Rising costs make for rough roads for Michigan’s independent truckers
by Ted Roelofs (Bridge Michigan) Richard Van Malsen has been a trucker for a quarter century. But with the price of diesel fuel soaring to near $6 a gallon earlier this summer and still over $5, the cost of trucks doubling and repair parts often hard to come by, he can’t remember tougher times at the small trucking firm […]
Search for suspected hexavalent chromium plume in the Huron River
by Kelly House & Robin Erb (Bridge Michigan) Michigan regulators continue to search for a suspected hexavalent chromium plume in the Huron River near Wixom, after the latest round of water samples turned up none of the toxic metal. Officials with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy cautioned that it’s impossible to draw […]
Michigan voting rights group forms super PAC against ‘election deniers’
by Yue Stella Yu, Bridge Michigan Voters Not Politicians launches a super PAC to defeat ‘election deniers’ in the November election Candidates questioning the 2020 election scored primary victories in legislative, gubernatorial and congressional races The group plans to knock on 300,000 doors and focus on digital and mail ads LANSING — A Michigan voting […]
What Michigan schools could look like under Tudor Dixon, Gretchen Whitmer
by Tracie Mauriello, Chalkbeat Detroit/Bridge Michigan Tudor Dixon centers much of her campaign on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s pandemic policies, including for schools Dixon’s priorities range from core policy (3rd-grade reading) to culture-war issues (drag queens) Gretchen Whitmer is likely to promote first-term accomplishments on school funding, literacy When Michigan voters fill out their ballots for […]
Losses by Black candidates revive fears about Michigan redistricting
by Lauren Gibbons & Malachi Barrett (Bridge Michigan) A string of election losses by Black Democrats on Tuesday is reviving fears that minority representation in the Legislature could dramatically decrease next year because of redistricting. Currently, 20 Black lawmakers serve in the Legislature: five in the Senate and 15 in the House. The number could […]
Take two songs and call me in the morning: How hospitals use music to heal
by Roni Kane C.S. Mott opens new music therapy center in Ann Arbor Music therapy is becoming a force in Michigan, with 900 certified therapists (and counting) Recent studies show music therapy as an effective medical practice If things had worked out differently, Elizabeth Sheeren might be headlining shows on Broadway right now. Originally from […]
Michigan voted to block Airbnb bans but hits roadblock over local control
by Julia Forrest (Bridge Michigan) Kimberly Hammond has lived on a quiet street in Spring Lake Township for more than 20 years—until the “Love Shack” popped up next door. And what might be the title of a B-52’s classic was also the name of the new short-term rental disrupting the neighborhood. Renters were driving too […]
Michigan prison staffers quitting in droves. Will 5% raises make them stay?
by Ted Roelofs (Bridge Michigan) In two decades as a corrections officer, Georgiann Stan learned that long hours sometimes come with the job. But those occasional extended shifts early in her career in Michigan prisons are nothing compared to the grueling days she’s endured the past few years. “I’m a train wreck every day. I […]
A blow to Michigan Alzheimer’s patients after research fraud claim
by Robin Erb (Bridge Michigan) The fight to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease faces yet another setback following allegations that a foundational study into the cause of the illness — the basis of years of research and billions of dollars in investment — may have been fraudulent. The revelations, published last week in Science magazine, are […]
Most threats made after Oxford were hoaxes. How should they be punished?
by Ron French (Bridge Michigan) School threats skyrocketed following the mass shooting at Oxford High School last November Most were hoaxes — middle schoolers looking to get out of class Prosecutors and courts favor counseling, probation, and community service over incarceration Late in the afternoon last Dec. 8, officials at Alpena Public Schools were alerted […]
