Michigan’s unemployed to get $900 more. System glitches remain
by Paula Gardner (Bridge) A second round of $300 in additional weekly jobless benefits should reach laid-off Michigan workers before the end of month, while the state continues to fix glitches in its unemployment system and investigate fraud. Michigan has been approved for three more weeks of funding through the federal Lost Wages Assistance benefit […]
Michigan officials have dwindling faith in an accurate census count
by Bisma Parvez (Bridge) The 2020 Census has had all the cards stacked against it: a pandemic that has caused confusion on where to respond and stopped most in-person events, a shortened timeline, an executive order calling for the exclusion of undocumented residents, an increased mistrust of government, and so much more. So it should […]
Militias, far-right groups recast selves as mainstream at Lansing gun rally
by Jonathan Oosting (Bridge) LANSING — Michigan militia members say they are trying to take their movement mainstream, fashioning themselves as a private security force willing to defend against protests over racial injustice and police brutality that have turned violent in some parts of the state and country. Dozens of armed members from various militias, […]
Coronavirus kept us home, igniting real estate frenzy in northern Michigan
by Paula Gardner (Bridge) Tad Randolph remembers the first time he saw his house near Grayling. He’d rounded a bend in the Manistee River, looked 30 feet up the bank and told his son, “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a house like that?” A few years later, he and Bonnie, his wife, were ready […]
Voting activists get twin victories in Michigan with transport, ballot cases
by Riley Beggin, Jonathan Oosting (Bridge) Two judges granted victories to voting-rights advocates in Michigan, allowing absentee ballots postmarked before the general election to be counted and blocking a law that barred groups from hiring drivers to take voters to the polls. The separate rulings, which came Thursday and Friday in closely watched lawsuits fought […]
Judge: Enbridge can resume full operations on Michigan Line 5 pipeline
by Kelly House (Bridge) An Ingham County judge has given Enbridge Energy clearance to resume normal operations of Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac, lifting a partial shutdown that had been in place for months after Enbridge discovered damage to an anchor support on the pipeline in June. Judge James Jamo approved the re-start […]
Michigan Supreme Court questions Whitmer’s ‘profound’ power during pandemic
by Jonathan Oosting (Bridge) LANSING — Michigan Supreme Court justices grilled Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s attorney for more than an hour and a half Wednesday, questioning the limits of her authority to take emergency actions without legislative approval during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s probably the largest claim of executive power that any governor has ever […]
Michigan colleges pass 1,000 COVID cases. Apparently, students like to party.
by Ron French, Robin Erb, Mike Wilkinson (Bridge) There are at least 1,226 current, confirmed cases of the coronavirus on Michigan college campuses, fueled by aggressive testing, partying and students visiting other campuses. And that, predicted one health official, could spill over to older, more vulnerable residents. Linda Vail, health officer for Ingham County, said […]
Outdoor visits now ‘expected’ at Michigan nursing homes, state says
by Robin Erb (Bridge) Michigan’s nursing homes can now allow outdoor visits — a long-awaited development for 34,000 residents who have been largely isolated inside nursing homes and other residential care facilities since COVID-19 hit Michigan six months ago. Proposals sent to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last week also suggest another perk may soon follow: visitor […]
Whitmer thanks Michigan COVID essential workers with free community college
by Riley Beggin, Paula Gardner, Ron French (Bridge) Around 625,000 Michigan essential workers will be eligible for free community college under a new program first announced by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in April and formalized on Thursday. Under the program Whitmer is calling Futures for Frontliners, people who worked frontline jobs during the peak of […]
