Politics + Gov
After budget drama, Whitmer outlines areas for compromise before meeting with GOP leaders
After signing the Fiscal Year 2020 budget, albeit with plenty of vetoes, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday laid out a list of key priorities she hopes to address with supplemental funding, saying she is “ready to negotiate” with legislative leaders when she convenes a quadrant meeting Thursday. On Monday, she issued 147 line-item vetoes, which […]
Homelessness increases across the state, especially for senior citizens, families
Michigan saw an increase in the state’s homeless population this past year, especially for veterans and families, but according to the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) this is partly due to better documentation and reporting. “This annual report tells a story about our collective work and it shows that we are making progress,” Kelly […]
GOP state school board member challenges Slotkin in 8th District — but doesn’t live there
A little more than a week after freshman U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) announced her support for impeachment hearings for President Trump, a GOP challenger has emerged. Nikki Snyder is a nurse and state Board of Education member who opposes the impeachment inquiry. She lives in Dexter outside the 8th Congressional District — which includes […]
Susan J. Demas: It took a Democratic governor to ax pork-barrel spending in Michigan
It’s been nine months since Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took office, but Republicans are still struggling to accept that they don’t run everything in Michigan anymore. She’s also managed to do what conservatives have piously begged for: Cut $1 billion in pork-barrel spending from the budget — the opposite of what her supposed fiscal genius GOP […]
Peters talks 2020, Trump impeachment before visiting UAW strikers
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.) made appearances in Lansing Tuesday morning, which included a question and answer session with the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce at a local brewery before a visit with striking General Motors workers on the picket line. The Advance spoke with Peters after fielding questions on a variety of issues […]
State board OKs $625M in spending transfers, Whitmer invites GOP leaders to budget meeting Thursday
Just hours after cutting almost $1 billion from the GOP-led $59 billion Fiscal Year 2020 budget, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took the rare step of using administrative power to transfer funds within state departments. In a small, packed conference room on Tuesday morning, Whitmer, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and key allies like Attorney General Dana Nessel […]
Huizenga, Tlaib probed by House ethics panel
The U.S. House Ethics Committee announced Monday that it is reviewing matters regarding two Michigan members, U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) and Bill Huizenga (R-Zeeland). The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) referred the matters to the House Ethics Committee on Aug. 16. OCE, a nonpartisan investigative organization, can recommend the committee further review or dismiss […]
After delay, state to spray West Michigan Monday night to combat EEE
Aerial treatment to combat mosquito-carried Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) in western Michigan counties will begin tonight, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). Areas in Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Van Buren counties are scheduled for Monday treatments, according to an Aerial Treatment Zones Map. All other treatment zones will not […]
Whitmer vetoes almost $1B in GOP ‘pork barrel’ spending in budget
Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday signed 16 GOP-led budget bills, averting a partial government shutdown, but also handed down $947 million worth of line-item vetoes. Whitmer issued 147 line-item vetoes in Fiscal Year 2020 budgets, the governor’s office said Monday night. That includes $375 million in one-time, General Fund infrastructure spending and $128 million […]
Woman fights for civil rights in first-ever transgender case before the Supreme Court
The first case involving the civil rights of transgender people will go before the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 8 to rule whether a federal law against job discrimination on the basis of sex protects transgender people. Aimee Stephens, a 58-year-old transgender woman from Ferndale, was fired from her position as a funeral director after […]
State court denies restraining order in flavored vape ban
A state court has denied an Upper Peninsula vape shop owner’s request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) ahead of a statewide ban going into effect on flavored vaping products. The state Court of Claims on Monday afternoon denied the request by Mark Slis, who owns 906 Vapor in Houghton. The ban, proposed by Gov. […]
Nessel opposes Trump’s SNAP restrictions, calls rule ‘entirely unacceptable’
Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a comment letter against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) arguing that President Trump’s restrictions on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would violate federal law and be detrimental to public health. The proposed rule, called Revision of Categorical Eligibility in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, would end the state’s ability […]