Traffic, theft, drug crimes top Michigan automatic expungements
by Lauren Gibbons (Bridge Michigan) Traffic misdemeanors, theft charges and drug possession or use made up the vast majority of the nearly 1.2 million Michigan criminal convictions dropped from residents’ records in the first two weeks of automatic expungement, state police records show. The data, obtained by Bridge Michigan from the Michigan State Police through […]
How Michigan watches the Tigers, Red Wings and Pistons is likely to change
by Bill Shea (Bridge Michigan) The summer of 1984 was glorious for Detroit Tigers fans, with Sparky Anderson managing the likes of Alan Trammell, Lou Whitaker, Kirk Gibson, Jack Morris and Willie Hernández as they etched their way into baseball history. By that fall, the Tigers had won 104 games and eventually dispatched the San Diego […]
Ann Arbor is launching a guaranteed income program. What that means
by Nushrat Rahman (Bridge Michigan) Ann Arbor recently joined the growing list of cities across the nation exploring what happens when lower income families receive a steady stream of cash in their pockets each month — no strings attached. Last month, Ann Arbor City Council approved a guaranteed basic income program — funded by $1.6 million in American […]
FDA grants full approval for Alzheimer’s drug. New hope, but not without risks
by Riley Hodder (Bridge Michigan) The Food and Drug Administration granted traditional approval for a new drug, Leqembi, made to treat Alzheimer’s patients Thursday. The drug helps reduce the amount of amyloid plaques in the brain, one of the physical symptoms of the disease, and slow down the rate of decline, albeit modestly. Alzheimer’s is […]
Great Lakes drownings on rise. Here’s how to protect yourself at the beach
by Riley Hodder A dip in Lake Michigan turned fatal for an Ohio man last Wednesday, with the 23-year-old becoming the 12th person to drown in Lake Michigan this year, and the 33rd in the Great Lakes. That’s down from last year, when there were 53 drownings in the Great Lakes by the Fourth of July. […]
Michigan is set to better track Native American student achievement
by Ron French (Bridge Michigan) No one really knows how Native American students fare in Michigan schools. It’s not even clear how many Indigenous students there are in the state’s public classrooms. That’s about to change, thanks to a paragraph tucked away on page 61 of the just-passed school aid budget. Beginning in the 2024-25 school […]
Michigan to require most prison staff to wear body cameras
by Yue Stella Yu (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — Jonathan Lancaster had big plans for his release from prison: Get remarried, meet his grandchild for the first time and move to Florida, his sister Danielle Dunn recalled. “He was very much looking forward to coming home,” Dunn, 47, told Bridge Michigan. But Lancaster never did. In […]
Michigan’s new hands-free driving law now in effect. What to know
by Janelle D. James (Bridge Michigan , Paul Stryker & Erik Lominchar, (BridgeDetroit) Michigan’s new distracted driving law took effect Friday, just as some 1.5 million residents hit the road for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. To ensure drivers get the message, the Michigan Department of Transportation plans 37 signs that read “Michigan Law hands-free device use only” at the state […]
Michigan dentists are learning to help, treat the developmentally disabled
by Riley Hodder (Bridge Michigan) JACKSON — Inside a dentist office in Jackson, the hallways are decorated with pictures of people with disabilities and the dental care rooms feature soothing lights and noise machines. Nearby, in a sensory room at the Center for Family Health Dental Clinic, there is a fluffy green carpet and dark blue curtains […]
U.S. Supreme Court affirmative action ban already playing out in Michigan
by Isabel Lohman (Bridge Michigan) U.S. colleges and universities are banned from using race as a consideration in admissions decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday, a prohibition Michigan had already placed on its public universities since 2006. The court’s six conservative justices put an emphatic, if unsurprising, end to decades of affirmative action practices […]
