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Michigan GOP’s Holocaust post shows growing far-right extremism in the party, experts say
There is a phrase that political experts, Jewish leaders and elected officials repeatedly used when responding to Michigan GOP Chair Kristina Karamo’s vehement defense of the party’s social media posts linking the Holocaust to gun reform bills introduced in the wake of the Michigan State University mass shooting: “I am not surprised.” Disgusted, yes. Outraged, […]
U of M graduate instructors approve strike authorization
Faced with steep cost of living increases, including burdensome rents, unionized graduate student workers at the University of Michigan voted Thursday night to authorize a strike should union leaders determine it’s necessary in an effort to secure increased wages in their new contract. Ninety-five percent of the Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO) AFT Local 3500 members […]
Judge gives final stamp of approval on $626M settlement for Flint water crisis victims
Nearly a decade after the water crisis began to devastate Flint in 2014, leaving thousands of people to drink lead-contaminated water in the Black-majority city, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Tuesday the state’s historic Flint water settlement totaling about $626.25 million has been formally approved. Genesee County Circuit Court Chief Judge David J. Newblatt […]
‘Seismic shift in Michigan politics’ paves way for urban economic development, pols say
For the state lawmakers gathered Monday at Linc Up, a Grand Rapids-based nonprofit focused on racial equity, the push to invest in Michigan’s disenfranchised urban cores is, ultimately, about acknowledging that Black Michiganders and other marginalized residents have long been pushed from their homes in the wake of racist policy and new development — and […]
‘A very dark time’: SNAP cuts leave Michigan families, food banks struggling
It’s 8 a.m. on a Wednesday morning, which means Karen Palumbo is on the move. Cradling loaves of bread, she deftly maneuvers under the neon lights of the LMTS Community Outreach Services’ food pantry in Lansing as she stocks the shelves for the people who will start streaming through the doors in a matter of […]
In ‘history-making’ votes, Democratic-led Senate passes gun reform legislation
A little more than one month after a mass shooting killed three students at Michigan State University, the Democratic-led Senate on Thursday passed an 11-bill package that aims to curb and prevent the gun violence that has traumatized children, parents and communities across the state. Garnering uniform support among Democrats and largely condemnation from Republicans, […]
‘This is our blood on your hands’: Students describe a crushing emotional toll of mass shootings
In the wake of mass shootings at Michigan State University and Oxford High School, as well as the gun violence that has shattered lives across the state, the children now living with the permanent scars of trauma keep hearing the same message: They are the future; their advocacy is the reason this country will change. […]
‘I don’t know how I survived’: Reflections on three years of the pandemic
Three years ago, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, then Michigan’s chief medical executive, made an announcement: The first two cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed in the state. “We’re Michiganders; we’re tough; we will get through this,” Whitmer said on March 10, 2020, when she declared a state of emergency. Three years later, […]
Whitmer signs $1.3 billion spending plan, includes $630M for Ford EV battery plant
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a bipartisan $1.3 billion supplemental spending bill Wednesday, which includes about $630 million for a Ford Motor Company electric vehicle battery plant in the Marshall area that the administration said will create thousands of jobs. House Bill 4016, sponsored by Rep. Angela Witwer (D-Delta Twp.) and passed in the House and […]
Whitmer signs tax relief bill; law increases EITC, repeals pension tax
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday signed House Bill 4001 into law, which boosts a tax credit for low-wage workers and rolls back the state’s retirement tax. The legislation, coined the “Lowering MI Costs” plan by Democratic lawmakers, overhauls tax changes made by then-Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, in 2011. The new law is expected to […]
Michigan firearm owners advocate for gun reform
Michigan firearm owners and strong proponents of Second Amendment rights at a Thursday press conference threw their weight behind the gun reform bills introduced by state Democrats and urged lawmakers to cast what they said should be “an easy vote” in favor of the legislation. “I can’t think of any other issue in this state […]
‘If not now, when?’: At House hearing, lawmakers hear emotional pleas to pass gun reform bills
Under the fluorescent lights of the Anderson House Office Building in downtown Lansing, a crowd gathered Wednesday afternoon. They wore orange, a color symbolizing gun violence survivors, and clasped hands with one another as people spoke of suicide and students dying and operating on children with gun wounds. Often, they cried. For many of those […]