Michigan boosts K–12 special education, teacher hiring, mental health funds
by Koby Levin (Chalkbeat, Bridge Michigan) Michigan lawmakers agreed to hundreds of millions of dollars in new special education funding as part of a new state budget in which they tapped a historic surplus to pass one of the most sweeping school spending plans in decades. Teacher recruitment, school security, mental health and the teacher pension system […]
See where you can borrow free camping gear in Michigan
by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) GRAND RAPIDS — In its quest to democratize the Great Outdoors, the Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation Department is ripping a page out of a well-worn book. A library book, to be exact. In a gymnasium basement in the city’s Roosevelt Park neighborhood, the city has opened a gear library […]
Michigan, we have a budget deal. But no tax relief yet, despite surplus
by Jonathan Oosting (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — The Michigan House and Senate voted early Friday morning to approve a major $76.9 billion state budget deal after Republican leaders reached an agreement with Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The deal includes new money for school safety and teacher recruitment programs, local government debt relief, blight removal and […]
Obituary: Patricia Anne Christensen
Patricia Anne Christensen, age 54, of Tecumseh passed away peacefully June 26, 2022, at home. Patricia was born May 23, 1968, in Ann Arbor, the daughter of James and Carolyn (Bowers) Rogers. September 1, 2018, she married Chuck Christensen and he preceded her September 2, 2019. Trisha graduated from Manchester High School, Class of 1986. […]
Passport to Manchester returns for a second season
by Marsha Chartrand Last year, Riverfolk Music & Arts Organization and the Manchester Area Historical Society partnered to sponsor a unique series of events called “Passport to Manchester“ — an initiative to explore and highlight landmarks in and around Manchester through associated historical, visual, musical performance, and cultural diversity themes. Choosing landmarks that could be […]
Community wide garage sale coming July 22–23
It’s time to start getting all your treasures together and get ready for the annual Community Wide Garage Sale in Manchester! Time is running short to register for the event, though, and you must sign up by July 16. You can sign up at https://bit.ly/ManchesterGS2022. If you have trouble accessing the Google site online, you […]
Dodworth-Saxhorn to liven up 200-year-old brass band music at the Gazebo
by Marsha Chartrand Gazebo concerts have been a summer staple in Manchester since 1989 and provide entertainment for everyone in the family. The first week this year we welcomed Joe Reilly, doing a nature-centered children’s concert, while last week’s gazebo concert featured the Palooka Brothers, playing everything from rags to reels to ’60s rock and […]
After a life-long love affair with books, Ed Surovell learns to let go
by Roni Kane (Bridge Michigan) The last thing Ed Surovell said he remembers reading about is the ocean. Two years ago, before the 82-year-old Ann Arbor book collector could no longer distinguish the words on a page, he recalls sitting comfortably nestled among the 10,000 books in his private collection and traveling from the Arctic […]
Cutting cigarette nicotine? Juul banned? What’s next for Michigan smokers
by Julia Forrest (Bridge Michigan) The Biden administration wants to lower the level of nicotine allowed in cigarettes to make them less addictive. Combined with the banning of Juul vapes and the possible ban of all menthol cigarettes, the federal efforts could save thousands of lives. The administration announced plans this week to create a […]
Michigan gas prices could drop 75 cents per gallon if state, feds freeze taxes
by Zahra Ahmed (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — President Joe Biden on Wednesday urged Congress to suspend the federal gas tax and called on states to do the same, something Michigan legislators have urged of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer since prices hit record highs. The federal tax, 18.4 cents per gallon of gas and 24.4. cents for diesel, […]
