This week, 211 pre-kindergarten-12 schools are reporting new or ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks. Only halfway through the month, 24 Michigan public schools have closed temporarily or put in place remote learning plans in January due to COVID-19 disruptions, including Ann Arbor Public Schools, Detroit Public School Community District and Flint City School District, according to Burbio, a data service that aggregates calendars nationwide.
Category Archive: State
The Michigan State Board of Education passed a resolution Tuesday to counter the anti-critical race theory (CRT) bills introduced in the Legislature last year, but it didn’t happen without lengthy debate among board members and hours of public comment. Tuesday’s meeting stretched nearly 10 hours due to hundreds of public comments.
Voting rights groups say the lawsuits are disingenuous attempts to make it more difficult for eligible voters, especially non-white voters in growing urban areas, to cast ballots.
While Attorney General Dana Nessel and Enbridge prepare to once again battle it out in court over the fate of the company’s controversial, nearly 69-year-old Line 5 oil pipeline, a regulatory fight is also heating up over Enbridge’s plan to eventually replace a portion of the pipeline and enclose it in an underwater tunnel.
Now that the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) approved final state and congressional maps, the contours of the 2022 election are becoming clearer for candidates.
The disconnect between a federal ban and increasing state liberalization has not stopped the marijuana industry from blossoming where it is legal. Since Colorado and Washington’s moves in December 2012, the federal government has largely stayed away from enforcing federal law in states where the drug is legal. But the policy gap widens as more states join in legalization, touching on everything from banking to tribal jurisdiction.
The Michigan Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by several media organizations that allege the state’s redistricting commission has violated the constitutional requirement of transparency.
The Defend Black Voters Coalition has called on Michigan-based corporations General Motors, Ford, DTE Energy, and CMS Energy to pledge to end campaign contributions to state lawmakers who are working to make it harder for Black people in Michigan to cast ballots with proposed voting restrictions.
A bipartisan pair of senators on Wednesday called for Congress to approve billions in new funding for states to manage wildlife recovery work.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) reported Wednesday an additional 15,385 COVID-19 cases and 351 COVID related deaths since Monday.
A month ago U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, who represents the 6th District encompassing Kalamazoo and a large swath of Southwest Michigan, voted for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. After that, a flood of phone calls rushed into Upton’s office — more than 1,000 in a matter of days. There were death threats and threats to Upton’s family and staff — a whirlwind of profanity-laced tirades rooted in a political environment more toxic than anything Upton said he’s seen in his 35 years in Congress.
U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has formally ordered the removal of the term “squaw” from federal geographic features, including 31 in Michigan alone, marking a step forward to reconcile place names that are now widely understood as offensive toward Indigenous people.
As of Tuesday, 628 pre-kindergarten-12 schools are reporting new or ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks in Michigan. Of those, 93 are new outbreaks reported Monday.
St. Joseph County is among the bottom 11 counties in Michigan for full vaccination rates at 43 percent. Leading the pack is Leelanau County in northern Michigan with 72.96 percent.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive directive Monday ordering state agencies to ready plans to quickly replace lead pipes using an influx of federal dollars from the new Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) approved its nine collaborative proposed maps and an additional six from individual commissioners for the state Senate, state House and congressional districts earlier this month. The lines will go into effect for the 2022 elections and be in place for 10 years. Now experts are weighing in on the maps as the commission — which is composed of four Republicans, four Democrats and five independents — prepares for another round of public hearings starting in Ann Arbor Thursday.
A coalition of education groups made up of history educators joined together in opposition of two state bills that they say “misconstrue Critical Race Theory (CRT).
In a late-night vote last week, the Michigan House of Representatives approved a bill that essentially nullifies local ordinances on short-term rentals — which have become increasingly popular with the growth of companies like Airbnb and VRBO — in the name of protecting private property rights.