Author

Laina G. Stebbins covers the environment, Native issues and criminal justice for the Advance. A lifelong Michigander, she is a graduate of Michigan State University’s School of Journalism, where she served as Founding Editor of The Tab Michigan State and as a reporter for the Capital News Service.
House measure urges Canada not to store nuclear waste on Great Lakes
By: Laina G. Stebbins - January 31, 2020
A bipartisan measure aimed at putting “moral pressure” on Congress to prevent Canada from storing nuclear waste on Lake Huron has advanced from a House committee. Canada’s Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) has been eyeing a spot on Lake Huron, right across the lake from Michigan’s “Thumb,” as one of its two top choices to […]
In Warren, Trump touts USMCA, vows to end Chaldean deportations
By: Laina G. Stebbins - January 31, 2020
Hours before heading to Iowa for a “Make America Great Again” campaign rally Thursday evening, President Donald Trump made a stop to tour the Dana Inc. manufacturing plant in Warren and make a relatively quick 30-minute speech to supporters and plant workers. There, the newly impeached president boasted about the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement (USMCA) he signed […]
After a year battling Republicans, Whitmer vows executive action on roads, other priorities
By: Laina G. Stebbins and Allison R. Donahue - January 29, 2020
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was not shy Wednesday evening about addressing the partisan roadblocks her administration faced over the last year from the Republican-controlled Legislature, which stymied some of her biggest policy goals. The Democratic governor delivered her second State of the State address in the Michigan House chamber, taking a look back at the progress […]
Trump signs bipartisan USMCA trade deal, only invites GOP
By: Laina G. Stebbins - January 29, 2020
President Donald Trump signed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) Wednesday afternoon. Although the new trade deal had plenty of input from Democratic members of Congress, only Republican lawmakers were invited to the signing ceremony in the White House. The deal cleared the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 384-41 in December, and the […]
Osborn on Lucido’s alleged harassment: ‘It just makes you feel powerless’
By: Laina G. Stebbins - January 28, 2020
On Monday, Melissa Osborn described her experience of having inappropriate and unwanted attention from state Sen. Peter Lucido (R-Shelby Twp.) in an interview on WDET’s “Detroit Today” radio show. Osborn, a regulatory and legislative affairs specialist for the Michigan Credit Union League and affiliates, is the second woman to allege Lucido sexually harassed her since […]
Nessel joins lawsuit challenging Trump admin effort to allow 3D-printed guns
By: Laina G. Stebbins - January 27, 2020
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined a lawsuit seeking to prevent the President Trump administration’s newest attempt to allow access to blueprints for 3D-printed guns. The downloadable files would essentially allow anyone with an Internet connection to be able to print their own unregistered, untraceable firearm with a 3D printer. These are sometimes referred […]
Enbridge Line 5 rod stuck in Straits more than 5x longer than 1st reported to state
By: Laina G. Stebbins - January 27, 2020
A steel drill rod that became lodged in the Straits of Mackinac lakebed during an equipment collapse in September is at least five times longer than embattled Canadian oil giant Enbridge previously reported to the state – and exactly how much longer is still unclear. On Jan. 7, the Advance first reported that a metal rod […]
Michigan’s 1st attempt at a ‘2nd Amendment sanctuary county’ goes awry
By: Laina G. Stebbins - January 25, 2020
This week, Monroe County almost became Michigan’s first so-called “sanctuary county” for gun rights. But that effort fell through Tuesday evening, as confusion and disagreements within the mostly Republican Monroe County Board of Commissioners marred a vote on the issue. The vote would have come just one day after a large gathering of gun rights […]
McMorrow says she had to file sexual harassment complaint against Lucido, even though it could end her career
By: Laina G. Stebbins - January 21, 2020
State Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) was all too aware that filing a sexual harassment complaint against fellow state Sen. Peter Lucido (R-Shelby Twp.) could kill her shot at re-election. Still, she felt called to do it anyway. “… This very well may be the end of my career,” McMorrow told reporters after Tuesday’s Senate […]
Nessel files challenge to Line 5 tunnel plan’s constitutionality
By: Laina G. Stebbins - January 17, 2020
Updated, 11:31 a.m., 1/18/19 Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is not backing down from her legal argument against oil company Enbridge’s plan to build a tunnel around the Line 5 pipeline. A legal brief filed by Nessel in the Court of Appeals Thursday seeks a decision that would reverse an earlier Court of Claims ruling, […]
Shirkey has no plans to address PFAS-laden green ooze with legislation
By: Laina G. Stebbins - January 17, 2020
The same morning that a state House committee heard updates on the ongoing “green ooze” toxic waste cleanup in Madison Heights, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake) told reporters he is in no rush to take action on the issue. “Not anticipating taking any action at this time,” Shirkey said in a response to a […]
State task force delivers 18 criminal justice reforms to GOP leaders, Nessel abstains
By: Laina G. Stebbins - January 14, 2020
Updated, 9:23 a.m., 1/17/19 Nine months after Gov. Whitmer appointed a Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration to examine and improve Michigan’s criminal justice system, the task force released its final report. It delivered 18 policy recommendations to legislative leaders at the state Capitol Tuesday morning. The task force was created by the […]