This year’s round of redistricting is already crumbling into partisanship and court challenges in multiple states, even as voters pay more attention than ever to new political maps that will shape elections for a decade
Author: Michigan Advance
The next wave of the massive COVID-19 vaccination campaign could begin as soon as next week, after federal regulators decide if elementary school students across the U.S. should begin rolling up their tiny sleeves.
Homelessness in Michigan dropped 19% in 2020 from 2019, according to a new report. Michigan” was created in collaboration with several state government departments and agencies. It outlines a combination of factors contributing to 2020’s reduction in homelessness, including the implementation of eviction moratoriums.
The statewide child poverty rate improved from 2018 to 2019, decreasing from 17.9% of the state’s children to 16.3%.
Add the Michigan Civil Rights Department director to the growing number of voices who say that the initial redistricting maps proposed by the state’s new independent panel violate the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given a green light to Americans who want to receive a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by a different company than the one that produced the initial shot they received.
State Rep. Padma Kuppa (D-Troy) writes, “For decades, top-down movements have been sowing the seeds of disinformation, which has created a world where everyday Americans cannot trust facts presented to them. This environment divides us and those who fuel disinformation intend to confuse Americans and pit us against each other. Our democracy is stronger when we work together. Those hellbent on power and control know this well — and use disinformation to push us apart. When we are too busy fighting each other, we fail to notice when bad actors chip away at our freedoms, our rights and our collective power.”
The Biden Administration announced Monday newly accelerated efforts to prevent and mediate pollution from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of “forever chemicals” known to cause harm to human health.
As all Michigan schools have begun 2021-22 classes, the state is reporting school- and sports-related COVID-19 outbreaks on a weekly basis. As of Monday, 413 pre-kindergarten-12 schools and seven universities — Alma College, Central Michigan University, Grand Valley State University, Saginaw Valley State University, University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University and Concordia University — are reporting new or ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks.
A national gerrymandering project from Princeton University has graded Michigan’s 10 preliminary district maps headed for public comment after they were approved last week by the state’s independent citizens panel.
The Department of Justice has directed the FBI to meet with local governments and law enforcement to discuss strategies for dealing with increasing threats to teachers and school board members spurred by a conservative backlash against discussions of race in public schools.
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.) alongside U.S. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) introduced a bill last week that would boost financial literacy in high school students by establishing a pilot program where students will be given an initial deposit and subsequent opportunities to have a set amount of their continued savings matched.
Dietary aide Angela Davenport argues that “nursing home workers, who have given so much throughout this pandemic, need real support.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law Wednesday the nearly $70 billion Fiscal Year 2022 budget, while axing Republicans’ cuts to abortion access and noting that budget language restricting COVID-19 mandates is unenforceable.
Congress in March authorized $19.5 billion in aid for cities and towns with fewer than 50,000 residents, including very small jurisdictions such as Bingham. Lawmakers wanted to help every town cover the cost of fighting a pandemic and recovering from last year’s recession. But in some small, rural or conservative towns, local leaders are refusing the cash. They say they don’t need it, and in some cases, don’t feel comfortable accepting it.
The former heads of both major Michigan political parties are joining forces to help Michigan become the next state to ratify a National Popular Vote (NPV) amendment. Former Michigan Republican Party Chair Saul Anuzis and former Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer say it would make elections more fair and democratic by doing away with the current “winner-take-all” system for awarding electoral votes
As of Sept. 16, more than 5.5 million children have been infected by the virus since the start of the pandemic. That represents more than 15% of the total cases, according to Dr. Lee Beers, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. More than 21,000 children have been hospitalized, a rate that’s 2.5 to 3 times higher than flu-related hospitalizations, Beers testified.
The Michigan Independent Redistricting Commission (MICRC) has been working on drafting maps for the state Senate, House and congressional districts for several weeks, but the drafts that have been made public so far are far from the final product.