In May, the Early Childhood Investment Corporation awarded $2.9 million in grants to 31 Great Start Collaboratives to create local early childhood funds and challenged them to attact matching funds that would be used on child care/pre-K scholarships for low-income children.

You'll soon see details on how the collaboratives did collectively and what that means for hundreds of kids across the state. In the meantime, here's a snapshot view of what's been going on in local communities, as told by local media:

Lisa Guernsey - author of the marvelous Early Ed Watch blog on the New America Foundation website - makes a great point about President's Obama latest, greatest stimulus plan, which is heavy on rebuilding the nation's infrastructure, including schools.

Today I'll do my best impersonation of the famed signpost in the old "M*A*S*H" series that pointed the way to London, France and Toledo, Ohio. Only I'll be pointing you to several recent can't-miss news articles and the rebuttals to them, all of which will help make you better early childhood advocates.

First, there's Joe Klein's attack on the federal Head Start program in a recent edition of "Time":

Typically in this space I point you to the best media clips on early childhood. This week, I want to change it up and share with you an interesting piece sent my way by the folks at CQ Roll Call, the firm that keeps an eye on early childhood in Washington D.C.

The subject: The typical process by which lawmakers make decisions. Author Kenny Ames writes that it all boils down to the "Three H's": 

I've felt it - that odd, back of the skull feeling that, despite a job and a decent income, I'm still somehow steadily falling behind economically, that maintaining a secure lifestyle is getting harder and harder by the year, not easier and easier.

Now there's a bit of confirmation that it's not all in my head - or yours.

It's been a great week for children in Michigan. Thursday, of course, was Star Power, which had a record turnout (more than 4,300) and a record number of smiling faces, despite the spitting rain. I can't imagine a lawmaker who wasn't impressed, not just by the mass of people but also the conviction and passion many demonstrated.

Keeping track of all the early childhood related budget proposals and counter proposals flying around Lansing this spring can be confusing and frustrating. So here are a few resources to help you keep things straight.

It's not a new piece by New York Times columnist Paul Krugman - in fact it appeared Feb. 27, but I somehow missed it and if I did you may have as well. So it earns a spot in this week's early childhood media blog.

The piece is about the painful budget cuts going on, and it begins thus:

I'll return to regular programming next week (meaning I'll point the way to the best and brightest coverage of early childhood) but this week I want to say this:

REGISTER FOR STAR POWER!

Pardon the capital letter shouting there, but Star Power has been such a huge success and such an important way for parents to get educational face time with their lawmakers that a little shouting seems appropriate.

My goal with this blog is to steer you to the best and brightest coverage of early childhood issues. This week, it's Lisa Guernsey's Early Ed Watch blog for New America Foundation. Her blog this week has a Michigan flavor: