Unvaccinated student rates rise for third straight year in Michigan schools
by Magdalena Mihaylova (Bridge) The percentage of Michigan students who are unvaccinated has increased for the third year in a row, with nearly 1,000 public and private school buildings in which more than 5 percent of students haven’t had at least some childhood vaccinations in 2018-19. In some schools, more than 25 percent of the […]
Conflict looms for Whitmer, Nessel as Enbridge accelerates Line 5 tunnel plan
By Lindsay VanHulle, Bridge MACKINAC ISLAND — Canadian energy giant Enbridge Inc. on Thursday announced it can finish a tunnel to house the controversial Line 5 oil pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac by 2024 at the earliest, shaving years off previous estimates. Enbridge said in a statement that construction could start as soon as 2021, […]
Bipartisan Michigan auto insurance deal reached between Whitmer, Republicans
Riley Beggin, Lindsay VanHulle (Bridge) State lawmakers announced Friday they had reached a deal on a Michigan auto insurance reform that they promise will lower costs while also barring insurance companies from using non-driving factors to set rates. They said they intended to vote on the bill before the end of the day, and send it […]
What the no-fault auto reform deal means for Michigan drivers
Riley Beggin (Bridge) Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Republican leaders agreed to a landmark deal Friday that dramatically changes the state’s no-fault auto insurance system by allowing drivers to choose their level of personal injury protection coverage, among other things. The governor and Republicans say the plan, once signed into law, will bring much-needed financial relief to residents […]
Michigan’s abortion rate among nation’s highest. What you need to know.
Robin Erb (Bridge) The number of abortions in Michigan and nationwide has fallen dramatically in the past 25 years, but the state still has one of the highest abortion rates in the United States. Nearly 1 in 5 pregnancies, excluding miscarriages, in Michigan ended in abortion in 2015, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease […]
U.S. Supreme Court halts order requiring Michigan to redraw political lines
by Jim Malewitz, Lindsay VanHulle (Bridge) The U.S. Supreme Court put on hold Friday a lower court’s order that Michigan lawmakers redraw state and congressional political districts — and hold special 2020 elections — to fix illegal gerrymandering by Republicans. In a one-paragraph order, the high court delayed the Michigan ruling until it can decide high-profile redistricting cases out of […]
Michigan is investing heavily in early reading. So far, it’s not working.
Ron French (Bridge) Despite at least $80 million spent on improving early literacy and one of the largest expansions of state-funded pre-K in the nation, reading skills remain stagnant or declining across most of Michigan. Half of Michigan third-graders were proficient in English Language Arts on the state’s standardized assessment, the M-STEP, in 2014-15. Three years later, […]
She often arrived drunk at Ann Arbor ERs. Today, she serves others.
Ted Roelofs (Bridge) Lynne Ponder had just about nowhere to go but up. Living alone in Washtenaw County, she was virtually homeless as she bounced from motel to motel, haunted by severe anxiety, depression and bouts of heavy drinking she undertook to quiet her terror. Panic attacks were all but paralyzing. “It was the worst […]
Consumers Energy chief sees solar future in Michigan
JACKSON — Patti Poppe likes to joke about the bumper sticker she once stuck on her Chevy Volt electric hybrid car: “I ♥ coal.” These days, the sticker sits in Poppe’s office at Consumers Energy’s headquarters in her hometown of Jackson. It’s a symbol of her personal evolution on climate change — and the transformation […]
Michigan shrinks credits for rooftop solar, clouding industry’s future
by Jim Malewitz (Bridge) BRIGHTON — Most people view a utility bill as a hassle. Al Warner sees opportunity. Each bill offers the retired engineer fresh data to plug into a spreadsheet charting his progress towards dual goals: slashing his fossil fuel consumption and saving on monthly energy costs. “I’m trying to do everything I […]
