It’s not just Flint: Poverty is bad for your health in Michigan, study finds
by Ted Roelofs, Jim Malewitz (Bridge) Five years after regulatory blunders exposed Flint residents to lead-tainted water, a University of Michigan study has flagged “hot spots of environmental injustice” across the state where residents are most vulnerable to pollution. Those include neighborhoods in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Flint, Saginaw, Lansing and Kalamazoo, where mostly low-income people of […]
After three student suicides, a Michigan school district fights back
By Ted Roelofs (Bridge) In the course of a year, the rural Cedar Springs Public Schools district, north of Grand Rapids, came to know the raw pain of suicide and loss all too well. In August 2015, a 17-year-old rising senior at Cedar Springs High School took his own life. The following May, students on the […]
Climate change could bring woe to Michigan’s lakes, farms, forests
by Jim Malewitz (Bridge) It’s not just heat. A growing body of research predicts climate change could bring a host of problems in the coming decades in Michigan, from increased algae blooms on the Great Lakes and crop-killing pests on farms to extinctions and increased air pollution. Last October, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate […]
Think it’s hot now? Michigan’s 90° days could quadruple in 20 years
by Magdalena Mihaylova (Bridge) All 83 counties in Michigan are getting hotter, and a report released Tuesday predicts it will only get worse, as the number of days with heat indexes over 90 degrees will quadruple in the next 20 years. The report from the Union of Concerned Scientists, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit science advocacy group, predicts extreme temperatures […]
Michigan prison inmates need job skills, but technology books are banned
by Riley Beggin (Bridge) Inmates in Michigan state prisons who want to learn how to design a website, code a computer program or wire a house may find themselves a little light on reading material. At least 60 books related to computers, electronics and other technology are banned from state prisons for security reasons, according […]
Michigan Supreme Court hears debate on minimum wage, sick leave laws
by Lindsay VanHulle (Bridge) LANSING—At the Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday, an attorney defending actions by Republican lawmakers to weaken citizen-initiated laws to raise the minimum wage and require paid sick leave was asked if he could explain why legislators did it. Attorney John Bursch said he couldn’t answer for certain, though he offered a […]
Republican ideas to fund Michigan road repairs taking shape over summer
by Lindsay VanHulle (Bridge) One Republican idea to help counties and larger cities in Michigan pay for local road repairs: allowing them to levy their own gas taxes and vehicle registration fees. The concept is among several floating around Lansing this summer as GOP legislative leaders say they continue to work on a plan to fix […]
Invasive plants choke Michigan waters. So why can anyone order them online?
by Alexandra Schmidt (Bridge) Michigan spends millions of dollars a year to fight invasive plants that harm the water, lower fish populations and threaten recreational tourism. Yet despite the potential damage, invasive plants are still brought into the state. Often, as Bridge Magazine discovered, a purchase is just a click away. Aquatic plants listed as invasive, and thus illegal, […]
Enbridge begins geological work for Line 5 tunnel, despite Nessel lawsuit
by Jim Malewitz (Bridge) DETROIT — Enbridge Energy is forging ahead with preparations to build a tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac to protect its controversial Line 5 oil and gas pipeline, even as the state seeks to block the project. Meeting with reporters at the Detroit Wayne County Port Authority along the Detroit River on Wednesday, […]
Michigan doctors not trained to treat opioid abuse ‒ and don’t want to be
by Ted Roelofs (Bridge) As Michigan continues to lack enough resources to treat opiate addiction, a statewide survey finds just one in five primary care physicians offers medication assisted treatment in their practice. And according to the survey of roughly 600 primary care physicians by the University of Michigan’s Center for Health and Research Transformation, even fewer are interested in […]
