U.S. House Democrats’ highway funding bill is poised to include roughly three out of five transportation projects submitted by members, as legislators vie for their share of federal dollars through the resurrected congressional earmarks process. Michigan is poised to receive $210 million spread over 68 projects throughout the state.
Kalamazoo
The George Washington Carver Community Center hosted a virtual event on Thursday, May 29 to discuss trauma, grief, and resilience, particularly as those issues intersect with the African American community and the COVID-19 pandemic.
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A 53-year-old White Pigeon man was airlifted to Kalamazoo Monday following a car vs. motorcycle crash at the intersection of Banker Street Road and Burgener Road in Florence Township.
A Kalamazoo man is currently lodged in St. Joseph County Jail on multiple charges after he led deputies from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department on a chase through Three Rivers Friday, April 2.
After 25 years, Rebecca McKee is back in the classroom, although this time it is virtual, and her tuition and mandatory fees are now covered through the Futures for Frontliners program put into place by the State of Michigan last year.
WSV’s Michael “Hogey” Hogoboom waxes poetic about many Southwest Michiganders’ favorite sign of Spring: The return of Oberon.
Watershed Voice set out to find how this pandemic is affecting young people in southwest Michigan, speaking to local mental health experts and teens alike. Throughout the past year, the coronavirus pandemic has drastically altered lives across the world; people have lost their jobs, lost loved ones, and had to put their lives on hold. That feeling of going on pause has especially affected young people, who feel removed from some of the most formative years of their lives. It’s no wonder these feelings of isolation and helplessness have taken a toll on child and adolescent mental health.
In March 2020, the pandemic hit Michigan, bringing upheaval to schools. When Gov. Gretchen Whitmer closed schools buildings that month due to the climbing number of COVID-19 cases, districts across the state scrambled to craft a plan to meet students’ needs virtually. Over the last year, the pandemic has highlighted the inequities the struggling, underfunded Partnership schools face while they work to make ends meet during this current school year.
A proposed wastewater treatment plant under consideration by the Village of Mattawan is under fire from a range of critics. Recent village meetings have seen lengthy public comment periods, during which village residents and residents of nearby areas have largely voiced opposition to the plant. Currently, the Village pumps its wastewater to the Kalamazoo treatment system. However, village officials say a six-mile portion of the “forcemain” which connects the two systems requires considerable work to remain in operation.
President Joe Biden and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer joined Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on Friday afternoon for a tour of the pharmaceutical company’s Portage facility — home to the first COVID-19 vaccine doses that were shipped in December.
Late Wednesday evening a Kalamazoo woman named Megan Martin, who is a Three Rivers native, alleged Andrew George, the chair of the Three Rivers Downtown Development Authority Board and a former candidate for St. Joseph County County Commission, raped Martin some time in the late 2000s. George “outright and wholly” denies allegations.
The U.S. had a mental health professional shortage before the pandemic, and Southwest Michigan was no exception. Every county in Southwest Michigan had been designated as a mental health professionals shortage area by the Healthcare Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
WSV’s Beca Welty writes, “February in southwest Michigan might seem like an impossible time to enjoy your favorite meal on the deck of your ideal restaurant, but Martell’s in Kalamazoo has transformed that dream into a reality. Like a few of their sister restaurants in the Millennium group, Martell’s has installed cozy igloos for outdoor dining, and I was one of the lucky few to indulge in the experience.”
“[…] Can rural economies be saved? We’re living in an increasingly urban world where talent and wealth are concentrating in large metropolitan areas. Rural America is growing older and getter poorer. Various policy efforts on the state and federal levels over the past several decades have not lifted that trend line.”
Glen Oaks Community College has announced its outstanding scholars for the Fall 2020 Semester.
WSV columnist and licensed psychotherapist Charles Thomas writes, “Sometimes, in the midst of a crisis, a tiny dose of compassion, and a little help keeping things in perspective can be very powerful medicine.”
A 53-year-old Kalamazoo woman was transported to the hospital Monday after she rear-ended a tractor in Colon Township, according to the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department.