For Michigan officials building an $80B budget, ‘boring is a good thing’
by Lauren Gibbons (Bridge Michigan) After years of economic whiplash from the COVID-19 pandemic, record-high budget surpluses, fluctuating unemployment rates and the pinch of inflation, officials say Michigan’s latest financial projections seem, well, boring. But for officials tasked with predicting revenues for what is expected to be a roughly $80 billion state spending plan for […]
Would tax break for MI data centers bring economic boon, or climate doom?
by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) A proposed tax break for massive data centers is gaining steam in the Michigan Legislature, but some lawmakers and environmentalists fear courting the energy-intensive industry could undermine the state’s climate goals. At issue are House bills 4905-4906 and Senate bills 237-238, twin packages that would expand sales- and use-tax exemptions for data center […]
Whitmer wants free community college for all. Michigan House has other plans
by Isabel Lohman (Bridge Michigan) Gov. Gretchen Whitmer visited a high school career training center Wednesday to promote her proposal to guarantee free community college for all high school graduates. But that guarantee — a key provision of her $80.7 billion budget plan — appears in jeopardy after the Democratic-led state House omitted it later […]
There’s a proven way to help kick opioids. Not enough in Michigan use it
by Robin Erb (Bridge Michign) INKSTER — Ten brown metal folding chairs sat empty; a package of bottled water and a stack of Allison Herrst’s opioid recovery brochures remained untouched. It was a Thursday afternoon, and the fourth consecutive time nobody showed up for a meeting to start a new chapter of Medication-Assisted Recovery Anonymous, or MARA […]
Michigan Dems OK $3M for e-bike discounts. GOP says plan is off the rails
by Simon D. Schuster LANSING — A proposed electric bicycle incentive program that could dramatically cut prices through income-based “discount vouchers” received nearly $3 million in funding in a budget plan approved by the Michigan House Wednesday. The provision, part of a larger $81 billion state budget proposal, was championed by Democrats as a “future-facing” […]
Marijuana edibles, vape pens in Michigan schools prompt calls for reform
by Isabel Lohman (Bridge Michigan) Six years after Michigan voters chose to legalize recreational marijuana, some education leaders are calling on the state to do more to combat use in schools. There’s been an “alarming” rise in student consumption of pot edibles and use of vape pens, Detroit Superintendent Nikolai Vitti wrote last week in […]
Northern lights put on spellbinding show in Michigan
Quality of Life (Bridge Michigan) Michiganders reached for the sky late Friday, pointing cell phones toward the heavens to get a rare glimpse of the northern lights that were visible because of a major geomagnetic storm. The majestic lights — or aurora borealis — were visible far farther south than usual. They were best seen in northern […]
New Airbnb tax plan hits snag as summer tourism comes to Michigan
by Jordyn Hermani (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — As another Michigan summer approaches, bringing with it a wave of tourism, over 150 municipal leaders are again begging state lawmakers for support as they attempt to regulate Airbnbs and other short-term rentals in their communities. But that season will likely come and go without any major action […]
An arrest, more protests at University of Michigan graduation events
by Isabel Lohman (Bridge Michigan) ANN ARBOR — Police arrested one person Friday, and dozens of activists attempted to disrupt a Saturday graduation ceremony as pro-Palestinian demonstrations escalated at the University of Michigan. The arrest was the first of its kind in the nearly two weeks since activists set up an encampment at U-M, which […]
Swim season is coming to Michigan. Swimmer’s itch may be going away
by Alex Walters, Capital News Service (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — Jeff Stratton’s beloved Larks Lake left his feet and legs covered in hundreds of itchy red welts. “It was horrible,” said Stratton, 68, “Crazy itchy. Crazy painful.” The itching was caused by Trichobilharzia stagnicolae, a tiny parasite that ran wild in the lake’s mergansers and snails. The predicament […]
