Should Algebra 2 be required? Michigan legislator says no; research says yes
by Ron French (Bridge) Michigan high school students would no longer be required to take Algebra 2 to earn a diploma under a bill introduced again this term in the Michigan House of Representatives. “Through college and law school and a 40-year career, I can’t recall an instance of using Algebra 2,” said bill sponsor Gary […]
Michigan has 1.6M college dropouts. Debt forgiveness may lure them back.
by Chastity Pratt (Bridge) Lakeshia King was like many adult college students when she started taking classes at Wayne State University in 2003. She picked up classes, then dropped them as she changed her major over and over again. She was taking only a couple classes at a time because she had a son and […]
What to expect in Michigan’s first election since voting rights amendment
by Riley Beggin (Bridge) On Tuesday, May 7, many Michigan voters will participate in the first election since a sweeping voting rights constitutional amendment passed with 67 percent of the vote last November. The election may seem like small potatoes; only around 17 percent of currently registered voters are impacted by elections May 7, and most […]
Michigan mulls lifting barrier to solar energy on farmland
by Andy Balaskovitz (Bridge) As states consider the compatibility of utility-scale solar projects on farmland, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration is revisiting a state policy that the industry says has acted as a barrier. Michigan’s Farmland and Open Space Preservation Program provides tax incentives to landowners who keep land under contract for agricultural practices for […]
Michigan is obese, unhealthy and dying young. And that's costing billions.
by Mike Wilkinson, Ted Roelofs (Bridge) Blessed with abundant water, beaches, hiking trails, bike paths and locally grown fruits and vegetables, Michigan has all the makings of a healthy and fit state. But look closer and the reality is grim: All too often, in much of the state, residents can’t do a simple push-up or […]
DTE chief: We’re cutting carbon because it’s ‘defining issue of our era’
by Jim Malewitz (Bridge) Coal once reigned supreme on Michigan's electricity grid. Not anymore. Touting landmark goals to slash carbon dioxide emissions that speed global warming, Michigan’s biggest utilities are shuttering coal plants favor of cheaper generation from natural gas and renewables like wind and solar. That includes DTE Energy, which provides electricity to 2.2 […]
When Michigan school districts go into debt, kids and communities pay price
by Emily Richmond (Bridge) WHITMORE LAKE—Whitmore Lake Road is a two-lane stretch of blacktop cutting through wide fields and dense woods. In the predawn hours, around a curve, the community’s high school, a modern brick and glass edifice, beams out of the darkness. For the small, unincorporated community of 6,000 just north of Ann Arbor, […]
Whitmer seeks a $5 million Pure Michigan cut to apply to roads. GOP balks.
by Lindsay VanHulle (Bridge) Gov. Gretchen Whitmer would cut $5 million from the popular $36 million Pure Michigan travel campaign next year, instead directing the money toward her top priorities to fix the state’s infrastructure and public schools. Yet some state lawmakers, from both parties, are vowing to use the state budget process to keep […]
Whitmer and Republican leaders join forces to study Michigan jail reforms
by Lindsay VanHulle (Bridge) Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday launched a bipartisan effort to study Michigan’s crowded county jail system and recommend policy changes to cut costs and reduce the number of return offenders. Through an executive order, Whitmer created the Michigan Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration, which is to report its findings — […]
Dana Nessel, Michigan’s attorney general, plows through Lansing
by Riley Beggin (Bridge) Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel last read Margaret Atwood’s novel “The Handmaid’s Tale” as a senior at the University of Michigan. The book’s misogynist dystopia is now close to reality, she told a room of nodding, pink-clad women at a Planned Parenthood conference in Lansing on Tuesday. If modern politics become more like […]
