FDA ends pause on J & J vaccine for COVID, but with warning to women
by Robin Erb (Bridge Michigan) The Food and Drug Administration ended its suspension of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine late Friday, allowing it to be restarted across the United States. But reports of very rare blood clots among women may make the vaccine-hesitant less likely to roll up their sleeves. The FDA decision Friday […]
As Michigan begins redistricting, ‘communities of interest’ take center stage
by Sergio Martínez-Beltrán (Bridge Michigan) Claudia Pohlen has a big task ahead. She’s trying to convey to the Hispanic and Latinx community in west Michigan the importance of participating in the state’s redistricting process to improve their political representation in Lansing and Washington D.C. Much is at stake: Latinos are estimated to be the largest […]
Michigan regulators will consider climate change in Line 5 decision
by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) The fate of the Line 5 pipeline is officially a climate issue in the eyes of Michigan regulators. The Michigan Public Service Commission on Wednesday ruled that it must consider evidence on greenhouse gas pollution caused by petroleum flowing through Line 5 as it decides whether Canadian oil giant Enbridge […]
GOP wants to split Michigan Electoral College votes. That would help the GOP.
by Jonathan Oosting (Bridge Michigan) Republicans in the Michigan House are considering a plan to award most of the state’s presidential electors by congressional district, an overhaul that could give new influence to voters in rural areas dominated by GOP candidates. Legislation debated Tuesday would likely help Republican candidates by ending the state’s winner-take-all system […]
Some police traffic stops end violently. Is there a better way?
by Ted Roelofs (Bridge Michigan) Just over two years ago, Black motorist Thurman King was headed toward home in the city of Rockford, a largely white community north of Grand Rapids. What happened next, according to a federal lawsuit, could be seen as an example of how a routine traffic stop can go wrong — […]
Michigan at ‘record high’ for COVID-19 hospitalizations of children
by Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press, Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press (Bridge Michigan) Children aren’t immune to COVID-19. They can get sick, just like adults do. They can be hospitalized, the same as adults. And rarely, they can even die. That’s the message doctors at several of Michigan’s children’s hospitals want people to hear as […]
A big fight in Lansing over fishing rules on the Great Lakes
by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) Dana Serafin still hauls in 20,000-pound boatloads of whitefish to supply regional restaurants and markets, but in recent years, the Saginaw Bay fisherman has found it more difficult to fill his orders. Native whitefish, the main livelihood for Serafin and other Great Lakes commercial fishers, have been in decline for […]
Michigan CEOs to GOP: Don’t disenfranchise voters
by Jonathan Oosting, Paula Gardner, Sergio Martínez-Beltrán (Bridge Michigan) Business leaders from some of Michigan’s largest employers on Tuesday urged the state’s Republican-led Legislature to avoid approving any new election laws that would reduce participation or disenfranchise voters. General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Ford CEO Jim Farley and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan CEO Daniel Loepp […]
Homebound seniors in Michigan facing obstacles to COVID vaccines
by Ted Roelofs (Bridge Michigan) In a Grand Rapids home she shares with her mother, Sallie Cooper meets each passing day and week, and wonders. How much time might 96-year-old Lucille Butts have left? And how long will it be until her mother can be vaccinated against COVID-19, to protect her during visits from home […]
Meet the Michigander who’s advising Biden on environmental justice
by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) Kyle Whyte has long advocated for Native American tribes and other marginalized communities to get a seat at the table with government decision-makers. Now, the University of Michigan professor, who is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, has a role in President Joe Biden’s administration. Whyte, U-M’s George Willis […]
