Report: Funding cuts, high tuition spawn a cost crisis at Michigan colleges
by Ron French (Bridge) Michigan families are facing a college affordability crisis caused by a “perfect storm” of falling wages and state disinvestment in higher education, according to a new report released Friday. That affordability crisis is hitting hardest among Michigan’s rural and low-income families, according to the report, by the New York-based Century Foundation, which describes […]
Michigan committee approves health warning labels for marijuana
by Riley Beggin (Bridge) LANSING – The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday approved bills that would require labels on marijuana indicating its health risks for pregnant mothers. “This is a brand new product that’s going out … and a lot of people automatically think ‘Wow it’s legal, it’s going to be safe,’” said Rep. Daire […]
Michigan schools say they can’t find enough substitute teachers
by Ron French (Bridge) Michigan schools are increasingly unable to find enough substitute teachers to fill their classrooms, a shortage that threatens to impact learning in the state’s already struggling public education system. A survey of school leaders released Monday by Michigan Applied Public Policy Research and the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, […]
Michigan House Dem leader says Whitmer’s 45-cent gas tax is probably dead
by Riley Beggin (Bridge) Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s proposal to raise Michigan gas taxes by 45 cents per gallon is likely dead, said House Democratic Leader Christine Greig Thursday. Republicans have said the proposal is a non-starter, so “I think we have to have these other options,” the Farmington Hills representative said. Among them: taxing […]
M-STEP shows no progress for Michigan’s struggling third-grade readers
by Ron French (Bridge) Statewide early literacy efforts haven’t helped Michigan’s struggling readers. That’s sobering news for Michigan schools, as well as families with children entering third grade. Beginning this school year, third-graders reading at below second-grade level risk being retained in grade. Last school year, three of 10 Michigan third-graders were “not proficient” in […]
Battle looms over laws to slow spread of invasive species in Great Lakes
by Jim Malewitz and Sarah Whites-Koditschek (Bridge) More than $375 billion in cargo — iron ore, coal, cement, stone, grain and more — has flowed between Great Lakes ports and foreign nations since 1959. That’s when Queen Elizabeth and U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower christened the St. Lawrence Seaway, heralding it as an engineering marvel. But that series […]
Short-term rental advocates, foes work toward a deal on laws in Michigan
by Lindsay VanHulle (Bridge) Michigan policymakers are again working to regulate short-term rentals such as those on sites like Airbnb, as they try to balance neighborhood concerns with private property rights. But unlike previous attempts in Lansing, legislators are enlisting the help of groups that have fought on opposite sides of the issue. Since the spring, […]
Michigan GOP files new suit to stop independent redistricting commission
by Jim Malewitz (Bridge) The Michigan Republican Party is suing to block the creation of a citizens commission established to redraw the state’s legislative and Congressional boundaries. In a lawsuit filed Thursday, the state GOP asks a U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids to invalidate the amendment to create the redistricting commission — stopping Michigan Secretary […]
Pressure builds on Michigan Republicans for roads plan to avoid shutdown
by Riley Beggin (Bridge) With just over a month to go until the Oct. 1 deadline for a completed state budget and roads funding plan, pressure is building on Lansing Republicans to offer their own vision for funding more than $2 billion in Michigan road and bridge repairs. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is scheduled to […]
What’s behind the population boom in rural Michigan jails?
by Ted Roelofs (Bridges) In the northeast corner of the Lower Peninsula, Alpena County Jail tells a story familiar to much of rural Michigan. Its inmate population is rising, the cost to cash-strapped county government is climbing – and the jail is filled with the mentally ill and misdemeanor defendants who fail to post bail […]
