Betsy DeVos: Michigan can expect standardized tests, despite COVID-19
By Ron French (Bridge) Michigan students should expect to take federally-mandated state standardized tests this school year despite potential quarantines and school closures from COVID-19. U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos notified Michigan State Superintendent Michael Rice and other state school chiefs across the country Thursday that states “should not anticipate” waivers to the federal requirement […]
Extra $300 Michigan unemployment payouts should reach jobless after Labor Day
By Paula Gardner Michigan residents who already are receiving unemployment benefits should see three weeks of additional $300 payments during the week of Labor Day. Those payments will be retroactive to people with active claims as of Aug. 1, said Steve Gray, director of Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency, during a hearing on Thursday before state […]
MI task force endorses new model for nursing homes afflicted by COVID-19
by Elisha Anderson, Detroit Free Press (Bridge) A state nursing homes task force proposed new ways to help reduce the effects of isolation on residents in a report released Tuesday, recommending outdoor visits, small-group activities with no contact, limited communal dining and increased virtual visitations. They are among 28 recommendations sent to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, […]
From CMU to tiny Adrian, COVID-19 keeps marching through Michigan colleges
by Ron French (Bridge) Confirmed and probable coronavirus cases at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant surpassed 200 Tuesday. Two hours south, near the Ohio border, tiny Adrian College announced that more than 6 percent of its students and staff had tested positive for the potentially deadly virus. Farther west, Kalamazoo College decided last week […]
COVID-19 vaccine race heats up with clinical trials at 3 Michigan sites
By Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press (for Bridge Magazine) The race for a COVID-19 vaccine is picking up as three medical centers in Michigan now are involved in Phase 3 clinical trials of three different vaccine candidates. The hope is at least one of them will prove to be safe and effective in preventing […]
Michigan economy is stronger than expected amid pandemic. Thank the stimulus.
By Jonathan Oosting (Bridge) LANSING — Federal stimulus checks and expanded unemployment benefits have propped up the Michigan economy during the coronavirus pandemic, driving up spending and tax revenue and blunting the impact of an ongoing recession. The message, delivered Monday by financial experts in Lansing, is good news for Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and […]
Pandemic takes toll on Michigan children with autism and their families
By Anna Clark (Bridge) If you ask Jaden Williams, he’ll tell you that there’s some benefit to the COVID crisis. The sixth-grader at Pasteur Elementary School in Detroit doesn’t like virtual programs. But, he said, “at the real school, when I’m in the class the whole entire day, I’m being stressed.” He describes his […]
Will Postal Service botch election in Michigan? It’s unlikely, experts say.
By Mike Wilkinson (Bridge) For weeks, Americans have feared impending doom: Cuts in the U.S. Postal Service would jeopardize mail-in balloting during the November election. On the verge of likely the biggest absentee-ballot election in Michigan history, those fears were spurred by the removal of mail boxes and sorting machines across the country, including some in Michigan. President Trump has attacked mail-in […]
COVID-19 recession could trigger a surprise tax cut in Michigan
By Jonathan Oosting (Bridge) LANSING — Michiganders could be in line for a surprise tax cut because of the coronavirus pandemic and recession – if state officials don’t stop it first. A little-known provision in a 2015 road funding law signed by then-Gov. Rick Snyder requires Michigan to automatically lower its income tax rate if revenue flowing […]
Feds demand answers from Whitmer on Michigan nursing home deaths
By Jonathan Oosting (Bridge) LANSING – The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday it is seeking data from Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and three other Democratic governors who “issued orders which may have resulted in the deaths of thousands of elderly nursing home residents.” Much of the data is already publicly available, but the department […]
