Central Michigan started class Monday. By Friday: 38 coronavirus cases
by Ron French, Robin Erb (Bridge) By Friday, the end of the first week of classes at Central Michigan University, there were 38 confirmed cases of coronavirus connected to students, and the college was warning that the campus could switch to remote learning if “selfish” students keep throwing parties. The number of coronavirus cases connected […]
Despite FDA delay, Michigan to keep using convalescent plasma for COVID-19
by Kate Wells, Michigan Radio (Bridge) Michigan hospitals will keep using convalescent plasma to treat certain COVID-19 patients — they’ll just have to keep jumping through certain hoops to do it. That’s after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reportedly delayed authorizing the experimental treatment for “emergency use.” That authorization — if it is eventually […]
Relief, optimism, and mistrust greet $600M Flint water lawsuit settlement
by Jonathan Oosting, Riley Beggin (Bridge) LANSING — Half a decade after LeAnne Walters helped expose the Flint water crisis, the mother of four says she and her children still suffer from rashes because of the stew of toxins they ingested through their tap. Her twin boys Gavin and Garrett, now 9 years old, […]
Cityhood status stays on the horizon
Despite a lengthy delay due to extreme caution during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, the move toward Manchester becoming a city is still on the minds of Village Council and administration. “Our petition language was approved by the state shortly before everything shut down last winter,” explained Village President Pat Vailliencourt. “At that time, of course, […]
Official election results from August 4 Primary
Washtenaw County has posted its official election results from the primary held on Aug. 4. Figures were not finalized until after last week’s publication. The four local townships, as reported in our August 5, 2020 print edition, had excellent voter turnout overall. Bridgewater had 37.88% turnout; Freedom Township, with a road millage on the ballot […]
School Board discusses and approves preparedness and response plan
by Claire Pajka The Manchester Community School Board met briefly on Google Meet at 6 pm on Monday, August 10 with all members of the board present, and 25 members of the public in virtual attendance. The bulk of the meeting was spent with new Superintendent Brad Bezeau explaining the Manchester Preparedness and Response Plan. […]
Michigan businesses want cut of millions from uncollected pop returnables
by Kelly House (Bridge) As Michiganders continue to liquidate stockpiles of returnable bottles and cans amassed during the coronavirus shutdown, beverage industry officials are pushing for a cut of the deposits. At a press event Wednesday, they advocated for legislation that would give beverage distributors a portion of the multimillion-dollar pool of uncollected returns that now goes […]
Study: Wage gap widens between Black, white workers, especially in Michigan
by Paula Gardner (Bridge) Ricky Jefferson has watched the erosion of the Black middle class in the Ypsilanti area over decades. Today, as a Washtenaw County commissioner, he’s part of the mission to restore economic parity to the part of the county that didn’t thrive during the recovery from the Great Recession. Higher poverty rates, […]
New owners, new life for Manchester Market building
Since February 2019, the former Manchester Market building has sat empty and alone on West Main Street. Speculation about the possibility of a new grocery store coming to town has arisen periodically; but hopes have been dashed numerous times. After 18 months, on August 4, the uncertainty ended. A roll-off dumpster suddenly appeared. Vehicles were […]
Obituary: Patricia Smith
Patricia Ann Smith, age 85 of Clinton, died Tuesday, August 11, 2020 at St Joseph Mercy Chelsea Hospital. She was born March 13, 1935 in Detroit, the daughter of the late Dewey Lee and Hazel (Wilson) Bowns. On April 6, 1957 she married Hurst Smith, Jr and he preceded her in death on January 7, […]
