Michigan environment roundup: Great Lakes water levels may surge higher
By Jim Malewitz (Bridge Environmental Watch) In Bridge’s Michigan Environment Watch, we share a roundup of recent stories on the Great Lakes or other environmental issues. If you see a story we should include next time, use the hashtag #EnviroReads on Twitter or email environmental reporter Jim Malewitz at jmalewitz@bridgemi.com. Michigan AG focuses on clean energy, […]
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer eases access to welfare in Michigan
By Jonathan Oosting (Bridge) LANSING — Low-income Michigan residents can have more money in the bank without losing access to public assistance, under new policies announced last week by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Beginning Nov. 1, Michigan will allow residents with up to $15,000 in personal assets to remain eligible for cash, food and emergency […]
This flu season looks deadly, yet much of Michigan won’t get its shot
By Ted Roelofs (Bridge) GRAND RAPIDS—As she waited for a flu shot on Thursday at a Grand Rapids public health clinic, Ellen Stuart recalled when she first moved to the city more than 40 years ago. “I came down with the flu and was sick for two weeks,” she recalled. “I was flat on my […]
Michigan seeks to cash in on CBD craze, but hemp harvest not without hiccups
By Jonathan Oosting (Bridge) LANSING — Topical cannabidiol creams are competing for shelf space at Kroger and Whole Foods. Wellness sprays are sold over the counter in Walgreens and other national pharmacies. And Family Video is even selling CBD next to DVDs. CBD has gone mainstream, and Michigan farmers hope to cash in on the […]
In the spring, Gov. Whitmer praised an opioid clinic. In the fall, a veto.
By Ted Roelofs (Bridge) On a rainy day last April near Jackson, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer broke ground on a $10 million, long-term recovery home for opiate addicts called Andy’s Place. Standing to her far left, with a shovel of his own, was GOP Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey – who happens to represent Jackson. “The crisis […]
Senate panel passes bills to try 17-year-olds as juveniles in crimes
By Riley Beggin (Bridge) Michigan is one of only four states that automatically treat 17-year-olds as adults in the criminal justice system. That would change under bipartisan bills that passed out of Senate committee Thursday morning and which are likely to be supported in both houses of the Legislature for the first time in years. […]
Caro’s psychiatric hospital is saved. Michigan’s mental health crisis persists.
By Jonathan Oosting (Bridge) LANSING – Plans for a new 100-bed psychiatric hospital in rural Tuscola County may help the region’s economy but will do little to address Michigan’s larger mental health “crisis,” according to experts who remain wary of long waiting lists and limited care options. Facing pressure from local officials, lawmakers and union […]
Michigan has $1B left over from budget. What happens to all that money?
By Riley Beggin (Bridge) Michigan’s state budget finalized last week outlines how the government will spend around $59 billion over the next year. It was hard-won: Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Republican leaders Sen. Mike Shirkey and Rep. Lee Chatfield are at odds over many funding priorities such as schools and roads, making for months of turbulent […]
Tiny school districts to Lansing: Stop acting like ‘middle-schoolers’
by Ron French (Bridge) As principal and superintendent of the one-building Whitefish Township Community School in the Upper Peninsula community of Paradise, Tom McKee recognizes middle-school behavior when he sees it. His school district is set to lose 16 percent of its funding because of vetoes by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the failure of the […]
Here are the winners and the losers in Michigan’s new budget
by Riley Beggin (Bridge) After months of negotiations, twists, stalemates and unprecedented moves, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer finalized the state budget this week, just in time to avoid the first government shutdown in a decade. The first-term Democratic governor line-item vetoed nearly $1 billion of the $59.9 billion budget and shifted $625 million within state […]
