A U.S. House elections panel on Thursday heard from witnesses about the need to craft a new formula that identifies which states or jurisdictions have problematic histories of racial discrimination when it comes to access to the ballot box.
Author: Michigan Advance
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) reported Wednesday that a total of 672,259 Michiganders have tested positive for COVID-19 and 16,092 have died from the virus — an additional 6,311 cases and 10 deaths since Tuesday.
The U.S. Department of Education (USED) has waived the federal requirements for school accountability in Michigan, but schools should still plan on administering standardized tests this spring.
COVID-19 metrics have met the threshold to close some businesses, but the state is keeping them open
DHHS spokesperson Lynn Sutfin said the state “will continue to monitor the data to make decisions including three key metrics: case rates, percent positivity, and hospitalizations.” Sutfin said the DHHS’ goal “is to reengage while reducing public health risk, which is why we move slowly to maintain progress and momentum with thoughtful public health measures.”
In a preview of the arguments likely to be repeated as the Biden administration and Congress work toward conservation goals, Democrats on a U.S. House panel earlier this month outlined what they say is a need for aggressive action on climate.
Bills you may have missed, from allowing dogs in outdoor dining to banning state nondisclosure deals
Members of the Michigan House and Senate introduced nearly 200 bills in the final two weeks before the Legislature’s two-week spring break.
In Michigan, Republican lawmakers this week introduced a 39-bill package that would ban unsolicited mass mailing of absentee ballot applications, prohibit pre-paid postage on absentee ballot envelopes for absentee ballots, require a photo ID, curb the hours people could drop off their ballots in boxes and require video surveillance of such drop boxes.
Infrastructure is important for everyone. We need a strong public system for roads and transportation, for drinking water, for energy. And when that system is neglected, we all bear the burden as a society.
On Equal Pay Day, marking the day when white women will have earned the same amount on average as men have at the end of 2020, the Michigan Progressive Women’s Caucus announced a package of bills Wednesday to address the state’s gender wage gap and form a commission on pay equity within the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.
A proliferation of low-wage and hourly jobs with few or no benefits, depleted savings and rising household costs in Michigan paved the way for a state where nearly four in 10 workers were struggling to make ends meet going into the COVID-19 pandemic, the Michigan Association of United Ways reported Tuesday.
In his first week in office, President Joe Biden paused new oil and gas leasing on federal lands as his administration reviewed fossil fuel development policy. Now that Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has taken office, the administration is gearing up to begin that process. A forum comprising the energy industry, conservation groups, labor organizations and others will meet virtually March 25 in the first public event of the review.
Columnist Sharon Dolente writes, “Michiganders want and deserve a voting system that works for all of us, regardless of our race, gender, religion or ZIP code. The eagerness with which communities turned out to vote in 2020 was historic and encouraging. Our elected leaders should follow the lead of the voters of Michigan and build on that success in protecting the right to vote and expanding access to the ballot.”
The U.S. Department of Education announced Wednesday the $122 billion in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding that will go to states “to support their efforts to reopen K-12 schools safely this month and equitably expand opportunity for students who need it most.”
The new child tax credit expansion is temporarily bringing more money — through both monthly cash payments and tax returns — to families across large chunks of the income spectrum, including those who have been financially hurting the most, both during and before the pandemic.
According to a Wednesday COVID-19 data update from Sarah Lyon-Callo, director of the DHHS Bureau of Epidemiology and Population Health, Michigan has the ninth-highest number of cases and the 10-highest case rate in the U.S. in the last seven days.
University of Michigan professor Melissa Borja says that as the COVID-19 pandemic enters its second year in Michigan, she’s concerned that acts of anti-Asian hate in America are on the rise.
Multiple companies and nonprofit groups are working to create “vaccine passports” — smartphone-based apps that would allow someone to certify that they’ve been vaccinated. The apps so far are aimed at travelers, who may be required to show proof of their vaccination status before boarding a plane or entering another country
Mark Brewer, longtime Michigan elections lawyer and former Michigan Democratic Party chair, told the Advance Tuesday that a new ballot initiative expanding the state’s 1976 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) represents the best opportunity yet to achieve significant transparency.