Michigan’s local road conditions improved slightly, but projections still bleak
by Lauren Gibbons (Bridge Michigan) Michigan’s local roads have improved slightly in the last year, but potholes will persist without additional funding for fixes, a survey of county road agencies found. The survey, conducted by the County Road Association of Michigan, found 6,047 miles of county roads were improved in 2022, meaning they were patched up, repaved […]
Michigan Senate votes to add LGBTQ protections to anti-discrimination law
by Lauren Gibbons (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — LGBTQ people would be explicitly protected by Michigan’s anti-discrimination law under legislation passed in the Michigan Senate on Wednesday. In what supporters called a historic moment, Senate Bill 4 — which would expand the state’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity — passed […]
Democrats push Michigan gun reforms. Here’s what the laws are now
by Ron French (Bridge Michigan) It seems like a simple question: How old do you have to be to own a gun in Michigan? In most cases, if you’re 18, you can buy a rifle or shotgun. If you’re 21, you can buy a handgun. But you can buy a handgun at 18 if you […]
Michigan House votes to repeal 1931 abortion ban
by Lauren Gibbons (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — The Michigan House voted Thursday to repeal the 1931 ban that supporters argue is no longer constitutional after the passage of Proposal 3 last fall. Getting the law — which criminalized abortions except in life-threatening pregnancies — off the books was a top priority for Michigan Democrats, who control majorities […]
Michigan voters are skeptical of EVs and the value of college in new poll
by Paula Gardner (Bridge Michigan) Michigan officials and the state’s business leaders share a vision of the economy, the role of college degrees in employment success, and the need to solidify an electric vehicle manufacturing base here. But the consensus ends when voters join the mix, according to results of the latest statewide poll by The Glengariff […]
Michigan Democrats pressure utilities: more credits for power outages
by Janelle D. James (Bridge Michigan) Democratic pressure is building to hold Michigan utility companies more accountable for long outages in the wake of thousands of Michigan residents being without power for more than five days, including throughout the weekend. Michigan House of Representatives Majority Leader Abraham Aiyash, D-Hamtramck, called for committee hearings regarding the […]
Michigan has far more power outages this week than other Midwest states
by Janelle D. James (Bridge Michigan) Two days after a rare ice storm barreled through the Upper Midwest, power outages continued to be a far bigger challenge for Michigan than for any of its neighbors. And it’s not even close. More than 700,000 Michigan homes lost power following the mid-week storm, and that number had […]
Food assistance cuts loom for 1.3 million Michiganders. No legislative action yet
By Yue Stella Yu and Ted Roelofs (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — As food costs rose, Nancy Cromley saw the number of families coming to her for help spike. “In the last couple months, we saw a 17% increase in clients,” Cromley, director of the Green Apple Pantry in Grand Rapids, told Bridge Michigan. Now, Cromley […]
Michigan student loan forgiveness: What to know as Supreme Court steps in
by Isabel Lohman (Bridge Michigan) The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday on the future of President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program. Student loan borrowers are waiting to see how justices on the conservative-tilting court will view Biden’s effort to clear college debt for millions of people, a plan halted by lower courts before […]
Michigan’s lousy infrastructure has many begging: Fix the damn noisy roads
by Lauren Gibbons (Bridge Michigan) ANN ARBOR — Deborah Orlowski doesn’t need Siri to tell her what traffic is like on the M-14. She can hear it from inside her house. A small thicket of bushes and trees separates her property from the M-14, a state freeway that stretches from Interstate 94 in Washtenaw County […]
