Local Government
Herbart and Hecker: Don’t gamble with school retirement funds for roads scheme
Some state lawmakers are proposing to dip into state retirement funds to pay for Michigan’s crumbling roads. This dangerous idea should be rejected because it could undermine the retirement of hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents, drive the state deeper into debt, and saddle taxpayers with massive future costs. Rather than face the fact that […]
Benton Harbor rejects Whitmer’s deal to keep high school open
The Benton Harbor School Board rejected on Tuesday night an agreement that would have given the city a one-year window in which to make improvements that would keep its only public high school open, as residents and community leaders continue to resist any plan that could lead to a closure. Speaking with the Advance Wednesday […]
AG’s office has seized almost 20 million new docs in Flint water investigation
Updated, 2:26 p.m. 6/29/19 At a Friday night town hall in Flint, Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced they’ve seized almost 20 million pieces of new evidence in the now more than three-year-old criminal investigation of the city’s water crisis. Hammoud and Worthy said that only about 1% of the […]
Michigan AFL-CIO backs LGBTQ rights push in local governments
Updated, 12:03 p.m. 6/29/19 with additional communities that passed measures One of the state’s largest labor unions has encouraged local governments to formally recognize Pride Month during June. The Michigan AFL-CIO said in a statement that it backed efforts in almost two dozen communities around the state to pass resolutions or sign proclamations officially declaring […]
U.S. Agriculture Dept. awards $4.2M for Michigan projects
Michigan will receive funds for a mid-Michigan road commission building and street cleaning equipment for an Upper Peninsula city from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The funding is through the Community Facilities Direct Loan Program. The USDA on Monday announced that Gladwin County will see $4 million for a 20,000-square-foot road commission building. That’s […]
Flint, unemployment insurance, Headlee lawsuits cast shadow over state budget
The state is keeping an eye on multiple pending lawsuits, including a potential settlement for Flint residents, that could leave a huge hole in Michigan’s finances. Whether the settlements come this year or next, some experts say the lawsuits are a risk for the state budget, at a time when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and GOP […]
From suing the state to serving as AG: Nessel recalls journey at Michigan Pride
Saturday wasn’t the first time that Attorney General Dana Nessel was the grand marshal of Michigan Pride. Five years earlier, she served in that role at the annual LGBTQ festival when she was an attorney fighting the state of Michigan’s same-sex marriage ban, which was ultimately overturned in 2015 by the U.S. Supreme Court. Nessel […]
LGBTQ pols working to build another ‘rainbow wave’ in 2020
In 2004, almost 60% of Michiganders voted to deny same-sex couples marriage rights. The constitutional amendment outperformed former President George W. Bush’s reelection campaign in the state by 11 points. Five years later, pollster Richard Czuba, a former aide to Gov. John Engler, began polling the popularity of not just same-sex marriage, but amending the […]
Whitmer, Gilchrist commemorate Juneteenth in Lansing
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist appeared at Lansing Community College Thursday for the city’s official celebration of Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the abolition of slavery. Whitmer and Gilchrist spoke to an audience of about 200 in downtown Lansing, including various members of the state Legislature and the Lansing City Council, as well […]
Duggan announces sweeping demolition plan for blighted Detroit homes
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced on Thursday at the Mackinac Policy Conference that he aims to rid the city of its blighted, abandoned residential properties by the end of 2024. Duggan said that the city of Detroit will ask its residents to approve a bond issue for more than $200 million next March that will […]
Airbnb boom means mixed bag for Michigan communities
Carole and Terry Tufts live in suburban Kentwood, just 20 minutes from downtown Grand Rapids, in a gray four-bedroom home. There’s a plush floral couch in the living room, and a large dinner table where they host their four-child, 12-grandchild, two-great-grandchild family. Their lawn slopes down to a creek, with a park and playground just […]
State and Detroit officials approve Fiat-Chrysler deals
Officials for both the state and the city of Detroit gave their final approvals on Tuesday for Fiat-Chrysler Automotive’s long-planned, $4.5 billion expansion in Southeast Michigan. In February, the Auburn Hills-based automaker announced its plans — including $2.5 billion investment into two Detroit facilities — that the company says will result in about 6,400 new […]