green probably sets the tone for 2008 - and the Freep's NAIAS coverage.

Detroit Auto Show Photos

The photo at the top right is murcielago roadster by joojanta from the Absolute Michigan pool. He has a great set of photos called NAIAS 200x with more. You can see a whole lot more by checking Detroit Auto Show and/or NAIAS on Flickr. The blogs & papers above are another great source of photos of production cars and concepts and you can get daily pics from the official 2008 North American International Auto Show media site through MSN. If you'd like to step back in time, check out this Detroit News Rearview Mirror feature The Detroit Auto Show: from beer gardens to tabernacles to Cobo Center and the 1957 Detroit Auto Show from the Michigan Historical Museum.

Detroit Auto Show Video

Once again, the blogs and papers above have video. For more, we turn to a YouTube search on Detroit Auto Show (see the most recently added NAIAS videos). A few notable ones are the Weekend Drive tour of the booths at the 2007 NAIAS, the Auto Channel's 23 minute "Press Pass" tour (one of MANY they have), Wheels TV presenting to 2007 Concept Cars, Governor Granholm talking about the future of Michigan's car industry and the Auto Network givingyou a look at the Opening Ceremony. One of the coolest things about a major show is the level of technical sophistication of the displays. A great example of this is the Jeep Waterfall.

Attending the Detroit Auto Show

The NAIAS web site - ok, so I'll type it - has everything you need to know about attending the public show ($12 for adults this year) and the black tie charity preview. If you can't attend, you might squint your eyes and see if this detnews.com virtual tour does the job for you. If you do attend and take pictures or video, we'd love it if you'd share them with us on Flickr and YouTube!

Anything else to add or ask? Post it in the comments!

Capitol, Landing MI by Irina Vasiliu

Below you'll find a news release from Governor Granholm regarding an agreement to add a 21.9% surcharge to the new Michigan Business Tax to replace the 6% Michigan Service Tax.

The Detroit Free Press and Detroit News have details on the agreement as well.

Granholm, State Lawmakers Agree to Replace Service TaxReplacement Helps State's Fiscal Stability

Protects citizens from massive cuts to public safety, health care, education

Governor Jennifer M. Granholm, Lt. Governor John D. Cherry, Jr., Senate Majority Leader Michael D. Bishop, House Speaker Andy Dillon, and Senate Democratic Leader Mark Schauer along with legislative members have agreed to replace the service tax that went into effect at 12:01 a.m. today. Under the agreement, revenue generated by a service tax will be fully replaced by a surcharge on the Michigan Business Tax (MBT).

The State Senate is expected to complete work on the tax package in the early hours of this morning and the State House is expected to approve it later today. Under the agreement businesses will be granted legal protection if they fail to collect the service tax until effective date of the new law.

"This agreement protects health care, public safety and education while replacing revenue from the service tax," said Governor Granholm. "I applaud the members of the business community and the legislators who worked with us to craft this fair and responsible compromise."

Senator Bishop (R-Rochester) offered the following statement: "I appreciate the spirit of compromise to repeal a tax that would have devastated Michigan business. It is only through continued good faith negotiations, compromise and dialog that we can set Michigan on a track for renewed economic prosperity."

"These negotiations were very difficult due to our challenging economic climate, but I am confident that this agreement is a fair compromise that will allow the state to provide the services necessary to support our businesses and attract new businesses to a state that has a tremendous quality of life," said Speaker Dillon (D-Redford Twp.). "I commend Michigan's business community for their willingness to step up and work towards a solution."

"By working with the business community and each other, we reached a compromise that gets rid of the service tax and keeps our promises to fund schools, public safety, and health care," said Senator Schauer (D-Battle Creek). "This is the type of reasonable approach that will protect our priorities and position us for economic growth."

Under the agreement, the replacement for the service tax will phase out under certain economic conditions.

The MBT, which takes effect January 1, provides tax cuts for more than 60 percent of Michigan businesses and provides tax cuts to both small businesses and Michigan's major manufacturers, while encouraging job creation in Michigan.

The MBT helps stimulate Michigan's economy by relying more on profit, providing tax credits to companies that locate or create new jobs in Michigan and tax credits for entrepreneurial and R&D activities. In addition, a significant cut in the personal property tax will help the state's largest employers and commercial businesses.

"With this agreement in place, we can continue working on the economic plan that will help grow our economy and create jobs," said Lt. Governor Cherry.

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Carousel by jnhkrawczyk

"We've got a shift starting in 36 hours that we've got to charge 6% more on ... and I don't know how to do it."
-John Evans, president of Evans Distribution

Welcome to Michigan, where we somehow seem to be stuck in the Reality TV version of Groundhog Day: Your Government inAction. With just hours remaining before a confusing, unexplained and really random 6% Service Tax goes into effect, everyone who might have to pay the tax is watching the clock and wondering what Lansing will do. Read on for much more...

The Freep's Susan Tompor writes that the new 6% service tax is like one of those bad snowstorms that everybody hoped would skip town. Even the forecasters warned that this thing couldn't last long. This oddly crafted tax on services -- 6% on nails but not hair; 6% on ski lift tickets but not golf -- is so dopey that most expected it ultimately had to be repealed.

Over on Michigan Liberal the editor of a major Michigan web site spars with a long-dead Michigan governor over the much-hatedness of the Service Tax.

An article on the Service Tax Impasse the Detroit News looks at business owners preparing for the tax and also at the state of diplomacy in Lansing:

On Detroit talk radio, House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford Township, and Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, pointed fingers at each other for the negotiations breakdown Wednesday over the service tax. The House passed its own plan and then adjourned until Tuesday.

Bishop called "garbage" a House-passed bill that the Senate rejected Wednesday night and chided: "We don't want to let the facts get in the way of the speaker."

Dillon shot back that the so-called "garbage" is backed by a large share of the business community.

Meanwhile, over at the Michigan Treasury, they have posted a disorganized jumble of information about the tax at the top of their page that includes an explanation of services taxed.

Find much more about this issue at 6% of x? Untangling Michigan's Service Tax on Absolute Michigan.

Half Staff by Apocaplops

UPDATE Oct 25: Carol of ArborLaw.com writes:

I actually have the entire list of services descriptions covered by the law, on my blog at Arborlaw.com. When the law came out, I cross-referenced the NAICS codes (which are incorporated into the new law specifically by reference) with the section numbers from the bill and the expected new numbers for sections in Michigan Compiled Laws. If you want to see this to determine whether your business services are covered, go to http://arborlaw.com/blog/services-tax. (it's a big list!)

Political analyst George Weeks writes that in decades of following how Lansing deals with financial crisis, I have never seen enactment of such a bizarre, crazy quilt, irrational, inexplicable, unfair and — most of all, confusing to taxpayers — tax.

Crain's Detroit Business goes further, calling this The best tax plan lobbyists can buy. Law and accounting services are not taxed, but the broad category of management advice, strategic planning and financial planning and budgeting will be taxed. Hmmm. So a company buying consulting services to help it keep its doors open is making a “discretionary” purchase?

Like many in Michigan, we're wondering which of the services we provide like online publications (probably not), internet consulting (probably so) or graphic design & marketing (who knows??!!) would be subject to the service tax.

Assuming that movements to repeal or change the tax fail, mLive's blog gives some idea of what services might be subject to the tax come December 2007. The nebulous "consulting services" is made a whole lot clearer when you click over to see businesses classified under 5416 Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services. It's surprising to find that in addition the list includes items that are absolutely essential to the development of new businesses in Michigan like site selection, start-up consulting, marketing, and a host of science and technical services.

We invite you to add your thoughts, comments and suggestions for making some sense out of what looks like a fiscal nightmare for Michigan.

An appeal to reason by Apocaplops

StateGate seems like it might be nearing its conclusion with an 13th hour deal reached at 4 AM when legislators were apparently too tired to fight anymore. The LSJ reports:

"This budget agreement is the right solution for Michigan," Gov. Jennifer Granholm said in a news release after the vote. "We prevented massive cuts to public education, health care and public safety while also making extensive government reforms and passing new revenue. With the state back on solid financial footing, we can turn our focus to the critical task of jumpstarting our economy and creating new jobs."

Leaving aside the question (for now) of how much harder it will be to create jobs with a reputation as a state that is financially unstable, let's take a look at what was added to an income tax hike - the "sales tax expansion", a 6% tax on services. The Detroit News lists some of the services that might be taxed in New levy to tax 23 services.

The list appears to make little sense, with ski resorts subject to the tax but not golf course, janitorial service providers but not plumbers, tanning but not haircuts and financial & business consulting but not legal and accounting services. What do you bet that TV ads won't be subject ... and also that we'll be hearing a lot more like this from every industry affected?

"Any service tax should be across the board on all services and not single out specific areas of the economy," Stephen Kircher, president of Boyne USA Resorts' eastern operations, said in a statement.

SEX. Nobody bottles it like Larry Mawby of L. Mawby Vineyards in Suttons Bay. This sparkling brut rose wine is a provocative blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes that appeals to the senses ... pinkish salmon in hue with red fruit aromas and yeasty accents ... and bubbles that tickle your nose and provide a soft delicious taste.

Chocolate Indulgence Pedicure at the Solace Spa at Mountain Grand Lodge and the Spa at Inn at Bay Harbor. Indulge your "sweetie" with this special chocolate pedicure. During this pedicure your feet are wrapped with a warm chocolate mask to melt away any tension. Continue this luxury while our therapist provides a soothing massage with white chocolate soufflé lotion. This pedicure also includes nail grooming, cuticle maintenance and polish.

Sweet Tooth Cooking Class. What better way to celebrate your love than to share some sweet sensations with your special someone? In this hand-on class from Sue Chef, Chef Kathleen Schiefler of Grand River Grocery shows each couple how to make scrumptious hand-dipped chocolate strawberries and truffles, Classic Italian tiramisu, Silky Crème Brule and Molten Chocolate Lava Cake. After creating these luscious treats enjoy a glass of champagne and enjoy the fruits(or should we say - sweets!) of your labor. From 6-7:30pm at Michaels & Associates.

Truffles from Grocer's Daughter in Empire. Try the 4-piece Spirit Collection where the all-natural chocolate truffles are infused with Courvoisier, cherry brandy, Grand Marnier and whiskey. The truffles are made with herbs, edible flowers, local honey and citrus zest and each is handmade with special decoration.

Zhivago Nights. This grand Garland Resort evening begins with a horse-drawn sleigh ride to the Bridge Inn, outlined with hundreds of tiny lights. It's there you'll recline by the fire, awaiting your five-course, wild-game dinner, paired with exquisite wines. Zhivago Night is the most fun, intimate and exciting meal event held at Garland. Another unique offering is the Gourmet Glide, where you cross country ski throughout the property to strategically-placed food stations including a chance to catch your own fresh trout and have it grilled up trailside. Lodging packages are also offered.

Romantic Horse Drawn Carriage Rides. Snuggle up with the one you love as you enjoy a leisurely ride through downtown Grand Rapids in a 19th Century Vis-à-vis white carriage from Grand Carriages. During the tour, travel through Ah-Nab-Awen Park and over the lighted bridges crossing the Grand River while listening to the clip-clop of horses hoofs. All this while wrapped in carriage blankets to keep warm during the crisp winter evenings. Rides are offered from 6-11pm.

Love is in the Air. Throughout the entire month of February, Tabor Hill Winery & Restaurant in Buchanan is offering special Dessert Wine Flights featuring the 2006 Vidal Blanc Ice Wine, Cherry Wine and Crème Sherry. While you're there, enjoy a fine dinner overlooking the vineyard.

Two Hearted Ale. Bell's Beer in Kalamazoo is well known for its unique microbrews and this selection has a romantic undertone. Two Hearted Ale is an India Pale Ale style well suited for Hemingway-esque trips to the Upper Peninsula. American malts and enormous hop additions give this beer a crisp finish and incredible floral hop aroma.

Culinary Escape Package: Cooking with Chocolate. Celebrate your passion for chocolate with a weekend devoted to the ultimate indulgence, February 16-18 at Grand Traverse Resort & Spa in Acme. The resort's award-winning chefs will share their secrets for many chocolate creations from main dishes to sensational sweets. Discover the many varieties of chocolate and the many culinary delights they create.

Sweetheart Sampler Culinary Tour. The Grand Escape Inns of Saugatuck invites you to their annual theme weekend, February 16-18, including two nights lodging, a Friday welcoming party, chocolate, hors d'oeuvres and music. On Saturday evening, enjoy a romantic candlelight dinner featuring a gourmet multi-course meal - each at a different inn.

Cupid's Arrow Wine Trail Event. Spend a romantic weekend touring the beautiful Lake Michigan Shore wine region, February 17-18. Enjoy appetizers paired with award winning wines at each of the wineries and then spend some time sampling other fine varietals. Tours are offered Noon-5pm each day.

Josh Groban & John Mayer. Give tickets two each of these artists who will make appearances with days of each other at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids. Multi-platinum selling, pop/classical artist Josh Groban returns on February 20 at 8pm in support of his new album 'Awake.' (Ticket: $49.50-$79.50). Then, guitarist, vocalist and songwriter John Mayer brings his tour to town February 22 at 7:30pm. John has proven himself as a pop, rock and blues artist with chart-topping singles, millions of albums sold world-wide and multiple Grammy awards, including Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and Song of the Year, among others.

The Seasons of the EmmaLee. Everyone loves a good love story, and this first novel by Michael Lindley of Ada make a great gift for the book lover in your life. Set in the resort town of Charlevoix, it takes readers back in time to the early 1940s where the lives a young woman of privilege and the son of a local boat builder find their lives brought together. The story also features a current-day element, bringing together a man and woman with ties to the past. The common ground for both stories is the majestic EmmaLee.

Somewhere in Time. This classic was filmed at the famed Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. Purchase a copy on DVD or rent it and settle in for romantic evening with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. Those who want to take the romance a step farther can escape to the Grand for their annual "Somewhere in Time Weekend," October 26-28.

The current version of Introduce Your Michigan Business or Organization is right there.

fountain in the woods by catzinahat

Las Vegas boasts that it is America's "wedding capital." Yet, in the early years of the twentieth century, Michigan, especially the Lake Michigan town of St. Joseph, was the "wedding capital of the Midwest." Michigan marriage laws did not require residency, allowed people to marry at the age of 18 and did not require any witnesses other than the county clerk, his wife or an assistant and the presiding officials.

The result was that hundreds of amorous couples, especially from Chicago, boarded a steamer for the four-hour trip to St. Joseph. Most couples chose Sunday to get married. Traveling to St. Joseph for a quickie marriage became so popular that the Chicago Tribune reported more steamboats had to be added to this "rapid matrimonial transit." At times, crowding at the Chicago docks became so bad that "it required a squad of policemen . . . to restrain the bridal couples from pushing each other into the Chicago River in a frenzied effort to get into the boat."

Once in St. Joseph, the couples sought the county clerk, justices of the peace and the clergy--all of whom performed marriages any day of the week--"day or night." Newspaper accounts reported wedding ceremonies being performed at 2:00 A.M. The ceremonies usually took little time; the record time for performing a marriage was thirty seconds.

Eventually, quickie marriages caused the Michigan secretary of state to lament about the "development of the famous 'St. Joseph marriage industry.'" Opposition forces finally changed the state law. Couples would have to wait five days after taking out a license before they could be married. On August 27, 1925, Michigan's reign as the Midwest's marriage capital came to an end.

For the full story on Michigan's "weekend weddings" see the January/February 2007 issue of Michigan History magazine. For more information, a free trial issue, or to learn about Michigan History for Kids magazine call (800) 366-3703 or visit www.michiganhistorymagazine.com.

Update: Michigan Radio's Jack Lessenberry did a Valentine's Day interview with St. Joseph librarian, Alicia Allen about the history and then reflects on love and marriage in Michigan in his essay.

More St. Joseph links and articles at Absolute Michigan keyword "St. Joseph"!

Country Schoolhouse by nomm de photo

The Detroit News reports that some Democrats, Republicans and public policy experts are saying Michigan needs to take a look at extending the sales tax to cover more services and (perhaps) lowering the sales tax overall by a penny (6¢ to 5¢) to help offset a projected half billion dollar budget deficit. While a tax on all services would generate close to $9 billion, business-to-business services (engineering, legal services, accounting) would likely be exempt due to the adverse impact that could have on economic development. Likewise, medical services would probably be off limits as well reducing the overall revenue to just under $3 billion.

Michigan taxes 26 of 168 services (ranking 39th in the US) and increasing taxes on services is opposed by most business groups including the Michigan Chamber of Commerce who say it's a "very bad idea" and that a service tax could lead to reduced competitiveness with neighboring states. Thomas Clay of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan says:

Our tax structure is archaic, obsolete. All that economic activity in the service area is not connected to the tax system. If you had a tax on personal services, you could reduce the rate and have sales tax revenue that would grow in the future.

Read Michigan may tax services in the Detroit News and tell us what you think about such a measure in the comments.