Michigan leans on long-term substitutes as its schools struggle
by Mike Wilkinson, Ron French (Bridge) One applied for jobs at a county road commission and as an office manager before unexpectedly being offered a teaching post. Another was an assistant basketball coach before walking into an elementary school classroom. A third was a wedding planner before teaching fifth-grade math and science. None of them were […]
After week of mass shootings, can ‘red-flag’ law gain traction in Michigan?
by Lindsay VanHulle (Bridge) State Rep. Robert Wittenberg said he has given maybe 20 media interviews since two gunmen killed more than 30 people in two American cities over the weekend, reviving sporadic debate over how to best curb gun violence. But what he really wants, he said, is action in Lansing. It’s been two years since […]
New plans for Michigan psychiatric facility raise more concerns about care
by Ted Roelofs (Bridge) As the politics of mental health care in Michigan continue to shift, it now looks like a state psychiatric hospital in the Thumb will remain open. But instead of building a $115 million, 200-bed new hospital in Caro, state officials are recommending renovating the existing hospital or building a downsized 84-bed hospital […]
Study: Untreated mental illness, substance abuse ‘staggering’ in Michigan
by Ted Roelofs (Bridge) Hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents with a mental illness or substance-use disorder are untreated, a crisis compounded by a shortage of health professionals and treatment facilities, according to the findings of a report released Tuesday. Commissioned by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund (MHEF), an independent healthcare foundation that receives funds from Blue […]
Michigan Republicans sue to stop redistricting commission before it starts
by Riley Beggin, Lindsay VanHulle (Bridge) A group of Michigan Republicans filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday seeking to block the state’s voter-approved redistricting commission, saying it unconstitutionally blocks some residents from serving. The suit — filed by Michigan Freedom Fund Executive Director Tony Daunt, state Sen. Tom Barrett, Board of State Canvassers member Norm Shinkle and other […]
Being poor on rich U-M campus still a struggle as school broadens reach
by Alex Harring & Sammy Sussman (Bridge) Classes hadn’t even begun her freshman year when Lauren Schandevel learned her place in the economic pecking order at the University of Michigan. “My orientation roommate was from New York City,” said Schandevel, of Warren. “And the first thing she said to me was ‘I lost my iPhone in […]
Before debates, Gretchen Whitmer urges Democrats to protect Great Lakes
by Jim Malewitz (Bridge) Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer on Monday joined four other Democratic governors in unveiling a “Great Lakes 2020 Presidential Agenda” — a list of priorities they say are needed to protect “the ecology, economy, and health” of the Great Lakes and inland waterways. The six-item platform touches on topics ranging from fixing the region’s […]
U-M study finds surprising abusers of opioids: new mothers. The fix is easy.
Even as the opioid crisis ravaged the nation, more than 1 in 100 women who were prescribed powerful painkillers for childbirth had become persistent users just months after baby arrived, according to new research by the University of Michigan. It’s a grim statistic in a nation reeling from the epidemic, especially since many of the 3.8 million women […]
How Michigan can prepare for the coming Alzheimer’s crisis
by Ted Roelofs (Bridge) Michigan’s graying population is rapidly leading to a crisis in care for the state’s Alzheimer’s population, a trend expected to accelerate over the next years and decades. With associated costs of care estimated to rise above $15 billion annually, Michigan leaders and advocates face a host of challenges planning for the […]
Alzheimer’s in Michigan: The coming storm
by Ted Roelofs (Bridge) KENTWOOD—Just about every morning and evening, Wayne Goates makes his way to visit the woman he fell hard for in college. From all outward signs, she has no idea who he is. “The commitment and the romance is still there,” Goates says of his wife, Kristie, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s […]
