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CORONAVIRUS TRACKER | POSITIVITY RATE HITS 10 PERCENT; HOSPITALIZATIONS INCH UPWARD

BRIDGE MI — The percent of positive coronavirus tests in Michigan was at 10 percent over the past week, up from 8 percent the previous week.

Michigan has the fifth-highest positive rate in the country, behind Florida (10.9 percent), Nevada (10.8), Hawaii (10.4) and Utah (10.4), according to data compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The rising rates have led to more cases and an increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations with 729 in Michigan on Monday, up from 714 on Friday and 624 last Monday.

At the peak of the omicron wave, there were 5,009 COVID-19 patients being treated statewide on Jan. 10.

Last fall, when weekly positive test rates first hit 10 percent, there were more than 1,800 COVID-19 patients statewide, far more than are now being treated. That’s an indication of the reduced severity of the omicron variant and the sub-variants it has spawned.

More thorough data will be available on Wednesday, when Michigan releases weekly tallies on cases and deaths.

WHITMER SAYS SHE’LL ‘FIGHT LIKE HELL’ FOR ABORTION ACCESS IN MICHIGAN AFTER COURT LEAK

DETROIT NEWS — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said her work challenging Michigan’s 1931 ban on abortion in state court is “more important than ever” after a leaked draft opinion showed the U.S. Supreme Court initially has voted to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.

“I’ll fight like hell to protect abortion access in Michigan,” the Democratic governor tweeted late Monday in response to the news.

A draft majority opinion circulated within the court in February and obtained by Politico said the 1972 ruling, Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed women constitutional protections for abortion rights, was “egregiously wrong from the start,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote.

“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” Alito said in the draft opinion. “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”

It’s unclear whether changes have since been made to the draft or if justices have since changed their votes. The High Court’s opinions are not official or final until published.

If Roe is overturned, experts have said Michigan likely will revert back to a 1931 law, known as Act 328, that makes abortion a felony in the state, with no exceptions for rape or incest.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel repeatedly has said she would not enforce the law, arguing that doing so would “drive women to back alleys again.”

“I will never prosecute a woman or her doctor for making the difficult decision to terminate a pregnancy,” said Nessel in 2019, suggesting that doing so would be “sending women to be butchered.”

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald on Monday issued a similar promise: “If Roe v Wade is overturned, I will do everything in my power to protect the over half a million women in Oakland County and their right to make choices over their own bodies.”

Genevieve Marnon, legislative director for Right to Life Michigan, said she was cautiously optimistic about the High Court’s draft ruling Monday. She acknowledged things may have changed since it was written, but she considered what she had seen to be a win.

“If ultimately Roe is overturned, we will be celebrating tremendously,” she said. “Those are unborn lives in Michigan and everywhere that will be saved.”

Democratic lawmakers slammed the draft as portending “devastating” effects for women in Michigan and across the country. “This is outrageous!” tweeted U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing.

“If tonight’s news is true, Michigan’s 1931 state law banning abortion would snap back into effect, making any abortion illegal in our state — even if the mom will die, or if she was raped by a family member. No exceptions,” Democratic U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin tweeted.

“My poor mother is turning over in her grave. The House has already voted to codify Roe — let all Senators be on record on this one in an up or down vote.”

Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Bruce Township, tweeted that overturning Roe would “save millions of innocent, unborn babies. I pray the Supreme Court makes it official and formally overturns this attack on the unborn.”

Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Holland, said if true, the news is the “correct decision.”

“This unprecedented leak of a draft ruling is an effort to overtly inject politics into the court itself. This individual should not be celebrated. They should be held accountable for their egregious breach,” Huizenga said.

A ballot initiative to establish abortion rights in the Michigan Constitution is underway, which U.S Rep. Andy Levin, D-Bloomfield Township, referred to Monday.

“As drafted, this is an egregious, worst case scenario,” Levin tweeted. “I hope it serves to wake folks up to what’s at stake. Michigan, it’s time to get #ReproductiveFreedomForAll on the ballot!!”

Alito’s opinion would overturn a ruling by the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which blocked a Mississippi law that bans nearly all abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy.

The Circuit Court had ruled that both precedent in Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey prohibited states from banning abortions before fetal viability. But Alito in his draft concludes: “The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating and prohibiting abortion.”

The justices heard arguments in the case in December, and a final decision is expected in the next two months.

CINCO DE MAYO PARADE COMES BACK TO SOUTHWEST DETROIT AFTER TWO YEARS OFF

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Floats, bands atop trucks draped in Mexican flags and dozens of dancers paraded two miles down W. Vernor Highway for Sunday’s Cinco de Mayo celebration.

The 57th annual parade and festival were hosted by the Mexican Patriotic Committee of Metropolitan Detroit with help from the Southwest Detroit Business Association.

The goal was to throw the same safe, family-friendly event of years past, said organizer Raymond Lozano, executive director of the Mexicantown Community Development Corporation and chair of the Mexican Patriotic Committee. In Detroit, the Cinco de Mayo parade has come to symbolize the start of spring.

“If you’re ever around this community, you know that there’s a lot of hugging — a thing that happens with the Latin community — and so not being able to do that safely for two years has created a lot of frustration,” Lozano said. “Everybody’s eager to greet one another.”

Thousands showed up to celebrate Cinco de Mayo and the return of another favorite yearly event after a two-year pandemic pause. Attendance was down compared to the the tens of thousands of prior years.

Mariachi music and swirling dancers were a staple of the parade and festival.

This was Arely Aguirre’s fourth time in the parade as a member of the Raices Mexicanas de Detroit dance group. Aguirre, a high schooler at Cesar Chavez Academy in Detroit, said she was nervous at the start with so many people watching.

However, the nerves faded away once she heard the crowd cheer for the dancers. She loves dancing with Raices Mexicanas “because it’s nice knowing you can celebrate your roots while doing something fun.”

Onlookers and parade marchers wandered over to the cultural and music festival at Plaza del Sol after the parade ended at West Grand Blvd. For several hours, dance troupes performed to a crowd of several hundred. Food trucks and vendor booths were scattered across the lawn.

Beatriz Chavez was selling traditional, handmade Mexican clothing at her booth. Demonstrating the different ways to style a rebozo, a shawl worn by Mexican women for multiple purposes, like carrying a baby or protecting from the sun, she spoke of the renewed interest in Detroit’s younger Latina community in learning more about Mexican attire.

“The idea is to promote the use of rebozos because it is like a part of the Mexican culture,” Chavez said. “The new generations know the symbol and how to use it. It’s like the culture is still there no matter where you are.”

It’s local businesses like that of Chavez, whose shop is called Flur de Tuna, that the Southwest Detroit Business Association (SDBA) aims to help. As southwest Detroit has grown in population over recent years, SDBA has helped more small businesses take off.

SDBA representative Jennifer Garnica, of Detroit, said not only has the area grown, but it has also grown more diverse, with Middle Eastern and Vietnamese restaurants opening in the area.

“It’s been a great culture shock when people come down here to know it’s not just Hispanic, but there’s a lot of Middle Eastern and a lot of other places here, so we are very excited to welcome them,” Garnica said.

Juan Gutierrez, of Detroit, also with SDBA, said the parade and festival were a great way for community members of all ages to come together “and build a coalition of support.”

“Everyone is really excited to come out and remember the DNA of southwest Detroit,” Gutierrez said. “We are still here, we’re still working.”

OAKLAND COUNTY’S ECONOMY SURGES AFTER COUNTY GIVES STRONG AID TO SMALL BUSINESS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The University of Michigan’s annual economic forecast for Oakland County shows that Michigan’s richest big county is bouncing back and then some from the pandemic’s recession.

The county is poised to surpass pre-pandemic employment levels late this year, a good omen for all of southeast Michigan — because Oakland’s typically strong economy is an engine that drives much of the regional economy, according to a team of U-M economists.

The economic experts said they were cheered by Oakland County’s last 12 months of dramatically dropping jobless rates and rising wages. Still, they warned that national and global factors, such as inflation and the war in Ukraine, still pose economic risks that could set back households throughout the county and Michigan as a whole.

The annual presentation was unveiled Thursday morning at the M1 Concourse conference center, amid an 87-acre complex of more than 250 condominium garages that house costly sports and collector cars, built on the reclaimed site of the former GM truck and bus assembly plant.

Among the experts’ findings that apply across all of southeast Michigan, researchers checked the status of regional computer-and-math-related jobs throughout metro Detroit. The demand for workers who can fill such jobs is growing rapidly, nationwide. It represents the United States’ answer to vigorous competition in advancing technology by equivalent workers in China, India, and other global competitors.

U-M’s researchers found that metro Detroit has a slightly higher share of these computer-and-math-related jobs than the nation as a whole, but they also found something they say is worrisome for local employers and economic development directors: the median wage for those occupations in southeast Michigan is well below the national average, even after adjusting for differences in the cost of living between metro Detroit and, for example, the Silicon Valley area of California. In order for metro Detroit “to remain the research brain” of an increasingly computerized

automotive industry, the U-M economists say, employers here will need to raise wages for that key sector of employment.

The U-M researchers forecast a stronger Oakland County recovery from the pandemic’s recession than they predicted for neighboring Macomb, Wayne, and other counties. Here’s why:

Oakland County has a large private sector of employment and relatively less employment in government jobs, notable because the private sector is growing faster than government employment;
Oakland has a tighter labor market than neighboring counties, meaning there aren’t as many workers to fill available jobs, which “helps to ensure that Oakland’s prosperity is shared with workers in the lower-wage industries”;
And Oakland County government made an especially strong effort to provide relief grants, loans, and other assistance to keep small businesses afloat during the pandemic’s downturn. Oakland ranked first among Michigan counties “on nearly every metric in the Paycheck Protection Program, including total funds, funds per resident, local jobs supported, and total loan forgiveness,” according to a news release tied to the economic forecast.

The economists predicted that the county’s average real wages would grow at least through 2024. By year-end, they expect the county’s employers will be paying an average wage of $71,700 in 2021 dollars, or about 7% above the pre-pandemic level from 2019. Of course, that’s an average — meaning that some incomes in Oakland County may be in the hundreds of thousands of dollar a year while residents in pockets of poverty such as Pontiac earn far less than the average.

Oakland County’s robust recovery from the pandemic’s downturn highlights its long-standing strengths as a center of high-tech employment, “including its educated

workforce and focus on 21st-century manufacturing and engineering,” said U-M economist Gabriel Ehrlich, director of the U-M Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics, which receives a fee from Oakland County government to provide the annual forecast.

Blue-collar industries are expected to be among the quickest to fully recover from the pandemic period, Ehrlich said in the forecast’s 23-page report.

Presenting the forecast along with Ehrlich was economist Donald Grimes, a specialist in labor economic and a senior researcher with the seminar group — a team of economists who present U-M’s Annual Economic Outlook Conference, billed as the longest running such event in the nation.

STATE POLICE ARREST 9 AFTER CAR CHASE ON I-96 IN OAKLAND CO.

DETROIT NEWS — Nine people have been arrested after a mult-department police chase early Monday on Interstate 96 in Oakland County, Michigan State Police said.

Troopers with the state police’s Brighton Post called the Metro North post at about 1 a.m. to report the pursuit of two groups fleeing east on I-96 from Kensington to Grand River.

State police said they believed the two groups of vehicles were stolen from an auto plant in Lansing. Each group consisted of two to four cars each, police said.

A state police helicopter and officers from multiple police agencies, including the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office and Metroparks Police, and multiple state police posts pursued each group, they said.

One of the groups crashed on I-96 near Kensington Road, officials said. The suspect drivers in the vehicle got out and fled on foot but nine people were arrested.

The other group separated and some exited at Grand River.

No injuries were reported, officials said.

AT MSU, ISOTOPE CENTER OPENS TO UNLOCK UNIVERSE, REVOLUTIONIZE MEDICINE

BRIDGE MI — In an unimposing complex of buildings on Shaw Lane in East Lansing, an easy walk from the Red Cedar River and a half-dozen Michigan State University dormitories, scientists are searching for the origins of the universe.

They’re also hoping to revolutionize medicine. And train the next generation of nuclear scientists.

And that’s just the stuff they expect to happen.

“We think we know what we’re going to find, but nature hardly ever works out that way,” said Brad Sherrill, science director of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, known as the FRIB.

As many as 1,600 scientists from around the globe are expected to work at times in the facility, on MSU’s campus. A ribbon-cutting Monday, attended by U.S. Secretary of Energy and former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, will mark the official opening of the FRIB. At the heart of the $730-million project, mostly funded by the federal government, is the fastest particle accelerator of its kind in the world. It’s OK if you don’t understand what that means. Even the scientists who manage it don’t know everything they’ll find over the expected 50-year lifespan of the facility.

What they do know: The FRIB is a technological wonder, with scientific implications for the world, and economic benefits for Michigan.

“This is the nuclear physics equivalent of the launch of the Webb Space Telescope,” Sherrill said, referring to the 2021 launch of the most powerful telescope ever placed in space.

“That’s a new tool that astronomy never had to look at the atmospheres of planets and stars and distant galaxies. This is a nuclear physics equivalent, being able to see and explore kinds of atoms that we never could before.”

Bridge Michigan spoke to Sherrill and FRIB lab director Thomas Glasmacher recently about the impact the facility will have on Michigan and the world. Oh, and whether a careless grad student could create a black hole.

What’s a FRIB?

FRIB houses the world’s most powerful heavy-ion accelerator. It is a complex of four buildings, with an underground tunnel housing the accelerator. That tunnel is 570 feet long, nearly the length of two football fields, and is 70 feet wide, 12 feet high, and 32 feet under the ground of the MSU campus.

The accelerator propels atoms to half the speed of light to collide with a target. The resulting collisions produce combinations of protons and neutrons that aren’t normally found on earth and don’t hold together forever, called rare isotopes.

Just how rare are these isotopes?

Many are not found on earth, and only believed to exist in stars. Researchers believe the speed of the accelerator will help scientists find as many as 1,000 new rare isotopes.

“The discovery opportunity is related to the power of the beam because if you have more powerful beams, you can make more exotic rare isotopes,” Glasmacher said. “It’s almost like an Easter egg hunt. You know there are some eggs over here, but you find eggs in places you didn’t expect. There are areas of research we know about, but there will be discoveries we make that we don’t know about yet.”

How will FRIB research impact our lives?

Past discoveries of rare isotopes have been crucial in developments from smoke detectors to PET scan imaging for disease, to radioisotope dating of ancient earth history.

One area in which Glasmacher said he feels confident the facility will make breakthroughs is in medical research.

“We’re not a hospital, but we can make these isotopes for researchers who develop therapies, and we can do it quickly,” Glasmacher said.

What does this research have to do with the stars?

Sherrill said work at the FRIB is likely to help researchers understand the evolution of the universe.

Most of the elements in nature are created in stars and stellar explosions, and there are additional elements made in those stellar explosions that are not normally found on Earth. Rare-isotope accelerators like the one at MSU will be able to create some of those rare isotopes, which could help us understand what the first stars in the universe were like.

Who does the research?

Even before the FRIB opened, MSU had the nation’s top-ranked graduate program in nuclear physics program, training one in 10 of the country’s doctoral students in that field.

Beyond undergrad and grad students, “at any given time, we might have 100 or so scientists on site” from around the world, Sherrill said.

Most research projects take about three weeks, but some take months. “We are good for the local hotels,” Sherrill joked.

Is there an economic impact for Michigan?

The facility will employ about 1,000 people permanently, and pump $4.4 billion into the Michigan economy over 20 years, according to a 2017 study.

A positive side-effect of the new facility is it will likely draw more highly educated people to live in the state, Sherrill said. “All these people come to Michigan (to study or conduct research), hopefully some of them will stay.”

Could it blow up or create a black hole?

Glasmacher said he’s heard people in the community worry an experiment gone sideways could cause some kind of global catastrophe – a nuclear explosion or “black holes and, you know, the world going away,” Glasmacher said.

“That’s not going to happen.”

Because particles used in the accelerator are isolated rather than condensed like in a atomic bomb, there won’t be any mushroom clouds over East Lansing.

Why is this such a big deal?

“It was something like 30 years ago, when we got to a point in nuclear physics where we realized that we weren’t going to make progress unless we had a much expanded ability to explore the atomic nucleus,” Sherrill said.

The FRIB allows that exploration.

“Anytime you go somewhere new, you always discover something you didn’t expect,” Sherrill said. “And we know enough to know that our knowledge is incomplete. This will help complete our knowledge of the realm of the atomic nucleus.

“It’d be really great for people to follow along and see what it is we discover,” Sherrill said. “So stay tuned.”

Can I see it?

There are regular tours of the FRIB that you can schedule here.

OPIOID OVERDOSE CRISIS: GETTING NARCAN FROM A PHARMACY IS NOT AS EASY AS YOU MAY THINK

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Drug overdose deaths are at record numbers, yet only slightly more than half the pharmacies in the state have signed on to a program allowing them to dispense Narcan — the opioid overdose antidote — without a prescription.

“You would think that more pharmacies would be willing to dispense naloxone without a prescription due to the burden of the opioid epidemic,” said Chin Hwa (Gina) Dahlem, a researcher at the University of Michigan School of Nursing and lead author on a study of the subject. “I was kind of shocked.”

The data illustrates how difficult it can be to get buy-in on harm reduction policies meant to keep drug users from dying. It also may highlight the difficulty of getting past the stigma associated with addiction and addicts.

“I do worry that some of this is ultimately tied to stigma — not prioritizing this population as being important or (that) you as a pharmacist or a pharmacy have a role to play in addressing this public health problem,” said Dr. Keith Kocher, a U-M emergency department physician who also served as an author of the study.

More overdoses than ever

In 2017 — the same year the federal government declared the opioid epidemic a public health threat — Michigan enacted a standing order allowing pharmacies to distribute naloxone without a prescription.

Since then, drugs have become more powerful and overdose deaths in Michigan — despite decreasing in 2019 — have hit record levels, making the case for wide and easy distribution of naloxone.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported drug overdose deaths increased 16% between 2019 and 2020 to 2,738. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, overdose deaths in Michigan continue to climb to record heights. Provisional data indicates a record high 3,000 drug overdose deaths during the 12 months ending Nov. 2021.

Nationally, the CDC provisional data reports a record high 106,858 overdose deaths during those same 12 months.

Most overdose deaths in Michigan and across the country involve fentanyl, the powerful synthetic opioid that has infiltrated the nation’s illegal drug supply. It’s cut into heroin and pressed into counterfeit opioid pills and mixed into cocaine.

Lagging access

When U-M conducted its recently released study in 2019, 54% of the state’s pharmacies participated in the naloxone program. According to most recent figures the percentage of participating pharmacies has not grown. In fact, according to MDHHS, 53% of the state’s pharmacies now participate in the program.

Study authors said the pharmacies most likely to participate are those that belong to national chains.

The U-M researchers also studied pharmacies in eight counties across the state. In those eight counties, it found that communities without pharmacies that participated in the naloxone program had higher overdose death rates than those that did participate.

The U-M study also found 85% of pharmacies that said they participate in the Narcan program actually had it available. And communities with pharmacies that stock Narcan had lower death rates than those that don’t.

“We still need to increase our community access to naloxone, whether by pharmacies or by community naloxone distribution programs,” said Dahlem.

The standing order does not mean that naloxone is free at pharmacies. Some insurance carriers may require a co-pay; Medicaid does not require co-pays. People without insurance may get a price break at www.goodrx.com. Otherwise, a two-vial package could cost more than $140.

For a list of pharmacies approved to dispense naloxone: www.michigan.gov/opioids/find-help/naloxone-page.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN PRESIDENT: CUTTING TRACK AND FIELD FINANCIAL DECISION; RACE WAS NO FACTOR

DETROIT NEWS — In his first detailed comments about an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Department of Education and its Office for Civil Rights, Central Michigan University president Robert Davies strongly and repeatedly denied there was any hint of racial discrimination in the school’s 2020 “last resort” and “very difficult” decision to eliminate the men’s indoor and outdoor track-and-field programs.

A complaint filed in October alleged Central Michigan was discriminating against athletes of color by cutting track and field and, eventually, replacing it with men’s golf.

But Davies said the decision, made in part in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, was based solely on finances, NCAA compliance and on-field success opportunities.

“The accusation is contrary to CMU’s core values and ongoing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion,” Davies said Thursday at a Mount Pleasant news conference, three days after the school was first served with notice from the OCR. “I strongly believe OCR will find no evidence to support racial discrimination.”

In mid-May 2020, as the early stages of the pandemic sent universities scrambling to stay afloat financially, Central Michigan announced it was cutting men’s indoor and outdoor track and field. The move, school officials said at the time, would save the university about $600,000 a year.

On Thursday, Davies said to run a successful men’s indoor and outdoor track-and-field program would cost about $1 million.

Davies said men’s golf, which starts next academic year, would cost the university about half that amount. He also said the school has financial commitments from alumni to help fund golf, though he didn’t have numbers available Thursday, nor has it been decided where the men’s golf team will call its home course.

The university announced the addition of men’s golf in August 2021, getting back into compliance with the NCAA’s minimum-sport-offerings edict. The NCAA gave Central Michigan a two-year waiver after it -eliminated the track-and-field programs.

The complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education accused Central Michigan of cutting a predominantly Black sport to add a predominantly White sport. Russell Dinkins, executive director of the Tracksmith Foundation and a former runner at Princeton, filed the complaint, calling track-and-field programs, “opportunities for Black students that are very important, life-changing. There are kids who only get into college via the participation of track and field.”

Davies on Thursday said eliminating track and field affected 30 student-athletes — three Black, three multi-racial, two international and 22 White (all students’ scholarships were honored). Davies added the golf team has eight commitments for its inaugural recruiting class, three of whom are persons of color.

Central Michigan hired a Black coach, Kevin Jennings, to lead the men’s golf program. Davies said Jennings has a history of “identifying and having diverse golf teams.” Davies also said the school’s golf teams, men’s and women’s, will seek ways to increase diversity, equity and inclusion, including working with nonprofits like Midnight Golf and First Tee of Greater Detroit.

The U.S. Department of Education, in its four-page letter dated Monday, is requesting detailed reasons for Central Michigan’s decision to eliminate track and field, as well as a significant amount of statistical data relating to the ethnic makeup of the university’s student athletes. The OCR also plans to conduct interviews.

Davies and Central Michigan have 15 days from Monday to formally respond.

The federal investigation comes after the ACLU of Michigan began questioning Central Michigan’s decision to eliminate track and field with two letters sent to the school in 2021.

“Central Michigan University is a public institution that has an obligation to remain not only open to the diverse communities it serves, but to also provide students from those communities with a welcoming environment,” Mark Fancher, racial justice project staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigan, said in a statement Thursday. “The ACLU of Michigan is concerned that the university’s actions will become a deterrent to prospective students of color, regardless of whether they aspire to be track athletes.”

In eliminating track and field, Central Michigan became the first Division I program in the state of Michigan to cut a sport amid the pandemic. Michigan State later eliminated men’s and women’s swimming and diving; the women’s effort to reinstate their program, based on a Title IX complaint, remains tied up in the federal courts.

Davies said eliminating any athletic program is a drastic and last resort, but one then-athletic director Michael Alford (now athletic director at Florida State) felt was necessary for a school that has seen its enrollment drop by more than 40% in the last decade. Central Michigan’s athletic department, like most its size, isn’t profitable, and is heavily subsidized by the university.

It’s not unprecedented for schools to be forced by law to reinstate sports. In 2018, Eastern Michigan cut four sports teams, including women’s tennis and softball. A court ordered tennis reinstated and allowed Eastern Michigan to add women’s lacrosse to replace the offerings lost by the elimination of softball.

MICHIGAN’S REDISTRICTING PANEL’S FUTURE UNCERTAIN, EVEN THOUGH MAPS LONG DONE

BRIDGE MI — Michigan’s political maps have been done since late December, and thus far have withstood legal challenges. But the commission that created them still doesn’t have a clear path forward on winding down its work.

The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission continues to meet, discussing pending lawsuits, final reports and a looming $1.15 million budget deficit members are hoping the Legislature will resolve.

Although meetings are considerably shorter and far less frequent than the marathon mapping sessions the commission worked through last year, its 13 members are still getting paid. The panel recently voted to restore annual salaries to $55,755 per year apiece, reversing an earlier pay raise. How long will they keep convening, especially as the commission initially struggled to meet a quorum of nine members to begin Thursday’s meeting?

There’s no clear expiration date in a 2018 constitutional amendment that created the panel, and commissioners say they’re still weighing options with lawyers.

“To say that there’s no consensus at the present time would be an understatement,” said Commissioner Steve Lett, an independent from Interlochen who updated other commissioners on his latest discussions with the panel’s counsel Thursday.

The commission still has a few loose ends, including a final report necessitated by the state constitution and a $50,000 “lessons learned” video project authorized by the commission that will be ready next month, Executive Director Edward Woods said during the meeting.

The bipartisan panel was created after voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment in 2018, replacing a system that allowed the party in power in Lansing to redraw state legislative and congressional districts after the decennial census.

That produced districts that a panel of federal judges in 2019 concluded were a “gerrymander of historical proportions”

The commission’s work has so far prevailed in court, winning multiple lawsuits, but two remain active in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan: a revised complaint alleging a Voting Rights Act violation because the maps decreased the number of Black-majority state House and Senate districts and a complaint over population deviations in congressional districts. Each of Michigan’s 13 districts has a target population of 775,179 people.

What comes after those lawsuits conclude remains a question mark, however.

The constitutional amendment states that “the terms of the commissioners shall expire once the commission has completed its obligations for a census cycle but not before any judicial review of the redistricting plan is complete.” And legal challenges could pop up at any point during the next decade the maps are in effect.

Some commissioners offered possible workarounds, including Ypsilanti Democrat Dustin Witjes, who suggested the commission set a date to suspend pay and go into perpetual recess once current lawsuits are complete, meeting again if the need arises.

Juanita Curry, a Detroit Democrat, suggested researching what other states with independent commissions have done for guidance on how to move forward.

But other states’ procedures might not legally mesh with Michigan’s constitution, which is ambiguous on how the commission winds down after passing the maps, Lett said.

“Perhaps, after having gone through this process, we could probably write a better constitutional amendment, but that ain’t gonna happen either,” Lett said.

The commission is facing a projected $1.15 million budget shortfall, largely due to outstanding legal bills that came up in the commission’s defense of the new maps. The commission’s initial appropriation was 25 percent of the Secretary of State budget — roughly $3.1 million for this fiscal year — although the constitution states the Legislature “shall appropriate funds sufficient to compensate the commissioners and to enable the commission to carry out its functions.”

Woods, the executive director, appeared before lawmakers earlier this week to request more money, noting that more litigation is possible. Litigation over the 2010 districts, for instance, continued nearly nine years after they were drawn.

“We expect potential lawsuits, possibly after the primary election and also after the general election,” Woods said this week. “And as you know these lawsuits can continue for up until the next 10 years.”

Republican lawmakers grilled Woods and commission chair MC Rothhorn, a Lansing Democrat, over the redistricting process, including the political affiliation of members who self-identified as independents despite having a history of liberal activity on social media.

Lawmakers also questioned the group’s decision to raise its pay and commission a documentary.

“There seems to be a lack of accountability,” said Rep. Ann Bollin, R-Brighton Township. “This is a public body, and I do appreciate the work you did, but… it seems as though a lot of these things you had on your plate were anticipated and yet you really didn’t plan for them.”

Rep. Greg VanWoerkom, chair of the House Appropriation subcommittee on general government, questioned some of the commission’s spending but said lawmakers will consider the new funding request.

MICHIGAN ADDS 14,482 CASES, 67 DEATHS FROM COVID-19 OVER LAST WEEK

DETROIT NEWS — Michigan added 14,482 cases of COVID and 67 deaths from the virus on Wednesday, including totals from the previous six days.

The state reported an average of about 2,069 cases per day over the six days, an increase from 1,496 cases per day last week.

Wednesday’s additions bring the state’s overall total to 2,425,946 cases and 36,002 deaths since the virus was first detected here in March 2020.

After declining for nearly three months, hospitalization and case rates in Michigan are increasing for the third straight week. Cases are also on the rise. This week’s additions are an increase from last week when the state added 10,474 cases and 78 deaths from the virus. The previous week on April 13, Michigan added 7,725 cases and 81 deaths from the virus.

Between April 18-24, about 7.8% of Michigan’s COVID-19 tests returned positive, compared to 5% the week prior. There is an average of 11,500 weekly cases in the state.

The latest figures come as the state and several Michigan counties have relaxed regulations to stem the spread of the virus.

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On Monday, the state reported 511 adults and 15 pediatric patients were hospitalized with confirmed infections and 78% of the state’s inpatient hospital beds were occupied.

It’s a steep decline from records set on Jan. 10, when 4,580 adults were hospitalized with COVID-19.

About 3.5% of the state’s hospital beds were filled with COVID-19 patients and there were an average of 1,140 emergency room visits related to COVID-19 per day in the state as of Monday. That compares to 24% of hospital beds being full and 2,889 daily emergency room visits due to the virus in the first week of January.

However, five Michigan counties remain at a “high” level for the increased burden on health care or severe disease: Alcona, Alpena, Montmorency, Presque Isle and Washtenaw, according to the state health department.

Case counts are well below early January when the state set a new high mark with more than 20,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 per day.

In Michigan, variants of the virus have moved at a high rate, proving more contagious than past variants and infecting both unvaccinated and vaccinated residents.

A new iteration of the omicron variant, BA.2, is now the dominant across Michigan and the country, but experts say another surge of cases is unlikely.

The Food and Drug Administration expanded its approval of remdesivir this week, making it the first COVID-19 treatment for children under age 12.

In Michigan 290 cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, a virus that stems from COVID-19 known as (MIS-C), have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 65% of kids with the complication are admitted to intensive care units and there have been five deaths.

Earlier this month, Philadelphia became the first major city to reinstate indoor mask mandates as cases rose more than 50% higher than 10 days prior. The city is now averaging 1,495 cases per day.

In Michigan, residents ages 30 to 39 currently have the highest case rate of any age group.

As of Monday, 50 new outbreaks were reported over the prior week. The majority, 24 outbreaks, were in long-term care facilities and senior assisted living centers and 15 outbreaks were in K-12 schools. The state is tracking 135 ongoing outbreak cases.

About 66%, or 6.6 million, state residents have received their first doses of a vaccine, and 60% are fully vaccinated. More than 231,000 children ages 5 to 11 in Michigan, or 28%, have received their first dose of the vaccine.

More than 3.1 million, or 36.7% of the eligible population, have received a vaccine booster in Michigan and 5.2 million are fully vaccinated.

MODERNA SEEKS OK FROM FDA FOR EMERGENCY USE OF ITS COVID VACCINE IN KIDS 6 MONTHS TO UNDER 6 YEARS OLD

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Moderna has submitted a request for emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months through 5 years old, the company announced Thursday morning.

In the company’s study of 6,700 kids in the 6-month to under 6-year age group, researchers found after receiving two 25–microgram doses of the vaccine they developed levels of virus-fighting antibodies comparable to young adults who received two doses of the full-strength 100 microgram shot.

In the Phase 3 study, which took place during the omicron wave, researchers found the vaccine was 51% effective among children 6 months to under 2, and 37% effective among children 2 to under 6.

The company’s chief medical officer Dr. Paul Burton told USA TODAY effectiveness may be less in the older group because of their changing immune systems.

“Fifty-one percent, while less than what we are used to seeing … is a level that says you certainly have great protection against severe disease and hospitalization,” he said. “The antibody result that we have is what we saw in the 12- to 24-year-olds, and we know in that group we have a strong protection against severe disease.”

While other countries already allow Moderna’s vaccine to be used in children as young as 6, the U.S. has limited the company’s shot to adults. Only Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine is allowed in the U.S. for use in teens and children as young as 5.

Moderna has requests pending with the FDA for emergency use authorization for 6- to 11-year-olds, and 12- to 17-year-olds.

The request to expand its shots to the adolescent group has been stalled since June because of agency concern about a possible, very rare heart inflammation side effect. Moderna says its original adult dose is safe and effective for this age group and recently submitted a follow-up of its clinical safety and efficacy data at the FDA’s request, which is being reviewed.

Burton said no cases of the rare condition were reported among the young children in the recent trial.

“Omicron, BA.2, all these other subvariants are really starting to tick up and these little kids have no other protection or vaccine available for them,” he said about the 6-months to 2-year-olds. “They have no options right now so this has been our highest priority.”

Competitor Pfizer currently offers kid-size doses for school-age children and full-strength shots for those 12 and older. The company is testing even smaller doses for children under 5 but had to add a third shot to its study when two injections didn’t prove strong enough. Those new results have yet to be released.

Moderna has also recently released data showing a booster shot that includes the original vaccine plus one directed at the beta variant produced two times more antibodies against the beta, delta and omicron variant one month after their shot compared to people who received the original vaccine.

The company said it is currently studying booster doses for the two oldest pediatric age groups and is designing a study to evaluate the potential for boosters in those aged 6 months to under 6 years.

“We believe mRNA-1273 will be able to safely protect these children against SARS-CoV-2, which is so important in our continued fight against COVID-19, and will be especially welcomed by parents and caregivers,” said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna.

UP NORTH BUSINESSES ARE BUYING HOUSING JUST TO LURE SUMMER STAFF

BRIDGE MI — Housing shortages aren’t new in northern Michigan, where business leaders, elected officials and nonprofits keep ratcheting up pressure to solve it, yet prices keep climbing and new homes come slowly.

But this summer, as tourism peaks and prepares to send billions of dollars into the state’s economy, northern Michigan stands to lose as the red-hot housing market, driven in part by vacation rentals, collides with workforce shortages.

The result is so few affordable temporary housing options that many employers are finding their own solutions:

Cherry Republic is spending $75,000 to add three bedrooms to the basement of a house it bought about 10 miles from its campus in Glen Arbor, and it renovated two mobile homes that neighboring Anderson’s Market will use for its summer staff.
Neighbors around Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Park are being asked to rent rooms to summer workers as 1.7 million visitors are expected in July and August.
Businesses are signing deals for season-long space at campgrounds so that they can attract traveling workers with RVs or, like Schmitt at Stormcloud, borrow them for staff.
Short’s Brewery in Bellaire last week bought a 26-room motel to convert to worker housing.

These examples and more show that Michigan’s seasonal economy risks stalling as summer housing disappears for the critical temporary workforce, which numbers in the thousands.

“It’s just unrealistic to think seasonal workers can afford what the going rate is for renting to tourists,” said Schmitt, co-owner of the brewery. “They can’t do it.”

A shortage of workers is the top concern among northern Michigan businesses, said Warren Call, president and CEO of Traverse Connect, regional economic developers. “And the reason they point to is housing.”

Estimates from Housing North, a regional nonprofit advocating for housing solutions across 10 counties in the northwest Lower Peninsula, from Manistee to the Mackinac Bridge, says the region will be short 15,500 units by 2025.

No one is tracking the lack of seasonal housing, but experts say it, too, is reaching a critical point.

The housing market

The Rare Bird Brewpub in downtown Traverse City struggled to hire enough staff in summer 2021, and co-owner Tina Schuett thought she came up with a great answer for this year: Buying a place where her workers could live.

Housing, she said, “is just the bottleneck” for most problems facing businesses in the area.

So for this summer she decided to look in town for a house with up to five bedrooms. Or a duplex. Or even a small apartment building.

She found prices that she calls “astronomical.” They were so high that Schuett, with her budget of up to $500,000, never even found a Realtor to help her get serious about the search.

“We can’t purchase it for a decent price,” she said. “We can’t rent it for a decent price.”

So, she said, “it all just kind of got pushed to the side once we realized it just wasn’t attainable.”

The average rental rate in fast-growing Grand Traverse County leapt 16.1 percent from 2019. Now at $1,388, it’s the second most expensive place to rent housing in the state, behind Washtenaw County — which includes Ann Arbor, and is 6 percent more at $1,475, according to recent data from The Washington Post. The statewide average is $1,206, according to rent.com.

Business solutions

Cherry Republic, like a lot of Michigan’s employers that need more seasonal workers than it can find, turns to international students under a federal visa program.

But as competition for those workers grows, landing temporary staff from other countries, including international students who can work for the summer, can’t be taken for granted.

Crystal Mountain Resort in Thompsonville, southwest of Traverse City, also has offered housing for several years — and it, too, is expanding it this year to fill its openings.

“If you build it, I’ll fill it,” Jennifer King, vice president of human resources, said she promised resort management.

Short’s and the Bellaire Inn

Community development is a passion for Joe Short, who hopes to build a mixed-use building across from his eponymous pub in Bellaire, a village of 1,000 people in Antrim County, just east of Torch Lake and Grand Traverse Bay.

He already owns the property, including the wine store and pharmacy, and the vacant land used most recently as a pavilion sheltered by former shipping containers. He also owns the town’s post office.

“That was a purchase that wasn’t really something we pursued, it was something that somebody reached out to us and they felt like we would be proper stewards of that property,” he told Bridge Michigan.

His latest purchase also wasn’t planned: The founder and owner of Short’s Brewery bought the 26-room Bellaire Inn last week.

The purchase came after Short once again considered how summer recruiting might go. During the pandemic, the brewery cut hours amid a staff shortage, a move that kept people from having to work 60 to 70 hours per week, he said. He could face hours cuts again, at a time when customers line up to get into the brewery.

The goal for the motel is to use it this summer, charging $495 per month, then convert some of the rooms into year-round apartments.

He hopes that the hotel purchase, for an undisclosed price, can pay for itself so that brewery revenue can support its core operations.

But, he said, “if you don’t have workers, you can’t operate. So it was kind of a necessary evil.”

As Short becomes a reluctant landlord, he said he hopes that municipalities take a lead in addressing housing.

“The bummer is that I don’t really think it should be the responsibility of the business community,” Short said. “I feel like we’re already kind of holding up both ends of the economy. We really need our local units of government to lean into this effort, and be strategic.”

Using federal Build Back Better funds would be a starting point, he added.

“Basically find a way to make municipalities economically viable,” he said. “You need humans to work. Humans need childcare, they need housing. And we’re just not setting ourselves up for success.”

DETROIT CITY COUNCIL WANTS STATEWIDE HOUSING AGENCY TO SPEED UP RENT AID APPLICATIONS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Detroit City Council is urging the statewide housing authority responsible for administering millions of dollars in emergency rent aid to speed up the application process in Wayne County, where it can take approximately 90 days to get funds approved.

Meanwhile, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, or MSHDA, says it has hired staff to process Detroit applications and added another agency in Wayne County to help handle the volume.

Wayne County accounts for about a third of the applications that have come into the state’s COVID Emergency Rental Assistance program, according to MSHDA, which runs the program. Detroit accounts for 19% of all applications. The resolution, from Council President Mary Sheffield, was approved Tuesday and says the volume of applications in Wayne County demonstrates the need for rent aid dollars necessary to keep people in their homes and avoid eviction.

MSHDA communications director Katie Bach said the agency “shares the sense of urgency reflected in the resolution.”

“MSHDA has communicated with our Detroit grantee, their sub-grantees and City of Detroit staff about the need to increase capacity within their system and process applications faster. We have dedicated program support specifically for Detroit grantees in an effort to expedite processing,” Bach said in an email.

MSHDA has provided $277.8 million in emergency rental assistance dollars in Detroit, she said.

Ted Phillips, executive director of the Detroit-based United Community Housing Coalition, which handles applications where the tenant may be at risk of eviction, cautioned that thoroughness — rather than speed — is important when it comes to keeping people in their homes and getting aid.

“We need to be careful,” Phillips said. “We need to make sure that we’re dealing with court cases and making sure that the cases are resolved. We need to make sure that if people have repair issues that we’re … trying to at least address those repair issues. We need to make sure … if there’s potential scams going on. Things take time for a reason.”

Detroit is unique because of the sheer number of applications, the eviction cases that come through the court system and the nature of housing concerns tenants have, he said.

“When you say Oakland County is processing cases faster or in Ann Arbor, you could get it quicker, well, you’re not dealing with the same volume, you’re not dealing with the same problems,” Phillips said.

Wayne County continues to see the largest volume of applications in the state, Courtney Hierlihy, CERA director for the Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, said in a Tuesday statement. In Detroit, the agency is “working each week to increase the number of applications approved” and is dealing with getting rid of duplications to get an accurate count.

“We appreciate council pushing to get CERA funding in the hands of more residents and landlords in Detroit. More than $132 million in rental assistance funds have been approved in the 13 months since CERA has launched, and that number constitutes a huge volume of work,” Julie Schneider, director of the city of Detroit’s housing and revitalization department, said in a statement. She said the city is working with partners to accelerate the process.

What the numbers say

As of Tuesday, Wayne County is behind neighboring counties with the number of applications it had approved: 28,764 out of 74,704 applications, or about 39%, according to an MSHDA dashboard. Macomb County had approved about 44% of its applications. Meanwhile, Oakland County had earmarked payments to just over half of its applicants.

Both counties have a fraction of the total applications Wayne County is handling.

The county has “processed” — meaning a person has either been accepted or denied — about 55% of applications.

In Wayne County, it can take approximately 90 days for applications to get approved. In other counties, it can take anywhere from 17 to 80 days.

Across the state, 120,559 out of 237,469 — or about 51% — applications for rental and utility assistance were approved as of Tuesday. So far, Michigan has processed about 76% of applications.

About $683.5 million in rent and utilities assistance has been spent so far in Michigan. Wayne County alone has spent $219 million. That’s out of roughly $1.1 billion in federal pandemic relief funds the state has received. A household, on average, is getting $5,670. More than 140,700 people have received the help.

Meanwhile, more than 45,000 applications are still “under review” across the state, meaning a caseworker is looking into it or has not gotten to it yet. More than 26,000 applications in Wayne County are in this stage.

“MSHDA has hired staff that are dedicated to processing Detroit applications,” Bach said.

Currently, there are three agencies in Wayne County working on rent aid, she said. In early 2022, the United Way for Southeastern Michigan joined to help speed things up.

The CERA program, which has been running since last March, is expected to stop taking new applications in June although applications will continue to process until funds are exhausted, Bach said.

OAK PARK HIGH CLOSED AFTER BRAWL BETWEEN MEN WHO FORCED WAY INTO SCHOOL, STUDENTS

DETROIT NEWS — Oak Park High School is closed Wednesday after a fight broke out the day before between students and men who forced their way into the building, school district officials said.

In a letter to parents and posted on the district’s Facebook page, officials said the incident happened just before 3 p.m. Tuesday. They said eight to 10 unidentified men pushed past high school security and staff, forcing their way in and then fighting with students and security staff.

Officials said staff immediately acted to secure the students and the building.

Police were called but the men fled from the school, according to the district. School officials said they have identified one of the men in the group but are asking the public for help finding the others involved.

They also said no weapons were involved in the brawl.

The district said it believes the fight may have been sparked by another fight that happened over the weekend and off school property.

Meanwhile, officials said classes at the high school will be held virtually for the remainder of the week. Classes at the district’s other schools will remain in-person.

ZOOM HEARINGS COULD BECOME PERMANENT FOR MICHIGAN COURTS, BURPS AND ALL

BRIDGE MI — Michigan courts have held more than 5 million hours of hearings on Zoom since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and the virtual option may be here to stay — even if judges worry that maintaining order online isn’t always easy.

The Michigan Supreme Court is debating whether to make permanent what had been temporary rules for remote hearings, a pandemic-era shift facilitated by a fortuitous May 2019 decision to give a Zoom license to every judge in the state.

The proposed administrative order would direct courts to use video conferencing “to the greatest extent possible” regardless of COVID, prompting a vigorous debate between supporters who contend Zoom has expanded access to justice and detractors who say judges need more discretion to prevent legal hearings from devolving into online shouting matches. Attorneys and judges across the state have weighed in, and “we’ve learned that going back isn’t really an option,” State Court Administrator Tom Boyd told lawmakers Tuesday in the House Judiciary Committee. No one wants to “return to a situation where we don’t have remote proceedings,” he said.

“The question is what type of remote proceedings will we have?”

Judges, attorneys and other legal advocates seem to agree that it makes sense to continue using Zoom for lower-level procedural hearings and some civil cases, but several have argued the video conferencing technology is inappropriate for evidentiary hearings and other important pre-trial steps in criminal cases.

“Zoom proceedings in criminal cases is bad policy,” Judge Kirsten Hartig of the 52nd District Court in Oakland County told Supreme Court justices last month in a remote hearing of their own.

Across the state, district court judges have complained about disruptive and disrespectful behavior during remote hearings, Hartig said.

Attorneys “completely unprepared to represent their clients” have logged on while driving, smoking cigarettes, jogging and wearing swimsuits, she told justices.

Defendants, litigants and witnesses have urinated, slept, smoked marijuana, intentionally farted and overdosed on drugs during remote hearings, she added.

Judges also have seen a “defendant on the record while getting her hair dyed,” a defendant’s “camera pointed towards dog feces on the floor,” pointing a computer camera at a toilet and wiping their bottom with toilet paper, Hartig said.

“The courtroom is a physical space that communicates the important jurisprudence that occurs there,” Hartig said, describing the benefits of in-person hearings. “It encourages court users to know and understand their responsibilities for proper conduct.”

Early in the pandemic, Michigan closed its courtrooms, but opted against moving criminal jury trials online, limiting those to in-person only, Boyd said.

The proposed rule has sparked heated debate, and two Supreme Court justices, Richard Bernstein and David Viviano, have spoken out against it.

The proposal has prompted more public comments that “probably anything in the history of the court,” Supreme Court spokesperson John Nevin told Bridge Michigan.

But finding a path forward on remote hearing rules for Michigan courts is something Chief Justice Bridge McCormack “thinks about and talks about all the time,” Nevin said.

“It’s a priority for her,” he said.

‘Barriers to access’

Since the pandemic began, more than 180 trial courts in Michigan have set up YouTube accounts to stream Zoom proceedings, and millions of viewers have tuned in, according to Boyd, the State Court administrator and a former Ingham County district court judge.

The Michigan Judiciary Committee on Tuesday took testimony on the proposed court rules but did not take an official position during what Chair Graham Filler, R-DeWitt, called an “informational hearing” to ensure the public “knows what’s going on.”

As the Supreme Court considers remote hearing rules, early feedback has made clear the general public has benefited from Zoom hearings because people no longer need to take a full day off work, get day care and pay for parking to appear in court for what are often brief hearings, Boyd said.

But Zoom hearings have challenged the “dignity and decorum” of the courtroom, he acknowledged.

Technology “doesn’t work every time” and litigants may not always have the access or capability to log into Zoom, Boyd told lawmakers.

‘What’s good for the public’

Under the proposed rule, a judge determining whether a remote court hearing is feasible would have to verify that participants are able to use the technology and ensure that all proceedings are “consistent with a party’s Constitutional rights,” allowing for confidential communication between a defendant and their attorney.

The state is trying to balance expanding access through video conferencing and the judicial discretion “that’s needed to make sure we’re setting the proper environment for those proceedings,” Boyd told lawmakers on Tuesday.

“We must focus on who benefits,” he said. “From our perspective, it has to be the public. The system we adopt going forward must start with and end with what’s good for the public.”

Several judges oppose the proposed rule, however, because it creates a “presumption” that court hearings should be held remotely when at all possible.

“A trial judge’s discretion must be preserved,” 52nd District Court Judge Julie Nicholson of Oakland County told Supreme Court justices last month in a remote administrative hearing.

“There are simply too many factors to roll into a presumption given that this is not a one-size-fits-all solution.”

While remote hearings can increase access, the proposed presumption could be “an inherent pressure for people who have been accused of crimes or convicted of crimes to agree to remote technology even if they have a constitutional right to be present,” Jessica Zimbelman of the State Appellate Defenders office told justices last month.

“The presumption should be for in-person court given the importance of what is at stake: people’s loss of liberty and other serious collateral consequences.”

Criminal defendants have a constitutional right to request in-person hearings, and defendants in civil cases should have the same right, state Rep. Steve Johnson, R-Wayland, argued Tuesday in the legislative hearing.

Remote hearings should only be held if “all parties” agree to the format, Johnson said.

“I don’t want to get into a case where you’re letting the judges make the call, where the judges say, ‘I don’t feel like having these people in my courtroom.’ Sometimes that’s more problematic.”

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER | HOSPITALIZATIONS TOP 600 FOR FIRST TIME IN TWO MONTHS

BRIDGE MI — Michigan’s hospitals were treating 624 patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 as of Monday, the first time over 600 since March 18, when there were also 624.

Although the state is only reporting new cases and deaths on Wednesdays, it continues to update COVID-19 hospitalizations three times a week. They have slowly increased since April 13, when there were 513.

Almost all of the growth in COVID-19 patients has been reported in hospitals in the six counties of metro Detroit.

Because of a technical problem the state had not reported updated hospital numbers since Wednesday.

Since then, the number of patients has risen from 532 to 624, and 88 of the 92-patient increase occurred in metro Detroit.

On Jan. 10, Michigan hospitals were treating 5,009 COVID-19 patients.

Case counts are slowly rising in Michigan and the nation but increases in hospitalizations have tended to lag behind.

The latest testing data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and analyzed by Bridge Michigan shows that 7.8 percent of coronavirus tests were positive in the week ending on Friday, up from 6.3 percent the previous week.

That is the tenth highest rate in the nation; Michigan’s rate was eighth highest the previous week.

GRAND RAPIDS POLICE RELEASE NAME OF OFFICER WHO FATALLY SHOT PATRICK LYOYA

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Christopher Schurr is the Grand Rapids police officer seen in video shooting motorist Patrick Lyoya to death after an April 4 traffic stop, Chief Eric Winstrom confirmed Monday. “In the interest of transparency, to reduce ongoing speculation, and to avoid any further confusion, I am confirming the name already publicly circulating — Christopher Schurr — as the officer involved in the April 4 officer involved shooting,” Winstrom said in a statement.

Schurr remains on administrative leave without police powers while an investigation into the shooting continues, Winstrom said. Lyoya’s family, lawyers and others have been demanding the release of the officer’s name.

“An intentional three-week delay in releasing the name of the involved officer, which they clearly knew at the moment of the shooting, is offensive and the exact opposite of being ‘transparent,'” Ven Johnson, one of the family’s attorneys, said in a statement. “Once again, we see the Grand Rapids Police Department taking care of its own at the expense of the family’s mental health and well-being.”

National Action Network founder and president the Rev. Al Sharpton, who eulogized Lyoya at his funeral Friday, also had called for police to release the officer’s name.

“Every time a Black man or woman is arrested in America, their name is immediately put out,” Sharpton said Monday in a statement. “But when this officer put the gun to the back of Patrick Lyoya’s head and decided to pull the trigger, his family had to wait three weeks to find out the name of the man who killed him. Transparency is the first step toward justice in Patrick Lyoya’s name, but it certainly isn’t the last.”

Police said Lyoya was stopped for having an improper license plate on his vehicle. After the stop, he attempted to run from the officer, who chased and tackled him.

The two men wrestled for the officer’s stun gun before the officer pulled his pistol and shot Lyoya. An autopsy found he died of a single gunshot wound to the back of the head.

The death sparked protests in Grand Rapids and across the nation and renewed calls for police reform. Michigan State Police are investigating the shooting. No charges have been filed.

State Police spokesperson Lt. Michelle Robinson said her department was notified that Grand Rapids police planned to release Schurr’s name.

“The Michigan State Police will continue to ensure that all evidence and facts are accurately collected and documented,” Robinson said in an email.

The State Police will forward the results of the investigation to the office of Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker once it is complete. MSP officials said in a Friday news release the investigation remained ongoing.

“We recognize the importance of this investigation, and we are sensitive to the need to complete it in as timely and efficient of a manner as possible,” an MSP statement said. “As with any investigation, gathering all the facts and documenting every piece of evidence takes time and we appreciate the patience of the community as we work to conduct a thorough and complete investigation.”

A voicemail left with Becker was not immediately returned Monday. The Free Press also left messages seeking comment with Schurr’s union, the Grand Rapids Police Officers Association.

A spot search of federal and local courts found no lawsuits associated with Schurr. The Free Press has asked Grand Rapids police to release Schurr’s personnel file.

Schurr is a 2014 graduate of Siena Heights University in Adrian, according to an online alumni and community magazine that, in fall 2015, celebrated his being sworn into the Grand Rapids Police Department.

He was one of more than two dozen officers assigned to patrol the east service area in Grand Rapids, according to the city’s website.

Schurr studied accounting and criminal justice at Siena, according to the school Registrar’s Office.

He also was a top athlete, hitting a university and conference record height of more than 17 feet, as a pole vaulter in 2014 at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships, according to updates on the school website. He was named the most outstanding performer of the event.

In May 2014, MLive reported Schurr’s pole vault record and quoted him as saying he and his fiancée planned to wed in the African nation of Kenya, which is about 400 miles east of Lyoya’s homeland of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Schurr and his fiancée had traveled to Kenya to help build houses on a mission trip through their church, Corinth Reformed in Byron Center, south of Grand Rapids.

“We’re getting married in Kenya,” Schurr told MLive. “Me and my fiancée went to Kenya on a missions trip last year. We were asked to go again this year, but we couldn’t afford a wedding and the trip, so we decided to combine them.”

The couple decided to wear traditional Kenyan dress for their wedding.

“I have an African outfit already and my fiancée will pick out some fabric and she’ll make a Kenyan-style dress,” he told MLive.

DETROIT GREEKTOWN CASINO RENAMED HOLLYWOOD CASINO AT GREEKTOWN

DETROIT NEWS — Detroit’s Greektown Casino-Hotel will be renamed Hollywood Casino at Greektown on May 1, its operator Penn National Gaming announced Monday, promising a rebranding that will accompany a $30 million renovation of the hotel and other upgrades to the popular venue.

“Becoming Hollywood Casino at Greektown will offer our guests the best of both worlds,” said John Drake, general manager of Hollywood Casino at Greektown. “We’re keeping all of the unique, neighborhood charm that has defined Greektown since we opened our doors, while adding several new amenities that come with being a part of Penn National’s flagship brand family.”

Greektown Casino opened in 2000. Its new moniker is subject to regulatory approvals, Penn National Gaming said in a press release.

Hollywood Casino in Greektown underwent a $30 million renovation of its hotel lobby, including building a new cocktail bar and redesigning all 400 of its rooms and suites. The work will be complete in the coming months, Penn National Gaming said in the release.

Other new bars and restaurants, including Urban Cocktail, Rock Bar, an upscale Dunkin’ and a Detroit Taco Company, will be on-site, the company said. Prism, the property’s steakhouse, will launch a new menu.

The casino also will launch a new technical feature, called mywallet, within its rewards app, mychoice, that will allow players to connect to slot machines and table games from their phones, as well as add funds, collect winnings, earn points and more.

The company also spent $1 million renovating its self-park and VIP parking garages. The remodeled VIP Garage, which has more than 700 spaces, is dedicated to high-tier level players and connects to the casino’s upper-level gaming floor.

Hollywood Casino at Greektown will continue its partnership agreement with Detroit Music Hall for the 2022-23 entertainment season. Performers include Michael Bolton, Wanda Sykes, Boyz II Men, Jim Brewer, America and more.

Hollywood Casino at Greektown will host events May 19 and May 21 to celebrate its rebranding. Information on the events is available at greektowncasino.com/casino/promotions.

US PLEDGES MORE UKRAINE AID AS BIDEN ANNOUNCES MICHIGAN NATIVE AS AMBASSADOR

ASSOCIATED PRESS via DETROIT FREE PRESS — Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Monday after a secrecy-shrouded visit to Kyiv that Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy is committed to winning his country’s fight against Russia and that the United States will help him achieve that goal.

“He has the mindset that they want to win, and we have the mindset that we want to help them win,” Austin told reporters in Poland, the day after the three-hour face-to-face meeting with Zelenskyy in Ukraine.

Austin said that the nature of the fight in Ukraine had changed now that Russia has pulled away from the wooded northern regions to focus on the eastern industrial heartland of the Donbas. Because the nature of the fight has evolved, so have Ukraine’s military needs, and Zelenskyy is now focused on more tanks, artillery and other munitions.

“The first step in winning is believing that you can win,” Austin said. “We believe that they can win if they have the right equipment, the right support, and we’re going to do everything we can … to ensure that gets to them.”

Asked about what the U.S. sees as success, Austin said that “we want to see Ukraine remain a sovereign country, a democratic country able to protect its sovereign territory. We want to see Russia weakened to the point where it can’t do things like invade Ukraine.”

The trip by Blinken and Austin was the highest-level American visit to the capital since Russia invaded in late February.

They told Zelenskyy and his advisers that the U.S. would provide more than $300 million in foreign military financing and had approved a $165 million sale of ammunition.

“We had an opportunity to demonstrate directly our strong ongoing support for the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people,” Blinken said. “This was, in our judgment, an important moment to be there, to have face-to-face conversations in detail.”

Blinken said their meeting with the Ukrainians lasted for three hours for wide ranging talks, including what help the country needs in the weeks ahead.

“The strategy that we’ve put in place, massive support for Ukraine, massive pressure against Russia, solidarity with more than 30 countries engaged in these efforts, is having real results,” Blinken said. “When it comes to Russia’s war aims, Russia is failing. Ukraine is succeeding. Russia has sought as its principal aim to totally subjugate Ukraine, to take away its sovereignty, to take away its independence. That has failed.”

As expected, President Joe Biden announced on Monday his nomination of Bridget Brink to serve as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. Brink, a career foreign service officer and Michigan native, has served since 2019 as ambassador to Slovakia. She previously held assignments in Serbia, Cyprus, Georgia and Uzbekistan as well as with the White House National Security Council. The post requires confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

The announcement comes as American diplomats prepare to return to Ukraine this coming week, although the U.S. embassy in Kyiv will remain closed for now.

Journalists who traveled with Austin and Blinken to Poland were barred from reporting on the trip until it was over, were not allowed to accompany them on their overland journey into Ukraine, and were prohibited from specifying where in southeast Poland they met back up with the Cabinet members upon their return. Officials at the State Department and the Pentagon cited security concerns.

Austin and Blinken announced a total of $713 million in foreign military financing for Ukraine and 15 allied and partner countries; some $322 million is earmarked for Kyiv. The remainder will be split among NATO members and other nations that have provided Ukraine with critical military supplies since the war with Russia began, officials said.

Such financing is different from previous U.S. military assistance for Ukraine. It is not a donation of drawn-down U.S. Defense Department stockpiles, but rather cash that countries can use to purchase supplies that they might need.

The new money, along with the sale of $165 million in non-U.S.-made ammunition that is compatible with Soviet-era weapons the Ukrainians use, brings the total amount of American military assistance to Ukraine to $3.7 billion since the invasion, officials said.

Biden has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of genocide for the destruction and death wrought on Ukraine. Just on Thursday, Biden said he would provide a new package of $800 million in military aid to Ukraine that included heavy artillery and drones.

Congress approved $6.5 billion for military assistance last month as part of $13.6 billion in spending for Ukraine and allies in response to the Russian invasion.

From Poland, Blinken plans to return to Washington while Austin will head to Ramstein, Germany, for a meeting Tuesday of NATO defense ministers and other donor countries.

That discussion will look at battlefield updates from the ground, additional security assistance for Ukraine and longer-term defense needs in Europe, including how to step up military production to fill gaps caused by the war in Ukraine, officials said. More than 20 nations are expected to send representatives to the meeting.

UPPER PENINSULA TRIBES WORK TO RESTORE WILD RICE IN AREAS CONTAMINATED BY MINING

DETROIT NEWS — Dangerous metals such as arsenic and mercury have been found in wild rice beds located on the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community reservation and surrounding areas, according to research from Michigan Technological University scientists and their associates.

The contamination is a toxic legacy of copper mining in the western Upper Peninsula. Samples of sediment, water and rice were taken from L’Anse Bay, located on the reservation, and Lake Plumbago, a nearby inland lake in Baraga County.

According to the study, published in the journal “Applied Sciences,” the “uptake of toxic metals by aquatic plants and algae poses a major risk to ecological and human health.”

Wild rice, known as manoomin in the Ojibwe language, is a semi-aquatic wetlands grass that is abundant in the Great Lakes region and is an important food source for the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community as well as wildlife and migratory waterfowl. It is also considered a sacred plant to the Anishinaabe tribes in Michigan.

Beyond the cultural significance of wild rice, it’s an important part of the food web in the area, said Scott Herron, a biology professor at Ferris State University.

“All the other parts of the ecosystem depend upon the calories, energy and, thus, food that wild rice provides to insects, birds, waterfowl, fish and later to their predators,” Herron said.

Heavy metals migrate to the grain of the rice and can be consumed by the species ingesting it, Herron said. Arsenic was found to have the highest presence in wild rice seed samples from both locations, the study said.

Exposure to arsenic through diet can result in a higher risk of cancer, as well as liver and kidney disorders, according to the study.

Erin Johnston, a wildlife biologist with the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, said that, fortunately, wild rice in the two test areas has not been ready yet to harvest for human consumption since efforts began to restore it there.

The study attributed the contamination to the dumping of millions of tons of stamp sand from mining operations into the lakes during the copper boom of the early 1900s. Stamp sand is coarse sandlike material resulting from the waste created by the mining industry.

“There are a lot of areas throughout this region that are still dealing with legacy mining,” said Johnston. “There were no environmental regulations at that time to hold anyone accountable for the negative environmental impacts.”

“They would take out the portion of the ore they could use, in this case copper, and everything else was considered waste rock and crushed really finely,” she said.

High levels of heavy metals such as copper, aluminum and others were found in the wild rice tested by the researchers.

“For decades, the tribe has been studying this area to better understand the stamp sands, how they’re moving along the shore and other potential impacts they’re having on the landscape,” said Johnston.

In 2006, the tribe worked to put down a 6-inch to 10-inch soil cap in an attempt to keep the stamp sands from moving along the L’Anse Bay lakeshore.

“We continue to battle every year the issue of the stamp sand moving because it’s located next to Lake Superior and you can’t control the weather,” said Johnston.

Researchers say it is the first such study on an inland lake where wild rice restoration is underway.

Johnston said there was some earlier indication that 19-acre Lake Plumbago had elevated levels of heavy metals, but not to the extent found in the new research.

“Of course, that is, you know, concerning and something we definitely need to look into further,” she said.

Roger LaBine of Trout Creek has had a lifelong relationship with wild rice, whether it was working to harvest it back in 1972 or to restore it to the U.P. today.

“I harvested with my family, my grandparents and my uncle,” he said. “But we had to go to northern Wisconsin to harvest wild rice because the bed on our traditional waters, and where our village was, was destroyed.”

LaBine is a member of the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, whose reservation is in Gogebic County, about an hour south of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community reservation.

LaBine said wild rice is so important to the tribes in the region, the Ojibwe, Potawatomi and Odawa, because it was a staple in sustaining life in the area.

“The Three Fires people believe this was a sacred gift sent by the Creator and placed in the Great Lakes Basin,” he said.

This cultural significance is why tribes throughout the state are working to bring wild rice back to its natural habitats.

“I would not want it to be a commercial crop because then you start getting into that GMO and hybrid rice,” said LaBine.

CITING CASH CRUNCH, CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY PAUSES NEW STUDENT HOUSING

BRIDGE MI — Citing economic uncertainty and declining enrollment, the Central Michigan University Board of Trustees voted Thursday to pause plans to develop a four-building residential complex that would include 179 apartment-style units designed for sophomores, juniors, seniors and transfer students.

The university had already approved $14 million to begin the design phase for the complex, called Washington Commons, and complete construction of one parking lot, renovate two others and demolish some housing that now serves undergraduate and graduate students including students with families.

The board said it plans to reevaluate the housing project by September 30. According to a draft of the resolution approved Thursday, reasons for pausing part of the project include “growing economic uncertainty, current enrollment issues and reductions which will be needed for the 2022-2023 budget.” “CMU can longer afford to be all things to all people,” the resolution said, “and we cannot spend money we do not have.” Given the “university’s fiscal and enrollment challenges…now is not the right time to embark upon this project.”

The vote to pause development is a setback, at least for now. University leaders said they hope the project will eventually make it easier to recruit and retain students by offering independent living options on the Mount Pleasant campus.

The delay comes as CMU seeks to reverse a 43-percent enrollment decline since 2012. As Bridge Michigan reported in March, the university blamed the loss on “complacency” in its efforts to recruit against other schools for a shrinking pool of high school graduates. Among the problems cited in an internal email: CMU failed to keep pace with other schools in upgrading facilities, with the last new residence hall built in 2006.

CMU President Bob Davies told Bridge he does not believe Thursday’s vote will hurt enrollment in the meantime, especially since this project would have taken multiple years anyway. Some students are concerned about the affordability of the new housing and others are concerned about safety issues related to parking changes.

Richard Studley, the board chair, told Bridge the decision allows the board to tackle the budget with a focus on “student success” before approving a major project.

“And we will have to take a long hard look at programs that are optional, programs that lack rigor, or relevance or excellence. We have to make investments where there’s a positive return in terms of student success,” Studley said.

Davies acknowledged Thursday the school will have more graduates this year than projected first-year students enrolling, meaning reversing the enrollment decline will take time to fix.

What is the Washington Commons project?

The Washington Commons project, as designed, would include 179 units with a total of 412 beds for non-first-year students who wanted to remain on campus. CMU vice president of student recruitment and retention Jennifer DeHaemers said in a February CMU news release the project is part of the university’s efforts to attract new students and keep current ones.

“Students have made it clear they are interested in modern, more independent living options,” she said in the post. “If we do not offer those options at CMU, they may seek them elsewhere.”

At Thursday’s meeting, one student recommended using a tiered method where the university offers small units that are cheaper and then have other options at a higher price, including the original plan for apartment style living. Long said that idea could have potential.

“We’ll continue to refine what we’re thinking about when it comes to independent style living, and then being conscious of the cost implications of housing and living on campus,” he said.

All board members voted yes on the resolution, which affirms CMU’s interest in improving campus housing, but puts off until later this year a review of the project.

Trustee Todd Anson said the construction of new apartment-style housing is designed to “meet market-driven needs.”

“I believe that we’ll have a bigger, better, more vibrant CMU after we’re able to get this project implemented, should we get to that point,” trustee Todd Anson said at the meeting.

Some changes will occur regardless of whether the Washington Commons project eventually is approved.

Students who are currently living in housing that will be demolished will move to other housing options at CMU or have the university help them find similar housing off campus, said executive director of student affairs Kathleen Gardner. The current housing will close after the local school district’s academic year has completed.

The parking lot renovations will start this summer, with construction of a new lot to begin in August and demolition of the older housing starting in the fall.

It’s possible the full cost of the project will change. CMU currently anticipates completion of the Washington Commons project would cost $121 million. This number could change if leaders choose a different type of housing or if supply or borrowing costs change.

Long said the university would need to use bonds to pay for the project and he anticipates there will be higher interest rates in the future.

MICHIGAN OFFICIALS WARN RESIDENTS OF EXPECTED COVID-19 CASE INCREASES IN MAY

DETROIT NEWS — State health officials are expecting an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in May as people gather for graduations, proms and other spring events.

Michigan residents are urged to be aware of the increased risk of transmission and “make personal decisions on masking and other strategies to protect themselves from COVID-19,” the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday in a press release.

The rise can be blamed on the spread of the BA.2 subvariant of omicron, a highly transmissible version of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. Cases are already on the upswing in southeast Michigan.

“We’re definitely seeing a very tiny uptick,” said Dr. Matthew Sims, director of infectious disease research for Beaumont Health. “It’s hard to be sure where it’s going to end up.”

Health experts do not expect a significant increase in hospitalizations or deaths because of the great number of Michigan residents who are either vaccinated and/or boosted or have immunity from infection during the recent spike in omicron cases.

The Southfield-based Beaumont health system had 67 patients admitted with a primary complaint of COVID-19 across its eight southeast Michigan hospitals on Thursday — up from a low point of 29 admitted systemwide on March 29.

“While we wish we could avoid these types of increases in cases, the good news is we have excellent, effective tools to travel safely and gather with loved ones and prevent severe outcomes from COVID-19,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Michigan’s chief medical executive.

Michigan added 10,474 cases of COVID and 78 deaths from the virus on Wednesday, the most recent numbers available, including totals from the previous six days.

The state reported an average of about 1,496 cases per day over the five days, an increase from 1,104 cases per day last week.

Wednesday’s additions brought the state’s overall total to 2,411,464 cases and 35,935 deaths since the virus was first detected here in March 2020. Hospitalization rates in Michigan increased for the first time this past week after declining for nearly three months.

The state health department noted that free KN95 masks are being distributed by community organizations and at local Michigan Department of Health and Human Services offices, county health departments and Area Agency on Aging offices.

The department also advised residents to get tested before traveling or attending group celebrations and gatherings, especially if the event will be attended by people who have increased vulnerability to the virus. People should also get tested if they think they’ve been exposed or have symptoms, and should isolate or quarantine until they test negative.

Free home test a kits are available from the federal government at covid.gov/tests, or visit Michigan.gov/COVIDTest to find a testing site.

“We encourage Michigan residents to make a COVID-19 plan: have masks and over-the-counter tests on hand, speak to your physician ahead of time to find out if you qualify for treatments if you are infected and make sure you are up-to-date on vaccines,” Bagdasarian said.

“We recommend Michiganders test if they have symptoms or if they have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, and stay home if they are ill.”

UK TEEN PRETENDED TO BE ETHAN CRUMBLEY IN THREATENING CALL, POLICE SAY

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Schools in Oakland County, including Oxford, Cranbrook, Brandon and Lake Orion, received calls threatening violence on April 8. The suspect is a 16-year-old boy from the United Kingdom, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said in a Thursday news release.

In the call to Oxford High School, the suspect pretended to be Ethan Crumbley, the former student on trial for the Nov. 30 school shooting that killed four and injured seven. The suspect used a British accent, the sheriff’s office said, and claimed he was depressed and was going to “shoot up the school” and “finish” the job he started.

Crumbley is currently in Oakland County Jail, without bond, awaiting trial.

The suspect was arrested at his U.K. home on April 13, and has since been released to his parents while the investigation continues, the release said.

“As I said at the time, we were going to be aggressive to hold perpetrators accountable,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. “In conjunction with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and police officials from the United Kingdom, that has in fact occurred and a suspect has been arrested. Let this serve as a message to anyone who would threaten our schools or any other institution in Oakland County. We will come for you.”

The teen is suspected of 37 other threatening calls made to businesses and schools nationwide, the release said. The investigation ultimately involved 16 different law enforcement agencies, including Homeland Security and police in the U.K.

Initially, law enforcement believed the phone calls were coming from Florida and New York.

In the call to a school in Brandon, the suspect allegedly said there was a man in a black pickup truck in the parking lot with an AR-15 gun who was going to shoot up the school, the release said.

The sheriff’s office said that, In multiple of the teen’s calls, “juveniles” could be heard laughing in the background.

VERY WARM WEEKEND ACROSS LOWER MICHIGAN, BUT MORE COLD IS COMING

DETROIT NEWS — A very warm and sunny weekend may skip Michiganians’ thoughts right past spring to summer, but next week will provide more cold reality.

“Above normal temperatures and dry weather is expected later in the day on Saturday through early Sunday,” according to the National Weather Service.

Heat for the weekend

Temperatures in southeast Michigan are on track to top 80 in some places both Saturday and Sunday, with upper 70s likely from west lakeshore communities to the Thumb region and southeast areas. Saturday may start mostly cloudy with some rain, but skies will clear early in the day through Sunday morning, before more rain may move in.

Another cold front

Sunday night, however, things begin to change. Mostly cloudy skies will hold rain showers and possibly thunderstorms. Monday will be cloudy with some rain and chilly temperatures struggling to reach 50 degrees in many areas west and dropping in southeast Michigan.

And then it gets worse.

“Turning much colder early next week as the system opens up and a northern stream infusion of cold air works through on the backside,” the weather service says. “This is forecasted to occur in the Tuesday-Wednesday timeframe over the central Great Lakes … isolated-scattered snow showers look possible.”

Temperatures through Thursday will be in the 40s and lower 50s across the region.

Warmth may wait

The chill just can’t seem to leave Michigan alone. Longer range forecasts predict May will likely be cooler than normal, and southeast Michigan could have above average precipitation.

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER | CASES, HOSPITALIZATIONS UP AGAIN, REMAIN FAR BELOW PEAKS

BRIDGE MI — Michigan on Friday reported 8,723 COVID cases in the past week, or 1,246 per day, a 31 percent increase from the previous week and 56 percent more than two weeks ago.

Caseloads are up in 44 of the state’s 83 counties, but overall infection rates remain low, an average of 12 daily cases per 100,000 people. At the peak of the omicron wave, the rate was 170 cases per 100,000 people.

The state also reported 68 additional confirmed COVID-19 deaths over the past week, or roughly 10 per day. There were an average of 11 daily COVID-19 deaths the week before.

Only two counties have case rates above 20 per 100,000 residents: Washtenaw County (33 of 100,00) and Oakland County (21 of 100,00).

The latest testing data shows the percentage of positive coronavirus tests is now at 7.2 percent, up from 5.5 percent a week ago.

The last time cases and testing rates rose this fast, last July and into August, hospitalizations doubled in less than two weeks to over 900 COVID-19 patients.

As of Wednesday, though, statewide hospitalizations have increased to 532 from 478 on March 30 — an indication that widespread vaccinations, natural immunity and an apparently weaker strain of the virus are contributing to fewer serious illnesses.

GRAND RAPIDS POLICE CONDUCT COULD COME UNDER INVESTIGATION FROM FEDS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The Michigan Department of Civil Rights is attempting to reboot an investigation into the Grand Rapids Police Department’s conduct, seeking assistance from both the Michigan attorney general’s office and the Justice Department.

The department initially launched an investigation in 2019 into whether Grand Rapids police “had engaged in a pattern and practice of discrimination” in its policing.

That investigation ultimately wasn’t completed because of a lack of resources at the agency, but the fatal shooting of Patrick Lyoya by a Grand Rapids police officer has prompted conversations on relaunching a probe into the department.

Michigan Department of Civil Rights officials announced Monday the agency had contacted Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel for a “potential collaborative effort” on an investigation of Grand Rapids police as a whole. A Michigan Department of Civil Rights spokesperson said the agency is currently investigating 29 individual complaints against Grand Rapids Police Department officers.

“The residents of Grand Rapids deserve to know that the state of Michigan takes seriously their right to equal treatment under the law,” Michigan Department of Civil Rights Director John Johnson said in a statement.

Nessel’s office has expressed willingness to assist the department in its investigation.

“The Department of Attorney General is meeting with the Department of Civil Rights since their outreach last week regarding their ongoing investigation into the Grand Rapids Police Department,” spokesperson Lynsey Mukomel said in a statement.

“The Attorney General is committed to putting the full resources of her office behind this effort.”

The Michigan Department of Civil Rights has also contacted the federal Department of Justice for assistance on an investigation.

“Pursuant to standard practice, the department considers all information provided to state agencies, including the MDCR, as well as any additional information, in determining whether to open a pattern or practice investigation,” U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Andrew Birge said in a statement.

Michigan Department of Civil Rights officials say the added resources from the state and the federal government would make an investigation into any pattern of repeated discrimination by Grand Rapids police more feasible.

“As we know from other investigations into pattern and practice issues in policing, a thorough investigation of that sort can take years and requires the kind of resources and staffing that the Department of Civil Rights does not have,” department spokesperson Vicki Levengood said over email.

“We have, in the past and again in the wake of this tragedy, approached our federal and state partners at the U.S. Department of Justice and the office of the Michigan Attorney General to ask them to bring their resources to bear in a collaborative effort to investigate the Grand Rapids Police Department, so that the people of Grand Rapids will have answers and the city can make whatever changes may be necessary to help ensure that police protect and serve all Grand Rapids residents fairly and equally.” The department’s initial investigation into Grand Rapids police was launched in May 2019. In March of that year, department officials heard from more than 80 people who detailed their interactions with Grand Rapids police officers during a pair of listening sessions. In the department’s 2019 annual report, agency officials said the listening sessions were prompted “by a number of reports of discriminatory actions by officers of the GRPD, and the release of citizen-shot videos showing troubling interactions between police and residents of color.”

A Grand Rapids Police Department spokesperson said initial training as well as officers’ annual training addresses topics including diversity, ethics, de-escalation, cultural competency and recognizing implicit bias. Training standards are regularly reviewed, the spokesperson said.

Lyoya, a 26-year-old Congolese refugee, was shot and killed by a Grand Rapids police officer April 4 after attempting to run away during a traffic stop. In footage released by Grand Rapids police last Wednesday, after the police officer pulled over Lyoya’s car, Lyoya appeared to not comply with the officer’s requests. The officer appeared to grab him and Lyoya ran, the videos show. The officer repeatedly kneed him and appeared at times to briefly grab him around the neck. The pair fought over the officer’s stun gun before the officer shot Lyoya in the head. Lyoya was facedown on the ground when he was shot.

Lyoya’s shooting and the release of the footage have garnered national attention and sparked protests locally. Some demonstrators say the shooting is another example in the tenuous relationship Grand Rapids police has with local communities of color.

The Michigan State Police are currently conducting an investigation into the shooting. No charges have been brought on the officer involved in the shooting, who is currently on paid administrative leave.

DNR: REMOVING FEEDERS NOT URGENT BUT COULD REDUCE BIRD FLU

DETROIT NEWS — A Michigan wildlife expert said removing outdoor feeders could help reduce the spread of a bird flu.

Avian influenza has been confirmed in at least five counties: Kalamazoo, Livingston, Macomb, Menominee and Washtenaw, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

It can infect a variety of birds, including chickens, turkeys, pheasants, quail, ducks, geese, wild birds and domestic birds.

The risk for people is considered to be low.

“If you’re concerned about this virus and want to act from a place of abundant caution, removing your bird feeders for now makes sense but it isn’t yet a critical step,” said Megan Moriarty, a state wildlife veterinarian.

“With warmer springtime weather on the way, too, birds will have more natural food sources readily available to them, so chances are many people will be taking down feeders in a few weeks anyway,” Moriarty said Wednesday.

The flu was discovered in domestic parrots in Washtenaw County, the latest detection reported this week by the DNR.

NESSEL CALLS OUT OXFORD SCHOOL BOARD AFTER MEETING WITH STUDENTS, PARENTS

DETROIT NEWS — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel called out the Oxford Community Schools Board of Education on Tuesday, a day after meeting privately with students and parents about what led up to the Nov. 30 mass shooting at the community’s high school.

In a letter to school board members posted on her office’s Twitter account, she reminded the elected officials they have the power to provide for the safety and welfare of students.

“To put it plainly, the families you serve want transparency and – as board members – you have an obligation to provide it,” she said in the letter.

On Monday evening, Nessel held a “listening session” with parents and students.

“Though there were a wide array of opinions expressed, the overwhelming concern shared by all in attendance was a deep desire to learn more about what happened,” Nessel said in her letter.

In the letter, she offered for a second time to perform an independent investigation into the events leading up to the shooting at Oxford High School.

In December, the Oakland County district declined an offer from Nessel to conduct a review of the shooting. Nessel told the board Tuesday the costs of the investigation would be borne by her office and it would be conducted “as not to interfere with the ongoing criminal proceedings” being handled by the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office.

She also set a deadline.

“In order to ensure you have sufficient time to convene as a board to discuss this offer, I am respectfully requesting a response to my offer by May 20th, 2022,” Nessel said.

“The listening session with parents and students in Oxford was incredibly informative,” she wrote to the school board members. “Though there were a wide array of opinions expressed, the overwhelming concern shared by all in attendance was a deep desire to learn more about what happened.”

Last week parents of Oxford High School students and one survivor of the Nov. 30 mass shooting made emotional pleas for improved safety measures inside the school.

Two parents accused school officials of failing to create new policies and procedures to make their children feel safe. They also said they were angry that Oxford Community Schools hasn’t hired a company to perform a third-party review of the rampage that left four students dead and seven other people wounded more than four months ago.

Oxford school board President Tom Donnelly was not immediately available for comment on Tuesday. Donnelly said last week a subcommittee of the school board is in the process of vetting potential companies to do the review.

“As we have more information gathered, an update will be given to our community in an upcoming school board meeting,” Donnelly said in an email to The News.

Parents are also asking for a public review of the district’s current student safety plan and want full community input into an updated school safety plan for the 2022-23 school year that reassures students, helps end learning loss and fully addresses mental health issues.

Recent threats deemed non-credible by police also have many Oxford families, students and community members on edge. Oxford Community Schools was among multiple school districts in northern Oakland County that received threatening phone calls on April 8 that law enforcement deemed non-credible.

The district did not go into lockdown, which some parents challenged on social media. Lake Orion did lockdown, and Clarkston sheltered students and staff in place.

On Nov. 30, four Oxford High School students were killed in the shooting: Hana St. Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; and Justin Shilling, 17. Six students and a teacher were wounded.

On Thursday, Hana’s father, Steve St. Juliana, and her sister, Reina, who survived the shooting, filed a civil lawsuit against the district and several administrators.

The school had about 1,650 students in classes on the day of the shooting with about 100 teachers and staff, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.

In March, the district announced it will create a three-year recovery plan and hire a recovery coordinator and an executive director of student services and wellness to address student mental health needs.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE PARTNERS WITH MICHIGAN TO PROVIDE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO NATIONAL PARKS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Speaking inside the historic Ford Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit, once the heart of the automobile industry, the National Park Service announced a partnership with the state to improve accessibility to national parks.

While the convergence of automobiles and nature may seem counterintuitive, Charles Sams, director of the park service, said they go hand in hand.

Transportation provides connection, he said.

“The mass production and relative affordability of automobiles transformed the world and made it possible for billions to visit and fall in love with unmatched national parks,” Sams said at a Tuesday news conference, staged at the historic structure Ford built in 1904 as its first purpose-built factory, and where Ford created and first produced the famous Model T in 1908.

The partnership aims to improve accessibility, affordability and mobility for the national parks.

There are six national parks in Michigan: Isle Royale near Houghton, Keweenaw in Calumet, North Country, a multistate trail, River Raisin National Battlefield near Monroe, Pictured Rocks in Munising, and Sleeping Bear Dunes in Empire.

Michigan’s national parks are exponentially growing in popularity, Sams said — visits to Pictured Rocks have increased by 130% in the last 10 years.

And while appreciating nature is wonderful, Sams said the mass visits also present some difficulties.

“The central challenge of developing and managing the National Park System is often providing access and protecting our treasured places,” he said. “And we don’t find those mutually exclusive. … (The NPS must) advance both preservation and access in the context of rising inequity in climate change. We must overcome barriers that preclude our increasingly diverse, urban and aging population from accessing the public lands, monuments, memorials and historic sites.”

The partnership is still in the beginning stages, and the specifics of how sustainability and accessibility will be improved are still to come, said Trevor Pawl, chief mobility officer with the Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification.

“We’ll be rolling out innovative mobility technologies and services to fight back against rising emissions, rising congestion, connectivity challenges in transit and national parks across the country but we’re gonna start with the national parks right here in Michigan,” Pawl said.

To address these challenges, the state and the NPS are going to reach out to mobility companies and innovators in summer 2022 to find solutions.

Then, they’ll work with them to bring those ideas to life using state and federal funding.

“The goal here is to provide practical tangible solutions,” Pawl said. “So when a young family drives hours to get to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore they’ll be able to find a parking spot, it will be what helped that emergency vehicle driver at Sleeping Bear Dunes get to the scene just a few minutes earlier, and we want to help that team of park rangers that’s trying to optimize with overflow parking lots.”

If the Michigan partnership is successful, the NPS will bring it to other states.

Pawl remembered when his own child touched the Atlantic Ocean for the first time, and said he hopes this partnership can help more people experience the beauty of nature.

“We’re trying to also think as it relates to some vulnerable audiences that historically have had a really tough time accessing the outdoors,” he said. “For folks in low-income communities where there could be affordability issue, to babies in strollers to the elderly, and see if there are some really inventive ways that we can begin to help those folks be able to experience it.”

LANSING AND OTHER POLICE AGENCIES RETHINK VALUE OF ‘MINOR’ TRAFFIC STOPS

BRIDGE MI — In July 2020, Lansing police were told they could no longer pull over motorists solely for minor traffic violations, such as a cracked tail light or an ornament hanging from a mirror.

The department, apparently the only one in Michigan to do so, joined police agencies in other parts of the country, including Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Seattle and the State of Virginia that recently took similar steps, as departments rethink the value of having police conduct low-level traffic stops — especially when they end in tragedy. The policies were influenced by cases in which Black motorists were shot following vehicle stops, and as analyses of traffic data show Black motorists are far more likely to be pulled over and searched than white drivers.

The April 4 death in Grand Rapids of Congolese immigrant Patrick Lyoya — who was killed after being pulled over by a police officer over a license plate issue — has brought renewed attention to the debate over what kind of infractions require police interaction with drivers, and how they should be handled.

The Lyoya stop, like so many others, began routinely. “The plate doesn’t belong on the car,” the unnamed officer tells Lyoya as the men stand outside Lyoya’s vehicle, according to videos of the incident made public last week.

Seconds later, Lyoya breaks away from the officer. The officer gives chase, tackles Lyoya, and after a two-minute struggle with the officer’s Taser, the officer shoots Lyoya in the back of the head with his firearm while straddling Lloya on a residential lawn. Police confirmed the only weapons on scene were the officer’s gun and Taser.

The fatality is under investigation by the Michigan State Police, which is expected to forward its findings to the Kent County’s prosecutor’s office to consider possible charges. The officer — who the department has so far declined to name — is on paid leave.

Blacks more likely to be stopped

Traffic stops are among the most common ways in which the public interacts with police officers. Sometimes, though, a mundane stop can turn ugly fast.

A 2021 New York Times investigation found that, in the previous five years, police officers at traffic stops killed more than 400 motorists who had no gun or knife and were not under pursuit for a violent crime. More than three-quarters of the unarmed motorists were, like Lyoya, killed while attempting to flee.

The Times investigation found traffic stops can be risky for cops as well: roughly 60 officers were killed following vehicle stops over the five years studied.

Those findings come amid broad evidence that Black motorists are more likely to be subject to so-called “pretextual” traffic stops — where officers pull over vehicles for minor infractions, fishing for evidence of more serious crime, such as illegal drug or gun possession.

A 2020 national study of more than 100 million traffic stops found that Black drivers were 20 percent more likely to be stopped than white drivers relative to their share of the residential population. Black drivers also were 1.5 times more likely to be searched than white drivers, though they were less likely to be carrying drugs or guns.

Grand Rapids has known of such disparities for years, including in its own police department. In 2017, the city released a study showing that Black drivers were twice as likely to be pulled over by Grand Rapids Police as white drivers and more likely to be searched than non-Black drivers. The study was part of an effort to reduce bias in the department.

Charles Anderson, president and CEO of the Urban League of Detroit & Southeastern Michigan, said it’s time Michigan police departments reconsider their traffic enforcement practices in light of the circumstances of Lyoya’s death.

“There is certainly a need to re-evaluate pulling people over for very minor problems, especially when they are impacting one race and these pre-text stops where people have died,” Anderson told Bridge.

Pushback from police

Such efforts have met significant pushback in the law enforcement community, with critics arguing that seemingly minor stops are sometimes necessary as a crime-fighting tool.

Robert Stevenson, executive director of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police, told Bridge he’s unaware of any Michigan police department outside of Lansing that has enacted a similar policy. He said many chiefs adamantly oppose such an approach because it goes against the very purpose of law enforcement’s core mission: to keep the public safe.

“The laws were made for a reason,” Stevenson said, naming several violations that could be characterized as minor or routine, including the apparent reason for stopping Lyoya’s vehicle.

“The reason we have two headlights and we have brake lights is for visibility, so people don’t run into the back of you,” Stevenson said. “The reason we require a valid license plate is it’s the law. The other reason is stolen cars — stolen cars have improper plates on them, and criminal activities get covered up by improper plates.”

Matt Saxton, executive director of the Michigan Sheriffs Association, echoed Stevenson’s view of traffic enforcement.

“If communities don’t want to enforce laws, they should approach the Legislature and ask them to change the laws,” Saxton said.

“We should remember that (Oklahoma City bomber) Timothy McVeigh was arrested at a traffic stop,” Saxton said, referring to the 1985 apprehension of McVeigh by a state trooper for driving a car with no license plate. McVeigh was executed in 2001 after he was found guilty of multiple counts of murder in the bombing of a federal building that killed 168 people.

HOUSE BUDGET PLANS WOULD REQUIRE STATE EMPLOYEES TO WORK IN OFFICE

DETROIT NEWS — The GOP-led Michigan House will require state workers from several departments to return to in-person work by October or risk their funding for the year under proposed budgets making their way through the legislative process.

The department budgets that include the boilerplate requirement advanced from House subcommittees last week and are headed to the full House Appropriations Committee soon. There, the bills could be amended before referral and, eventually, will be negotiated with the Senate for a joint budget proposal.

The boilerplate language was first reported by Bridge Michigan.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s $74 billion budget proposal did not include provisions requiring in-person work but there are plans to return some workers to in-office work by May 1.

House Appropriations Chairman Thomas Albert argued Friday that taxpayers have suffered enough because of staffing restrictions and state government office closures during the pandemic.

“Everyone knows about the issues with the Unemployment Insurance Agency and the Secretary of State, but the concerns are broader than that,” the Lowell Republican said. “State government functions better and serves taxpayers better when employees are interacting with customers and each other in-person. It’s past time to get state government fully working again.”

Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency offices re-opened for appointments in June 2021 after months of claims bottlenecks and call centers unable to keep up with claimant calls. Secretary of State offices reopened for limited essential services in June 2020 but gradually began taking more customers by appointment and, in June 2021, the department said it was taking walk-ins in cases where staff was available.

About 49% of Michigan’s 47,000 state employees have been working remotely during the past 12 months but all departments are expected to return to their “approved work schedules” May 1, said Caleb Buhs, a spokesman for the Department of Technology Management and Budget.

“The approved work schedules can be hybrid, in office or remote based on the individual employee and their role,” Buhs said. “Those with schedules that include in office days will be expected to begin working those days in the office after May 1.”

The department budgets being considered by the House require employees who worked in-office prior to Feb. 28, 2020, to return to working in-person by the start of the new fiscal year, or Oct. 1, 2022.

The provisions would be required under the plan for state departments managing natural resources, agriculture, environment, insurance, regulatory and licensing duties, prisons and transportation.

The budgets also require several departments to prepare reports related to 2021 on how many employees were authorized to work from home, how many worked from home, an estimated cost savings resulting from the remote work and how much office space was reduced.

The state has said it has been seeking to reduce its lease footprint since before the pandemic and that focus increased during the pandemic when several office buildings sat largely vacant.

From March 2020 through March 2022, the state has canceled 18 of its leases, totaling a reduction of about 286,000 square feet, Buhs said.

Albert said Friday he was still seeking ways to further reduce the state’s office space but said, “independent of that effort, it is time for state workers to return to the office.”

“Even workers at Google and in the Silicon Valley are headed back to the office,” Albert said. “Private sector workers across Michigan are headed back to the office, and many returned months ago. State government should do the same for employees who were based in an office prior to the pandemic.”

MSU TO DROP MASK MANDATE IN MAY, BUT WILL KEEP COVID VAX RULE NEXT YEAR

BRIDGE MI — Michigan State University is dropping its face mask requirement for most indoor campus spaces next month, according to a letter to students, staff and faculty Friday from MSU President Samuel Stanley.

But those who work at or attend the East Lansing campus will still be required to have COVID vaccinations and a booster for the full 2022-23 school year, or have an approved exemption.

Last week, the University of Michigan announced it will continue to require students, staff and faculty to be up to date on COVID vaccinations through at least the fall 2022 semester. The university expects to announce a decision on whether face masks will continue to be required before the school’s spring term begins May 3. At MSU, both the Early Detection Program of saliva testing for those with medical or religious exemptions and PCR testing provided at the MSU Clinical Center will end May 13. Those with medical or religious exemptions no longer will be required to routinely test.

“We continue to see a sustained drop in COVID‑19 cases on campus, and with the wide availability of PCR, antigen and home testing in the community, the EDP and Clinical Center testing that were crucial to our success earlier in the pandemic can safely be discontinued now,” Stanley wrote.

At MSU, about 94 percent of students, staff and faculty are vaccinated, and 86 percent have had a booster shot. That compares to a vaccination rate of 65 percent for the state as a whole. At U-M, 98 percent of students are vaccinated and 91 percent have had a booster shot.

Confirmed COVID cases have plummeted in Michigan since December, though they increased again this week. As of Wednesday, the rate of cases was 11 per 100,000 residents, compared to a high of 170 in mid-January.

College campuses, including MSU and U-M, were hot spots for COVID outbreaks in the fall of 2020, leading to public health emergencies and campus-wide quarantines of tens of thousands of students. Michigan State University closed most of its dorm rooms for fall 2020 and virtually all classes at many colleges and universities were held online.

This past fall, however, outbreaks dropped precipitously at college campuses, and the schools were often safer from COVID than their surrounding communities. University officials attributed the decline in COVID-19 to the broad availability of vaccines.

The announcement by the state’s two largest universities mirrors similar moves by the state’s public K-12 schools. When school began in September, almost two-thirds of K-12 students were enrolled in schools that required facial coverings. The vast majority of those mandates have been lifted. One notable exception: face masks are still required in Ann Arbor Public Schools, one of the state’s largest school districts.

“it is clear our COVID‑19 mitigation efforts were successful in allowing MSU to continue most in-person classes and activities safely,” Stanley wrote. “As we have since early 2020, we will continue to monitor and respond to the pandemic as necessary.“

SNOWFALL OF UP TO 3 INCHES EXPECTED ON MONDAY IN METRO DETROIT

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The calm of Easter Sunday will end Monday in a flashback to winter with a snowfall of up to three inches, according to the National Weather Service.

Monday’s morning commute should be snow-free but soon after, around 10 a.m., forecasters expect snow to start falling until about 5 p.m.

The rain in Kansas City that canceled Sunday’s Royals-Tigers game will move northeast overnight, meeting a colder front “coming down from the northern plains” to abruptly change the weather over the Great Lakes, said Trent Frey, a staff meteorologist at the Weather Service’s regional station in White Lake Township.

Over southeast Michigan, Monday’s precipitation could be a mix of snow and rain, “but it’s looking like it’ll be mostly snow,” Frey said. Thermometers in metro Detroit will drop to around freezing overnight, then rise to the mid-30s during the day, “although temperatures aloft will be below freezing, so the snow will stay frozen until it hits the ground,” he said.

Because the ground, including pavement, has warmed with spring sunshine, some snow will melt on contact while the rest accumulates and could slow Monday’s afternoon commute; heavier snow may fall to the northeast, in St. Clair County and the eastern Thumb of Michigan, Frey said.

The forecast caused the city of Detroit’s floriculture team to cancel plans for an outdoor event aimed at showcasing the city’s campaign to spread blooming flowers across the city. The city has planted 2 million daffodil bulbs, four times its previous maximum, in partnership with the nonprofit Daffodils for Detroit, said spokesman Corey McIsaac. The event will be rescheduled soon to show residents and visitors how to find “these awesome clusters of color” throughout the city, McIssac said in an email.

Monday’s throw-back to winter should make next weekend’s weather all the more welcome in metro Detroit — highs for Saturday and Sunday are predicted to be in the mid-70s.

OXFORD SCHOOL OFFICIALS COVERED UP CULPABILITY AFTER MASSACRE, LAWSUIT CLAIMS

DETROIT NEWS — The family of a student killed in the Oxford school massacre filed a civil lawsuit Thursday against the district and several officials. The father and older sister of Hana St. Juliana, 14, accused school district officials of manufacturing a cover story to justify letting accused killer Ethan Crumbley return to the classes despite the student exhibiting a “disturbing pattern of behavior.” That includes an obsession with guns, access to firearms and being in the “throes of a mental health crisis.”

The federal lawsuit is the first of its kind by relatives of a slain student and comes five months after prosecutors say Crumbley killed four students and wounded six others and a teacher during a Nov. 30 shooting spree at the high school.

The claim is at least the third civil lawsuit filed against the district since December, including a $100 million case filed on behalf of survivors.

The lawsuit Thursday accused school officials, including a counselor, of creating and increasing danger to students by letting Crumbley return to class. That includes warnings that he was watching video of a shooting while at school, searching online about bullets and writing “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me . . . blood everywhere . . . My life is useless. . . The world is dead.”

Instead of detaining Crumbley, Dean of Students Nicholas Ejak and school counselor Shawn Hopkins let Crumbley return to class without searching his backpack, according to the lawsuit filed by father Hana’s father Steve St. Juliana and sister Reina, 16, a junior who survived the shooting.

“Less than two hours later, (Crumbley) took his backpack into a bathroom and emerged with his loaded handgun,” family lawyer Michael Pitt wrote. “He opened fire, killing four students, including fourteen-year-old Hana St. Juliana, and seriously injuring seven others.”

The family is seeking unspecified punitive or exemplary damages under the state’s wrongful death statute plus damages for medical, hospital, funeral and burial expenses. The lawsuit also seeks damages for physical and emotional pain and suffering.

The lawsuit also names former Superintendent Timothy Throne and current Superintendent Kenneth Weaver.

There was no immediate comment from school officials Thursday.

But in response to the earlier lawsuits, Oxford school officials have denied “they were negligent in any manner.” Their lawyer also has called the allegations false and said his clients would claim they are immune from liability.

The district has been criticized for releasing Crumbley, an Oxford High School sophomore, back into school after he was pulled from class when a teacher saw a disturbing drawing on his desk that depicted a gun, a bullet and a bleeding shooting victim.

Crumbley allegedly told counselors once he was taken to the office that his drawing was part of a video game he was designing and that he planned to pursue video game design as a career, Throne has said in a statement. Crumbley remained in the office for about 90 minutes and worked on school assignments while the school tried to reach his parents.

After speaking to parents James and Jennifer Crumbley in the school office and again to their son, Oxford school counselors concluded he did not intend on committing either self-harm or harm to others, Throne said. His parents were informed they had 48 hours to seek counseling for their child or the school would contact Child Protective Services. They were asked to take their son home for the day, but they “flatly” refused and left without their son, Throne said.

St. Juliana’s family alleges a high-level coverup by school officials followed the shooting.

“Specifically, the district has sought to avoid accountability by claiming it has a formal policy and practice of returning students to class unless there is a ‘disciplinary’ issue that can be used to either send them home or hold them in the counseling office, and since (Crumbley) did not present a ‘disciplinary’ issue, it had no choice but to return him to class,” Pitt wrote.

The district’s policy of using false justifications “demonstrates egregious deliberate indifference to the danger presented when a student such as (Crumbley), who the school knew was suicidal and presented a clear threat, is returned to the school environment,” the family’s lawyer wrote.

School officials have denied knowing Crumbley was suicidal, according to the lawsuit.

“In truth, the district did know that (Crumbley) was suicidal and possibly homicidal when he was released from the counselor’s office,” Pitt wrote.

Crumbley has been charged with multiple felonies including first-degree murder and is being held without bond in the Oakland County Jail awaiting trial. His parents are jailed and face four counts each of involuntary manslaughter.

TWO-THIRDS OF MICHIGAN DRIVERS STILL HAVEN’T GOT THEIR $400 INSURANCE REFUND

BRIDGE MI — More than two-thirds of eligible insured Michigan drivers still have not received their $400 refund as the May 9 deadline approaches.

Officials confirmed the delays Thursday during a media conference by the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services that announced that $906 million of the $3 billion owed by auto insurers has been returned to drivers.

The refunds are part of 2019 auto insurance reforms — negotiated between Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Republican-led Legislature — that to cut what had been the highest rates in the nation by ending mandatory lifetime coverage for auto crash victims and creating new fee limits for medical treatment.

Anita Fox, director of the state insurance office, said auto insurers must refund the $400 through a check or direct deposit — rather than applying it to customers as a credit.

Fox said she’s confident insurers will issue the refunds before their deadline.

“(The refund) process is huge,” Fox said. “There are 7.1 million drivers and (the state) doesn’t keep that information as per vehicle, your insurance company does. It takes a while to get the process set up and transfer billions of dollars.”

The process has been less than smooth for many, including Ron McDonagh, 62, of Burt.

He said he hasn’t received his check, and was informed by his insurer the $400 refund would be applied toward his upcoming policy premium which renews on April 28, in apparent conflict with the rules.

“I’m low-income and I need the money to get a colonoscopy because I have diverticulitis,” McDonagh said. “I owe (the hospital) $100 and they won’t schedule the operation until I pay it. So I could really use that $400 to take care of my medical needs.”

Fox urged eligible drivers like McDonagh who are encountering similar problems to contact the state at 833-ASK-DIFS.

Michigan has tried to keep the refund process as simple as possible, Fox said.

“This is their money that they paid into this fund,” Fox said, referring to motorists. “You shouldn’t have to fill anything out. You shouldn’t have to take it as a credit. It’s your money that ought to be returned and we know that’s important especially coming out of a pandemic.”

Fox also warned drivers to beware of potential fraud, such as scammers calling consumers to get private information.

“Every time there is money, there are scammers,” Fox said. “We have heard from the Attorney General’s Office that as soon as (the refunds were) announced, there were people who were contacted by scammers asking for information. It’s important that people don’t give out personal information.”

Anyone who had a vehicle, motorcycle or RV that was insured by a policy that allows them to operate in Michigan as of October 31, 2021, is eligible for refunds.

Eligible drivers who have not received their refunds should contact their insurers, who may only give the money back through a check or direct deposit.

Consumers may contact DIFS if they don’t receive their refunds or cannot reach a resolution with their insurers.

BIDEN PICKS UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN DEAN MICHAEL BARR FOR FED’S BANK REGULATION POST

ASSOCIATED PRESS via DETROIT FREE PRESS — President Joe Biden said Friday he plans to nominate Michael Barr, the dean of the University of Michigan’s public policy school, to be the Federal Reserve’s vice chairman of supervision.

The selection of Barr comes after Biden’s first choice for the Fed post, Sarah Bloom Raskin, withdrew her nomination a month ago in the face of opposition from Republicans and one Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Raskin’s critics had argued that she would apply the Fed’s regulatory authority to climate change and possibly discourage banks from lending to energy companies.

But with Barr, Biden noted the importance of politics in a Friday statement that said his nominee had previously cleared the Senate on a bipartisan basis.

“Michael brings the expertise and experience necessary for this important position at a critical time for our economy and families across the country,” Biden said.

The Democratic president said that Barr “has spent his career protecting consumers, and during his time at Treasury, played a critical role in creating both the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the position for which I am nominating him.”

Barr is the dean of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. He was an assistant Treasury secretary for financial institutions during the Obama administration who helped design the 2010 Dodd-Frank regulations after the devastating 2008 financial crisis.

Barr, a Rhodes Scholar who clerked for Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court, also served during the Clinton administration at the White House, the Treasury Department and the State Department.

Despite those credentials, some liberal critics last year blocked Barr’s candidacy to become the Biden administration’s comptroller of the currency, a position that is responsible for regulating national banks. These critics viewed with suspicion Barr’s role on the advisory boards of the financial firms Lending Club and Ripple Labs. They also asserted that he had helped dilute proposals for stricter bank regulations during the Obama administration.

But Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Democratic chairman of the Banking Committee, voiced full support for Barr.

“Michael Barr understands the importance of this role at this critical time in our economic recovery,” Brown said. “I strongly urge my Republican colleagues to abandon their old playbook of personal attacks and demagoguery and put Americans and their pocketbooks first.”

Others offer strong praise for Barr and say he appears well suited for the Fed position.

David Dworkin, president of the National Housing Conference, which advocates for affordable housing, suggested that Barr’s understanding of Wall Street gives him the right mix of “centrist expertise and progressive policy views’’ to win confirmation in a closely divided Senate.

Barr would be joining the Fed at an especially challenging and high-risk period for the central bank and the economy.

The Fed is set to raise interest rates aggressively in the coming months to try to reduce persistently high inflation. Yet it will be extraordinarily difficult for Fed Chair Jerome Powell — who is awaiting Senate confirmation for a second term — to slow inflation by raising borrowing costs without also weakening the economy and perhaps even causing a recession.

“This is about landing a very complicated plane on the runway smoothly,” Dworkin said. “It’s very hard to do.”

GRAND RAPIDS POLICE FACED YEARS OF RACIAL BIAS COMPLAINTS BEFORE FATAL SHOOTING

BRIDGE MI — Grand Rapids joined the long list of American cities where a Black motorist died at the hands of police on April 4, when an officer shot a Congolese immigrant in the head during a struggle following a traffic stop.

The death of 26-year-old Patrick Lyoya followed years of warnings by community residents over the city police department’s treatment of Black residents — and efforts by the city to improve that relationship.

Police released four videos of the traffic stop and incident on Wednesday, and officials warned of tough days ahead amid a Michigan State Police investigation into the shooting by the unnamed officer.

“The public has my commitment to get through this together. There will be understandable expressions of shock, of anger and pain,” City Manager Mark Washington said during a media conference.

Lyoya was pulled over because his car allegedly had an improper registration. He was unarmed, but a scuffle erupted after he got out of his vehicle. During the video, the officer is heard telling Lyoya to let go of the officer’s Taser before the shooting.

Long before Lyoya, city officials acknowledged that all was not right with the Grand Rapids Police Department.

Here is a look back:

In March 2017, police officers pulled over and aimed guns at a group of five young unarmed Black boys. The incident was followed by heated community discussions at City Commission meetings. Former Chief of Police Dave Rahinsky, who has since retired, apologized to the boys, their families and the Black community, but he maintained that officers followed protocol.
The next month, a traffic study was released that showed Black motorists in Grand Rapids were twice as likely to be pulled over as white motorists despite the fact that the city’s Black population was around 14 percent at the time.
As a result of the traffic study, the department hired consulting firm 21st Century Policing to evaluate its policies and procedures and find and remove examples of implicit bias. Some of the recommendations the firm made were to increase cultural competency training for officers and host discussions between the community and police.
In December 2017, the police faced scrutiny when an officer pointed a gun at an unarmed 11-year-old Black girl before searching and handcuffing her. This incident led to the department adopting a new youth interactions policy that was implemented to protect other children from unnecessary police force.
In 2018, there were two more incidents of police officers either pointing guns at or handcuffing unarmed Black and Brown children, prompting the department to update its youth interaction policy just a year after it was created. Police made changes to how youth would be handcuffed, when a child would be put in a police cruiser, and when officers should draw a firearm.
In November 2018, citizens criticized the department after a police captain called U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on U.S. citizen and Marine combat veteran Jilmar Ramos-Gomez, even though he was carrying multiple forms of identification that proved he was an American citizen.
In 2019, the American Civil Liberties Union and Michigan Immigrant Rights Center filed civil rights complaints against police for the situation with Ramos-Gomez and an unrelated incident where police officers pulled over two unarmed teens, one of whom was a 15-year-old of Mexican descent.
The complaints led the Michigan Department of Civil Rights to host two public hearings during which residents voiced concerns about the way Grand Rapids police treat Black and Brown people. The state opted against opening an investigation.
In late 2019, a city-sponsored survey found 3 in 10 Grand Rapids residents didn’t trust the police department. Unlike the traffic study from 2017, this was an anonymous online survey only.
In May 2020, the police budget was increased by $700,000 to $61 million despite calls from some activists to decrease funding to police. (Budgets to many other police agencies nationwide also increased around this time as well.)
Later that month, the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis led to several days of protests in Grand Rapids, including some that resulted in property damage, broken windows and police dispersing crowds with tear gas and flash bangs.
Following the protests, Grand Rapids officials said they are willing to make police reforms to make the department more accountable and safer for residents. At the time, many activists were still calling for the department to be defunded to better invest in community services.
On the morning of April 4, 2022, 26-year-old Congolese immigrant Patrick Lyoya was shot and killed by a Grand Rapids police officer. Chief Eric Winstrom said the investigation, which is being handled by the Michigan State Police, is ongoing. Winstrom wouldn’t give the name of the officer who killed Lyoya, but said the officer was “in shock” following the incident.

ROYAL OAK PLANNING COMMISSION BACKS PLAN TO DEMOLISH BELOVED MAIN ART THEATRE

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The Royal Oak Planning Commission recommended demolishing the Main Art Theatre in favor of a five-story mixed-use building in a 4-2 vote Tuesday night.

The public meeting included a presentation of the proposed building plan and roughly one and a half hours of public comments, mostly from those in support of the theater.

Main Art Theatre, a staple of downtown Royal Oak since 1941 and located at the corner of North Main Street and 11 Mile, has been closed since April 2021 when Landmark Theatres, which operated the Main Art, announced the theater was closing for the foreseeable future.

Friends of the Main Art Theatre formed roughly 10 months ago with the purpose to preserve the theater. The group has held fundraisers and marches to rally support for the iconic building.

Last Saturday, nearly nearly 200 people gathered outside the theater to rally for its preservation in light of the proposed demolition plans put forth by the building’s owner, A.F. Jonna Management & Development Co.

Dennis G. Cowan, the attorney representing North Main Square LLC, the building developers, spoke of the plan for a five-story mixed-use building with retail, office and residential components.

He also cast doubt on the viability of an independent movie theater operating out of the Main Art.

“The entire movie industry is in somewhat of an upset right now,” Cowan said. “All of us here know you can get almost any movie you want at home. We know that there still is a market, but with respect to this particular building, that is not the case any longer. And their numbers were going down dramatically, even before COVID. Subsequently, Landmark decided to pull out.”

Members of the Friends of the Main Art Theatre spoke at the meeting in support of revitalizing the theater.

Jason Krzysiak, president of the group in support of the theater, said, “I would ask that the committee today consider the outpouring of support for this theater, and ask that you either table the plans before you tonight until all stakeholders can meet and plan a win-win situation, or an outright denial.”

The Planning Commission recommendation now heads to the Royal Oak City Commission for review.

PARENTS OF OXFORD SCHOOL SHOOTING SUSPECT SEEK LOWER BOND: WE’VE BEEN MISPORTRAYED

DETROIT FREE PRESS — James and Jennifer Crumbley are asking a judge to lower their bond, arguing the prosecution has unfairly portrayed them as bad parents, and that the “the real facts” about how they raised their son and how they responded to the deadly Oxford school shooting have not yet fully been disclosed.

Each parent wants their bond lowered from $500,000 to $100,000, maintaining they had no idea their son would allegedly carry out a school shooting.

“Even the prosecution is changing its understanding of the facts in this case and has recognized that the Crumbleys may be found ‘not guilty,’ ” defense lawyers argued in a new court filing, adding the Crumbleys are neither a public safety risk nor a flight risk, “particularly if they are placed on local house arrest status with GPS tethers.”

The defense has long maintained that James and Jennifer Crumbley did not know their son would carry out a school shooting.

“No one expected that the shooter could be or would be homicidal,” the Crumbleys’ lawyers argued in a late Tuesday court filing. “The media contains so much histrionic and emotional information that many of the real facts of this case have been lost upon the public. The real facts … show that this case amounts to a completely devastating event where people w ant to find someone or something to assign responsibility to.”

That “someone” is the Crumbleys — the parents of 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley, who is charged with opening fire in his high school with a gun that his parents allegedly purchased for him four days earlier.

Four students died, seven other people were injured.

The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office is opposed to lowering the Crumbleys’ bond.

“We believe the current bond for James and Jennifer Crumbley remains appropriate as they have proven to be a flight risk,” Chief Assistant Prosecutor David Williams said in a statement Wednesday. “We will ask the court to keep the current bond in place.”

The prosecution maintains that the Crumbleys were on the run after learning they were being charged, though the Crumbleys say they never fled but left town on the night of the shooting “for their own safety” and that they planned to surrender the following day at their scheduled court hearing.

The parents are charged with involuntary manslaughter for what prosecutors have alleged amounts to gross negligence: They say the Crumbleys ignored a mentally ill son who was spiraling out of control, and instead of getting him medical help they bought him a gun.

Lawyers for the Crumbleys argue that’s a misrepresentation of what really happened, maintaining their clients did look after their son, and that the events that unfolded at Oxford High School were not their fault.

The defense also challenged claims that the shooting suspect asked his parents to take him to a doctor, but that the parents refused.

Prosecutors have presented text messages from the alleged to a friend, in which the teen states: “I am mentally and physically dying. … I am going to ask my parents to go to the doctor tomorrow … but this time I’m going to tell them about the voices.”

In another text to a friend, Ethan Crumbley allegedly wrote: “I actually asked my dad to take me to the doctor the other day, and he just gave me some pills and said to ‘suck it up.’ My mom laughed when I told her.”

Prosecutors also have cited a journal entry in which the alleged shooter blamed his parents for what he was about to do.

“I will cause the biggest school shooting in Michigan’s history. I will kill everyone I f—— see,” Ethan Crumbley allegedly wrote. “I have fully mentally lost it after years of fighting my dark side. My parents won’t listen to me about help or a therapist.”

The defense maintains there is no proof of that.

“There is no evidence that the school shooter did ask his parents to go to a doctor, nor did he ever ask,” defense attorneys argued in this week’s court filing.

“It is clear the Crumbleys were absolutely shocked parents who had no reason to foresee what would happen,” defense attorneys Shannon Smith and Mariell Lehman argued in their filing. “While the prosecution selected certain pieces of information to portray them as bad and uncaring parents, after cross examination regarding these topics, the testimony revealed there was more to each situation than the prosecution intended to present.”

The cross-examination the defense is referring to involves multiple witnesses who testified at the parents’ last hearing, including a horse farm owner who told the court that Jennifer Crumbley was afraid her son was suicidal, and didn’t want him to be alone after learning he was researching bullets on his phone at school.

The defense also cited the testimony of a police official who said that a school teacher contacted Jennifer Crumbley to let her know that her son had been looking up bullets in class.

“(But the teacher) ended the voice mail message by saying that Jennifer Crumbley did not need to call her back,” the filing states.

The next day the Crumbleys’ son was caught with alarming drawings on a math

paper, met with a school counselor and eventually his parents.

“After the meeting, the parents agreed that their son would begin counseling and he was allowed to remain at school. That afternoon, when the Crumbleys heard there was an active shooter at Oxford High School, James Crumbley drove home and found the Sig Sauer gun was missing along with some of the ammunition.

“He called 911 to report the missing gun and ammunition,” the filing states.

The filing also noted that Jennifer Crumbley drove from work to Oxford that day, “believing that her son may have the gun at school after learning that it was missing from the home and “was afraid her son may kill himself as she texted him “don’t do it.”

The defense lawyers conceded in their filing that the father did buy a Sig Sauger handgun on Nov. 26 — four days before the massacre — and that the mother took her son to the shooting range the following day.

But they had no idea he would carry out a mass shooting, the defense maintains.

“Despite the devastating actions of their son, and the incredible losses he

caused for the victims’ families, friends, and community, Mr. and Mrs. Crumbley are not criminally liable,” lawyers for the Crumbleys argued in the filing.

“The events of November 30, 2021 are undoubtedly the most tragic days the community, the victims, their family and friends, have ever seen. This case clearly involves a young man who was not on any person’s radar to be a threat to himself or any other person,” lawyers for the Crumbleys argued in a filing this week. “This includes not only his parents’ radar, but also among staff at his high school, and the other individuals who testified (at the preliminary) exam.”

The filing continued:

“The testimony showed that everyone involved was shocked and surprised, including Mr. and Mrs. Crumbley. There was no evidence admitted to show that the shooter had made himself a known threat to his parents or otherwise. The worst case scenario that Mrs. Crumbley believed was that (her son) could be suicidal, and she was taking that possibility seriously, particularly after the school counselor was concerned about suicidal ideation,” defense lawyers argued.

Ethan Crumbley remains jailed on no bond in the Oakland County Jail, where he is being held on four first-degree murder and terrorism charges. Through his attorney, the suspect has pleaded not guilty and is planning an insanity defense.

The Crumbleys are due back in court April 19 for a pretrial hearing where their lawyers will argue for a lower bond.

TWO MORE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES FOR MICHIGAN GOVERNOR FILE PETITION SIGNATURES

DETROIT NEWS — Ralph Rebandt, a pastor from Oakland County, and Michael Brown, a Michigan State Police captain from Stevensville, filed petition signatures Tuesday in hopes of getting on the August primary ballot as Republican candidates for governor.

Rebandt and Brown became the third and fourth GOP gubernatorial hopefuls to submit their petitions, a key achievement for their campaigns, a week before the April 19 deadline.

Other candidates, including former Detroit police Chief James Craig and conservative commentator Tudor Dixon of Norton Shores, are expected to submit their paperwork in the coming days. It remains unclear how many of the 12 Republicans currently seeking the GOP nomination to challenge Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in November will make the ballot.

“I am just confident (about) where my campaign is going,” Brown said, standing outside the Michigan Department of State office in downtown Lansing. “I do think there are some real struggles out there with other campaigns.”

It takes 15,000 valid signatures to get on the GOP primary ballot. The petitions will be examined by state employees and, likely, other campaigns. By May 31, the Board of State Canvassers must complete a canvass of the petitions.

Brown said he submitted 21,800 signatures and was “100%” confident he had met the threshold. His campaign is focused on prosperity and safety for Michigan residents, he said.

“We need an accomplished leader to lead this party into the future,” Brown said. “That’s what my campaign is about.”

Known as “Captain Mike,” he’s served 34 years in the Michigan State Police, currently running the agency’s Southwest District.

Rebandt’s campaign said it submitted 16,300 signatures on Tuesday but plans to file more signatures before the April 19 deadline. He served as the pastor of Oakland Hills Community Church for 35 years. It has a congregation of about 250 people.

Rebandt said he wants to “make Michigan a lighthouse to the nation.”

“We want to bring back sanity to our state by promoting truth, transparency and accountability,” he said.

Rebandt’s campaign has sponsored billboards that are currently posted in what he described as “strategic” areas of Michigan. One of them is a memo to Whitmer and Democratic President Joe Biden.

“Dear Gretchen and Joe, don’t worry about the roads anymore because we can’t afford to drive,” Rebandt said of the billboard’s message.

Garrett Soldano, a chiropractor by trade who became a political activist challenging Whitmer’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, was the first GOP gubernatorial candidate to submit petition signatures for 2022 on Jan. 19. He filed just over 20,000 signatures, according to state records.

Michael Markey, a financial adviser and self-described “moderate,” turned in nearly 22,000 signatures on March 18.

UTILITY UNION: DTE BLOCKING PROGRESS ON CONTRACT FOR NEW MEMBERS

DETROIT NEWS — The Utility Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO says DTE Energy is blocking progress on negotiating a first contract with a small unit of members that organized last year.

The union’s general counsel, David Radtke, contends DTE is elongating the negotiating process by only agreeing to two of about 50 proposals presented outside of wages and other economics. The two sides have met eight times since December, according to the union.

The negotiations are for 27 members of Local 223 who are wind and engineering technicians who are not covered by a contract with about 3,500 other DTE employees; that six-year agreement was reached in March 2021 with Local 223, Radtke said.

DTE representatives “refuse” to agree to some of the same terms reached last year for the current contract, he said. He added the company will only meet virtually once a week for two hours, though a session scheduled for tomorrow is supposed to be four hours.

“We should be way further along in contract negotiations than where we are,” Radtke said. “If they really wanted to reach an agreement, it seems like we would definitely be on wages and benefits but we’re nowhere close.”

DTE, in a statement Tuesday to The Detroit News, said in part: “At all times since the company’s 27 wind and engineering technicians voted to organize, we have engaged in good faith negotiations with the union, with the goal of reaching a fair and responsible first collective bargaining agreement that addresses our mutual needs.

“We are meeting with the union again tomorrow, and we remain committed to negotiating in good faith and optimistic that, through our collective efforts, we will reach an agreement that works for the dedicated wind and engineering technicians and also for our customers.”

In a statement, UWUA President James Slevin called for DTE management to change its stance in the talks: “DTE’s disappointing and disrespectful behavior toward these 27 members since they organized last year is not what we would expect from a company we’ve had a very good working relationship with for almost 80 years.”

DAILY TROUT LIMITS IN LAKE HURON MAY BE REDUCED DUE TO OVERFISHING

BRIDGE MI — Michigan anglers caught too many lake trout and splake in northern Lake Huron last year, which could mean a reduced catch limit this season.

The state Department of Natural Resources is recommending the Natural Resource Commission reduce the daily catch limit for lake trout and splake from three to two fish because recreational anglers exceeded limits spelled out in the 2000 Great Lakes Consent Decree with state tribes.

The NRC will consider the recommendation Thursday.

The consent decree is an agreement that governs state and tribal fisheries spelled out in the 1836 Treaty of Washington, which ceded more than 13 million acres of Native American land in northern Michigan and enshrined fishing rights of the Grand Traverse Band, the Bay Mills Indian Community, the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians and the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians.

The deal gives tribes 88 percent of the lake trout population in northern Lake Huron and 12 percent to non-tribal anglers. The ratio is reversed on the southern end of the lake: tribes get 5 percent of the trout, while state-licensed anglers get 95 percent.

The deal calls for penalties if either party overfishes — and last year, state anglers exceeded their quota by 21 percent in northern Lake Huron, reeling in 68,518 lake trout, above the 56,782 limit.

That’s partly because declining salmon populations are driving more anglers to target trout, experts said.

“The lake trout is available year-round for the charter fishing industry,” said Eric Andersen, former president of the Michigan Charter Boat Association and current member of the Lake Huron Citizen Fisher Advisory Council.

“You’re taking people out on a charter and the people want to catch fish. They don’t have to catch salmon, they just want to catch fish, so you target lake trout.”

Tom Corenflo, the biological services director for the Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority, said tribes have not received the state’s plan to reduce its lake trout catch in northern Lake Huron but they should be able to review it by the end of April.

The consent decree expired in August 2020 but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed negotiations. The state and tribes are currently negotiating the terms and limits of a new agreement.

Randy Claramunt, the DNR Lake Huron basin coordinator, said the consent decree is meant to set quotas that try to promote a balanced fishery. When the consent decree was established, Claramunt said the lake trout allocation was set at a low amount because the salmon fishery was strong.

Generally, anglers prefer to fish salmon over lake trout because they’re tastier.

“Every few years, we go over our lake trout harvest in the northern region because salmon aren’t readily available,” Claramunt said.

Claramunt said state anglers also exceeded the consent decree’s northern Lake Huron’s lake trout limit by 28 percent in 2018. After triggering the penalty, the NRC reduced the catch limit from three to two in 2019 and met its harvest limit requirements.

When the consent decree’s catch limit was met, the NRC increased the lake trout catch limit in Lake Huron back to three per day. Claramunt said the DNR didn’t recommend keeping the daily limit to two because anglers’ effort wasn’t as high as it is today.

“The effort was gradually declining but then when COVID hit, it jumped back up,” Claramunt said. “A lot of people saw outdoor recreation as a healthy choice during the pandemic.”

According to the DNR, monthly closures are also ineffective unless they happen during the peak angling seasons, which severely reduces angler opportunities.

Moreso, the DNR believes seasonally differing regulations for a fishery can complicate enforcement efforts.

Another option the NRC has to ensure the consent decree’s requirements are met is reducing the lake trout and splake bag limits from three to one fish.

The DNR does not prefer this option because such a change would severely limit the opportunity of state recreational fishers. Claramunt said angler effort is already likely to decrease because of high gas prices, which is needed to fuel boats.

“A one fish limit is pretty excessive and is almost essentially viewed by a lot of our anglers as shutting down the fishery,” Claramunt said.

The Lake Huron Citizen Fishery Advisory Council also does not want the commission to reduce the lake trout and splake catch limit from three to one but does support a reduction to two fish per day.

“The charter captains could lose some of that revenue or customers because it isn’t worth them going out on a big lake for so little fish,” said Andersen of the charter boat group.

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER | HOSPITALIZATIONS UP A HAIR, STILL FAR BELOW MID-JANUARY PEAK

BRIDGE MI — The number of patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 rose Monday to 511, the first time above 500 since March 28.

Patient volumes have fallen since the omicron wave peaked in mid-January at just over 5,000, but there has been a small increase since hitting a recent low of 473 on April 1, according to data released Monday by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Michigan is reporting case, death and testing data only on Wednesdays. It is continuing to release hospital data three days a week.

Federal hospital data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which measures daily admissions for COVID-19 among other indicators, shows a slight rise in the average of daily COVID-19 admissions. Over the past week, the state’s hospitals are admitting an average of 84 new patients a day with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, up from the mid-70s at the beginning of April.

In mid-January, the average was over 600 a day, according to the CDC data analyzed by Bridge Michigan.

Testing compiled by the CDC shows that the percentage of positive coronavirus tests has remained flat, averaging 4.3 percent of all tests, nearly identical to the 4.2 percent of the week before.

WAYNE COUNTY, DETROIT POLICE SEND USED BULLETPROOF VESTS TO UKRAINE

DETROIT NEWS — Detroit police and Wayne County Sheriff’s Office officials announced Monday they’re donating used bulletproof vests to help Ukraine in its war with Russia, joining similar efforts by law enforcement agencies nationwide.

Ukrainian authorities have accused Russian troops of committing war crimes against thousands of civilians during the conflict, which entered its 47th day Monday. Wayne County Sheriff Raphael Washington and Detroit Police Chief James White said the reports of atrocities prompted them to try to help.

“We sit here in the United States, and we’re watching the mass killings that are going on,” Washington said during a press conference at his office’s Detroit headquarters. “So we came up with an idea to try to get the vests we’re no longer using over to the Ukrainian people to help save lives while they defend their area.”

The two agencies are sending about 160 vests to Ukraine, with hopes to send more, White said.

“That’s what we signed up for in this business — to save lives,” White said. “Any opportunity we can take to save someone’s life, whether it’s in the city streets, the county streets or anywhere, that’s what we do.”

The donated vests from both agencies were “just laying around,” Washington said, and were past their expiration dates. Normally, expired vests are recycled and sold back to other agencies, he said.

White said the vests’ expiration date means the manufacturer won’t guarantee they will stop the types of rounds they were made to withstand, but he also insisted they provide protection beyond the listed dates.

“There’s a date stamp on (the vests), but by all means, something is better than nothing,” said Wayne County Sheriff’s Lt. Matthew Gloster. Washington added: “The vests still work. It’s not like they stop working after the expiration date.”

Washington and White declined to list the monetary value of the donation, although new vests used by most officers in both agencies cost between $400 and $600 each, while vests with more protection, used by special response teams, cost $1,000 to $1,200 each, White said.

The agencies sent both types of vests to Ukraine, officials said. “We hope to send more vests in the future,” White said.

In recent weeks, law enforcement and elected officials across the United States have announced similar donations. Last week, the governors of Ohio, Nebraska and Iowa announced they’re sending military-grade helmets and vests to Ukraine.

INDIGENOUS GROUP WANTS JUSTICE AFTER ‘TRAUMATIZING’ RAID AT DETROIT PARK

DETROIT FREE PRESS — A fire crackled softly in a small clearing in the woods of Rouge Park Monday morning. Jefferson Ballew IV, Sonja Ballew and Antonio Cosme stirred a boiling pot of maple sap over the flames.

Beads of sweat rolled down their faces from the nearly 70-degree weather and their proximity to the fire.

When the maple substance reached the perfect temperature and most of the water evaporated, they poured it out and used wooden paddles to stir it until it transformed into sugar.

‘It’s magic,” Ballew IV said.

On Feb. 18, Detroit police officers shut down an Indigenous sugarbush ceremony and threatened arrest at that same clearing in Rouge Park. Videos that circulated online after the event show officers saying, “The sovereign stuff is not valid.”

Cosme, education coordinator with the National Wildlife Federation, said he remembered officers mocking them.

“‘Oh, you have tribal law, how’s that working out for you?’ You know, kind of in a sarcastic way. Another officer responded, ‘Those laws don’t matter here, this is the United States.”‘

Now, the ACLU and Detroit Indigenous Peoples Alliance are calling on the police department to engage in restorative justice.

“We’re primarily concerned about the fact that what happened did not need to happen,” said Mark Fancher, ACLU attorney, at a news conference Monday. “It happened because of ignorance and cultural arrogance, a presumption that because a community chooses to worship the creator in a way that may differ from the ways in which police officers might understand worship, or may differ from their particular faith traditions, that somehow it is less valid, it is somehow less legitimate and somehow not protected by the law.”

Fancher said the ACLU is asking the officers who shut down the ceremony to acknowledge the harm they caused, accept responsibility for that harm and make sure it doesn’t happen again. If the police are worried about a potential safety hazard, they could have pulled an organizer off to the side to discuss it rather than shut the whole event down, he said.

“This entire thing could have gone down a very different way,” Fancher said. “If the officers, for whatever reason, had been concerned about the presence of a fire in this area, once they approached … had they known the importance of it to the community, then their decision probably would not have been, let’s go in and stage a SWAT-type raid and disrupt everything.” Detroit police spokesperson Rudy Harper said the department reached out to set up a meeting, but Sugarbush Project members asked for time to heal.

“The officers did nothing wrong,” Harper said. “The ceremony organizers did not have proper permits from the city.”

In a Feb. 21 statement, police chief James White said the police officers only broke up the event because they saw a bonfire in the middle of a public park without a permit, and it was not “directed as a means to break up a sacred cultural ceremony.”

White apologized for the “interruption” and said he is working with elected officials and community members to “learn and grow from this situation.”

The Sugarbush Project has been operating in Detroit for three years, with the goal of literally and figuratively tapping into the tradition of making maple syrup and passing on other ecological knowledge. Since its inception, project organizers have worked closely with the city and say they have a memorandum of understanding from the city.

On Feb. 18, their memorandum had just expired and they were in the process of renewing it. Cosme said they also filed a permit with the fire department, but it was filed incorrectly due to a clerical error.

Detroit Deputy Fire Commissioner Dave Fornell told the Free Press in February that while the group applied for a permit, they never completed the application and therefore did not have a valid permit. That permit was less consequential, Cosme said — the fire department was not dispatched to their ceremony.

Cosme said he tried to tell the police they were allowed to be there but said the officers were not interested in talking and gave them two minutes to shut the ceremony down.

Alexis Chingman-Tijerina, a leader at the Detroit Indigenous Peoples Alliance, said the raid was “traumatizing,” but it won’t stop them from continuing to practice their sacred traditions.

“Our ceremonies, the necessary work of harvesting, processing and sharing our resources, like maple sugar, are sacred and constitute the foundation of Anishinaabe culture,” she said. “Consent for Indigenous ceremonies and activities does not come from city government, but from the creator and from nature herself. These are not just leisure activities, this is who we are.”

Chingman-Tijerina said Indigenous peoples have suffered a long history of “broken promises, violated treaties and religious persecution.”

The Detroit Indigenous People’s Alliance has a list of demands to prevent such incidents and promote healing, she said. They include for the city to honor all treaties affecting Indigenous rights, recognize and aid the Sugarbush Project, and ensure that police who transgressed apologize and be reprimanded.

JURY: TWO NOT GUILTY OF WHITMER KIDNAPPING; MISTRIAL FOR OTHER TWO

BRIDGE MI — Jurors on Friday acquitted two men accused of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and told a judge they were unable to reach a verdict on charges against two others charged in the alleged conspiracy.

The jury of six men and six women in Grand Rapids found Daniel Harris, 24, of Lake Orion and Brandon Caserta, 33, of Canton Township not guilty of the felony conspiracy charges that were punishable by up to life in prison.

But U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker declared a mistrial in charges against the alleged ringleaders — Adam Fox, 38, of Wyoming, Michigan, and Barry Croft, 46, of Delaware — after jurors said they couldn’t reach a verdict. Federal prosecutors said they intend to retry Fox and Croft, whom the Detroit News reported remain jailed.

The acquittal of the two men followed a nearly four-week trial during which government informants and undercover agents played starring roles.

But those same men may have been crucial to the acquittals, said Detroit defense attorney Mike Rataj.

“Clearly, the jurors didn’t believe the government witnesses,” said Rataj.

Rataj was the defense attorney for the federal government’s last major domestic terrorism case in Michigan: The Hutaree religious militia group near Adrian.

As with the Whitmer kidnapping, that case resulted in no convictions, as a federal judge in 2012 dismissed charges alleging seven men plotted to kill police officers to spark a revolution against the government.

The identity of Whitmer jurors is private, but all are white and many are from northern Michigan. The Detroit Free Press on Wednesday published short profiles of what is known about them, noting that at least four own guns.

During the trial, prosecutors presented hundreds of hours of recordings from informants, videos and testimony from two men who had already pleaded guilty in the case.

The government contended the men — all militia members — were fed up with Whitmer COVID-19 orders and plotted to kidnap her from her vacation home in northern Michigan and blow up a bridge to delay a police response.

But defense attorneys say the men had no intention of carrying out any plot and instead were egged on by FBI informants. The defense portrayed the men as stoners who talked tough but were incapable of executing the scheme.

The government presented evidence showing surveillance of Whitmer’s second home, but the two men who were acquitted — Harris and Caserta — did not participate it.

Caserta’s attorney Michael Hill told reporters his client never agreed to kidnap Whitmer and said the government had no proof despite hundreds of hours of secret recordings.

“When did he agree? He never did,” Hill said outside the federal courthouse Friday.

Harris was the only defendant to testify and he said he did not agree to kidnap the governor.

Fox’s attorney Chris Gibbons said after the decision he is ready to try the case again and said the acquittals of Harris and Caserta showed the “serious shortcomings” of the case.

Michael Bullotta, a former federal prosecutor now working as a defense attorney, said prosecutors had a glaring problem: There was never a date or specific plan to commit the crime.

That was an “impossibly high hurdle” for jurors, even though Jonker instructed them that a practical plan wasn’t necessary for conviction.

“The governor was not kidnapped. She was never harmed,” Bullotta said, adding, “the jury was left to guess, ‘were they really going to go through with it?”

Bullotta was one of the lead prosecutors in the corruption trial that ended with the conviction of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in 2013.

He suggested federal agents could have waited longer for more concrete evidence, like settling upon a date. But he said he understood why they were also concerned about the governor’s safety.

Following the verdict, Whitmer’s chief of staff, Anne Huls, released a statement saying that “Michiganders and Americans—especially our children—are living through the normalization of political violence.

“The plot to kidnap and kill a governor may seem like an anomaly. But we must be honest about what it really is: the result of violent, divisive rhetoric that is all too common across our country. There must be accountability and consequences for those who commit heinous crimes. Without accountability, extremists will be emboldened,” Huls said.

The alleged plot was revealed when the men were arrested in October 2020. For months there had been protests in Michigan over Whitmer’s COVID-19 policies enacted to lessen infections and reduce deaths but which angered many unhappy with restrictions on businesses and individuals.

There were several protests, including one on April 30, 2020, at which armed militia members entered the Capitol.

The case was viewed as a test of the federal government’s ability to combat what some view as an increase in right-wing extremism.

Susan Corke, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project, issued a statement saying that “justice was not served” and “actions of this kind are a direct attack on our democracy.”

MICHIGAN GAS PRICE AVERAGE BELOW $4 FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ALMOST 5 WEEKS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Some good news, especially for those with a commute: Gas prices in Michigan decreased 9 cents a gallon compared to last week, according to AAA Michigan.

Michigan drivers are paying an average of $3.95 per gallon for regular unleaded. That’s 31 cents less than this time in March, but still $1.16 more than April 2021. And the state average is below $4 for the first time in almost 5 weeks, AAA said.

Motorists are paying an average of $59 for a full 15-gallon tank of gasoline, an increase of about $8 from prices in November.

“Motorists are seeing some slight relief at the pump as Michigan gas prices fell below $4 a gallon for the first time in almost five weeks,” said Adrienne Woodland, spokesperson, AAA-The Auto Club Group said in a news release. “If crude oil prices continue to decline, it’s likely that pump prices will follow suit.”

Compared to last week, metro Detroit’s average daily gas price decreased. Metro Detroit’s current average is $3.99 per gallon. This price is 11 cents less than last week’s average, but still $1.16 more than this same time last year.

Most expensive gas price averages in Michigan:

Traverse City: $4.17
Marquette: $4.15
Ann Arbor: $4.03

Least expensive gas price averages in Michigan:

Grand Rapids: $3.87
Lansing: $3.87
Saginaw: $3.88

A search on GasBuddy.com shows two gas stations with the lowest price of $3.53 per gallon (9:15 a.m.):

Shell at 31324 10 Mile Rd. in Farmington Hills
Sam’s Club at 27300 Wixom Rd. in Novi

‘LET THE MAIN REMAIN’: FANS RALLY TO SAVE REVERED ROYAL OAK THEATER

DETROIT NEWS — A lively rally drew at least 100 people to downtown Royal Oak Saturday amid efforts to save the popular Main Art Theatre from a possible wrecking ball.

Royal Oak residents and other fans braved chilly temperatures to show their support for the venerable theater and drum up support from others.

Many carried colorful signs that read “Let the Main remain,” and “Exposure to Art is Important” as the Detroit Party Marching Band kept the spirits high, prompting passersby to honk their horns in a show of support.

“We have to do everything possible to keep this theater preserved,” Jason Krzysiak, president of the Friends of the Main Art organization, told the crowd. “We love this theater. We love the memories.”

The popular 81-year-old theater at 11 Mile and Main may be replaced by offices, retail and residences. A proposal by A.F. Jonna for a five-story, multi-use development at the Main Art site will go before the city Planning Department for consideration on Tuesday.

Friends of the Main Art, formed in June, wants to lease and manage the Art Deco-inspired movie house through a nonprofit, community-based business model, Krzysiak said.

“We want to run it,” said Krzysiak Saturday. “We should be running it.”

Demolishing the theater would be “detrimental” to the city, said Krzysiak. “(Building condominiums on the property) does not provide improvement to the city, it does not enhance the surviving properties and it doesn’t foster walkability.”

The Main Art Theatre had a huge draw as a boutique-type movie house offering art films and independent cinema as well as cult films shown on Friday and Saturday nights before it closed last summer. Prior to the early 90s, the theater showed commercial and other conventional-type movies and films.

After going dark for the last summer, the marquee read: “Landlord kicked us out. It’s been a fun ride. … RIP 1941-2021.”

Krzysiak said while the owners of the theater are asking $5 million, the Friends of the Main Art would like to lease the theater to keep it standing.

Krzysiak said his group has asked Democratic U.S. Rep. Andy Levin to help look for federal grants and other funding if the Friends of the Main Art are successful in getting the theater’s owners to go along with a leasing plan.

“There’s a win-win solution here,” said Krzysiak Saturday. “Beyond the historic and cultural significance, and we think it is significant, there would be an economic impact (of a demolition) which is going to be detrimental to the city of Royal Oak.”

Levin attended Saturday’s rally and made brief remarks pledging his support for the group, saying, “I want to play a helpful role in keeping art in downtown Royal Oak.”

“I love this place,” Levin told the protesters.

Jessica Bultman, who watched movies such as the popular documentary “Bowling for Columbine” at the theater while she was in high school, said the theater “has a special place in my heart, (and) I want to see this place thrive.”

Nancy Greenia, a Royal Oak resident, said she was a longtime patron of the theater. “We need a variety of arts and entertainment,” Greenia said.

Royal Oak resident Reynold Sutake said tearing down the theater would not only destroy a historic building but be “another victory for the big money crowd” that finances more modern, commercialized theaters.

The Royal Oak City Planning Department is scheduled to discuss the future of the Main Art Theatre at 7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.

Friends of the Main Art is encouraging Royal Oak residents to email the city’s planning commission and urge members to not approve demolition of the theater.

Krzysiak said a lawsuit to stop demolition would be the “worst-case scenario.”

IT’S EARLY, IT’S COLD, BUT OPENING DAY HAS ARRIVED AND SO HAVE FANS

DETROIT NEWS — Opening Day in Detroit dawned with overcast skies and the threat of rain.

But the day held the promise of a near-typical start to a baseball season after two years of pandemic-related changes, and then a lockout during this off-season that at times looked like it would significantly push back the start. Instead, after a week’s delay, baseball is back.

Vendors were out early preparing for crowds expected hours before the game’s 1:05 p.m. start. Temperatures were just about 40 degrees; not baseball weather, exactly, but pretty much the norm for Detroit Opening Days in early April.

In the distance, music is playing as generators run and smoke is coming from grills being fired up. Traffic on Woodward is light.

8:30 a.m.: Getting the grill going

For Casey Poirier, of Clyde, Mich., tailgating at the Tigers’ first game is a tradition. So is wearing the suit festooned with the baseball team’s logos. He said his sister made it for him and he’s worn it every Opening Day that he can remember.

Before 8:30 a.m., he was cutting up green peppers on a makeshift counter on a pickup truck bed gate to grill along with some brats and kielbasa.

Nearby the group he was with were lounging in chairs under a collapsible canopy. Poirier said there were heaters running under the tent to take the chill off.

“This is what it’s all about,” he said. “And hopefully we’ll get a Tigers win.”

7:30 a.m.: The early birds

With baseball mitts in hand, Jacob Burger and Warren Wisniewski, both 19 and from Allen Park, milled about at the main entrance of Comerica Park, waiting to get in early and perhaps score a few autographs.

“For me, this is the start of summer and the start of baseball in Detroit,” Wisniewski said.

He said this is the first time he’s come down to the ballpark for Opening Day. Burger is an old hand, this being the second year he’s had tickets to the season’s first game of the year at the stadium on Woodward.

“And I come to just about every Tigers home game,” Burger said.

Both said they’re looking forward to the season and think the home team has a shot at making the playoffs this year.

“If Riley Green and (Spencer) Torkelson step up, we’ll be good,” Wisniewski said.

MACOMB COMMUNITIES VOTE TO WITHHOLD HIGHLAND PARK PORTION OF WATER BILLS

DETROIT NEWS – Several Macomb County communities voted this week to withhold the Highland Park portion of their city’s water bills from the Great Lakes Water Authority.

Macomb Township, St. Clair Shores and Sterling Heights joined the communities across southeast Michigan pushing back at having to make contributions toward a $54 million tab the water authority said Highland Park owes, dating to 2012.

Macomb Township said it would withhold “water and sewer costs attributable to Highland Park’s non-payment, and place those funds in escrow while a just settlement of this matter is pursued,” according to a township resolution.

The payments will cease at the start of the fiscal year 2023 on July 1.

Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor urged Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to mediate a settlement.

“She’s passing the buck, but the buck stops with her,” Taylor said. “The state created this problem.”

After a century of water independence, the state shut down Highland Park’s water plant in November 2012 due to issues with cloudy water. Highland Park was hooked up to Great Lakes Water Authority on an “emergency” basis and remains so a decade later.

Those costs have been passed onto other communities served by the water authority, and in the last decade, Macomb County communities have contributed $13.5 million toward the arrearage. If those payments continued another year, that would jump to $15 million.

To date, Macomb Township had paid in $1.43 million and is slated to contribute nearly $178,000 in fiscal year 2023. Macomb Township has about 92,000 residents, according to the 2020 U.S. Census.

To date, St. Clair Shores, population 59,000, has paid in about $1.5 million since 2012 and would pay in another $165,000 in 2023.

Mayor Kip Walby of St. Clair Shores said he was at a gathering recently with about 15 people. Three of them asked about Highland Park, he said.

“It’s upsetting to them,” Walby said. “The bills are already high.”

Whether it’s a judge or the state, Walby said, “we need someone that’s a third party to mediate the situation and come to some type of resolution. That’s what I haven’t seen.”

John Caron, city councilman and mayor pro tem of St. Clair Shores, said the issue drew public attention when the Great Lakes Water Authority sent letters to each community, listing their contribution to the debt so far, and how much they would contribute in 2023.

“To see what each community is paying, to cover what Highland Park is not paying, really brings the issue to the forefront,” Caron said. “It’s caused communities to take action.”

Caron believes the matter will end with a “court injunction requiring Highland Park to pay part of what they owe.”

“Just not paying is not acceptable,” Caron said.

Non-payment will beget non-payment, leaders said.

“The payments will stop,” said Taylor of Sterling Heights, whose community has paid in about $2.7 million to the Highland Park debt, with about $345,000 on deck in 2023.

Taylor predicted that “dozens” of communities would pass similar resolutions to withhold the Highland Park-related funds.

“Ultimately, this is going to affect us,” Taylor admitted. “But it will also apply pressure on the Great Lakes Water Authority to get the state involved.”

Highland Park sees the matter differently.

It sees its decade-long relationship with the water authority as a marriage neither side wanted. It says it has been overcharged for water and tried in the court of public opinion, even after winning in the court of law.

Highland Park cites a 2021 Wayne County Circuit Court ruling that “subsumed” any debts under a $1 million judgment over Detroit.

In an April 1 letter to Great Lakes Water Authority leadership, Highland Park Water Director Damon Garrett wrote that “Highland Park is dismayed by GLWA’s unregulated authoritarian strategy to characterize it as the scapegoat to cover its justification for rate increases to support their bloated organization.”

Garrett continued: “The city is disgusted by the impact of GLWA’s frivolous lawsuits, blatant disregard for contracts and the utmost disrespect that they have for their own settlement agreements.”

Great Lakes Water Authority, meanwhile, said Highland Park has paid 1% of its water bill and 50% of its sewer bills since 2012, but nothing since April 2021. Highland Park says the recent non-payments are invoices for past overcharges.

Litigation is ongoing.

Communities have grown restless about paying bills for service they didn’t use.

Macomb Township Supervisor Frank Viviano penned a March 23 letter to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, urging her involvement.

“By any measure, this is an unfair burden to place on the residents of Macomb Township,” Viviano wrote.

“The state of Michigan bears some responsibility for the circumstances that led to this dispute,” Viviano wrote. He added that “a higher authority has the ability to step in and become a part of the solution.”

So far Whitmer has been reluctant to do so.

In multiple statements to The Detroit News on the Highland Park-GLWA debt dispute, the governor’s office has “encouraged” the sides to work things out, but has not indicated a willingness to get involved further or cover the arrearage, as some communities are asking.

“The likely result of the path we are all on will be costly and time-consuming litigation,” Viviano wrote to Whitmer.

At a March 30 press conference, Viviano joined the leaders of Shelby Township, St. Clair Shores and Sterling Heights in announcing plans to withhold the funds.

Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel called the press conference, alongside Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller.

“Enough is enough,” Hackel said.

Macomb County communities have joined their counterparts in Downriver and western Wayne County in withholding the funds.

Oakland County shares in its neighbors’ frustration, but has been unwilling to withhold funds, believing this would starve the system of resources.

As Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner Jim Nash told The News: “It’s not like we can take the water back from Highland Park. It just means that there’s less money to spend on operations and maintenance and capital projects.”

Great Lakes Water Authority Interim CEO Suzanne Coffey has said she does not see the withholding scheme as a mutiny but as a way of raising awareness and urging state involvement.

“I wish it didn’t have to be quite so controversial,” Coffey said in an appearance Sunday on WDIV-TV’s Flashpoint, “but the reality is raising awareness is going to help us to get the problem solved.”

TIM ROBINSON, STAR OF ‘DETROITERS,’ IS SHOOTING TV PILOT FOR HBO MAX IN FERNDALE

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Tim Robinson of “Detroiters” is again showing his hometown loyalty by bringing his latest project in suburban Detroit this week.

Some Ferndale residents were notified by letter of plans to shoot scenes at a home in their neighborhood on Thursday, Friday and Monday (April 7, 8 and 11) for a TV pilot called “Computer School.”

Written and executive-produced by Robinson and Zach Kanin, two of the co-creators of “Detroiters,” the potential HBO Max series is about a recent high school graduate and his uncle (played by Robinson) who are classmates in a computer class in a Motor City suburb.

Word spread Thursday that a large shoot was happening near Ferndale’s Geary Park. In the letter explaining the filming, a location manager for “Computer School” wrote that no disruptions were anticipated to the daily routines of those living in the neighborhood.

“Our goal is to make this a positive experience for everyone involved,” the letter stated.

This is the second TV project that Robinson, who grew up in Clarkston, has done since “Detroiters” was canceled by Comedy Central after its second season in 2018.

Robinson had a critically-acclaimed hit in 2019 with “I Think You Should Leave.” a sketch comedy series for Netflix that he also co-created with Kanin. Its second season arrived in 2021.

Although “Detroiters” had a short run on cable TV, it has continued to draw viewers through streaming. Set in Detroit and filmed in and around the city, it chronicled the antic efforts of two best friends, played by Robinson and co-creator Sam Richardson (real-life pals who originally met through Detroit’s improv comedy scene), to keep their small advertising agency afloat. Among its best-known fans is Questlove, drummer for the Roots and Oscar-winning filmmaker for “Summer of Soul,” who has made his hopes for a “Detroiters” revival clear on Twitter.

Questlove tweeted in March, “I’m willing the return of Detroiters back on the air.”

24 HOURS OF DELIBERATIONS, STILL NO VERDICT IN WHITMER KIDNAPPING CASE

BRIDGE MI — Jurors weighing the case of four men accused of plotting to kidnap Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer entered their 24th hour of deliberations on Wednesday without reaching a verdict.

The jury of six men and six women deliberated for eight hours on the third straight day in Grand Rapids.

So far, they have asked U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker for the definition of “weapon,” to review transcripts of witness testimonies, and, on Wednesday morning, for office supplies like Post-it notes and paper clips.

Adam Fox of Wyoming, Michigan, Daniel Harris of Lake Orion, Brandon Caserta of Canton Township and Barry Croft from Delaware face up to life in prison if convicted on kidnapping and weapon of mass destruction charges.

Trial veterans who spoke to Bridge Michigan said the length of the deliberations means jurors are taking their job seriously.

“They’re certainly back there working,” said Michael Rajat, a Detroit attorney who persuaded a judge to dismiss charges in the 2010 Hutaree case over allegations that religious extremists tried to kill a police officer.

“Generally speaking, the longer the jury is out, not always, but more times than not, it’s in the benefit of the defense. That said, every jury is different, we can’t paint them with a broad brush. We’ll have to wait and see, no one can possibly guess as to what’s going on back there.”

Marquette County Prosecutor Matt Wiese told Bridge on Tuesday it’s not unusual in a complex case for a jury to be out for an extended period of time.

“What that tells me is that the jury is doing their due diligence and making sure they cover all the charges by analyzing and evaluating all the evidence that came in during the trial,” Wiese said.

The deliberations follow a nearly four-week trial in which prosecutors contended the men trained for weeks to kidnap the Democratic governor in 2020 and blow up a bridge to slow police response.

The government presented hundreds of hours of recordings from informants, videos and testimony from two plotters who have already pleaded guilty to kidnapping charges.

Prosecutors contend the men were involved in the militia movement and hoped to start a “second civil war,” going so far as to make explosives and surveil the governor’s vacation home in northern Michigan.

“Physical violence,” Fox said in a video played during opening arguments. “That is the only way we’re going to win our rights back and take back what is ours.”

Defense attorneys contend the men never engaged in a specific plot and were egged on by FBI informants with credibility problems.

Lawyers say the defendants were frustrated with COVID-19 policies, smoked a lot of marijuana and engaged in tough talk that posed no real threat.

“This was stoned, crazy talk and not a plan,” Joshua Blanchard, an attorney for Croft, told jurors last month.

The identity of jurors is private, but all are white and many are from northern Michigan. The Detroit Free Press on Wednesday published short profiles of what is known about them, noting that at least four own guns.

WHITMER ASKS STATE SUPREME COURT TO STRIKE DOWN MICHIGAN’S 91-YEAR-OLD ABORTION BAN

DETROIT FREE PRESS — With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to overrule or weaken Roe v. Wade before its current term ends, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is asking the Michigan Supreme Court to rule that a 1931 law criminalizing abortion violates the state constitution.

If the state supreme court rules in Whitmer’s favor, abortion would remain legal regardless of how the U.S. Supreme Court rules.

There are 2.2 million women of childbearing age in Michigan, Whitmer told the Free Press on Wednesday, and those women deserve to know that their rights will be protected.

“A woman must be able to make her own health care decisions, with the advice of a health care professional that she trusts. A politician shouldn’t be making these decisions for her,” Whitmer said in an exclusive interview. “And, frankly, if we fail to act, and abortion becomes illegal in our state for virtually any reason — including cases of rape and incest — we will have one of the most extreme laws in the country. It’s critical that we push forward.”

Michigan’s 1931 abortion law has never been repealed. But Michigan Supreme Court justices ruled that the law was unenforceable in 1973 after the U.S. Supreme Court found that state bans on abortion violated the U.S. Constitution.

The federal Supreme Court’s conservative majority is widely expected to abandon or eviscerate that landmark ruling in a case brought after the State of Mississippi enacted a law barring abortion after 15 weeks. If the high court rules that Mississippi’s ban on most abortions is constitutional, performing or undergoing an abortion in Michigan may once again become a felony.

State Attorney General Dana Nessel has said she will not prosecute physicians for providing abortions or women for seeking them. But all three of the Republican candidates vying to replace her this fall are opposed to abortion, and abortion providers across Michigan say they’ll close shop if the high court overturns Roe. County prosecutors can also bring charges, and the stakes are too high.

Whitmer’s suit, filed Thursday in Oakland County Circuit court, asks the Michigan Supreme Court to declare the 1931 law contrary to the state constitution and enjoin prosecutors in the Michigan counties that have abortion clinics from enforcing the law.

The argument that Michigan’s ban violates the state constitution is similar to the one abortion rights advocates made to the U.S. Supreme Court — namely that all state bans violate the federal Constitution’s guarantees of due process and privacy.

But unlike the federal Constitution, Michigan’s state constitution protects a right to bodily integrity, which could allow Whitmer’s lawyers to make a stronger argument before the state Supreme Court.

“There are two fundamental arguments here — around due process, privacy and bodily autonomy, and under the equal protection clause,” Whitmer told the Free Press. The 1931 law, she said, is “based on paternalistic justifications that have made Michigan women second-class citizens.”

The governor says the looming threat to Roe, in conjunction with other court rulings that have limited access to abortion, means there is sufficient uncertainty about exactly how abortion law is implemented in Michigan for the state Supreme Court to rule.

Whitmer said a state Supreme Court ruling that Michigan’s constitution precludes an abortion ban, would give prosecutors, providers and patients the clarity they need.

Whitmer, who is running for reelection this year, has campaigned mostly on what she calls dinner-table issues like repairing the roads or improving schools.

But she said abortion enjoys the same broad support.

“It is polarizing in some camps. But this is overwhelmingly supported by the majority of people in Michigan” — seven in 10, Whitmer said, referencing a recent poll — “and regardless of how we personally feel about abortion, a woman’s health, not politics should drive important medical decisions. … With the dynamics on the Supreme Court, this is not a remote possibility. It’s become very clear that this is highly likely to happen. We have been investigating and strategizing about how we protect this right for women in Michigan,” Whitmer said.

The governor has asked the Legislature to pass a law protecting Michigan women’s right to choose, but in a briefing with reporters Wednesday, she conceded the GOP-controlled body is unlikely to act.

“We’re using every tool available — and this is a unique set of tools — to protect women, and protect our our constitutional right to bodily autonomy, to make our own determination and protect our economic freedoms, as well,” she said.

Whitmer lawsuit invokes a little-known gubernatorial power, called “executive message,” to ask the Michigan Supreme Court to take up her case directly, circumventing the trial court and the state Court of Appeals, and to expedite a ruling.

The governor has noted that child-bearing entails economic challenges. She said many women who terminate a pregnancy already have children, and fear they can’t provide for a growing family.

“I think it’s important that we’re very honest in this conversation. Proponents who claim that they’re focused on on something else, it’s very clear that the conversation is all about controlling women’s bodies,” she said. “When you look at this antiquated law that is on our books, it was written 91 years ago, it was paternalistic in nature, intended to keep women at home, to take women’s ability to make their own choices away.

“This is a really heavy moment, one that women (of a previous generation) never imagined that we would be here, fighting so hard to just protect our rights as full American citizens.”

OPENING DAY: CHILLY, YES, BUT WILL RAIN DELAY THE GAME?

DETROIT NEWS — A wet Opening Day appears likely for the Tigers and their fans Friday, and it won’t be very warm.

Scattered to numerous rain showers are expected in the afternoon, according to Bryan Tilly, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in White Lake Township, with a low pressure system moving through lower Michigan and bringing “unsettled weather.”

Game time conditions

Rain is mainly expected after 2 p.m., about an hour after the Tigers and the Chicago White Sox are slated to hit the field at Comerica Park.

“It’s not going to be the whole time, it’s just going to be off and on,” said Tilly. “… With a 70% chance (of rain), it looks like there’ll at least be a couple of occasions where there’s rain falling at the stadium.”

With cooler temperatures and a high of 48, a mix of snow and snow pellets is also possible at times, he added.

“Hopefully, there’ll be breaks,” said Tilly. “… And then it’ll be up to the crew there at the stadium to determine if they can play in it or not.”

A chilly tradition

Early April in Detroit often means unpredictable weather for Opening Day. Last year, snow showers persisted during a significant portion of the game. 2020 saw a delayed start to the season due to the pandemic, so Opening Day in July was warmer, though no fans were allowed in the stands to enjoy it. It was chilly but dry in 2019. And 2018’s home opener was delayed a day due to rain, only for it to start snowing during the rescheduled opener.

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER | COVID HOSPITALIZATIONS RISE FOR FIRST TIME SINCE JANUARY

BRIDGE MI — The number of hospitalized patients in Michigan with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 rose Monday for the first time since mid-January, with 497 now being treated statewide.

It’s a small increase of 24 since Friday but represents the first increase since the state reported a far higher number — 4,918 patients — during a virus surge on Jan. 14.

Increases in hospitalizations were reported Monday in six of the state’s eight “emergency preparedness” regions, though the rise in two of the regions (northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula) were by a single patient each.

Patient counts in Southwest Michigan increased from 66 to 77, in central Michigan from 32 to 42, in east-central Michigan (which includes the Thumb and Lake Huron shoreline) from from 34 to 41 and western Michigan from 40 to 46.

Combined, the two regions in metro Detroit fell by 12, from 265 to 253 COVID-19 patients.

Overall, the rate of new COVID-19 infections have remained low for over a week, though the percentage of recorded coronavirus tests coming back positive has risen in the past two weeks.

More COVID information from the state will be available Wednesday when the latest data comes out. Just this week, Michigan switched from thrice weekly postings of COVID cases, deaths and testing to releasing the data only once a week. That data will now come out on Wednesdays.

In other COVID news, Michiganders on Medicare Part B, which covers medical costs, can now get up to eight free at-home COVID tests each month at participating pharmacies, including Michigan’s 260 Rite Aid locations and participating CVS, Walgreens, Kroger and Costco pharmacies.

Beneficiaries should bring their Medicare card. The free tests add to the ongoing effort by the Biden administration to make testing easily available as a way to track and stop the spread of COVID-19.

Michiganders also can still receive free at-home COVID tests at 70 Michigan libraries. Testing remains free at sites throughout the state as well.

GLWA MAKES POWER SWITCH AT TWO DETROIT PUMP STATIONS BEFORE SPRING STORMS

DETROIT NEWS — Two pump stations on Detroit’s east side are now using power supplied by DTE Energy, after spotty service from Detroit’s Public Lighting Department contributed to flooding in the area after a storm last June, Great Lakes Water Authority officials announced Tuesday.

Both the Freud and Blue Hill pump stations are now using power from the region’s largest electric utility. Two others on Detroit’s west side will be switched to DTE this spring, possibly by July, said Navid Mehram, chief operating officer of the Great Lakes Water Authority, a regional organization that handles water and sewer services for 88 communities.

GLWA Interim CEO Suzanne Coffey also showed off three new transformers at the Tuesday press conference at the Freud Pump Station.

“What this does is to make sure that we have good reliable power to pump as much as we can,” Coffey said. “I would tell you the limitation in the system is the pipes. This is why it’s such a big problem.”

Wayne County experienced widespread flooding after a June 24 storm last year, from Detroit and the Grosse Pointes on the east side to Dearborn and the west side of Detroit. Homeowners who were flooded have sued the GLWA. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency.

Mehram explained that the transformers power the pumps inside the station. During the June 2021 storm, unreliable power “limited the pumps that were available to us,” he said.

Each of the three transformers can support three pumps or a total of nine pumps; there are eight pumps inside Freud, meaning there is more power capacity than pumps available.

“During the conversion effort, GLWA did tests on all of our electrical equipment that support the pumps and through that all the testing turned out good,” Mehram said. “It showed that all of our equipment are functioning well and ready for the spring storm.”

In addition to the three transformers at Freud, two at Blue Hill Pump Station are now on DTE Energy. Power quality monitoring has been installed at Freud, Blue Hill and Conner Creek pump stations, allowing the system to monitor in real time the strength of the electrical connection powering those facilities, authority officials said.

Coffey said the system’s design hasn’t changed from last year. It can still process about 1.7 inches of water in an hour.

“But what more commonly occurs is rain over the course of a day,” Coffey said.

The system can process about 3.3 inches of rain in 24 hours, she added.

“When you see us notify communities or people about the fact that we’re concerned about rain, it’s because we’re seeing a forecast that is more than, say, 3.5 inches in a day,” Coffey said.

The addition of DTE service and the transformers will help the system reach that capacity, rather than fall short of it, she said.

Coffey said GLWA’s final report on what led to the widespread flooding after last year’s storm is expected later this month.

3 WAYNE COUNTY BRIDGES TO BE REPLACED AS PART OF MICHIGAN REPAIR PROGRAM: WHERE THEY ARE

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Seventy-eight locally owned bridges are being repaired, replaced or removed as part of the state transportation department’s new bridge bundling program intended to save money and improve conditions.

The work began last month and is expected to continue through the end of the 2024 construction season.

Three bridges in Wayne County are part of the project: Miller Road, Rotunda Drive and Streicher Road. All will be replaced.

Locally owned bridges belong to places like counties and cities rather than the state. Find bridge repairs near you here.

Federal regulations require inspections at least once every two years of all bridges longer than 20 feet on public roads, and more frequently for seriously deteriorating bridges. Among the 1,029 state- and locally owned bridges in Wayne County, 38% are in good condition, 50% are fair and 12% are rated in poor shape. Michigan ranks ninth among states for its percentage (11%) of bridges in poor condition, according to U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration data. Nationwide, about 7% of bridges are in poor condition.

“We are addressing poor bridges as best we can,” said Matt Chynoweth, director of MDOT’s bridge program. “But we have fewer bridges in good condition and a large backlog of bridges in fair condition that could be one or two inspection cycles away from transitioning to poor.”

WEST BLOOMFIELD SCHOOL DISTRICT NAMES NEW SUPERINTENDENT

DETROIT NEWS — The West Bloomfield School District Board of Education voted unanimously Monday to hire Dania Bazzi as the district’s next superintendent.

Bazzi is superintendent of Ferndale Public Schools and was named superintendent of the year by the Michigan Association of Superintendents and Administrators in 2022. She was one of three candidates the West Bloomfield school board interviewed to replace Superintendent Gerald Hill, who is retiring.

“I am extremely excited and humbled to join the West Bloomfield family,” Bazzi said. “I am eager to work alongside the strong community of educators within the District. Thank you to President Brickman, the Board of Education, and the community for believing in me.”

Bazzi’s start date is July 1, but she will attend a West Bloomfield strategic planning meeting this month, the district said in a news release.

Bazzi has a doctorate in philosophy, curriculum and instruction as well as an educational specialist degree in curriculum and instruction from Wayne State University. She has a master’s degree in teaching, mathematics and social studies from the University of Michigan, according to biographical information released by the district.

U-M, MSU THRIVE WHILE MICHIGAN REGIONAL UNIVERSITIES SCRAMBLE FOR STUDENTS

BRIDGE MI — For Michigan public universities, state demographic trends have been a ticking time bomb: Fewer students are graduating from high school each year, and a smaller percentage of those who do are heading to college.

But the pain is not universal.

Enrollment at 12 of the state’s 15 public universities is down nearly 46,000 students, collectively, since 2012. But at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Michigan State University, student enrollment has grown over that period — by 7,000 students at U-M and over 700 at MSU. It’s also up 62 students at Michigan Tech. The result is, effectively, a tale of two university systems — impressive growth at the state’s two flagship schools, U-M and MSU, along with Tech, with regional schools competing in a zero-sum competition for a shrinking pool of students.

Add a pandemic and students and families more skeptical of higher education in general, and suddenly Michigan’s universities — which operate independently — find themselves in a tighter, more competitive market.

This is not Michigan’s problem alone. Since 2015, enrollment in public four-year schools has dropped 8 percent nationally among those 24 years old or younger.

MSU’s Director of Marketing and Communications in the Office of Admissions Julia Janssen acknowledged “the competition is a lot more fierce between colleges” as universities shift from a “growth economy into the market share economy.”

Officials at three regional universities that suffered sharp declines — Central Michigan University, Eastern Michigan University and Ferris State University — cited the broadening pool of first-year admissions at MSU as a factor in their own enrollment downturns.

“Frankly, for a lot of students, a big school like MSU can be very tantalizing,” said Kristen Salomonson, dean of enrollment services at Ferris State, where enrollment is down 29 percent and 4,100 students since 2012.

CMU (down 43 percent) and EMU (down 35 percent) told Bridge Michigan that MSU is their biggest competitor.

Kevin Kucera, EMU’s vice president for enrollment management, said the school prides itself on undergraduate research opportunities and small faculty-to-student ratios. But that’s not always enough.

“I think that matters to a lot of families,” he told Bridge. “And for some students, that doesn’t matter. And they want to go to a football game at a packed stadium and they want a chance to go to a Rose Bowl and that’s cool. I mean, I get it. We are not going to appeal to everybody and no regional university will appeal to everybody.”

The rich get richer

U-M and MSU have cast wider nets and accepted more first-year applicants since 2012. And they’ve done so with no apparent drop in academic achievement in the students accepted.

MSU and U-M received over 37,600 additional applications in 2020 compared to 2012 and granted admission to more students each year. Yet, average ACT scores for students enrolled at MSU have stayed the same, and U-M’s have actually increased. The two schools now enroll 29 percent of all in-state students headed to a Michigan public university, up from just under 26 percent in 2015.

In contrast, at Central Michigan, financial aid averaged $7,843 in 2020. That’s up 29 percent from $6,066 in 2015.

Compounding the problem for the smaller schools are lower levels of state funding for higher education. Michigan ranks 47th in the nation in per-student funding of higher education.

There has also been an uptick in Michigan high schoolers going out of state for college. In 2020, nearly 6,100 students chose an out-of-state school, which amounted to nearly 12 percent of those attending a four-year school. That’s up from 5,700 in 2015, when they accounted for nearly 9 percent of all four-year students.

So what’s the strategy for regional schools?

At Ferris, administrators are selling the message that college can be affordable for less-affluent families by expanding scholarships. For example, the school’s “Bulldog Bonus” lets students earn up to $2,000 in scholarship funds if they are admitted, attend a financial aid workshop and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form.

The number of state high school students seeking federal financial aid has been sluggish. In Michigan, 40.9 percent of Michigan high school seniors had completed the FAFSA as of March 25. That’s down from 42.5 percent at the same time last year.

At EMU, Kucera said the school tries to sell students in these metro Detroit counties by plugging the potential to save money on housing by commuting to EMU in Ypsilanti.

EMU is investing in paying for bus transportation so prospective students can visit campus. Enrollment data shows EMU has had a bit of success in attracting more incoming first-year students from Detroit — 99 students in 2021, up from an average of 77 students from 2016-2018.

Kucera said EMU is proud of its student diversity and wants to ensure that the current population, with a significant minority of students needing financial aid, gets enough support to complete their degree. In 2020, 38 percent of EMU students were eligible for a federal Pell Grant for lower-income students, compared to 19.3 percent at U-M.

A state with independent players

In Michigan, each of the 15 public universities is autonomous, making its own decisions — a level of independence enshrined in the state constitution.

MSU and U-M can make decisions to boost enrollment — increasing financial aid, admitting more students — independently. For better or worse, that means they often find themselves competing against each other for students.

In many other states, such as North Carolina, California and New York, there are integrated university systems or over-arching governing boards.

States with more unified systems are unlikely to control admission standards, said Frimpomaa Ampaw, department chair of advanced studies in leadership policy at Morgan State University in Maryland.

Yet, a centralized approach can help stabilize enrollment “because the programs are not necessarily duplicated across all the institutions.”

“Most systems control the new programs that are made and so every school is able to sort of specialize in something versus every school doing everything to everybody,” Ampaw said.

Pscholka, the former Republican legislator, said lawmakers often talked about changing the system, perhaps with an eye at consolidating some universities.

But the constitutional dimensions of that independence make it unlikely to change anytime soon. Legislators have learned that “the hardest thing to kill is the school mascot,” Pscholka said. “I think politically it would be very difficult.”

DETROIT TIGERS OPENING DAY 2022: YOUR GUIDE TO WEATHER, PARKING, RESTRICTIONS, MORE

DETROIT FREE PRESS — While this year’s Detroit Tigers Opening Day isn’t technically the team’s first since 2019, for fans it may as well be.

2020’s game, postponed amid the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, was ultimately held in July with no fans in the stands. In 2021, a limited number of spectators were permitted into the stadium for the team’s home opener, but festivities were tamed by spiking cases and a vaccination effort still in its infancy.

Friday’s event (which also almost didn’t happen) marks an apparent return to “normal”: Comerica Park will allow full stadium capacity and will not require masking; parties, tailgates and barbecues will again fill the city’s streets and bars.

Planning to head downtown for the return of Detroit’s favorite unofficial holiday? Here’s everything you need to know.

When is Tigers Opening Day?

When: 1:10 p.m. Friday April 8.

Where: Comerica Park, Detroit.

TV/radio: Bally Sports, WXYT-FM (97.1; other radio affiliates).

Starting pitchers: Tigers LHP Eduardo Rodríguez (9-3, 3.61 ERA last year) vs. White Sox RHP Lucas Giolito (11-9, 3.53 ERA).

Opening Day weather forecast

Veterans of Detroit’s past Opening Day games will be unsurprised to learn that Friday’s forecast calls for a coat and an umbrella.

A high temperature of 47 degrees is predicted, with cloudy skies throughout the day and possibly a light shower in the afternoon, according to the AccuWeather forecast. Chance of rain is at 55%.

Detroit traffic information

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Plan to get to downtown Detroit early. In addition to Opening Day, Friday is part of the regular work week, meaning the roads won’t be packed just with fans but with daily commuters as well.

Gates at Comerica Park will open 90 minutes prior to the game. The park’s surrounding streets — including Brush, Montcalm, Witherell and Adams — will be closed off for pedestrian use only.

Looking to avoid driving altogether? Information about other transportation options, including Detroit’s SMART and DDOT bus systems, can be found here.

Opening Day parking pointers

Lots in District Detroit open two hours prior to the game, and parking is allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Spots can also be reserved ahead of time via Comerica Park’s ParkWhiz app portal.

Parking nearest to the park runs a cool $47 per spot; but for those willing to walk a few blocks, prices range from $17 to $22.

Fans will have to park nearly a mile from the stadium in order to pay less than $10 for a reserved spot, but don’t forget: The QLine is offering free rides for the rest of the year.

Comerica Park policy changes

Bag policy: With exceptions for diaper and medical bags, Comerica Park now prohibits visitors from bringing bags, purses and clutches into the park. Each attendee may bring a single-compartment wallet no larger than 5″ x 7″ x 1.5″.
No coolers or outside food/drink: The park now prohibits guests from bringing coolers as well as outside food or drinks, with the exception of one factory-sealed water bottle per person, and sealed drink boxes for children.
COVID-19: While Comerica Park does not currently employ any masking or vaccination requirements, the venue asks fans to stay home if they feel sick, seek a COVID-19 test prior to attendance, and to respect social distancing within the stadium. A complete health and safety handbook is available here.
Cashless payment only: Comerica Park is now a cashless venue, meaning food, drinks, merchandise and other on-site amenities can only be purchased with a credit or debit card. For those who arrive without cashless payment methods, Comerica park has installed three Cash2Card kiosks, which instantly transfer cash currency onto a temporary Visa card. The kiosks are located in concourse sections 121, 138 and 328.

New food at Comerica Park

Comerica Park has announced several new food options arriving at concession stands this season. Here are the most notable:

Pasties: the traditional, flaky Polish pastries will be available with a variety of fillings, ranging from classic combinations like potato with cheese and sausage with sauerkraut, to more inventive options like brisket mac ‘n cheese and Coney dog.
Fresh Italian sausage: grilled and topped with marinara, peppers and onions.
Milk ‘n cookies: a large chocolate chip cookie served with a half pint of local Guernsey Farms milk.
The Notorious P.I.G.: served on an onion roll, this sandwich features smoked pulled pork, macaroni and cheese, onion straws, pickled jalapeño and a drizzle of barbecue sauce.
Fat Rooster chicken sandwich: spicy fried chicken, homemade pickles, slaw and honey mayonnaise on a Hawaiian-style roll.
Impossible Burger: the famed plant-based burger patty is topped with lettuce, tomato and onion.
Gyro nacho: gyro meat, romaine lettuce, chopped tomato, onions and creamy tzatziki sauce on top of crispy pita chips.
Beer braised brat: grilled and simmered in beer and butter, then topped with sauerkraut and served on a pretzel bun.

Other Comerica Park updates

Gift for first 10,000 guests: Throughout the season, Comerica Park will offer a free gift to the first 10,000 fans to arrive on select game nights. On Opening Day, early birds can snag a 2022 season schedule magnet.
New & improved Chevrolet Pavilion: Located in left field, the pavilion has been updated with a new, field-facing bar and fresh Atwater Brewery branding.

Things to do in Detroit

It’ll be hard to move around downtown Detroit without bumping into a party or two on Friday.

The Opening Day Block Party, hosted by The Annex nightclub and Brass Rail restaurant, is one of the biggest bashes making a comeback this year. Starting at 9 a.m. Friday, attendees can enjoy live beats by more than a dozen of the city’s best DJs, along with VIP bottle service, a full food menu and plenty of projector screens for keeping tabs on the game. Tickets start at $20.

The Music Hall will host the Grand Slam Opening Day Festival in its outdoor amphitheater, which will be furnished with heated tents to keep fans warm and dry. The event features live DJs, games, food trucks and more. Ticket prices range from $10 to $30.

Of course, you also can check in on your favorite bars, restaurants and venues on social media to see if they have anything planned for Opening Day — or to at least find their hours of operation that day.

MACKINAC BRIDGE REOPENS AFTER CLOSURE FOR HAZARDOUS ICE

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The journey is finally clear for drivers traveling between Michigan’s peninsulas. The Mackinac Bridge has reopened after falling ice forced its closure for several hours Sunday, according to the Mackinac Bridge Authority.

Plows on the bridge worked to shake the ice loose as large slabs were coming off the towers, some as long as 7 feet, according to Mackinac Bridge Authority posts on Twitter.

Falling ice has plagued the bridge recently causing intermittent closures during the past week.

“Each winter, ice forms on the cables and towers of the Mackinac Bridge, usually from freezing rain,” Dan Weingarten, communications representative for the Michigan Department of Transportation said during a closure last week. “When winds increase or temperatures rise, that ice can dislodge suddenly, sending sheets or spears of ice cascading down to the bridge deck below. Ice can drop more than 300 feet before hitting the bridge deck and the pieces are sometimes large enough to damage vehicles or cause injuries.”

3,600 CANCELED FLIGHTS BEDEVIL TRAVELERS; 1 ROYAL OAK FAMILY TOOK LONG WAY HOME

DETROIT NEWS — The news from Spirit Airlines during his planned return trip to Michigan from Florida over the weekend wasn’t what Jake Neher and his family were expecting.

The senior editor for Detroit Today on WDET was supposed to be flying home from Orlando on Friday, but after delays, the flight was canceled and they couldn’t get a another one until as early as Tuesday, he told The Detroit News on Sunday night. And that was simply unacceptable, he said, traveling with two children.

He wasn’t alone.

Airlines canceled more than 3,600 U.S. flights over the weekend and delayed thousands more, citing weather in Florida and other issues.

FlightAware, a website that tracks flights, noted major disruptions at several Florida airports, including in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa and Orlando, as well as Baltimore, New York and other airports around the country. JetBlue, Southwest, Alaska Airlines, Frontier, Spirit and American Airlines were most affected.

JetBlue and Spirit canceled one-third of Sunday’s scheduled flights. Local news reported storms in Florida on Saturday. Several airlines said Sunday that operations are returning to normal.

Neher rented a car for his family to drive back, and, given high gas prices and a hotel stay plus the cost of meals, he estimated the trip cost $1,000, with $500 for the car rental alone, he said.

Plus, his now-7-year-old’s birthday happened during the trip back to Michigan on Saturday.

“When we asked, all they said is that it was the weather,” said Neher, 34, of Royal Oak, adding that he spoke to others who rented cars to drive back. Renting a car “seemed like that was the only option if we wanted to get back in time to go to work and school on Monday.”

Spirit not only didn’t have alternative flights but didn’t help with finding another airline to fly on or offer to pay for a hotel for them, he said. They were reimbursed for the canceled flight, he said.

An email seeking comment from Spirit was not immediately returned Sunday night.

“It was frustrating. I’ve got two small kids, what are we going to do,” Neher said. “We didn’t know where we were going to stay that night. How are any of us going to afford any of this.”

NEW HOMES DEMAND IS HIGH IN MICHIGAN. SO ARE BUILDER COSTS — AND PRICES

BRIDGE MI — The home building industry in Michigan is entering the second quarter of 2021 expecting the spring to launch a wave of buyer demand, due in part to the record low numbers of existing homes listed for sale.

However, builders and their suppliers — after already navigating a pandemic and shortages of everything from plywood boards to labor — also say that volatility in their industry hasn’t ended. They’re facing still more pricing pressures, hiring shortages and market uncertainty, even as they brace for what they say should be a busy season.

The combination is just “weird,” said Darian Neubecker, vice president at Robertson Brothers Homes in Bloomfield Hills. “There’s no other way to say it.”

As a result, average costs are climbing along with prices, ranging from 15 to 20 percent, Neubecker told Bridge Michigan.

That means a new home that recently sold for $200,000 is now about $240,000.

“We’ve never been in a market like this,” Neubecker said. “… It’s a challenge to build a house and deliver it (to a buyer).”

Increases from all sides

Residential construction is still waiting for its full rebound in Michigan, where the pace of new home building is about one-third of its peak in 2004, when permits were issued for 44,450 single-family houses. The number plummeted to 6,344 in 2009 amid the Great Recession, and has hovered between 15,000 and 16,000 new homes since 2016.

The state’s builders tout as good news that the pandemic didn’t derail construction in 2020, and how — a year later — it reached a four-year high, even amid product shortages.

Yet even after weathering that uncertainty, Michigan’s builders now look ahead and wonder, what’s next?

Many now are expecting to build more houses this year, but know that it will look different. For one, it will take months longer to reach the point where a buyer can move in.

Larger companies, like the publicly held M/I Homes, which is based in Columbus, Ohio, and sells in 16 states, will lock in prices with suppliers so that when a contract with a customer is signed, it doesn’t change. Sable, too, is able to pre-buy materials to lock in a price, Bitely said.

One way builders have fought supply shortages is to work with suppliers on limiting selections to streamline manufacturing and shipping. Instead of 20 faucet options in a kitchen or bath package, a buyer may find five.

Adding predictability to the supply chain allows a builder to better plan construction capacity, Schwanke said, while controlling costs.

Some say the price swings seem to be stabilizing, but prices of items that are used for building remain much higher than before the pandemic, Schwanke said. Before any spring increase, lumber is up 178 percent from January 2020, and engineered lumber — like what’s used in plywood — is up more than 60 percent over that time.

“It doesn’t matter what you’re buying, it’s up,” he said. “And it’s up substantially.”

The National Association of Home Builders continues to urge the federal government to ease tariffs on wood products coming from Canada. It says lumber price fluctuations caused home prices to increase $18,600 since August, in part because the U.S. increased tariffs to 17.99 percent in the fall, up from 8.99 percent.

Also impacting all areas of home costs, builders said, is the worker shortage among suppliers and building companies. It’s been a years-long problem in the building trades in Michigan, but it’s getting worse, said Michael Stoskopf, CEO of the Home Builders Association of Southeastern Michigan, as early retirements and demand for skilled workers increases.

Changing affordability

In some ways, “this should be the golden age of building for the next 10 years,” said Neubecker of Robertson Brothers.

Incomes are increasing, Neubecker said, and unemployment is low. Demographic trends show that demand for housing should increase, and the price of existing homes continues to climb as fewer listings create competition. In Michigan, the average home price jumped 13 percent by the end of February, when compared to a year earlier, reaching $238,518.

Estimates from the National Association of Realtors say the U.S. is short at least 5 million homes. Michigan’s population grew just 2 percent from 2010 to 2020 — the second-slowest rate in the nation — but the number of new households doubled, as more adults chose to live with fewer people. That household formation rate is projected to grow another 3.7 percent by 2030, according to the Urban Institute.

As prices climb, many people are still willing to pay for building products, either for new construction or remodels, said Matt Gillis, manager of Bernard Building Center in Hale, located west of Oscoda in a lakes region of northeast Michigan.

“People with money don’t shy away from the costs,” Gillis said. “I’m still seeing a lot of people buying. There are too many people still looking for houses.”

Bernard Building Center is bidding on 13 new home projects, Gillis said. Buyers are waiting for contractors, who he said are “extremely busy.”

“I don’t see new home sales slowing down any time soon,” he said.

Builders still worry, since with the Federal Reserve trying to stem inflation, interest rates are rising. The 30-year mortgage interest rates reached a national average of 4.89 percent on Thursday, up from about 4.5 percent a week earlier.

As interest rates climb, buyers who need mortgages face paying more every month. Neubecker said rates remain low compared to a decade ago, but builders also recognize a 1 percentage point increase can make a difference to some buyers.

In that $200,000 home example, it would have cost $956 per month or a bit less on a 30-year mortgage if it had been taken out a few weeks ago. But now that its price climbed to $240,000 due to increased costs and interest rates went up this week, that same home would cost $1,248 per month.

The effect on demand is one thing. So is affordability in communities.

“At some point, and we don’t know what that is yet, the consumer can’t afford to buy, even if they want to,” Bitely said. “When that happens our business is going to start to slow down.”

STILL WAITING ON $400 AUTO INSURANCE REFUND? HERE’S WHAT DRIVERS SHOULD KNOW

DETROIT NEWS — Michigan drivers who have not yet received their $400 per vehicle insurance refund should hold tight about another month while insurers get those checks in the mail, state officials said.

Insurers, which were transferred about $3 billion in early March to disburse refunds, have until May 9 to complete the distribution of refunds to Michigan drivers, according to the state.

The Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association transferred the about $3 billion total to insurers March 7 and insurance companies are required to distribute the money via $400 refunds per vehicle through check or direct deposit. The distribution includes about 7.5 million policyholders.

Insurers were asked to distribute the refunds “as soon as they can, but no later than May 9,” said Michigan Insurance and Financial Services Director Anita Fox.

“Depending on the processes they have to put in place, it may take some insurers longer than others,” Fox said.

The Insurance Alliance of Michigan would not say how many of its members had distributed the refunds Thursday but said the companies were “working diligently” to get the money out.

“The great news is that insured drivers don’t have to lift a finger to receive their refund,” said Erin McDonough, executive director for the Insurance Alliance of Michigan. “If anyone tries to contact a driver asking for personal information related to their refund – it’s a scam.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called on the MCCA to issue refund checks and distribute its $5 billion surplus in November. The association, which levies assessments to cover claims for people injured in catastrophic car crashes, found it could return about $3 billion in surplus to policyholders through individual refunds.

The association’s surplus grew from $2.4 billion in late 2020 to $5 billion as of June 30, in part due to the 2019 no-fault auto insurance reforms and higher-than-expected returns.

The 2019 no-fault auto insurance reform has been under scrutiny for months because of provisions that took effect in July that made significant cuts to the fee a medical care provider could be reimbursed by insurance companies for providing care for individuals who were catastrophically injured.

The cuts have led some medical providers to close their doors or stop taking auto accident survivors, forcing some of those victims out of their homes and into facilities or hospitals.

Who is eligible for the refund?

The refund will be distributed by insurance companies to clients who had a car insured with the company as of Oct. 31, 2021. Most individuals — including those with motorcycles or RVs — will receive the full $400 refund while those with an insured historic vehicle will receive $80.

Individuals who were “garaging” vehicles as of Oct. 31, 2021, without policies on the car will not receive a refund.

“It only applies to those who were paying the premiums to drive their vehicles on Michigan roads,” Fox said.

How will the refund be sent?

The money is expected to be distributed to drivers through paper checks that will be mailed or direct deposited into accounts.

What if the refund doesn’t arrive?

Check to make sure the refund wasn’t direct deposit into an account. If not, individuals who don’t receive their refund by May 9 should contact their insurance company or call the state at (833) ASK-DIFS.

“DIFS stands ready to answer questions or help resolve any concerns that Michiganders may have regarding their refunds,” Fox said in early

Should I give out personal information if called?

Fox and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel have warned against giving out personal information over the phone to callers who may purport to be processing a refund. She said there have been reports of scammers attempting to take advantage of those awaiting their refunds.

“People should never give out their personal information over the phone from an unsolicited call,” Fox said in early March.

DETROIT SPORTS COMMISSION TO CELEBRATE 2024 NFL DRAFT SELECTION WITH A PARTY APRIL 14

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The Detroit Sports Commission is throwing a football-themed party on April 14 at Campus Martius Park to celebrate Detroit being selected as the host of the 2024 NFL draft.

Starting at 4:30 p.m., the community event will feature music by Official Lions GameDay DJ Ray Ya Dig, fun activities, food trucks, swag giveaways and appearances by Lion Legends, cheerleaders and Detroit Lions mascot Roary.

Charles Davis, an NFL on CBS analyst, will emcee the event, which will feature the unveiling of a “custom interactive display representing Detroit that will have a permanent home in the city where fans can gather to celebrate the historic announcement,” according to a statement released by the Detroit Sports Commission.

The 2024 NFL draft is a three-day event that will bring entertainment for local football fans and a number of out-of-town visitors to the area.

“The NFL’s decision to select Detroit as the host city for the 2024 NFL draft is a huge win for our city and its residents and is a testament to the revitalization and synergy that is happening,” Detroit Sports Commission executive director Dave Beachnau said in a statement. “We look forward to celebrating this momentous announcement with the community and the Lions organization.”

FORD RECALLS 737K VEHICLES TO FIX OIL LEAKS, TRAILER BRAKES

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Ford is issuing two recalls covering over 737,000 vehicles to fix oil leaks and trailer braking systems that won’t work.

The oil leak recall includes the 2020 through 2022 Ford Escape SUV and the 2021 and 2022 Bronco Sport SUV with 1.5-Liter engines. A housing can crack and oil can leak onto engine parts, which can create a fire hazard.

Dealers will replace the housing if needed. Owners will be notified starting April 18.

The trailer braking recall includes F-150 pickups from 2021 and 2022, as well as the 2022 F-250, 350, 450 and 550. Also covered are the 2022 Maverick pickup, and Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs.

A software error can stop trailers from braking, increasing the risk of a crash.

Dealers will update brake control software. Owners will be notified starting April 18.

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER | NEW CASES REMAIN STEADY BUT POSITIVE TEST RATE RISES

BRIDGE MI — Michigan public health officials reported 1,550 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, or a daily average of 775 for Tuesday and Wednesday.

That put the seven-day rate at 626 daily cases, unchanged from Monday.

However, the percent of recorded coronavirus tests coming back positive inched up on Wednesday, to 4.6 percent over the most recent two days. That increased the weekly rate to 3.7 percent, up from 3.4 percent on Monday.

A lower percentage indicates less community transmission of the disease.

The state also reported 72 additional COVID-19 deaths.

The increase in the percent of positive tests comes as the state has discovered more cases linked to the omicron BA.2 subvariant, considered more transmissible than the initial variant of omicron that hit the state in December, January and February.

As of Monday, 217 cases of the BA.2 subvariant have been confirmed in Michigan, according to state data provided to Bridge Michigan. About 63 percent of them, 137 in all, were confirmed in metro Detroit’s Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw counties.

Health experts are unsure whether BA.2 could spark another surge. Where it’s most prevalent, in New York and New England, case counts have started to rise but remain relatively low. It has been blamed for sharper increases in several European and Asian countries.

Hospital admissions, now considered a more important barometer of whether restrictions should be adopted, continue to fall. Michigan reported 478 patients statewide with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, the first time below 500 since July 30, when there were 407 COVID-19 patients.

On Jan. 10 there were 5,009 statewide, the most ever during the pandemic.

Michigan officials also announced Wednesday that anyone, including those returning from a spring break vacation, can find free at-home COVID tests at 70 Michigan libraries. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has shipped 24,000 test kits to the libraries, to be offered on a first-come, first-served basis under the expanded program. (Find library locations here.)

Michiganders are asked to limit them to five per household. Testing remains free at sites throughout the state as well.

MACOMB COUNTY JOINS GLWA MUTINY OVER DISPUTED HIGHLAND PARK DEBT

DETROIT NEWS — Several communities in two of Michigan’s largest counties have pledged to withhold a portion of their water bills to the regional water authority as they protest their subsidies of disputed Highland Park water-related debt.

Four Macomb County communities — Sterling Heights, St. Clair Shores, Shelby Township and Macomb Township — on Wednesday joined a growing chorus of cities in western Wayne County voicing opposition to paying off $54 million in Highland Park arrearage to the Great Lakes Water Authority.

Macomb County leaders encouraged their counterparts in other communities to do the same. To date, Macomb County communities have paid $13.5 million connected to the Highland Park debt.

“Enough is enough,” said Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel at a 45-minute Wednesday press conference.

The alleged debt in question stretches back to 2012, when Highland Park was forced to join the Detroit water system after years of environmental violations at its water plant.

Great Lakes Water Authority says Highland Park has paid only 1% of its water bill and 50% of its sewer bill over that time. Highland Park, meanwhile, says it was overcharged for years and cites a 2021 Wayne County Circuit Court ruling that says it does not owe money but is owed $1 million from Detroit.

Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller viewed that case differently. “Highland Park, you are taking advantage of your neighbors, enabled by the courts,” Miller said Wednesday.

Great Lakes Water Authority, which didn’t respond for comment Wednesday, has said it needs the funds to operate, and that bad debt has to be spread among its remaining customers.

Frustration grows in Metro Detroit

Communities in Oakland County also have voiced frustration with the Highland Park debt but have not decided to withhold funds.

“We really need the state to step in,” Oakland County Water Commissioner Jim Nash said this week. “It’s something that we just need to take care of, and they’re (Highland Park) not in any more of a position to do it than we are. The state ordered it. We need to have the state respond to this, in my mind.”

Karen Mondora, director of public services for Farmington Hills, said the city is on the hook for $31,000 of the disputed debt in fiscal year 2023, which begins July 1. It has paid nearly $285,000 to date.

Brian Baker represents Macomb County on the GLWA board. It was his idea to send the letters from GLWA to its member communities, announcing how much each had paid toward retiring the alleged Highland Park debt and asking for the state’s help resolving the issue. Baker estimated the Highland Park arrearage costs Macomb County homeowners $75 to $100 per year.

Highland Park has argued that water independence is its path forward. Between the cost of replacing old lead water lines and refurbishing its old plant, it would cost anywhere from $90 million to $100 million, Highland Park Water Director Damon Garrett has said.

Miller, the public works commissioner, questioned that plan.

“That building needs to be bulldozed. It can’t be fixed,” Miller said of the Highland Park water plant, which was decommissioned in 2012 due to cloudy water. “It doesn’t make sense.”

Highland Park City Administrator Cathy Square has argued that what doesn’t make sense is remaining a GLWA customer. Not only did Highland Park have water independence for decades, prior to 2012, it had water rights to Lake St. Clair, Square noted.

“It is not cost-effective to stay on GLWA water,” Square said.

Highland Park’s defense

The committee also heard Highland Park’s side from the city’s water Director Damon Garrett.

Highland Park was overcharged for years, Garrett said, to the tune of roughly $13 million. He cited the 2021 Wayne County Circuit Court ruling in favor of the city.

GLWA maintains that Highland Park stopped making payments in April 2021. Garrett portrayed the non-payment differently, as a reaction to past overpayment.

A GLWA representative was not present at Tuesday’s committee meeting.

“We are escrowing that because we believe that we were overcharged,” Garrett said. “So we are invoicing them monthly that the payments should go against what we overpaid, the $13 million.”

HIGH WINDS ACROSS MICHIGAN KNOCK OUT POWER TO ABOUT 78,000 HOMES

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The number of homes without power throughout Michigan steadily grew Thursday morning, with high winds gusting up to 50 mph., and a wind advisory in effect until 2 p.m.

By 9 a.m., two of the state’s largest utilities reported about 78,000 customers had lost electricity, with a potential for many more outages before the high winds were expected to die down.

The rapidly escalating number of outages raises fears of a repeat from last summer, when utilities were criticized for their response to power outages that left hundreds of thousands in the dark for days.

In those outages, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel urged DTE Energy and Consumers Energy to credit customers with lost power.

And in addition to the high winds, the National Weather Service in White Lake Township said Thursday to expect a wide temperature swing from the mid 60s and rain in Detroit, down to freezing and snow, especially close to the Ohio border.

By about 7 a.m. Thursday, DTE was reporting more than 17,000 customers throughout Southeast Michigan without power — less than 1% of its total customers — with more than 50 crews in the field working on repairs.

Within less than an hour, that number jumped to nearly 20,000 customers, and then by 9 a.m., more than doubled to about 54,000 customers.

Consumers Energy said it had more than 14,000 customers without power, which became 24,000.

Both utilities urged customers to report power outages so crews could be dispatched to repair damage and to stay clear of downed lines.

In addition, a half-full freezer usually can hold food safely for up to 24 hours.

Saturday and Sunday temperatures are expected to reach the 50s.

AS 2ND COVID VACCINE BOOSTER APPROVED, SHOULD MICHIGANDERS GET IT?

BRIDGE MI — Older Michiganders and those with certain health conditions may soon be able to get fourth doses of a COVID-19 vaccine — actually, second boosters — following authorization of the shots Tuesday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Late in the day Tuesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention backed the FDA decision. Boosters are “especially important for those 65 and older and those 50 and older with underlying medical conditions that increase their risk for severe disease from COVID-19,” CDC director Rochelle Walensky said in a prepared statement.

But while the initial vaccines in 2020 and first boosters last year were long-awaited, a fourth dose may not be as crucial for healthy people, especially while cases remain relatively low, some experts have said.

“That third shot is critical. This (fourth) one is a little extra, so in some ways, it’s a harder call” to make, said Dr. Arnold Monto, a University of Michigan epidemiologist and long-time researcher of coronaviruses.

Monto chaired the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee as it weighed safety and effectiveness of the three U.S.-authorized COVID vaccines in 2020 and 2021.

The committee was not consulted on the latest question about fourth doses, but will meet April 6 to discuss long-term questions of when boosters should be given and what variants should be included in them, Monto said.

More immediately, those at higher risk for COVID-19’s worst outcomes — people with chronic conditions, or those who work in high-risk jobs — should consider the fourth dose. Likewise, those most concerned about their vulnerability against COVID-19 will find “reassurance” against waning immunity from the first booster they likely received last fall, Monto said.

Additionally, BA.2, a version of the omicron variant, is now circulating in Michigan, a threat to what is now a relatively low case rate, Monto added.

The subvariant appears to be at least 30 percent more transmissible than its predecessor.

But even Monto, at 89 years old, won’t roll up his sleeves just yet.

“I won’t rush out and get it right now, because things are pretty good,” he said, referring to case rates in Michigan that have dropped to lows not seen since last summer. The state reported Monday just 419 cases for each of the past three days, the lowest weekly average since it was at 603 daily cases on July 31.

Rather, Monto will seek a booster in a few weeks, before traveling to Minnesota to visit his son.

“It’s about your own level of risk,” he said.

The FDA made its decision on preliminary data, but said the vaccine is safe and will boost the waning protection of earlier doses.

The FDA authorized the following:

A second booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine for individuals 50 years or older,
A second booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine for anyone 12 years and older who is immunocompromised, including those who have undergone solid organ transplantation.
A second booster dose of the Moderna vaccine for those 18 and older who are immunocompromised, including those who have undergone solid organ transplantation.

The FDA said it based its decision, at least in part, on data from the Ministry of Health of Israel. That data found no safety concerns among about 700,000 adults who received second boosters of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Separately, there were no safety concerns from another study of 120 adults who received a second Moderna booster.

And the vaccines appeared to be effective in another study, in which 274 healthcare workers at a single center in Israel received a second booster of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. After two weeks, researchers found an increase in neutralizing antibody levels against the coronavirus, including both delta and omicron variants.

Others, too, were weighing in on a fourth dose in anticipation of Tuesday’s announcement.

Because it takes two or three weeks for cases to surge and boosters kick in within days, “it’d be rational for low-risk folks to wait. I’ll probably get it now, but close call,” Dr. Bob Wachter, the chair of medicine at University of California San Francisco who writes about personal risk and COVID, tweeted over the weekend.

Vaccines in Michigan are plentiful right now, so supply isn’t an immediate concern, said Farah Jalloul, state emergency preparedness coordinator with the Michigan Pharmacists Association.

The bigger concern, she said, is that people will wait too long. She likened it to the flu season, which often takes hold in October: “A lot of people don’t think about their flu vaccine, though, until there’s three inches of snow on the ground.”

Dr. Russell Lampen also advised against trying to time the boosters.

The “best time to be vaccinated is two weeks before the next surge occurs,” said Lampen, a medical director of infection prevention at Grand Rapids-based Spectrum Health.

Trying to time a vaccine to COVID’s waves is as tricky as trying to nail stock market fluctuations — and more dangerous.

“I would be reluctant to try to game it,” he said of the vaccine, though he noted that COVID ultimately will settle into more predictable seasonal patterns.

OXFORD SHOOTING SURVIVOR DISTRIBUTION PLAN EXPANDS ELIGIBILITY FOR MORE STUDENTS, STAFF

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The finalized plan for how $2 million in donations will be distributed to the families of Oxford school shooting victims and survivors expands eligibility by increasing the designated area where applicants must have been present at the time of the shooting.

The draft protocol for distribution included the hallway where the Nov. 30 shooting occurred, two restrooms and a classroom. The final version includes all classrooms and another bathroom along the hallway, meaning that hundreds of students and staff are now eligible to receive funds.

The donation pool, which stood at $2.03 million as of Tuesday afternoon, is being managed by the National Compassion Fund. The money has been donated by individuals and some corporations.

The nonprofit facilitates donations to victims of mass crimes. Its previous campaigns include mass shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and Santa Fe High School in New Mexico.

The categories of eligibility criteria still stand at three: legal heirs of those killed, those wounded by gunfire — defined as being hit by shrapnel or bullets — and those present at the site of the shooting who are experiencing psychological trauma and seek mental health treatment by May 7. The proposed plan, released in February, had a shorter deadline for those in the final category, requiring them to have received mental health counseling by March 30.

This extension allows families and students to reflect on their mental state and gives them time to seek help if needed, said Jeff Dion, executive director of the National Compassion Fund and manager of the Oxford fund.

“One of the things we know about trauma is that most trauma will resolve on its own,” Dion said, “and the trauma that doesn’t resolve on its own — usually within about three months or so — that’s the trauma that’s most likely to benefit from some sort of mental health intervention to help alleviate symptoms with the person.”

The protocol also now includes those who provided direct assistance to gunshot victims, even outside of the designated area, or did something that prevented loss of life. Students and faculty who were in close physical proximity to the gunman and at imminent risk of death or helped a gunshot victim may be eligible to receive a higher level of payment.

The finalized plan follows a town hall meeting March 21 where parents and community members provided feedback on the draft plan to the National Compassion Fund’s Steering Committee.

“Through the town hall and the written comments we received, we got a clearer picture of what people were exposed to on that day,” Dion said, explaining why the committee decided to expand the area of eligibility. “We heard that people in those classrooms could see the shooter or couldn’t lock the door, and so there was some really horrible stuff people were exposed to.” That was the reality of Nov. 30 for Ryan Shelby’s 15-year-old daughter, who was in Room 223 and remembers making eye contact with Ethan Crumbley during the incident through her classroom door’s window. She and her classmates were in the room without a teacher and were unable to lock the door, Shelby said.

Despite this, Shelby said the process of finalizing the distribution plan has been harrowing and no amount will resolve the trauma for those in the high school that day.

“At the end of the day, these kids aren’t the same kids who walked in that building on Nov. 30,” he said. “How do you quantify trauma?”

Two of his daughters, a sophomore and a junior, were in the building during the shooting. The sophomore is eligible to receive money but the junior, who was in the choir room, is not. But both are in counseling, costing Shelby more than $500 a month.

“My daughters feel fortunate to come out of (the shooting), even guilty at times,” he said. “They’ve had to grow up really fast. Triggers are everywhere — the nightmares, loud noises. They’ll be fine one moment and then something will set them off.”

His eldest daughter decided to continue school online after weeks of trying to return to the classroom, and the youngest attends in person but finds solace in imagining what her future holds after graduation.

“The biggest thing is they no longer trust adults to keep them safe,” Shelby said. “These kids just, no matter what they’re told or how strong they are, want to go back and feel normal and safe again. And that’s the biggest struggle.”

The amount gifted to individuals will be based on how much money is collected through May 20 — when the fund is set to close for donations — and a review of all applications. Funds gifted to recipients can be used however they desire.

A portal for applications is expected to be published April 15, with a deadline of May 6, and funds are expected to begin distribution June 17.

NORTHERN LIGHTS MAY LIGHT UP MICHIGAN’S SKIES THIS WEEK

DETROIT NEWS — The northern lights may illuminate parts of Michigan on two nights this week.

Geomagnetic storms are expected from Wednesday night until Friday morning, according to the Shawn Dahl, a forecaster with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center.

A minor storm watch is in effect early Wednesday evening and a moderate watch is in effect for Thursday night, Dahl said, adding that the forecast has changed “a lot” since it was first announced early Tuesday and would likely continue to be adjusted.

The most significant event, a strong geomagnetic storm expected to take place late Wednesday evening into early Thursday morning, will be the result of charged particles hurtling toward Earth’s upper atmosphere at an estimated 522 miles per second, according to the prediction center.

The northern lights, or aurora borealis, form when those particles — electrons, not protons — collide with the upper reaches of Earth’s atmosphere, creating dancing waves of colorful light in the sky.

The eruption of particles is the result of an event called a Coronal Mass Ejection, referring to the corona, or the outermost part of the sun’s atmosphere, which produces solar wind. Two ejections occurred this week, according to the prediction center.

Starting at 8 p.m. Wednesday through 5 a.m. Thursday, the lights, which Space.com dubs the “Holy Grail” of skywatching, may be visible in portions of northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula, depending on the strength of the geomagnetic storm.

That is assuming clear skies and low light pollution, of course.

How to know where northern lights will be visible

Storm strength is indicated by an activity index that uses data from magnetic observatories around the world to measure disturbances to the planet’s magnetic fields. The index uses numbers from 0 to 9: the higher the number, the stronger the geomagnetic storm.

Combined with location data, the Kp-index can help determine how strong a storm needs to be for residents to be able to see it.

The Kp-index value in Michigan ranges from 5 in the Upper Peninsula to 7 just north of Detroit, according to See the Aurora, meaning a storm would need to be classified as “minor” to be visible in the U.P., but “strong” near Detroit.

On Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, the Kp-index for the coming storm will reach its peak, Kp6, from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m., according to the prediction center’s three-day forecast as of early Tuesday afternoon.

Here’s where the northern lights could be visible:

At Kp6, people in the U.P. as well as those north of Houghton Lake in Lower Michigan might be able to see the sky light up.
From 2-5 a.m. Thursday, Kp-index will be 5, meaning the lights may be visible in the U.P. only.

What else to know about northern lights

Northern lights work in a way similar to neon lights, according to NOAA.

In the collisions between the particles from the sun and Earth’s atmosphere, the electrons transfer their energy to the atmosphere, exciting the atoms and molecules to higher energy states. When they relax to lower energy states, they release energy in the form of light.

The Northern Lights most frequently appear in a radiant green color, but blue, yellow, pink and red are also possible, according to the Aurora Zone. The color of the lights is dictated by the gases with which the electrons collide, which vary based on altitude.

Green is the most common, because most solar particles typically collide with our atmosphere at an altitude of around 60 to 150 miles, where there are high concentrations of oxygen.

The Northern Lights are not the only product of this process. When it occurs in the Southern Hemisphere, aurora australis, or the Southern Lights, are born.

MORE BOOSTERS, BETTER GUESSES: 5 THINGS YOU STILL SHOULD KNOW ABOUT COVID

BRIDGE MI — COVID has largely receded from the headlines in the past month, replaced by the horror in Ukraine, frustration at the gas pump and a collective gasp over Sunday’s Oscar dust-up.

On Monday, the Whitmer administration announced it will pare back the frequency of its public reporting on COVID from three times a week to once a week, starting next Monday.

So is COVID over? Not yet. Here are 5 things to keep in mind.

BA.2 is still a threat

The omicron subvariant, BA.2, continues to drive up rates around Europe, and it has become prevalent in COVID cases in the state of New York — 42 percent of cases, according to news reports. It’s likely it may fuel COVID transmission here, too, but officials remain hopeful. In fact, even in New York, officials have said they don’t expect the same steep increase in cases that the first omicron variant brought.

As of Friday, just 131 Michigan cases had been confirmed as being BA.2, according to state data. That’s likely an undercount since the state doesn’t subject all virus samples to genetic testing.

Vaccines continue to appear to protect against the severest outcomes and hospitalizations, and Michigan’s deadly omicron spike in recent months likely conferred some lingering natural immunity, said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Michigan’s chief medical executive.

As in New York, Michigan cases overall remain relatively low. The state reported Monday just 419 cases for each of the past three days, the lowest weekly average since it was at 603 daily cases on July 31.

Still, early data has suggested that the variant is “inherently substantially more transmissible” — 30 percent or more — than its omicron predecessor, and that means Michigan is far from free and clear from what was at one time dubbed the “stealth” subvariant.

Another shot for older adults, and perhaps for small kids

The Biden administration is expected to make a second booster available to Americans 50 and older some time this week, the New York Times has reported.

Pfizer and Moderna — drugmakers of the two mRNA vaccines authorized in the U.S. — had asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to authorize the additional doses, noting that protection from the first booster waned over time. Experts, however, disagree about how much another shot will help, as the state’s Bagdasarian acknowledged.

“Neither the virus nor the vaccine have really been around with us for long enough for us to really look at long-term immunity,” she told Bridge Michigan on Monday.

Meanwhile, the FDA is expected to weigh in on vaccines for younger children this spring. Moderna last week asked the FDA to authorize its vaccine for children 5 and under, while Pfizer paused its request as it awaits more testing data.

The longer the wait, though, the tougher it will be to sell parents on vaccinating very young children, especially parents already on the fence about vaccinating their children against COVID, said Dr. Matthew Hornik, president of the Michigan chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Antiviral drugs, and where to get them

Meanwhile, supply chain kinks with two COVID antiviral drugs, Paxlovid and molnupiravir appear to be loosening. According to a continually updated federal listing here, 284 Michigan pharmacies carried either or both of the antiviral medications as of Monday.

Supplies varied from more than 100 of the 5-day regimen at some sites to fewer than a dozen at others. National chains Meijer, Walgreens and CVS are listed among the sites, many clustered in southeast Michigan, Lansing and Grand Rapids, but some rural counties had just one provider.

An important caveat: The antiviral drugs, which limit the virus’ ability to replicate and worsen symptoms, must be taken within five days of the onset of the infection to be effective.

“So by the time you get tested, the result goes back to your doctor, and your doctor can prescribe it — it’s not the easiest thing” to get the medication in time, said Dr. Dennis Cunningham, director of infection control and prevention at Henry Ford Health.

For that reason, some antiviral drugs have been redirected to hospitals like Henry Ford, although they are “primarily for our patients in the ER,” Cunningham said.

What’s ahead?

Even as cases dip, Cunningham and others say they worry that the warmer months will bring false reassurance and a return to last year, when COVID nearly zeroed out in Michigan, only to be reignited in the fall by the delta variant. The virus can linger especially in people who are immunocompromised, offering greater potential for the virus to mutate, he said.

Two years into the pandemic and loads of data offer far better clues to the virus’ behavior, but no guarantees, he and others said.

“We really don’t know what’s going to come down the road,” he said.

MICHIGAN STATE STILL REQUIRES MASKS IN CLASSES, LABS. HERE’S WHY.

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Local and state COVID-19 guidance prompted Michigan State University to lift its masking rules earlier this month, a school official said, but the university is still requiring students to wear masks in class.

While it lifted masking requirements nearly everywhere else on campus, MSU continues to require students and staff wear masks in classrooms, labs and shared research spaces as a continued measured focused on making students and staff feel more comfortable.

“We believe leaving the masking requirements in place at this time allow for extra peace of mind for students and employees and faculty in classes so they can focus: for faculty on teaching and students on learning,” MSU spokesperson Dan Olsen said.

Classrooms and academic labs with multiple people inside were the only exceptions to MSU President Samuel Stanley Jr.’s announcement on March 3, in which he said the campus-wide mask mandate was ending.

MSU also lifted COVID-19 vaccination requirements for people attending most events, but students, staff and faculty must be vaccinated.

The mask mandates were lifted just in time for the last men’s basketball game of the regular season against Maryland on March 6. Conversations continue around COVID-19 processes and prevention measures, but the mask mandate remains in place in academic settings, Olsen said.

Olsen said classes face continued rules in part because students are required to attend class for their own academic success and faculty must attend to do their jobs. No one is required to attend games or events at campus venues.

“That’s more of a personal decision,” Olsen said. “We thought that was another important factor.”

Some faculty, like Megan Donahue, a distinguished professor in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, support continuing masking requirements for students and staff in educational settings.

“As a faculty member, I can ask students visiting me to mask up. I think that’s good convention to adopt long term,” she said in an email. “Let’s try to keep these airborne diseases from ripping through our campus.”

Lifting the remaining mask mandates is something MSU won’t rule out, Olsen said.

In addition to masks, students, faculty and staff have been required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 unless the university granted a valid exemption.

While the school is lifting the mask mandate, Stanley said, masks remain “strongly recommended” for anyone who is not vaccinated against COVID-19 or who is otherwise medically vulnerable.0

‘MESSY’ STORM EXPECTED TO BRING ICE, SNOW TO MOST OF MICHIGAN OVERNIGHT

DETROIT NEWS — A “messy” mix of snow and sleet is expected for much of Michigan Tuesday night with a winter weather advisory in effect for much of the state through Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

About the only portion of the state not facing an advisory for some portion of the overnight hours and Wednesday morning is extreme southwest Michigan, including Benton Harbor east to Coldwater.

Ice and snow

The system is arriving from the Central Plains and moving northeast, according to Sara Schultz, a meteorologist with the weather service in White Lake Township.

For southeast Michigan, from 8 p.m. Tuesday, mixed precipitation will change over to freezing rain during the evening and overnight, according to the weather service.

Snow and sleet accumulations of up to one inch and ice accumulations around one tenth of an inch are expected for the counties of Wayne, Oakland, Monroe, Livingston, Washtenaw and Lenawee.

“A burst of snow and sleet moves into the area west of US-23 by 8 p.m. and then spreads southwest to northeast across metro Detroit and the northern suburbs,” said the weather advisory.

The weather service cautions drivers that slick roads could impact the Wednesday morning commute. The advisory is in effect in southeast counties until 10 a.m.

The storm is expected to impact Midland, Bay, Saginaw, Shiawassee and Genesee counties after 10 p.m., and, from midnight until noon Wednesday, the advisory will be in effect in Huron, Tuscola, Sanilac, Lapeer, St. Clair and Macomb counties.

It will be a sloppy day in northern Michigan, as well. From early Wednesday morning and until 2 p.m., the following cities in northern Lower Michigan will also be impacted: Mancelona, Gaylord, Grayling, Mio, West Branch, Tawas City, Standish and Charlevoix.

Brief burst of warmth

Temperatures in the upper 30s during the day Tuesday will drop to below freezing at night in Metro Detroit, Schultz said, but Wednesday will be significantly warmer as southerly winds move through the region. Highs in southeast Michigan are expected in the low 60s by Wednesday afternoon.

It will be short-lived, however. The end of the week and the weekend are forecast to return to chilly days and cold nights, though mainly dry.

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER | CASES, POSITIVE RATES REMAIN LOW

BRIDGE MI — Michigan continues to emerge from the omicron wave of COVID-19 cases, with hospitals treating fewer COVID-19 patients and fewer, on average, new cases.

The state reported 1,575 new cases, or an average of 788 for Thursday and Friday. That lowered the average daily rate to 651 cases over the past week. It’s the lowest daily average since Aug. 1 when the average was 633 cases.

AT OXFORD COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, NEW POSITIONS AIMED AT HEALING

DETROIT NEWS — The Oxford school district will create a three-year recovery plan and hire a recovery coordinator to address student mental health needs in the wake of last year’s mass school shooting, its superintendent announced this week.

Ken Weaver, who was promoted to superintendent on March 4, announced on Thursday Oxford Community Schools has created several new positions, including a recovery coordinator and an executive director of student services and wellness.

The new positions are to ensure students get the support and care needed to heal, said Weaver, who had been deputy superintendent of curriculum and instruction since 2014.

Weaver said the district is also adding two counseling positions to the high school and two family-school liaisons who will work with students to improve social and emotional behavior at the elementary school.

“Over the last three months, we have been working to establish a ‘new normal’ at Oxford High School,” Weaver said in a statement. “It has been a difficult but rewarding process to see our students begin to recover and resume some of their previous activities and routines. We know that we have a long journey ahead of us. One that may take several years for some of our students.”

On Nov. 30, four Oxford High School students were killed in the shooting: Hana St. Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; and Justin Shilling, 17. Six students and a teacher were wounded.

The school had about 1,650 students in classes the day of the shooting with about 100 teachers and staff, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.

The recovery coordinator will coordinate the mental health recovery efforts across the district, as well as coordinate trauma clinicians, therapy dogs, community outreach and student response, Weaver said.

This position is funded through a 3-year federal grant. The amount of the grant was not available Friday afternoon.

The student services and wellness job will oversee building-level mental health programming and personnel for all students. This includes guidance services, social work, social-emotional learning and restorative practices. The position is permanent, Weaver said.

The family-school liaisons, who will be social workers, will be funded with state and Medicaid money.

Two counseling positions will be added to the high school to lower caseloads to address the increased needs of students. These positions are in addition to the existing four positions at OHS. These positions are funded through a three-year federal grant.

Oxford parent Brian Cooper said on Friday he was encouraged to hear about the new positions.

“I feel they are necessary in the process of healing. I am concerned about whether or not there will be people interested or available to apply for the positions,” Cooper said.

Weaver said the district has received advice from five schools that have experienced similar trauma, guidance from mental health experts who specialize in addressing trauma and feedback from the community.

“We also know that we are going to have many ups and downs in the coming weeks, months and years as we experience events that will bring about strong emotions from our school community,” Weaver said. “Through it all, we must continue to lean on each other and work together to strengthen our resolve to come through this tragedy.”

Weaver said after the district’s spring break, which is next week, he will announce the process for creating a recovery plan that will focus on safety, mental health, staff retention and wellness, social-emotional learning, community outreach and a permanent memorial process.

The district will seek parent and staff input through a survey and will host forums for high school students, parents, and staff.

“We will share the plan and host a town hall to receive feedback from our stakeholders,” Weaver said.

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN NAMES LONGTIME DEAN AS ITS NEW PROVOST

DETROIT NEWS — University of Michigan School of Dentistry Dean Laurie McCauley will become the university’s second most senior academic officer.

The board of regents on Thursday approved McCauley’s appointment as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the recommendation of interim President Mary Sue Coleman.

“Our university will greatly benefit from Dean McCauley’s proven leadership skills, depth of experience, and demonstrated commitment to teaching, discovery and higher education,” Coleman said.

McCauley’s 13-month appointment is effective May 6. She currently earns $547,892 annually and will be paid $570,000 in her new role.

Besides serving as dean of the UM dental school since 2013, McCauley has served as chair of the health sciences deans council and as academic co-lead on the planning efforts for the university’s next major capital campaign.

The provost is the chief academic officer and is responsible for collaborating with the president on academic priorities and allocating funding.

She arrives as UM is beginning a search for a new president. The board of regents fired former UM President Mark Schlissel in January after regents said a series of emails showed an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate.

UM faced a wave of sexual assault scandals during ousted Schlissel’s tenure that past victims say reflects the attitude of neglect by leadership.

McCauley succeeds Susan Collins, who is departing UM in May to become president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

Collins stepped into UM’s provost position in 2020 amid the departure of Martin Philbert, the former provost who left the university amid sexual misconduct allegations. UM in 2020 agreed to pay $9.25 million to eight women who said they were victimized by Philbert.

HUEL PERKINS AND MONICA GAYLE BID FAREWELL IN FINAL BROADCAST

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Huel Perkins and Monica Gayle bid farewell to viewers Friday in their final broadcast as Fox 2 Detroit anchors.

They’ve long been household names in the Motor City, teaming up to deliver local TV news and forging a strong bond with viewers over a quarter century.

They said their official goodbyes with the 6 p.m. newscast.

Fellow anchors Roop Raj and Amy Lange paid tribute to Perkins and Gayle in a pair of retrospective segments during the broadcast.

Perkins and Gayle then offered a heartfelt final on-air message to their viewers, co-workers and families.

The two anchors started as a team in 1997 and announced their decision to retire together on Feb. 23.

“To have the privilege of working with the same team, in the same city with loyal viewers like you for 25 years is extraordinary, and for that we are so grateful,” said Gayle.

“Grateful that you have embraced us as part of your family,” added Perkins, “invited us into your homes, allowed us to tell your stories, to share your joy, your sorrow, your dreams, to cheer with you when the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup, or the Tigers made it to the World Series or even as the Lions just kept trying and trying to do the best they could.”

STATEMENT FROM HENRY FORD HEALTH REGARDING RESPONSE OF E.A.R.T.H. WEST BLOOMFIELD TO PROPOSED MENTAL HEALTH FACILITY’S POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

“The need for mental health services has reached crisis levels across our nation. We are honored for the opportunity to increase access to those services and eager to make this a reality for the communities we serve. When we acquired the land in the 1980’s we committed to being good neighbors and mindful stewards of the land. Over the years we have taken a thoughtful approach to our development plans. Our newest development meets all state environmental regulations, and of the 40 acres rezoned for this project, we are only using 15. Robust conservation efforts associated with this project include the permanent preservation of more than 17 acres (42% of the property) of woodlands and wetlands through a conservation easement; and positioning the building in order to minimize the impact on natural features. Throughout this process, we have partnered closely with community leaders and neighborhood associations. These conversations resulted in: reducing the height of the building from 3 stories to 2 stories; limiting parking and access to the front of the building in order to preserve a substantial wooded area; and creating a tree buffer between the building and the adjacent neighborhood. The building will be built to achieve LEED certification for environmental sustainability as well. We look forward to sharing our progress in the coming months.”

-Denise Brooks-Williams, Senior Vice President and CEO, North Market, Henry Ford Health

MACKINAC BRIDGE REOPENS AFTER WEATHER CONDITIONS CAUSED CLOSURE

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The Mackinac Bridge has reopened after it was closed for several hours Thursday due to weather conditions.

Icy conditions have plagued the bridge connecting Michigan’s peninsulas for the past day, according to the Mackinac Bridge Authority.

High winds, between 35-49 mph, were also reported Wednesday.

The bridge was also closed most of the day Thursday due to weather conditions and falling ice before reopening at about 10:30 p.m.

AVIAN INFLUENZA CONFIRMED IN WILD BIRDS IN THESE MICHIGAN COUNTIES

DETROIT NEWS — Highly pathogenic avian influenza has been confirmed in wild birds in at least three areas in eastern Michigan, the state Department of Natural Resources said Thursday.

The virus was identified in free-ranging Canada geese and tundra swans from St. Clair County, in Macomb County snowy owls as well as a mute swan in Monroe County, officials said in a statement.

The confirmations followed tests of six Canada geese and two tundra swans collected last week at St. Clair Flats State Wildlife Area, according to the release. The mute swan was found March 15.

The geese, swans and owls all were infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza, subtype H5N1.

The findings followed officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development confirming the bird flu last month was detected in a non-commercial backyard flock of birds in Kalamazoo County.

“This confirmed positive finding of highly pathogenic avian influenza in wild birds prompts several steps that are informed by Michigan’s Surveillance and Response Plan for HPAI in wildlife,” DNR director Dan Eichinger said. “The DNR and MDARD are working that plan with other experts and stakeholders and taking advantage of every available resource that aims to limit the spread of HPAI.”

In addition to geese and swans, avian influenza can infect free-ranging and domestic poultry such as chickens, turkeys and quail, the DNR said.

“Ducks and geese are considered carriers; however, geese generally do not pass it on,” the department said Thursday.

Authorities last week said nearly 7 million chickens and turkeys in 13 states have been killed in 2022 due to avian influenza.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the recent bird flu infections in flocks do not present an immediate public health concern. No human cases of the avian influenza viruses have been detected in the United States. While it can be transmitted to humans, it is unusual and typically due to close contact with infected birds.

Spread of the disease is largely blamed on the droppings of wild birds, such as ducks and geese, which often show no signs of illness. But studies suggest the virus can be tracked into secure chicken and turkey barns on equipment, workers, mice, small birds, and even dust particles.

Infected wild birds have been found in at least 21 states, and the virus has been circulating in migrating waterfowl in Europe and Asia for nearly a year.

State and federal officials remain hopeful that the disease won’t spread as extensively as during an outbreak in 2015 that resulted in the deaths of about 50 millions chickens and turkeys, causing egg and meat prices to soar. Bird flu hit more than 200 farms in 15 states, costing the federal government about $1 billion and the poultry industry an estimated $3 billion.

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development urged poultry owners to increase their own biosecurity precautions “by minimizing the number of people coming in contact with birds, isolating birds from wild birds whenever possible, and disinfecting hands and clothing after coming in contact with poultry,” state officials said Thursday.

Meanwhile, the DNR said it has canceled the roundup and relocation of Canada geese for the year.

“The DNR will make limited exceptions in approved situations where there are elevated human health and safety concerns,” officials said Thursday. “Sites that have received roundup permits will be refunded their application fees.”

The DNR and others, including the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Veterinary Services and Wildlife Services, also are partnering to conduct avian influenza surveillance.

Residents who notice the deaths of three or more free-ranging birds should report it to the DNR by calling (517) 336-5030.

MICHIGAN REDISTRICTING COMMISSIONERS REVERSE THEIR OWN PAY RAISE

BRIDGE MI — Bowing to public and political backlash, Michigan redistricting commissioners on Thursday voted to rescind a pay raise they gave themselves in February after they had completed new congressional and legislative maps.

The 13-member panel voted to restore their own pay to $55,755 per year, reversing an earlier 7 percent raise. Their salaries are again now set at 35 percent of the governor’s.

“Certainly, there have been a number of public comments that weren’t very complimentary” of the initial pay raise, Commissioner Steven Lett told reporters after the meeting. “We took those into consideration, and I think all the commissioners gave it a second thought.” Brittni Kellom, a Democrat, was the only commissioner on the bipartisan panel to vote against the pay change. Members had considered reversing the pay increase at earlier meetings as they also continued to debate when — and how — to disband until new political maps need to be drawn again in 10 years after the next U.S. Census.

The commission completed most of its work by late December, but there are two ongoing lawsuits challenging the legislative and congressional maps they created, which are set to be used for the first time in Michigan’s fall elections.

As Bridge Michigan has previously reported, the voter-approved constitutional amendment that created the citizen-led redistricting commission in 2018 did not include a clear expiration date for the panel.

Members considering whether to disband are expecting a legal opinion from their attorneys by April 8. If the commission does choose to disband, commissioner pay would stop 30 days later, said Edward Woods III, communications and outreach director.

“No one’s trying to be here in perpetuity, and no one’s trying to waste taxpayers’ money, but we’re trying to be responsible to the constitution,” Woods said. “We want to be done. Don’t mistake it. But we want to be done correctly.”

Along with ongoing lawsuits, the commission needs to pay all outstanding bills before its work is complete, Woods said. Current budget funding from the Michigan Legislature will “possibly” last through April, outgoing Executive Director Sue Hammersmith told reporters.

But the panel is preparing to ask for an additional allocation, Hammersmith added, noting the commission could run into a “shortfall” because of ongoing litigation and attorney fees associated with “defending the maps” in court.

The commission’s map-making process has been a first for Michigan, where lawmakers had long drawn their own political boundaries, leading to what a federal judge in 2019 called gerrymandering of “historical proportions.”

The commission’s maps have faced legal challenges too. An ongoing GOP lawsuit alleges the congressional maps do not adhere to equal population rules. Another alleges state House maps are not fair to Democrats.

The pay raise debate resolved Thursday reinforced the public nature of the new commission, said Wood, the communications and outreach director.

“It really speaks to what I like to say is the greatest civics lesson in the world, the Michigan independent citizens redistricting commission, because it’s truly government for the people, by the people, and they actually listen and you can trace how they listen through their decisions.”

ACCUSED OXFORD SHOOTER, WILL REMAIN IN ADULT JAIL

DETROIT NEWS — Ethan Crumbley, the alleged Oxford High School shooter, will remain in the Oakland County Jail for at least another month, rather than moving to the juvenile jail as his defense team has requested.

Crumbley, 15, has been jailed since Nov. 30, the day of the mass shooting at the school.

“The court has not been presented with any new information to disturb its March 1 order,” which is that Crumbley remain jailed at the adult facility, said Judge Kwame Rowe.

The next monthly placement hearing, along with a pre-trial hearing, will be held on April 21, Rowe said.

Rowe asked if the attorneys had heard back from the center that will evaluate Crumbley, as he mounts an insanity defense. Loftin, one of his defense attorneys, said a report was expected back in about 45 days.

Deborah McKelvy, who served as his guardian-ad-litem for Crumbley, took issue with a prosecution brief that argued it’s the parental role to secure Crumbley’s schooling.

“It’s no longer the parent’s responsibility,” McKelvy argued, and has not been since he has been jailed.

But McKelvy said that on Tuesday, she heard from Oakland County Corporation Counsel, offering two educational options: a disciplinary academy, or online schooling.

He could not start cyber school until September, at the earliest.

The second option, when Crumbley turns 16 next month, is a high school equivalency or GED program, with a path to community college classes, McKelvy said. There have been talks with the jail about allowing Crumbley daily access to a laptop, to do school work.

“There has been a lot of movement in that,” McKelvy said. She met with Crumbley on Wednesday, and said he’s deciding his next move.

Thursday’s hearing lasted about 15 minutes.

Authorities allege that after fatally shooting four classmates, and wounding seven others, Ethan Crumbley surrendered himself to a school resource officer. Killed in the shooting were Hana St. Juliana, 14; Tate Myre, 16; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; and Justin Shilling, 17.

Police originally took Crumbley to Oakland County Children’s Village, the juvenile jail in Waterford Township. But after his Dec. 1 arraignment, during which the teen was ordered jailed without bond, he’s been in a medical clinic at Oakland County Jail. There he has no contact with other inmates, and little with staff, except for deputies who patrol the area every 15 minutes.

In the five months of his incarceration, Crumbley has had several visits from his attorneys and guardian-ad-litem Deborah McKelvy, and has received “fan mail,” according to prior testimony.

As Jason Smith, executive director of the Michigan Center for Youth Justice, wrote January in The Detroit News: “A court that decides to detain a youth in an adult jail must also hold a review hearing once every 30 days, with a 180-day limit unless there is a ‘good cause’ extension.”

The monthly review hearings and 180-day limit are federal requirements, by way of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act.

Crumbley was last in court Feb. 22 for a placement hearing. At that hearing, Oakland County prosecutors said Crumbley was “calculated” and “enjoyed his dark side,” while defense lawyers countered that the teen cried out for help but received none.

Judge Kwame Rowe ruled then that Crumbley should remain at Oakland County Jail.

Crumbley is charged as an adult with four counts of first-degree murder, one count of terrorism causing death, seven counts of assault with intent to murder and 12 counts of felony firearm in the Nov. 30 shooting that killed four and wounded seven others. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Defense attorneys Paulette Loftin and Amy Hopp in January filed intent to mount an insanity defense. No ruling has been made on Crumbley’s competency to stand trial.

MICHIGAN CANCELS STATEWIDE TORNADO DRILL TO AVOID CONFUSION

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Michigan’s statewide tornado drill set for 1 p.m. Wednesday has been canceled as a precaution against the threat of an actual severe weather.

Thunderstorms are forecast in southeast Michigan between 3 and 11 p.m. south of Interstate 96, with the potential for 1-inch hail and wind gusts, the National Weather Service said.

The threat of tornadoes also are likely in Ohio and Indiana.

Michigan had planned to hold a statewide tornado as part of Michigan’s Severe Weather Awareness Week, but with the chance of strong to severe storms in the afternoon it was called off to prevent confusion.

The National Weather Service said it canceled its weekly test of the NOAA all-hazard weather radio, which was scheduled with the drill, because of the potential of dangerous weather.

Tornadoes can happen any time, but are more prevalent in the spring and summer.

The drills, which are held periodically nationwide, give communities a chance to practice what to do an be aware of what happens when the alarm goes off.

A tornado Watch means conditions exist for a tornado to develop, while a tornado warning means a tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar and is approaching.

STAR WITNESS: WHITMER KIDNAP PLOTTERS WANTED ‘BOOGALOO’ WAR TO STOP BIDEN

BRIDGE MI — Militia activists who plotted to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer hoped to start a second civil war before the 2020 presidential election and keep Joe Biden out of office, a former colleague testified Wednesday in federal court.

Ty Garbin of Hartland — currently serving a 75-month sentence after pleading guilty to a kidnapping conspiracy charge in January 2021 — testified against remaining defendants Wednesday in the blockbuster federal trial that experts say is a test of the government’s ability to crack down on growing domestic extremism.

Plotters anticipated that kidnapping Whitmer would “kick off” the “boogaloo,” Garbin said, referencing a far-right movement whose adherents believe that the United States is poised for a new civil war that will lead to societal chaos. “The goal was to complete it before the presidential election,” Garbin said of the kidnapping plans in testimony before jurors who will decide the fate of four defendants on trial for the alleged plot. “We wanted to cause as much disruption as possible to prevent Joe Biden from getting into office.”

Plotters also worried that kidnapping Whitmer could be “more difficult” after the election if she joined Biden’s cabinet, Garbin said, alluding to 2020 reports that Biden considered the first-term Democratic governor to be his running mate, a position that ultimately went to Kamala Harris.

The men discussed “whether (Whitmer’s) security detail would increase from being state police troopers and state law enforcement to being federal secret service,” Garbin said, teling prosecutors the plan included blowing up a bridge near the governor’s northern Michigan vacation home to slow any police response.

The testimony from Garbin, a 26-year-old airplane mechanic, was among the most dramatic and overtly political to date at the ongoing trial of Adam Fox, 38, of Wyoming, Daniel Harris, 24, of Lake Orion, Brandon Caserta, 33, of Canton Township, and Barry Croft, 46, from the state of Delaware.

Kaleb Franks of Waterford Township also reached a plea with federal prosecutors and is expected to testify against defendants, who face the possibility of life in prison if convicted on kidnapping and weapons conspiracy charges.

Defense attorneys contend FBI informants and undercover agents entrapped the militia activists, whose frustration with Whitmer’s pandemic-era health and safety orders produced little more than “crazy talk” until they were egged on by the government that is now prosecuting them.

In cross examination Wednesday, defense attorney Julia Kelly sought to undermine Garbin’s credibility by pointing out inconsistencies between his courtroom testimony and his initial statements to the FBI on Oct. 7, 2020, the day he and other defendants were arrested in a sting operation.

Showing him a transcript of his initial FBI interview, Kelly reminded Garbin that he had initially downplayed the alleged plot, saying he was “turned off” by talk of a potential kidnapping and had stayed with the militia group “just to drink and hang out.”

Garbin “lied to a federal agent,” said Kelly, who represents Harris.

Garbin repeatedly told Kelly he did not recall details of that FBI interview.

In testimony earlier Wednesday, Garbin told prosecutors that he and colleagues planned and trained to execute the plot, surveilling the Whitmer family’s vacation property and constructing a “shoot house” to simulate the extraction.

Garbin also testified all four defendants participated in key meetings. And he identified them in audio and video recordings obtained by FBI informants and undercover agents.

Fox, the accused ring leader, was saving money to purchase explosives and had discussed kidnapping Whitmer from her vacation home in a summer 2020 meeting where other defendants were “nodding their heads in agreement,” Garbin testified.

Croft — a self-described leader of the Three Percenters militia movement who the FBI says helped craft improvised explosive devices — “proposed committing a series of robberies to generate funding for firearms or whatever else we needed,” Garbin said.

Harris, he testified, did not join colleagues on a September 2020 surveillance mission at Whitmer’s vacation home because he had consumed too much alcohol that night.

But Harris appeared to be a willing participant who told colleagues he knew a bomb maker and warned them that at “some point we’re going to reach the point of no return, meaning that … we weren’t going to be able to return to our families or lead a normal life,” Garbin testified.

Another defendant, Caserta, also missed the nighttime surveillance mission because of “excessive drinking,” Garbin said, but fellow plotters gave him a “rundown” the next morning, and he was “nodding in agreement.”

Prosecutors played a recording of Caserta telling colleagues it was his “personal choice” to be involved in planning meetings and training exercises. And, on the day he was arrested in October of 2020, Caserta threatened violence against police after receiving a traffic ticket.

“If this s*** goes down, if this whole thing starts to happen, I’m taking out as many of those motherf***ers as I can,” Caserta said in a video played for jurors, which Garbin testified was an apparent reference to the “Boogaloo” war that the plotters believed their kidnapping would trigger.

If we’re doing a recon and we come up on them, you better not give them a chance,” Caserta continued in the recording. “You tell them to go, or they die. They are the f***ing enemy, period.”

Those recordings are among more than 100 pieces of audio and video evidence that prosecutors expect to use in the ongoing trial, which began March 9 and is expected to continue into April.

Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Michigan have already shown jurors weapons used by the defendants, along with dozens of chat logs from encrypted services the defendants used to communicate.

Defense attorneys are expected to continue questioning Garbin on Thursday.

JUDGE: OXFORD SCHOOL SHOOTING SUSPECT’S NAME WILL NOT BE USED IN MY COURT

DETROIT FREE PRESS — At the request of the prosecutor, a judge has decided that the name of the Oxford school shooting suspect will not be mentioned in her courtroom during the duration of his parents’ cases.

“There is some precedence but no real legal authority for the mandatory exclusion of the shooter’s name,” Oakland County Circuit Judge Cheryl Matthews wrote in her decision Tuesday. “However, calling the shooter by name does not appear to have relevance to these proceedings, and prohibiting its use does not appear to prejudice the defense in any way.”

The defendants she is referring to are Jennifer and James Crumbley, who are the first parents in the United States charged in a mass school shooting, allegedly carried out by their 15-year-old son.

Their case has sparked international attention not only because of its precedence, but because it involves a detail that prosecutors believe makes this case different from any other school shooting: It was the parents, they say, who bought their son the gun that he used to shoot up his school.

Given the intense publicity over the parents’ case, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald asked the judge to keep the shooting suspect’s name out of the parents’ case to prevent future massacres by copycat shooters seeking glory.

“Shooters want to be famous. It’s one of the key motivators for most shooters, and it was definitely a motivator for the Oxford shooter,” McDonald said in a statement. “He wanted to be famous, and he wanted to be remembered.”

But McDonald has vowed to do her best to erase his memory, and to prevent any future shooter-wannabes from trying to one-up the Oxford suspect.

“Each shooter wants to be as famous, or even more famous, than the last shooter,” McDonald said. “So when we repeat the Oxford shooter’s name and continuously publicize his photo, we’re contributing to future shootings. I’m not going to be a part of that.”

The prosecution has portrayed the Crumbleys’ son as a “disturbed,” lonely, and attention-starved teenager whose life went from having only one friend before the shooting, to getting “fan mail’ from all over the world after the shooting. In an effort to keep the teenager locked up in an adult jail, prosecutors disclosed to the judge the boy’s jailhouse communications, including one in which he asked a jail official, “how do I get my fan mail.”

In granting McDonald’s request, the judge has ordered both sides not to speak the suspect’s name in court, or use it in court filings.

The judge on Tuesday also assigned two additional lawyers to the Crumbleys out of concern that their case could trigger a mistrial because their lawyers work for the same law firm. The judge said she was concerned that this could create a conflict of interest down the road between the spouses, so she gave them each an independent lawyer to advise them of potential conflicts.

The Crumbleys are charged with involuntary manslaughter for their alleged roles in the mass shooting. Prosecutors say the couple ignored a troubled and depressed son who needed help, but instead of getting him that help they bought him a gun and never shared that information with the school when they had the chance to.

Their son is charged with first-degree murder for the deaths of four students who were killed in the Nov. 30 massacre that also injured six students and a teacher, several who are still struggling to recover from life-altering injuries. The suspect has pleaded not guilty and is planning an insanity defense. He is due in court Thursday for a hearing, though Judge Matthews’ decision does not apply in his court case.

The teenager’s lawyers could not be reached for comment.

The Crumbleys have pleaded not guilty and maintain they had no way of knowing their son would carry out a school shooting, that they kept the gun safely stored in their home, and that they are not responsible for the students’ deaths.

$8 MILLION AWARDED FOR MICHIGAN ELECTION SECURITY AMID FUNDING DISPUTES

BRIDGE MI — Local and county clerks have access to $8 million to improve voter security but their requests for additional legislative support ahead of the 2022 election remain unanswered.

The Michigan Bureau of Elections on Tuesday announced federal funding will be available to local and county election clerks to buy new locks and cameras, upgrade polling software and other security-related improvements before the November elections.

The bureau is providing the money through the Help America Vote Act, which Congress passed in 2002 to provide clerks with additional funding. The announcement came the same day a state court dismissed a Republican-backed lawsuit seeking to stop private companies from funding 450 Michigan clerks. Ongoing disputes over private and public funding of elections come at time when there are sharp, partisan differences over the security of Michigan’s election laws following the 2020 presidential election when clerks were strained by the volume of absentee ballots while facing scrutiny amid Donald Trump’s unfounded allegations of voter fraud.

The $8 million was made available in response to a letter sent in February by the associations representing the state’s municipal and county clerks asking for additional funding ahead of the 2022 election. The groups also asked legislators to pass procedural changes.

Delta Township Clerk Mary Clark, president of the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks, said the federal grant allots $1,500 per precinct.

“That provides clerks a funding stream to do some things that they likely cannot do without it,” Clark told Bridge Michigan on Tuesday. “I’m going to get a new lock system put on the office doors. It’s very timely and well thought out.”

BOE Director Jonathan Brater said on Tuesday at a House Election and Ethics Committee hearing the grant funding is a one-time allocation based on temporary dollars.

“On an ongoing basis, a more reliable state funding stream would help ensure that in future years, those security practices are able to continue,” Brater said.

Local election officials have complained of needing more resources to efficiently and accurately handle results. In 2020, many clerk’s offices in Michigan and elsewhere accepted grants from a philanthropy associated with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to help with election costs.

A state court on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit over private funding awarded to more than 450 Michigan clerks during the 2020 election, rejecting GOP claims that the election grants dispensed during the pandemic were aimed at Democratic cities to unfairly boost liberal turnout.

The claims are “moot” because the privately funded grants, from the Center for Tech and Civic Life, the nonprofit funded by Zuckerberg, “were available to all jurisdictions that sought them,” Michigan Court of Claims Judge Thomas Cameron wrote in his 10-page opinion.

The Michigan House and Senate last year each passed legislation to bar private grant funding for future elections, as several other states have done. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed those bills.

Michigan Republicans are now attempting to go around her through the Secure MI Vote petition drive, which among other changes would prohibit donations to help fund elections.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, both Democrats, on Tuesday celebrated the dismissal of the private grant lawsuit, calling it a failed attempt to undermine confidence in the election process.

“It was meritless and misguided and the court rightly noted the ability for nonpartisan nonprofit organizations to work directly with local communities to ensure they have the support they need to protect and count every valid vote,” Benson said in a statement. “It further underscores the need for the legislature and federal government to provide sustained funding for elections, so that clerks across the state and political spectrum have consistent and sufficient funds to run accessible and secure elections.”

In 2020, clerks were given eight additional hours before election day to prepare absentee ballots for counting. Brater, the state election director, said clerks’ need for additional time varied based on the jurisdiction’s population and specific election procedures.

He said he believes clerks need more than eight hours to reap the benefits of pre-processing absentee ballots.

“Although clerks appreciated the time, it was something that was introduced relatively close to the election so there wasn’t a lot of time to build it into their planning,” Brater said.

Seventeen states allow clerks to process absentee ballots before election day. Another 16 states, including Michigan, allow clerks to process ballots before the polls close on election day. And 17 states don’t allow clerks to process ballots until polls close on election day.

Republicans have been introducing legislation to tighten voter laws, including requiring the Secretary of State to remove voters who don’t respond to a letter notifying them they need to update their birthdate or who haven’t voted since 2000 from the state’s Qualified Voter File. But like other legislation passed by Republicans over election rules, vetoes for those measures are likely from Whitmer.

MODERNA SAYS ITS LOW-DOSE COVID SHOTS WORK FOR KIDS UNDER 6

DETROIT NEWS — Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine works in babies, toddlers and preschoolers the company announced Wednesday — and if regulators agree it could mean a chance to finally start vaccinating the littlest kids by summer.

Moderna said in the coming weeks it would ask regulators in the U.S. and Europe to authorize two small-dose shots for youngsters under 6. The company also is seeking to have larger-dose shots cleared for older children and teens in the U.S.

The nation’s 18 million children under 5 are the only age group not yet eligible for vaccination. Competitor Pfizer currently offers kid-sized doses for school-age children and full-strength shots for those 12 and older.

But parents have anxiously awaited protection for younger tots, disappointed by setbacks and confusion over which shots might work and when. Pfizer is testing even smaller doses for children under 5 but had to add a third shot to its study when two didn’t prove strong enough. Those results are expected by early April.

Vaccinating the littlest “has been somewhat of a moving target over the last couple of months,” Dr. Bill Muller of Northwestern University, an investigator in Moderna’s pediatric studies, said in an interview before the company released its findings. “There’s still, I think, a lingering urgency to try to get that done as soon as possible.”

The younger the child, the smaller the dose being tested. Moderna said a quarter of the dose it uses for adults worked well for youngsters under age 6.

Moderna enrolled about 6,900 tots in a study of the 25-microgram doses. Early data showed after two shots, youngsters developed virus-fighting antibody levels just as strong as young adults getting regular-strength shots, the company said in a press release.

Moderna said the small doses were safe, and the main side effects were mild fevers like those associated with other commonly used pediatric vaccines.

Once Moderna submits the data to the FDA, regulators will debate whether to authorize emergency use of the small doses for tots. If so, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention then will decide whether to recommend them.

While COVID-19 generally isn’t as dangerous to youngsters as to adults, some do become severely ill. The CDC says about 400 children younger than 5 have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic’s start. The omicron variant hit children especially hard, with those under 5 hospitalized at higher rates than at the peak of the previous delta surge, the CDC found.

COVID-19 vaccines in general don’t prevent infection with the omicron mutant as well as they fended off earlier variants — but they do still offer strong protection against severe illness.

Moderna reported that same trend in the trial of children under 6, conducted during the omicron surge. While there were no severe illnesses, the vaccine proved just under 44% effective at preventing any infection in babies up to age 2, and nearly 38% effective in the preschoolers.

Moderna said also said Wednesday it will ask the Food and Drug Administration to clear larger doses for older children.

While other countries already have allowed Moderna’s shots to be used in children as young as 6, the U.S. has limited its vaccine to adults. A Moderna request to expand its shots to 12- to 17-year-olds has been stalled for months.

The company said Wednesday that, armed with additional evidence, it is updating its FDA application for teen shots and requesting a green light for 6- to 11-year-olds, too.

Moderna says its original adult dose — two 100-microgram shots — is safe and effective in 12- to 17-year-olds. For elementary-age kids, it’s using half the adult dose.

But the FDA never ruled on Moderna’s application for teen shots because of concern about a very rare side effect. Heart inflammation sometimes occurs in teens and young adults, mostly males, after receiving either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. Moderna is getting extra scrutiny because its shots are a far higher dose than Pfizer’s.

The risk also seems linked to puberty, and regulators in Canada, Europe and elsewhere recently expanded Moderna vaccinations to kids as young as 6.

“That concern has not been seen in the younger children,” said Northwestern’s Muller.

MICHIGAN REPORTS 1,423 NEW CORONAVIRUS CASES, 8 DEATHS OVER 3 DAYS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The Michigan health department reported 1,423 new COVID-19 cases over a three-day period Monday, an average of 474.3 per day, bringing Michigan to 2,073,010 confirmed cases since the beginning of the pandemic.

Another eight coronavirus-related deaths were also reported Monday. This increases the state’s COVID-19 death toll to 32,619.

Of 11,896 confirmatory tests reported by the health department Sunday, 517 yielded positive results for a positivity rate of 4.35%.

Data from the health department include 307,145 probable cases and 2,806 probable deaths, for a total of 2,380,155 cases and 35,425 deaths.

PROSECUTOR: LET’S STOP USING OXFORD SCHOOL SHOOTING SUSPECT’S NAME

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald has asked a judge to intervene on a touchy subject: mentioning the name of the Oxford school shooting suspect.

McDonald believes that by repeating 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley’s name in court and the media, other copy-cat shooter’s may be emboldened to do the same given all the publicity the Oxford case has gotten.

Her concern about the issue prompted her to ask the judge to issue an order barring both the defense and prosecution from using Ethan’s name during the duration of his parents’ case, which has generated international attention. James and Jennifer Crumbley are the first parents in America to be charged in a mass school shooting. They are accused of ignoring a depressed son who prosecutors say spiraled out of control and shot up his school, allegedly with a gun that his parents bought him.

“School shooters often seek notoriety and attention in committing their egregious acts,” McDonald wrote in a court filing. “The publicity generated by a school shooting notably gives the perpetrator the notoriety that they sought, but also can inspire and motive at-risk individuals to commit similar acts of violence.”

By keeping Ethan’s name mum, McDonalds hopes to “help protect against future school shootings.” In court, she has suggested both sides refer to him as the “perpetrator,” the “defendant’s son,” or “James and Jennifer’s son.”

Prosecutors have portrayed Ethan Crumbley as a “disturbed,” lonely, and attention-starved teenager whose life went from having only one friend before the shooting, to getting “fan mail’ from all over the world after the shooting. In an effort to keep the teenager locked up in an adult jail, prosecutors disclosed to the judge the boy’s jailhouse communications, including one in which he asked a jail official, “how do I get my fan mail.”

Ethan Crumbley is currently housed in the Oakland County Jail on first degree murder charges for the deaths of four students. Six other students and a teacher were also injured in the shooting – several who are still struggling from their injuries. Since the Nov. 30 massacre, the prosecution has disclosed excerpts from the teenager’s journal, in which he allegedly expressed his admiration for Adolf Hitler and Jeffrey Dahmer, writing: “When you die, you need to be remembered for a long time.”

The 15-year-old suspect also described in his journal what type of gun he needed to shoot up his school and that he would surrender so that he could “witness the pain and suffering he caused,” the prosecution has argued.

Through his lawyers, Ethan Crumbley has pleaded not guilty and is planning an insanity defense.

DEARBORN POLICE WARN AGAINST SHOOTING TOY GUN AT PEOPLE IN TIKTOK CHALLENGE

DETROIT NEWS — They may be toys, but Dearborn police aren’t playing when they warn kids not to use toy guns to shoot at people as part of a TikTok challenge.

Officials said they have responded in recent weeks to numerous incidents of people being shot at random by toy guns that fire balls made of water-absoring gel — some people were injured. The balls are called Orbeez.

Police said they’ve arrested one teen who is expected to face assault charges in one such incident.

“Once again we find ourselves dealing with a dangerous trend on social media that has influenced our young people to make dangerous choices that can have lifetime consequences,” Dearborn Police Chief Issa Shahin said in a statement. “I encourage parents to talk to their kids about what they see on social media and to pay attention to the next inevitable dangerous trend that is sure to arise.”

Investigators said they believe shooters in the incidents are kids participating in a so-called “Orbeez Challenge” and posting them on the TikTok video-sharing app. In the challenge, TikTok users film themselves loading Orbeez balls into plastic guns, driving by people and shooting people at random.

Shahin said his department has a zero-tolerance policy on such TikTok challenges that endanger the public.

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER | 2,770 NEW CASES, 50 MORE DEATHS IN MICHIGAN

BRIDGE MI — Michigan reported 2,770 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, including 825 old backlogged cases.

Without the older cases, the state averaged 972 new cases for both Thursday and Friday, or 1,385 with them.

The state also reported 50 additional COVID-19 deaths, including 35 that followed a review of health and medical records.

Because of the backlogged cases, the percent of positive tests over the past two days was 6.7 percent, well above the 3.3 percent averaged over the past week. It’s unclear when the backlogged cases actually occurred.

The state’s 164 hospitals reported treating 624 patients who have confirmed or suspected COVID-19, down from 690 on Wednesday.

It appears many of the backlogged cases came from metro Detroit, with Detroit reporting 680 cases, nearly seven times more than the 102 reported on Wednesday.

There were 489 new cases in suburban Wayne County, up from 219 on Wednesday and case counts were elevated in Oakland, Washtenaw and Macomb counties as well.

The state said the 825 cases were from a “backlog of previously unreported historic test results received and processed” on March 17.

3-YEAR ‘FLEX ROUTE PROJECT’ TO BEGIN MONDAY ON I-96 IN OAKLAND COUNTY

DETROIT NEWS — Road work will begin Monday on a three-year project to turn part of Interstate 96 in Oakland County into a route that utilizes the median shoulder to alleviate rush-hour congestion.

Drivers will start encountering lane closures and diverted traffic for the I-96 Flex Route Project between Kent Lake Road in Lyon Charter Township and the Interstate 275/M-5/Interstate 696 interchange in Novi in May, after about two months of preparation, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation.

The project, Michigan’s second “flex route,” will rebuild the median shoulder so that it can be used as an additional lane during morning and afternoon peak travel hours. Cameras and electronic message boards will be used to let drivers know when the lane is available for use.

“It is pretty simple: no one likes sitting in traffic. It takes away from valuable time at home, with friends, or at work,” said MIchigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. “… Orange cones and barrels are hitting the road as work begins on our Flex Route, where the freeway shoulder can be used by motorists during peak travel times to save drivers time on their commutes.”

A flex route system is a lane control system that uses cameras and electronic messages alert drivers when an extra lane — the rebuilt median shoulder — is available, according to MDOT. The first flex route was installed on U.S.-23 north of Ann Arbor, in Washtenaw and Livingston counties.

The flex route is slated for a stretch of the freeway that sees an average of 88,531 cars a day, according to MDOT. It will cost an estimated $269 million and is funded through Whitmer’s Rebuilding Michigan program, the governor said.

Starting in May and through late fall, work will begin between Kent Lake Road and Wixom Road, and eastbound and westbound traffic will be shifted onto the westbound lanes, with two lanes open in each direction to accommodate the rebuilding of the eastbound lanes.

In that time, traffic will have three eastbound lanes and two westbound lanes between Wixom Road and the I-275/M-5/I-696, and the following ramps will be closed until late fall:

The northbound and southbound Kent Lake Road ramps to eastbound I-96
The northbound and southbound Milford Road ramps to eastbound I-96
The eastbound I-96 exit ramps to Milford and Wixom roads
The Milford and Wixom road ramps to westbound I-96

In 2023, rebuilding will continue on eastbound I-96 from Wixom Road to the I-275/I-696/M-5 interchange, and traffic will have two eastbound lanes and two westbound lanes shifted onto the westbound side of the freeway through these limits.

The following year, westbound I-96 will be rebuilt from the I-275/I-696/M-5 interchange to Kent Lake Road. I-96 traffic will be shifted to the eastbound side of the freeway, with two lanes open in each direction.

In addition to rebuilding the media shoulders, the project will include sign upgrades and active traffic management installation, including intelligent transportation systems equipment, overhead gantry installation and ramp signals for metering traffic onto the freeway.

Electronic message boards will alert drivers with speed advisories and travel information.

The first flex route was installed on U.S.-23 north of Ann Arbor from M-14 to M-36 in Washtenaw and Livingston counties in 2017.

HERE’S WHERE THE SMALL CABIN STOLEN FROM AN UP NORTH PROPERTY WAS RECOVERED

DETROIT FREE PRESS — A small brown cabin with a white door and metal roof reported stolen from a northern Michigan property has been recovered.

The Houghton Lake Post of the Michigan State Police located the cabin March 15, according to a news release.

The cabin was found using leads and tips from the public at a residence in Orange Township located in Kalkaska County, MLive.com reported. Orange Township, according to Google Maps, is an area south of where the cabin was reported stolen.

A photo released by Michigan State Police shows some damage to the cabin. Plywood covers the entryway to the cabin. Yellow caution tape surrounds the cabin. The metal roof also shows some damage.

The owner of the cabin reported it stolen in February. The 12-foot-by-28-foot cabin was last seen between Nov. 18 and Dec. 16 set on County Road 571 in Coldsprings Township, also in Kalkaska County.

When the cabin was reported stolen, Trooper Matthew Scott, who was investigating the case told the Free Press then the cabin’s owner, lived in it for a couple of years until he left it to take up residence somewhere else, recently reported the 12-foot-by-28-foot structure missing, but he’s unsure what happened to it or why anyone would want to steal it.

Two suspects are believed to be involved with the theft, according to reports, and the case is still being investigated.

UIA DIDN’T ENSURE BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR 5,500 STAFFERS. SOME HAD PRIOR CRIMES, AUDIT SAYS

DETROIT NEWS — The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency failed to ensure background checks were conducted for more than 5,500 employees as the agency ramped up its numbers under a wave of new claims at the start of the pandemic.

The agency also allowed departed workers continued access to the unemployment system, leading in at least one case to about $3.8 million in fraud, according to an audit of the agency’s personnel management. The agency has yet to hold the staffing agencies responsible for employees who committed fraud.

A total of 63 of 139 departed workers sampled by the Auditor General’s office had continued access to the Michigan Integrated Data Automated System (MiDAS) “to view and make unauthorized changes to claims for an average of 32.6 days after their departure,” the audit said.

“The continued access contributed to the $3.8 million UIA fraud the former worker committed in mid-2020,” the audit said. If the fraud hadn’t been detected when it was, it would have resulted in more than $12 million in fraud, the Auditor General’s office estimated.

Auditor General Doug Ringler rated the agency’s overall handling of new and departing employees as “not sufficient” and found four material conditions, the more serious of findings in a state audit.

The state said Friday the audit took place between October 2019 and late 2020, when the agency’s work force grew five times from pre-pandemic staffing levels.

“As UIA worked quickly to increase the department’s capacity to address Michiganders’ needs, the execution was far from perfect,” said agency Director Julia Dale. “The lessons learned and opportunities articulated by the audit serve as the platform to launch an improved Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency.”

Since the audit, the agency has established new policies and procedures addressing “system access, criminal background checks, data security, staff training and contractor hiring,” Dale said.

The UIA paid roughly $137 million through June 2021 to three staffing agencies, 16 Michigan Works agencies and other state departments for extra staffing during the pandemic.

It also paid $34.2 million for limited-term employees as it processed a record 5.2 million claims resulting in $36.5 billion in benefit payments between March 15, 2020 and June 28, 2021.

The agency, according to the audit, failed to secure confidentiality agreements with two staffing agencies or provide data governance training to staffing agencies. Additionally, the agency waited three months after the effective date of staffing contracts worth $8.3 million and $5.6 million to actually sign the contracts.

The audit found the agency did not make sure pre-employment background checks were conducted on 5,508 workers. In addition, 71 of 169 workers still employed had one or more convictions for financial crimes such as identity theft, armed robbery and embezzlement, according to the audit.

The audit also showed the state Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity did not include conflicts and ethics language in two purchase orders with agencies, language that prohibits contractors from doing anything of impropriety that might influence a state employee “by the direct or indirect offer of anything of value.”

Within two weeks of those purchase orders being completed, the program manager who executed the order asked the agency about job opportunities and was hired by the agency about eight months later.

“Although the interactions between the parties give the appearance of a potential conflict, nothing came to our attention to indicate the staffing agency received any favorable treatment, either financially or otherwise,” the audit said.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY WILL TEMPORARILY SHUTTER SOME DORMS NEXT FALL

DETROIT NEWS — Central Michigan University is planning to temporarily shutter four residential halls next fall, officials announced Thursday.

The North Campus residential community of Larzelere, Robinson, Calkins and Trout halls will be temporarily closed. About 200 first- and second-year students who were signed up to live in those halls this fall will be relocated to residential facilities on the south side of campus, where officials say services will be amplified.

The announcement first was made to the students living in those communities in an email sent by Kathleen Gardner, executive director of student affairs.

She said the decision was made based on enrollment estimates for the fall semester that show the university will have more housing than students living on campus.

Gardner told The Detroit News she did not have those estimates available Thursday.

“We can meet student needs by expanding housing options on the south of campus and reopening Troutman, Wheeler, and Kulhavi Halls in the Towers,” Gardner wrote. “These changes will enable CMU to provide higher service and support to students by streamlining operations.”

A follow-up, campus-wide email indicated that the move is aimed at enhancing the experience of living on campus after two years of social distancing during the pandemic.

CMU spokesman Aaron Mills said during the pandemic the college had students spread out across campus in “de-densified residential communities, often on floors with several vacant rooms.”

“In some cases, this meant some students had fewer opportunities to meet new friends and build community. It also meant that some services, including campus dining, were stretched thin, trying to accommodate a smaller number of students in multiple locations,” Gardner and Shaun Holtgreive, interim associate vice president for student affairs, wrote in the letter.

Food service hours that had been curtailed with be broadened, they said.

“Weekend hours will resume at the Eatery and Dine & Connect, and Social House will reopen for lunch, dinner and late-night dining Monday-Friday,” Gardener and Holtgreive wrote.

While the move provides more opportunities for students to meet new people and participate in campus life programs, the temporary closures also, “allows significant cost savings for CMU while preserving jobs,” Gardner and Holtgreive wrote.

Mills said the plan includes reopening Wheeler Hall, which was used for quarantine and isolation space due to COVID. He added that Kulhavi Hall had been offline due to lower numbers of students, and Troutman Hall is newly remodeled.

Mill said 3,666 students lived in residence halls during the fall 2021 semester, Mills added.

Gardner told The News the university is planning renovation projects in the four residential halls while they are closed. She said the four dorms would be reopened “in the near future” but did not provide a date or year.

CMU requires freshmen and sophomores to live on campus. This year, CMU housed students in 18 residential halls but next year 16 dorms will be open including the newly-renovated Cobb Hall.

CMU’s enrollment has been declining in recent years and it lost more than 4,000 students since the pandemic began. But problems began before that.

The school in 2012 had more than 27,000 students, and enrollment had fallen to 19,431 by 2019. In 2021, CMU enrolled 15,465 students, which was a drop of about 11% compared to 2020 when 17,344 students were enrolled, according to a report by the Michigan Association of State Universities.

CMU’s enrollment decline over the last two years is the largest out of all the state’s 15 public universities.

Jennifer DeHaemers, CMU vice president for student recruitment and retention, previously attributed part of CMU’s enrollment decline to the university being behind in recruitment strategies used by institutions it competes with for students.

She said in November that CMU has hired new staff to turn the enrollment tide and is stepping up efforts to compete by upgrading its on-campus housing, investing in new technology that tracks potential students, and making campus tours smaller and more focused on areas of study.

“Turning enrollment around isn’t done in one day or one year,” DeHaemers said. “If you had a 10-year history of declining enrollment, you will not turn that around in one year. It’s a long game.”

MICHIGAN STUDENTS PUSH FOR FILLING GAPS IN SCHOOL MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Brittyn Benjamin-Kelley and Thyaba Mymuna have little faith in the system now in place to support student mental health in Michigan schools — a gap, they say, that must be filled.

What’s needed to address student mental health are more therapists and psychologists, they said during a panel discussion Wednesday co-hosted by Chalkbeat Detroit, Bridge Michigan, and the Detroit Free Press. Watch the full conversation here.

Brittyn, a senior at Cass Technical High School in Detroit, said her school, which enrolls 2,400 students, has only a handful of counselors. “That’s stressful for everyone,” she said. “I feel like we need more people for that in our school and other schools.”

Poor mental health among teens has been a growing issue, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 1 in 3 high school students had experienced persistent feelings of hopelessness in 2019, a 40% increase since 2009.

Leading pediatric associations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and Children’s Hospital Association last year declared a national emergency in children’s mental health, citing the pandemic’s ongoing toll.

Districts across the state have $6 billion of COVID-19 relief funding to spend, which some schools are using to address the youth mental health crisis. That level of investment can range from hiring social workers and counselors, creating curriculums focused on student well-being and purchasing therapy dogs.

Thyaba, a junior at Cousino Senior High School in Warren, said prioritizing the mental health needs of students should be on par with the emphasis placed on physical health and fitness in schools.

“We already have nurses and doctors, at least at our school, to help students physically because they really give importance to athletes. But if you’re giving importance to athletes and students, they should also give importance to their mental health,” Thyaba said.

The discussion follows a January poll that showed Michigan residents overwhelmingly support increased mental health resources.

Elizabeth Koschmann, executive director of a University of Michigan program created to make mental health services accessible to students, said the solution to supporting student mental health during the pandemic may not require hiring more professionals. Instead, equipping current school employees with the needed “tools, resources, and professional development” may be what will help address their students’ mental health.

“We have already seen that even with incredible funding opportunities, a lot of positions in schools go unfilled because the positions are incredibly demanding, they’re hard, they’re often under-salaried, they’re emotionally taxing,” she said.

“We have got to reframe our understanding of who these individuals are working in our buildings, and ensure that we’re not setting them up for failure and burnout and exhaustion.”

Increasing student input and feedback in school decision-making, Brittyn said, should be a main priority. Usually, she added, students go to their peers for advice about how to cope with stress, or direct each other to outside resources or professionals they can go to for support.

“I feel like the students and the youth, they raise awareness, they try to come up with their own programs, their own resources,” Brittyn said. “We’re working together because we feel like there’s no one else who can do something for us.”

Amanda Holiday, a Detroit parent and early childhood program director at Congress of Communities, suggested school districts send students home with a list of resources for mental health services available in or outside of school.

The organization found in a recent survey of primarily Latino families in southwest Detroit that many overwhelmingly wanted to talk about mental health support for their children. The priority among parents, Holiday said, was for schools to “meet (student) needs before they become emergency level.”

Thyaba said she believes that acknowledging and listening to students should be the goal of school leaders as they consider how to spend their COVID-19 relief money.

“I don’t think it’s too much to expect people in power to support us, especially when it comes to mental health,” she said. “There’s so many people struggling with mental health and I see every day on the news and all over social media people killing themselves, and it all just hurts me so much because I’m just like, they could have been helped, but they weren’t.”

FEDERAL PANEL TO DECIDE FATE OF MICH. CONGRESSIONAL MAP AFTER UNEQUAL POPULATION COMPLAINTS

DETROIT NEWS — A federal three-judge panel will decide whether Michigan’s newly adopted congressional district map should be redrawn to secure more equal populations after more than an hour of arguments Wednesday that one judge described as an “exercise in tediousness.”

An attorney for several Michigan Republicans argued Wednesday that the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission was not able to show that neutral and consistent criteria drove the group’s decision to forgo more equal populations in favor of communities of interest.

“They’ve just not articulated anything,” said Jason Torchinsky, a lawyer for the Republicans challenging the map.

Torchinsky asked the judges to order “small, surgical” changes to the map to balance out numbers, noting “population equalizing is an exercise that mapmakers can do relatively quickly.”

The suit filed earlier this year challenged the commission’s new 13-district congressional map on the grounds that it didn’t comply with the federal concept of “one person, one vote” requiring equal population numbers among districts.

The lawsuit noted several districts were under and over the 775,179-person limit per district with two coming 487 and 635 people outside of the total. The majority of other U.S. states are able to come much closer in balancing their populations among districts, Torchinsky argued.

The commission countered Wednesday that it had stayed within what it believed were practicable deviations from the required population totals. The group’s litigation lawyer, Richard Raile, said the commission had to balance population totals against maintaining communities based on a host of criteria, including media markets, historical significance or cultural ties.

He said what the Republicans were asking was easier said than done, comparing population tweaks to attempting to solve a Rubik’s cube.

“The problem with assuming we can do that is that it’s bald speculation,” Raile said.

Four members of the commission were in attendance Wednesday: Commissioners Anthony Eid, Rebecca Szetela, Dustin Witjes and Cynthia Orton.

The three-judge panel — made up of Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Raymond Kethledge, and U.S. district judges Janet Neff and Paul Maloney — peppered both sides with questions during the hearing. All of them were appointed by Republican former President George W. Bush.

Kethledge questioned why the Republicans did not produce a map with those “surgical” adjustments if it was as easy as they said. Without showing it was possible, he said, the plaintiffs were asking the panel to consider “the advisability of ordering an abstraction.”

“You’re just offering your own sense of that,” he told Torchinsky. “You’re telling, not showing.”

The Republicans did provide an alternate map in their initial filing but it was largely built around the group’s communities of interest claim, which was thrown out earlier this month.

Neff criticized the arguments against the deviations in population as “niggling” and an “exercise in tediousness.”

“Isn’t this a little like asking how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?” Neff asked.

“It’s an exercise in tediousness,” she added. “They have laid out what they think is a valid map…and all you’re doing is niggling” over relatively small deviations.

Though the court previously dismissed a challenge to the map for how it implemented “communities of interest,” the arguments Wednesday often came back to that concept since it was one of the reasons cited for population deviations among the districts.

The judges noted there wasn’t a consistent definition for communities of interest in the Michigan Constitution, but it was not something they could weigh in on.

Torchinsky warned that — without a clear definition for communities of interest or any solid stopping point on population deviations from the court — future commissions could draw maps with even wider deviations.

“If you allow it here, there’s no definitional limitation to it,” he said.

Kethledge, noting the commission pointed to public comment to justify its decisions, asked both parties to submit proof from public comments opposing or supporting the claim that the public wanted the communities of interest cited by the commission over more equal population distributions.

Parties are required to submit those citations by Tuesday.

Heather Meingast, an assistant attorney general representing Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson in the case, asked that the court, regardless of its ultimate decision, keep timing in mind. The filing deadline for candidates is April 19 and whatever changes were suggested for the map would have to be updated in the qualified voter file before that time.

“It’s a Herculean task. It’s time-sensitive. It’s labor-intensive,” Meingast said. “There isn’t going to be a way for us to do that and meet the April 19 deadline.”

DAIRY COWS WANT TO MAKE DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME PERMANENT. DOES MICHIGAN?

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Measures to make Daylight Savings Time year-round are getting bipartisan support from state and national legislators.

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday unanimously approved a bill that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent. The bill came days after the nation turned its clocks forward one hour this week, and as the Michigan Senate is sitting on a bill that would do the same thing and passed the House in March 2021.

Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, who sponsored the Senate’s version of the bill, said changing the clock does more harm than good. Irwin’s bill encompasses both the part of Michigan that operates in the Eastern Time Zone and the four Upper Peninsula counties that operate in Central Time. “The tradition of changing our clocks twice a year is anachronistic,” Irwin said. “The switching of the clocks twice a year is causing real disruption in people’s lives.”

Americans alternate between standard time and Daylight Savings, which countries like Germany and the United States implemented to save energy during World War I. It became a national practice in the United States in the 1960s.

Irwin is referring to studies that showed an uptick in traffic crashes, workplace injuries and productivity loss that occur when Americans change their clocks.

According to 20 years of data analyzed by federal officials, the first week of Daylight Savings Time is linked to a 6 percent increase in car crashes. There’s also a link to workplace mishaps: the Occupational Safety and Health Administration analyzed data from 1983 to 2006 that showed “Daylight Savings Time results in people getting 40 minutes less sleep, a 6 percent increase in workplace injuries and nearly 68 percent more workdays lost to injuries.”

Irwin said those problems would be mitigated if lawmakers stuck with one time.

If they did, people would first notice sunlight — as the sun wouldn’t rise until about 9 a.m. during the winter and set an hour later, around 6 p.m., said Martin Baxter, an earth and atmospheric professor at Central Michigan University.

Opponents of keeping Daylight Savings Time argue it will result in icier road conditions because of the late sunrise, more cars on the road and colder mornings.

“A lot of this is a matter of opinion and based on people’s unique schedules,” Baxter said. “Weather-wise, I don’t think there would be that many more impacts, with just an hour’s difference and considering that when we go to work now it’s already dark.”

The measure has support from one constituency: dairy farmers, whose cows are used to being milked at specific times.

“When you change the time, typically their production backs off for a period until they settle into their new routine,” said Bob Thompson, president of the Michigan Farmers Union.

“Having a stable timeframe is much better than just switching back and forth. Just set the time and leave it.”

An extra hour of sunlight in the evening could help people cope with seasonal affective disorder, a type of depression related to changes in the seasons and daylight hours.

Jacob Rivard of Romeo has the condition and said it can be especially hard at the start of winter when the sun sets at 5 p.m.

“There’s a two to three month period where I just completely shut down,” Rivard said. “In recent years, I’ve planned trips to warmer places to temporarily recharge the battery when things get bad.”

If the U.S. House of Representatives follows the Senate’s lead and passes the bill, Michigan would not need to pass its own legislation to keep the summer schedule of Daylight Savings Time year-round.

Irwin said if passed, his bill would only go into effect if neighboring states Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania adopted similar legislation. Ohio passed a similar but nonbinding resolution in 2020. Sixteen states have enacted legislation for year-round Daylight SavingsTime.

CHILD REUNITES WITH FAVORITE TOY LEFT AT METRO AIRPORT THROUGH VIRAL SOCIAL MEDIA POST

BRIDGE MI — Austin was accidentally lost by his family at Detroit Metro Airport in early March. He was sitting near the water fountain in the middle of the McNamara Terminal March 4 when Commerce Township resident Mary Joyce found him.

Austin, a stuffed animal, was left behind in the often stressful craze of airport travel. Through the power of social media, Joyce was able to return the beloved toy cow to its rightful owner, a baby named Rae from Ohio.

“I have seven kids and my two sons are both autistic, and they are very, very attached to their plushies,” said Joyce, 51. “I know what would happen in my life if either of them lost their stuffed animals, so I picked him up.”

She went to a nearby gate where airport personnel made a lost and found announcement over the loudspeaker, but no one came to claim Austin. Joyce walked around the airport with him, hoping someone would see the cow, until her flight to New York.

Although she had no success at the airport, she was determined not to give up, and Austin became her travel companion. The pilot on her flight thought it was funny and took a picture with the stuffed cow, which led to Joyce creating an Instagram account for Austin.

And then everything exploded.

The DTW Facebook account posted about it, hoping to find its real owner, in a post that now has more than 12,000 shares. And then, six days after Austin was left behind, Rae’s mom saw it and commented on the post.

“I saw someone said, ‘This is mine; this is my daughter’s favorite toy, and we were devastated,’ ” said Joyce, who contacted the commenter right away.

“The mother texted me immediately and texted me pictures of her daughter with the cow. There had been a few people who had said, ‘Oh, this is mine,’ but I kind of knew they were fibbing. I don’t know how I knew it, but I just knew. I was very positive that this was this cow’s family.”

And so Joyce packed up Austin and sent him back to his family.

A lot of strangers wouldn’t pick up a random stuffed animal from an airport and spend days trying to find its owner. Joyce said she never second-guessed her goal.

If the family had packed the toy cow while trying to travel light, it must have meant a lot to the child, she said.

“I kind of know if a parent brings an animal like that to an airport, there’s a reason for it,” Joyce said. “And if the kid loses it, it can be a crisis.”

Joyce had no idea that her mission to reunite a kid with a stuffed animal would be so popular, but she’s so happy that it did.

“I was shocked,” she said. “I’m just glad it worked. I’m glad we got it home, and I’m glad the baby was happy to get back because, like I said, I know what it’s like.”

Rae’s family sent Joyce a brand new stuffed cow, so she can keep up the Instagram account.

“It’s the exact same cow, it has arrived at my house and he will now be my traveling companion.”

MICHIGAN GAS TAX HOLIDAY ALL BUT DEAD. NOW, LAWMAKERS EYE OTHER OPTIONS.

BRIDGE MI — A Republican proposal halting Michigan’s gas tax collection for six months is all but dead — despite winning support from both chambers of the Legislature.

The Senate voted 24-14 Tuesday to advance the measure, which would have suspended the state’s 27.2-cents-per-gallon gas tax for six months between April and September this year.

Although the bill now heads to Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, she signaled last week she would veto the GOP-backed bill. Even if she were to sign the bill, the plan would not take effect until March 2023 — almost a year after the proposed effective date of the gas tax relief. That’s because legislative rules require two-thirds support to take immediate effect. “Those that voted against immediate effect are the ones … that are not going to be able to deliver any kind of relief immediately to our drivers.” Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, told reporters Tuesday.

Now, the election-year battle over gas relief moves to Whitmer’s request to the Biden administration for a holiday from the federal 18.4 cent per gallon gas tax — as well as talks to suspend the state’s 6 percent sales tax on gasoline.

The debate comes amid sticker shock and anger over skyrocketing gas prices across the country — a spike worsened by the ongoing inflation and the U.S. ban on Russian oil following the Russian war with Ukraine.

Gas prices have risen nationwide 11 straight weeks. In Michigan alone, a gallon of gas has spiked to $4.32, from $3.10 at the start of the year.

Michigan Senate Republicans’ plan to suspend state gas tax collections for a year would have cost the state roughly $770 million in revenue, including $725 million from the Michigan Transportation Fund and $45 million for state and local road and bridge repairs, according to a House fiscal analysis.

GOP legislators have argued that, with more than $7 billion in revenue surplus, the state is capable of shouldering the cost. Democrats agree relief is needed but said funding roads repair is a priority as well.

With the tax holiday likely dead, both Republicans and Democrats on Tuesday expressed willingness to suspend or completely do away with the 6-percent sales tax on gasoline.

Michigan is one of seven states where motor fuels are subject to some or all of the statewide general sales tax, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint, said he is considering legislation to suspend the sales tax on gas until the end of the year.

The tax dollars collected on gas sales go toward the state’s school aid fund and general fund, and Ananich told Bridge Michigan last week taxpayers deserve some of the “windfall” revenue Michigan has collected.

At the beginning of fiscal year 2022, the state had expected to receive $621 million based on the price of $2.84 per gallon, Senate Democrats spokesperson Rosie Jones told Bridge.

That estimate likely will rise significantly since the price of gas has soared.

“If (the gas price) goes back down to levels where we were at before, I’d be happy to have it end early,” Ananich told Bridge. “Obviously I don’t want to hurt schools … but I think we can solve that (concern) after we give people relief.”

Multiple Republicans, including Shirkey, embraced the idea. Shirkey said he would like to see the sales tax eliminated.

“I want to drive a stake in the heart of sales tax on gas. It’s just been a dumb tax from Day One,” he said. “I’m anxious to get the rest of the (legislative leaders) together and move this forward.”

Ananich said he is open to negotiations.

“I think a relief holiday right now is the most appropriate way to go,” he said.

JUDGE APPEARS SKEPTICAL THAT FORMER GOV. SNYDER CAN PLEAD 5TH AMENDMENT IN FLINT LAWSUIT

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Lawyers for former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and some of the other criminal defendants in the Flint water crisis said they believed the statute of limitations had expired when their clients gave testimony in a related civil lawsuit — before their indictments were unsealed — a federal judge was told Tuesday.

Lawyers for Snyder, former Flint emergency managers Gerald Ambrose and Darnell Earley, former Flint public works official Howard Croft, and former Snyder adviser Richard Baird told U.S. District Judge Judith Levy why their clients should not have to take the stand at the civil trial of two consulting firms, which began last month.

But Levy gave no indication she intends to quash the subpoenas issued to Snyder and the other potential witnesses. She said it is clear they waived their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination when they agreed to testify in depositions in the civil lawsuit back in 2020. She repeatedly asked attorneys to demonstrate to her how the depositions and the trial are not all one legal proceeding — which would mean those waivers remain in place. But she never appeared to receive a satisfactory answer.

“If I had known at the deposition what I know now, I certainly would have invoked the (Fifth Amendment) privilege,” said Kalamazoo attorney Randall Levine, who represents Baird.

“That’s life,” Levy replied.

Further, Levine said, prosecutors had assured him that Baird “was not a target” of the Flint criminal investigation. “I had a right to rely on the government’s representations, and I did,” in consenting to Baird testifying in a deposition, Levine said.

“There was a new prosecutor at the time of the deposition, and you knew that,” Levy replied.

Earley, Ambrose and Croft all were charged criminally in 2016, when Attorney General Bill Schuette was in charge of the investigation, only to see those charges dismissed in 2019 after an election cycle replaced Schuette with Attorney General Dana Nessel. Then, under Nessel, a one-person grand jury brought new charges in 2021 against Earley, Ambrose and Croft, plus charges against Snyder and Baird, who had not been charged previously.

Snyder’s deposition took two days and the transcript, which has not yet been made public, fills 831 pages, Levy was told.

April 2020 — six years after Flint’s water supply was switched to the Flint River from Lake Huron — was generally seen as the time when the statute of limitations expired for criminal charges in the lead poisoning of Flint’s drinking water supply.

When Earley testified in a civil deposition in late July 2020, “we thought the statute of limitations had run,” Juan Mateo, a Detroit attorney representing Earley, told the judge. Mateo said he did not know that Earley had been indicted back in March 2020, although the indictments were not unsealed until 2021.

William Swor, a Detroit attorney representing Ambrose, said that like Earley, “Mr. Ambrose did not know that he had already been indicted” when he gave his deposition.

Levy said there was apparently an “incorrect assumption” that the statute of limitations had expired, even though Ambrose was aware “there was a possibility, even a probability” that he could face criminal charges at the time he waived his Fifth Amendment rights by answering questions in a deposition.

Levy, who said she will issue a written ruling, floated a possible compromise under which videos of the depositions of Snyder and the other potential witnesses would be shown to jurors. Lawyers would then present arguments, outside the presence of the jury, on whether any additional questions could be asked through live testimony. Lawyers for Snyder and the other potential witnesses sounded generally positive about taking that approach.

Lawyer for the indicted witnesses said giving live answers to even the exact same questions puts their clients at greater risk for criminal prosecution, partly because their clients might not answer those questions in exactly the same way that they did during the deposition.

But lawyers for the defendants in the civil lawsuit — Lockwood, Andrews and Newnam (LAN), its parent company, Leo A. Daly Co.; and a second company, Veolia Water North America Operating Services — said Snyder and the others should have to give live testimony.

The civil trial, which is being held in Ann Arbor, could last four months.

OHIO WOMAN CHARGED WITH LEAVING THREATENING, RACIST VOICEMAILS FOR MICHIGAN LAWMAKERS

DETROIT NEWS — A 58-year-old Ohio woman is facing charges of ethnic intimidation and making a false threat of terrorism after leaving threatening messages last year for two Black lawmakers.

Charges were filed against Sandra Bachman of Batavia, Ohio, in Lansing district court Tuesday related to voicemails Bachman is alleged to have left for Democratic state Reps. Sarah Anthony of Lansing and Cynthia Johnson of Detroit.

Bachman was charged with one count of false report or threat of terrorism, one count of ethnic intimidation and two counts of malicious use of telecommunications services.

Bachman will be arraigned on the charges in-person on March 31.

“This rise in threats against elected officials will not be tolerated,” said Attorney General Dana Nessel, whose office authorized the charges after a Michigan State Police investigation.

“Those who think hiding behind a phone or keyboard will prevent them from facing criminal charges are severely mistaken,” Nessel said in a statement. “I appreciate the work done across state lines to bring accountability in this case.”

Johnson said she hoped the case against Bachman moved smoother than the stalled case against a man charged in January 2021 with threatening her.

“I hope that we can turn a page one day where people who do bad things to people really pay for what they do and not be given a slap on the wrist,” Johnson said.

The terrorism count filed against Bachman is considered a felony and carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison while the ethnic intimidation charge is a two-year felony. The telecommunications misdemeanor charges carry a six-month penalty.

Bachman is alleged to have left a voicemail for Anthony in May 2021 that called her a “traitor” and warned her to cancel an upcoming bill.

“And, um, you won’t see the bullet coming, let me tell you that,” the voicemail said, according to Nessel’s office. “So, stop this s— and you’re fired. We’ll be coming to Michigan soon to remove you from your post.”

In June 2021, Bachman is alleged to have left the following message: “Well, baby-doll, n—– lip b—-, monkey, we are going to get you. You will die. You are one of the worst offenders. We actually have a tier too, in like points for how much you are worth once we kill you. … You’re going to die and I’m happy about it. The whole world will be rejoicing, just know that. Sleep well.”

Threats against Michigan public officials have increased amid disagreements over pandemic restrictions and the November 2020 election.

The charges against Bachman come in the middle of a trial of some of the men accused of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer due to her response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Johnson began getting threats in 2020 after calling out a witness who spoke at a hearing involving Rudy Giuliani, the personal lawyer of former President Donald Trump, when he provided testimony and witnesses at a December Michigan House Oversight Committee hearing into potential irregularities in the Nov. 3 election.

She was censured in 2020 over a Dec. 8 Facebook video responding to threats in which she told supporters to do “things right and in order” but advised Trump’s backers to “be careful” and “walk lightly.” She then said, “We ain’t playing with you.” She also told her supporters to “hit their a—s” in the pocketbook.

Johnson maintains the censure and committee removal from Republican and Democratic House leaders over her December comments was unwarranted and opened the flood gates for thousands more threats and vitriol directed toward her.

“They were throwing red meat,” Johnson said.

Michael Varrone of Charlotte was arraigned in January 2021 on two counts of a false report or threat of terrorism and one count of false report of a bomb threat. One of the terrorism counts related to a threat Varrone is alleged to have directed toward Johnson on Dec. 12 in a voicemail left on the office line of state Rep. Thomas Albert, R-Lowell.

Varrone was bound over to circuit court in August before he was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER | CASES CONTINUE FALLING FAST, HOSPITALIZATIONS DWINDLE

BRIDGE MI — Michigan reported 1,365 new COVID-19 cases over the past three days on Monday, or an average of 455 per day, lowering the seven-day average to 703, down from 745 on Friday.

The state also reported 24 additional COVID-19 deaths.

The percent of coronavirus tests coming back positive fell to 3.4 percent over the past week, and 3.7 percent over the most recent three days. A month ago, the rate was 11.5 percent. A lower percent positive rate indicates less community spread of the virus.

There are now 729 patients being treated in Michigan hospitals with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, down from 772 on Friday.

The average rate of cases and the number of COVID-19 hospital patients are the lowest since reported early August. The last time the positive test rate was lower was July 20 when it was 3.3 percent.

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN TO PULL RUSSIA INVESTMENTS

DETROIT FRE PRESS — The University of Michigan will start the process to end its current investments in Russia, the school announced Tuesday morning. In addition, the school won’t make any future investments.

The school said it was making the move because of increasing financial risks associated with these investments and as part of its condemnation of the Russia attack on Ukraine.

The school’s endowment was just over $17 billion as of the end of June 2021, the latest figures available. That makes U-M’s endowment one of the largest in higher education.

The university did not disclose exactly how much money it had in investments in Russia.

Earlier this month, U-M Interim President Mary Sue Coleman decried the attacks.

“I condemn this invasion and the ruthless attack on freedom,” she said in a statement then. “The grief, anger and hurt are devastating, and I feel such sorrow for the many members of our community whose loved ones and communities are in harm’s way.”

Several colleges and universities across the nation have made similar moves, including Yale University and the University of Colorado. Several other states have also told colleges to pull investments, including Virginia, Ohio and Arizona.

ACCIDENTAL DROWNING CAUSE OF BRENDAN SANTO’S DEATH, MEDICAL EXAMINER SAYS

DETROIT NEWS — A medical examiner concluded 18-year-old Brendan Santo died in an accidental drowning, nearly five months after the Rochester Hills native went missing on the campus of Michigan State University.

The Ingham County Medical Examiner’s office listed acute ethanol intoxication as a contributing factor since Santo’s blood alcohol content was at about 0.22, according to a Feb. 9 autopsy report.

Law enforcement recovered Santo’s body from the Red Cedar River on Jan. 21 after a private investigator hired by the family alerted police to what he believed to be the boy’s body about a mile and a half downriver of where Santo was last seen.

In a statement Monday, the Michigan State University Police Department thanked all those who assisted with the case and said they kept the Santo family in their thoughts.

“This remains an open investigation while law enforcement continues to examine the items recovered at the scene, which is routine in an investigation such as this,” said Dana Whyte, a spokeswoman for the agency.

“When the investigation is complete, the autopsy results will be included in the report that is submitted to the Ingham County Prosecutor for review.”

Santo was among thousands who went to East Lansing on Oct. 29 ahead of a rivalry football game between MSU and the University of Michigan.

The Grand Valley State University student vanished shortly before the game, and family, friends, volunteers and law enforcement searched for him for roughly 80 days before he was found on Jan. 21.

The search started within a day after Santo left Yakeley Hall, on the northern edge of campus near Michigan Avenue, where police say the teen was last spotted walking away shortly before midnight.

He had driven his truck to campus and planned to stay with friends in the complex of residence halls known as the Brody neighborhood, a nearly 15-minute walk west, his family has said.

MSU President Samuel Stanley, Jr. previously confirmed the security camera at the entrance of Yakeley Hall was not operational on the night Santo was last seen.

MICHIGAN GAS PRICES MAY STAY HIGH. WHERE TO FIND LOWEST PRICES, SAVE MONEY

BRIDGE MI — Driven by Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine, gas prices in Michigan jumped to $4.23 on average this week, with highest prices in the Upper Peninsula, north central Lower Peninsula and metro Detroit (except Wayne County).

For the eleventh straight week, the nation’s average gas price also rose, climbing 26.4 cents from a week ago to $4.32, according to AAA Michigan.

Michigan’s average is up 88 cents from a month ago, and it’s $1.43 per gallon higher than a year ago. The reasons include production from the nation’s oil companies, which still haven’t ramped up to pre-pandemic levels, and sanctions on Russia, “one of the top energy exporters on the planet,” said Matthew Ross, a finance professor of finance at Western Michigan University.

“That is sending ripple effects throughout global oil markets, which is directly translating the higher prices at the pump,” Ross said.

Many consumers are now finding ways to save what they can at the pumps and their behavior could impact prices, Ross told Bridge Michigan.

“If enough consumers cut back on their use of fuel, you would expect the price at the pump to decline,” Ross said. “We may already be seeing some of that because folks are so surprised about how much the price has gone up.”

Ross said it’s uncertain how much gas prices will increase as a lot of that depends on what happens between Russia and Ukraine. The cost of a barrel of oil leaped to $123 right after the invasion, but more recently fell below $110 per barrel.

Gas prices typically increase in spring, as driving picks up in warmer months and refineries switch to more expensive blends of summer gas that slow the evaporation as temperatures rise.

Shop for the best price.

Like with many consumer goods, you may be able to find a better deal — especially if you fold the hunt for a lower price into your driving patterns so that you stop at a cheaper pump with little effort (and no extra driving).

Gas stations pay for fuel, including the taxes, when it’s delivered. So pricing may reflect a tank that was purchased before a price increase, said Mark Griffin, president of the Michigan Petroleum Association (MPA), which represents 400 businesses that operate 1,500 locations like gas stations and distributors in the state.

Geography and the area’s relative affluence may also play a role. The Upper Peninsula stations pay an extra 8 to 10 cents per gallon in transport fees. Downstate areas with a lot of competing stations — or price-conscious customers — may have the lowest prices.

Sometimes, a few miles can make a big difference.

There are more tricks to pay less

Smartphones make shopping for a deal easier. Get the apps for your favorite stations and check the map for prices along your route.

You also can carry cash to use if you spot a station offering a discount if you don’t charge the purchase. That could be 10 cents a gallon. One 15-gallon fill-up would save $1.50. Four in a month would save $6. And over the course of a year, that could be hundreds of dollars saved on what you’d buy anyway.

GasBuddy is one app that tracks prices among competitors. If you face longer drives and may be in unfamiliar territory, it can help you find cheaper gas. Geico also gives consumers a gas station tracker, as do AAA and Gas Guru.

Consumers can also use popular navigation apps, such as Waze and Google Maps, to track local gas prices.

Another strategy: Use less gas.

How you drive can affect fuel consumption, says AAA Michigan.

Among changes to consider:

Keep up with regular maintenance.
Keep tires properly inflated.
Drive the speed limit. Fuel economy on the highway will drop significantly as speeds increase above 50 mph.
Avoid hard acceleration.
Adjust your speed to “time” the traffic lights to limit repeated braking and acceleration.
Coast when approaching a red light or stop sign, take your foot off the gas early and allow your car to coast down to a slower speed until it is time to brake.
And looking ahead to summer: Prepare to minimize your use of air conditioning.

COVID-19 DELAYS TRIAL IN PLOT TO KIDNAP GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The trial for four men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer that was scheduled to resume Monday has been postponed at least until Thursday because an essential participant tested positive for COVID-19.

U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker ordered the delay Sunday. Undercover FBI agents and informants were expected to testify in the coming weeks, as were two co-conspirators who pleaded guilty prior to trial as prosecutors build their case against four defendants accused of plotting to kidnap Whitmer.

The trial could last more than a month.

In testimony last week, prosecutors sought to counter defense claims that the four were entrapped, tricked by the FBI into joining a kidnapping conspiracy that wouldn’t have occurred to them otherwise. Prosecutors laid the groundwork of their case by calling FBI investigators to explain how they obtained covert recordings and social media posts.

They entered some of that key evidence.

On Thursday, jurors heard for the first time a recording of one of the defendants specifically talk about kidnapping the Democratic governor. Barry Croft Jr. could be heard saying there should be “a quick, precise grab” of Whitmer.

Jurors heard him and defendant Adam Fox in social media postings and recordings ranting about purported government abuses and saying violence was a valid response. Prosecutors say Croft and Fox were plot ringleaders.

Prosecutors said authorities arrested Fox, Croft, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta in October 2020 to thwart the kidnapping and to ensure the men couldn’t follow through on bids to buy powerful explosives.

In 2020, Whitmer was trading taunts with then-President Donald Trump over his administration’s response to COVID-19. Her critics regularly protested at the Michigan Capitol, clogging streets around the statehouse and legally carrying semi-automatic rifles into the building.

Whitmer, who is seeking reelection this year, rarely talks publicly about the case and isn’t expected to attend the trial. She has blamed Trump for stoking mistrust and fomenting anger over coronavirus restrictions and refusing to condemn hate groups and right-wing extremists like those charged in the plot. She has said he was also complicit in the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.

IS FEDERAL COVID CASH ENOUGH TO SOLVE MICHIGAN SCHOOL MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS?

BRIDGE MI — Two years of frustration, disruption and loss have taken their toll on Michigan students, exacerbating a youth mental health crisis that has been building for more than a decade.

Michiganders want schools to take action, polls show, and educators are stepping up to the challenge, drawing on research showing that emotional distress and student learning do not mix well. Michigan schools have no shortage of funds on hand, thanks to $6 billion in federal COVID relief, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is recommending a budget that includes an additional $361 million for student mental health.

Yet it’s not clear how far that money will go. Districts have hired social workers and counselors, selected new social-emotional learning curriculums, and purchased therapy dogs. But students’ needs are immense, and the pandemic-roiled labor market is limiting districts’ efforts to hire additional staff.

At stake is the post-pandemic recovery of Michigan’s youngest residents, not just emotionally but academically.

“We have kids that are chronically depressed and addicted,” said Paul Liabenow, executive director of the Michigan Elementary and Middle School Principals Association. “There is a massive backlog of need.”

Broad consensus on mental health

Michigan has taken notice of the mental health struggles of students like Khyiana Tate.

“Students — me included — we’ve been isolated, ” said Khyiana, a senior at the Michigan School for the Deaf. “I was stuck at home. A lot of times I was depressed. They don’t know what it’s like to have outside socializing just be snatched right from under us.”

For Tate, one solution is to hire more social workers and counselors.

Many Michiganders would agree. They put higher priority on addressing COVID funds, according to a January poll conducted by Chalkbeat and the Detroit Free Press. Policymakers, too, have turned their focus to student mental health with budget proposals and efforts to revamp a healthcare system that lacks enough beds and providers to meet the needs of youth who are battling mental illness at growing rates.

Yet schools are struggling to find mental health workers to hire. The pandemic caused turmoil in labor markets, adding to a shortage of trained school social workers that began years beforehand, said Kim Battjes, a professor at Michigan State University who trains school social workers. If districts can find someone to hire, Battjes said, they must often find ways to train them on the job.

“It’s like, ‘Yay, we’re getting money! Oh no, we don’t have people to fill these positions!’” she said. “School districts are hiring people who have never even worked with a kid a day in their life as therapists in schools.”

COVID funds alone won’t be enough to improve working conditions in schools, which have been deteriorating for years, making hiring more difficult, said Elizabeth Koschmann, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Michigan and the director of TRAILS to Wellness, a nonprofit that shares research-based mental health practices with schools.

At the same time as federal funds are becoming available, Michigan has a massive budget surplus. With student activists calling for expanded mental-health services in the wake of last year’s school shooting in Oxford, Whitmer wants the state to invest an additional $361 million in student mental health. That proposal will likely be challenged by the Republican legislature, which proposes spending the surplus on a tax cut.

Still, these new investments may not be able to keep up with the need for mental health services. Consider the Grand Haven School District in western Michigan, where a string of six suicides betweeen 2011 and 2017 spurred district leaders to expand their mental health staff to the levels that many other districts are trying to reach today.

Even as other districts in the area struggle to hire mental health workers, Grand Haven’s larger staff is struggling to keep up with mental health needs.

“We’re seeing the trickle effects of the constant chaos and uncertainty of the pandemic,” said Katie Havey, a district social worker. We’re seeing more kids needing major interventions. We’re doing more suicide screenings and seeing higher levels of threat assessments.

“It is crazy to reflect on all of these things that we’re doing really well and realize that we could still use so much more support.”

PISTONS ANNOUNCER GEORGE BLAHA OUT FOR REMAINDER OF SEASON, WILL UNDERGO HEART PROCEDURE

DETROIT NEWS — Iconic Pistons play-by-play announcer George Blaha, who has been with the team for 46 seasons, will miss the remainder of the season as he prepares for a heart-bypass procedure, the Pistons announced Sunday.

After a routine checkup last week revealed an issue, Blaha’s doctors scheduled the heart procedure for Tuesday, and they expect the 76-year-old to have a full recovery.

“I am disappointed to miss the remainder of the season, but my health is the number one priority right now, and I have a great team of doctors guiding my short-term and long-term health,” Blaha said in a team statement.

“I’m grateful that they caught my issue early and they expect a full recovery. I look forward to getting back to full speed with rest and rehabilitation during the offseason and returning next year for my 47th season calling games for the Pistons.”

Blaha has been behind the mic for all three of the Pistons’ championship seasons, and he has become synonymous with the Pistons throughout each of their eras.

“My thoughts and prayers go out to George. He’s one of the best in the business and he’s seen almost everything in the business, both college and the pros,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey said before Sunday’s game at Little Caesars Arena.

“He’s a man’s man and he knows the game. Thoughts and prayers to him as he goes through his health situation. We’re going to miss him the rest of the season, and my thoughts go out to him and his family.”

From his trademark “Count that baby and a foul!” after a made shot to the familiar “Off the high glass!” Blaha has been for many Pistons fans what Ernie Harwell was to Tigers fans or Vin Scully was to Dodgers faithful — a golden voice.

“George is part of our family and he and his wife, Mary, have our full support every step of the way,” Pistons team owner Tom Gores said in the statement. “George is in the best of care and in great spirits. We join his many fans, friends and colleagues in wishing him a full and speedy recovery.”

Blaha started his career with the Pistons in 1976 and has called more than 3,200 regular-season games and more than 260 playoff games.

In 2008, he was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. He also has received many awards, including the Ty Tyson Award for broadcasting excellence by the Detroit Sports Media Association and two-time Michigan Sports Broadcaster of the Year from the National Sportscasters and Sports Writers Association in 2003 and 2007.

MICHIGAN HOUSE OKS BANNING MAILING OF UNSOLICITED BALLOT APPLICATIONS, AGAIN

DETROIT NEWS — The Michigan House on Thursday adopted a series of bills, largely along party lines, that would ban certain practices for absentee ballots and the financing of election equipment.

The legislation would stop the unsolicited mailing of absentee ballot applications, prohibit the use of digital signatures for absentee ballot applications and ban third parties from contributing money toward election equipment.

The bills, which sponsors said would help to shore up election security, are likely headed for a veto from Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer should they get through the GOP-led Senate. In October, Whitmer vetoed almost identical legislation.

The provisions are also present in a petition initiative, Secure MI Vote, currently gathering signatures in the field and expected to be sent to the Legislature instead of the November ballot. Should the GOP-led Legislature adopt the proposal if it gets enough valid signatures, it would become law and avoid Whitmer’s veto pen.

State Rep. Andrew Beeler, R-Fort Gratiot, said his bill banning electronic signatures on absentee ballot applications addresses Michigan’s “vulnerable” elections by creating greater transparency and accountability.

“In any honest evaluation of election laws, Michigan is one of the easiest places to vote,” Beeler said. “…In order to ensure that each new voice is heard, we cannot afford to have unsatisfactory safeguards in place to prevent fraud.”

Democrats criticized the legislation as an attempt to suppress absentee voters on the unproven premise that there was fraud in the November 2020 election.

“All these bills do is rob our disabled, our seniors, our Black and Brown voters from the freedom to vote,” said Rep. Brenda Carter, D-Pontiac. “This bill will change the makeup of our electorate and negatively impact the lives of people we sit in this very chamber to serve.”

Whitmer’s office, when asked about the legislation, said Thursday the governor would “protect the will of Michigan voters and the integrity of our elections.” “Robust” protections already are in place to do so, Whitmer’s spokesman Bobby Leddy said in a statement.

“Every Michigander deserves to have their voice heard as they exercise their constitutional right to vote in a safe and secure election,” Leddy said..

One bill, which passed 57-44, would ban a third party from contributing to any local government running elections either money to purchase election equipment or election equipment itself. The bill passed with the support of three Democrats: Reps. Sara Cambensy of Marquette, Yousef Rabhi of Ann Arbor and Richard Steenland of Roseville.

A bill prohibiting county, city, or township clerks or the Secretary of State from sending unsolicited ballot applications passed 56-45, with Democrats Cambensy and Steenland supporting. The bills, sponsored by Rep. Julie Calley, R-Portland, also would prohibit clerks from making applications available earlier than 75 days before an election.

The third bill, prohibiting electronic or digital signatures for absentee ballot applications, passed 58-43, with Democratic state Reps. Kevin Coleman of Westland, Tullio Liberati of Allen Park, Cambensy and Steenland voting in support.

Some of the bills address actions Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson took ahead of the November 2020 election, when in the midst of the pandemic she sent unsolicited absentee ballot applications to each of Michigan’s 7.7 million registered voters. The state also allows an online absentee ballot applicant to click a box allowing the Secretary of State to send the voter’s stored digital signature to his or her city or township clerk along with the application.

Benson currently is working to formalize rules explicitly allowing for the acceptance of digital signatures on absentee ballot applications.

Rep. Matt Koleszar, D-Plymouth, argued the GOP-led legislation passed Thursday will only make it harder to vote in the next election.

“If you vote yes on this bill to create a barrier between someone and their constitutional, fundamental right, I struggle to find the patriotism in that vote,” he said.

But Rep. Sarah Lightner, the sponsor of the bill banning third party contributions toward election equipment, argued elections should be funded by public funds and to adopt another funding source would sow doubt in the integrity of the state’s elections.

The Springport Republican pointed to doubts that arose over millions of dollars that went to local clerks from the the Chicago-based Center for Tech and Civic Life, a group associated with Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg.

“How do you ever know if the money is being handed over with strings attached?” Lightner said.

“Drawing this clear line in the sand gives the public peace of mind that our elections, which are a fundamental function of government, are funded solely by the government without undue influence from individuals pushing their own political agendas,” she said.

SCAMMERS PRETEND THERE’S A PROBLEM WITH YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS, NUMBER

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Rising gas prices, rising food prices and rising overall inflation are bound to fuel financial anxiety, especially among seniors on a fixed income.

So why should we be surprised that scammers know how to play up the fears of inflation too?

Fraudsters last year engineered a sophisticated pitch to send letters to seniors to tell them that they needed to call a toll-free number to activate their cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security benefits, according to Gail Ennis, inspector general for the Social Security Administration.

The mail looked legitimate because the scammers sent letters that included the Social Security Administration letterhead.

But no one needs to call a toll-free number or take any action to receive cost-of-living adjustments on Social Security benefits.

The 5.9% cost-of-living adjustment was automated and began with benefits payable in January to more than 64 million Social Security beneficiaries.

Social Security officials aren’t texting pictures of badges

You definitely can’t always trust what you see.

Fraudsters know how to spoof legitimate phone numbers out of Washington to make the information that pops up on your Caller ID look more believable. And the crooks know how to create fake versions of ID badges that many federal employees use to gain access to federal buildings.

Scammers have been known to text potential victims a picture of a government badge to reassure you that they’re the real deal.

The con artists might rattle off real “badge numbers” or send emails with attachments containing personal information about a phony “investigation.”

Ennis, who was part of a media call before “Slam the Scam Day” on Thursday, said there are four signs of a scam:

Someone is pretending to be an official when they’re not.
They’re telling you about a problem or way to get better benefits.
They’re pressuring you to act quickly.
And they’re demanding that you pay in a specific way — maybe putting money on gift cards, depositing cash at an ATM that offers cryptocurrency, or wiring money.

In some cases, the crooks even ask you to box up cash and mail it to them to fix a problem. One woman felt so threatened, according to Social Security experts, that she put $20,000 in cash in a box to mail to a pharmacy in Phoenix so the scammers could pick up the box there.

But she soon felt something was wrong and acted immediately to get authorities to help her intervene with the shipping company and get that money back, Ennis said.

Don’t send cash — or buy gift cards — if someone claims to be from a government agency.

Kilolo Kijakazi, acting commissioner of Social Security, said fraudsters continue trying to trick people into providing personal information or money.

Scammers can pretend there’s a problem with your Social Security benefits or your Social Security number. The caller could scare you into thinking that your Social Security number has been connected to running drugs and money laundering across the border.

Some might even threaten you if you don’t act quickly.

Kijakazi said the agency received more than 568,000 reports of Social Security related scams in fiscal year 2021 that triggered nearly $63 million in losses. Consumers can go to oig.ssa.gov to report Social Security scams.

Social Security isn’t contacting you via social media — or messaging apps

Another new trick: Scammers are now impersonating government agencies and others on social media and then trying to get you to engage on various apps, such as WhatsApp or Google Hangouts. Scammers try to remain anonymous, keep up some type of secrecy and protect their own identities by using such messaging apps that have privacy-focused features.

Social Security, of course, isn’t going to try to talk with you via WhatsApp.

Hang up if you get a robocall. Ignore a text or email. Government employees aren’t going to threaten you and say you’re about to lose Social Security benefits if you don’t act now.

Bottom line: Your Social Security number is not about to be suspended. And you’re not going to solve any problems with benefits by moving the conversation onto WhatsApp.

MICHIGAN OKS EXPANDED BOBCAT HUNTING SEASON OVER ACTIVISTS’ CONCERNS

BRIDGE MI — Hunters and trappers can now kill bobcats in the southern Lower Peninsula in the fall.

Over objections from animal activists, members of the Natural Resource Commission voted 7-0 on Thursday to create a bobcat season in nine more counties: Muskegon, Montcalm, Gratiot, Saginaw, Ottawa, Kent, Ionia, Clinton and Shiawassee.

The wildcats with bobbed tails, which are about twice the size of cats, disappeared from the Lower Peninsula after the logging boom in the late 1800s but can now be found in every Michigan county.

In addition to creating an 11-day season in the southern counties, state regulators also expanded the hunting and trapping season in the northern Lower Peninsula to 20 days with two full weekends. The limit per hunter remains one.

“The population is fairly resilient and able to absorb harvest pressure,” said Adam Bump, a bear and furbearer specialist for the Department of Natural Resources, which recommended the expanded season.

“When we’re opening those nine counties, we’re really just opening a larger area to harvest the same population.”

National Resources Commissioner David Nyberg said state data indicates the bobcat population is expanding and can support an expanded hunt.

“We’re also going to be able to further support the actual act of conservation through the funding of licensed dollars that supports that work,” Nyberg said.

Expanding bobcat hunting to the southern Lower Peninsula means more people can buy licenses that fund the state’s wildlife conservation efforts.

In 2020, some 13,400 people registered to hunt or trap a bobcat. It costs $15 for a furbearer hunting license for those ages 10 and 64. That price drops to $6 for people who are 65 and older.

Proponents say the expansion won’t impact the population of bobcats because they are hard to hunt and trap. One Michigan survey found that only 365 of 2,810 people who hunted bobcats in northern Michigan bagged one.

Michael Schippa of Michigan Versatile Hunting Dog Federation said he’s been catching and releasing bobcats for 25 years. He said he believes bobcats in Michigan have come from states like Ohio and Indiana.

“The expansion is a very conservative approach that the DNR has taken,” Schippa said. “We have animals going back and forth across state borders. We will always have that exchange.”

But animal advocates oppose the hunts because the bobcats are primarily killed for their pelts.

“This proposed expansion will cause untold harm to bobcats and kittens hunting and trapping orphan dependent kittens, leaving them to starve or die of predation or closure,” said Molly Tamulevich, the Michigan director for Humane Society of the United States.

Another speaker, Trish Marie, said she worries the expanded hunt will increase the rodent population in the southern Lower Peninsula.

“I have a kajillion squirrels covering my property and the primary prey of bobcats is squirrels,” Marie said. “Bobcats play an important role in keeping the number of squirrels, chipmunks and other rodents down.”

Marie also noted that the DNR is recommending expanding bobcat season when other states are restricting or banning killing the animal.

Some states, including Illinois and Coronavirus Tracker | Michigan positivity rate below 4 percent

Michigan reported 1,656 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, or an average of 552 over each of the past three days, as well as 16 deaths.

That lowered the seven-day average to 800 cases a day, down from 830 on Friday. It was at 5,500 daily cases a month ago.

There are now 875 patients in Michigan hospitals being treated for confirmed and suspected COVID-19, down from 972 on Friday. The last time there were fewer was Aug. 11 when there were 859 COVID-19 patients.

Over the most recent three days of coronavirus testing, 4.4 percent of 50,459 tests were positive. Over the past week the rate is 4 percent, above the 3 percent target to indicate no community transmission. But two weeks ago the rate was nearly 8 percent and it was 19 percent a month ago.

MICHIGAN AG DANA NESSEL ANNOUNCES FIRST CHARGES IN BOY SCOUTS INVESTIGATION

ASSOCIATED PRESS VIA DETROIT FREE PRESS — Michigan authorities on Wednesday announced the first criminal charges stemming from the state’s review of child sexual abuse lawsuits against the Boy Scouts of America, charging a former troop leader before his release from a New York prison on separate crimes.

Mark Chapman, 51, is accused of sexually assaulting two boys at the time he was a scoutmaster in the Roseville, where he also worked in and attended The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Starting in 2000, one victim was abused at the church — where the troop sometimes met — and other places from the time he was 13 or 14 until he was 17, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said. The second victim was assaulted for years beginning when he was about 11.

One of the men called a tip line.

“It’s not just important for us to hold the person accountable for all the harm that was suffered by the victims … but to prevent future crimes from occurring,” Nessel said at a news conference in Detroit. The charges, she said, “are only the beginning.”

Chapman, who is due to be paroled in New York this week after serving more than nine years for child abuse convictions there, was charged now so he cannot leave the criminal justice system, she said. Authorities were working to extradite him to Michigan. The Associated Press could not immediately determine if Chapman has a lawyer.

The attorney general’s office and the Michigan State Police last year launched a joint review of what now are 5,000 civil claims forwarded by the Boy Scouts. A completed review of 550 claims resulted in roughly 60 inquiries being sent to state police for further investigation.

The Boy Scouts last month reached a tentative settlement with a bankruptcy committee representing more than 80,000 men who say they were molested as children by Scout leaders and others. All told, the compensation fund would total more than $2.6 billion, which would be the largest aggregate sex abuse settlement in U.S. history.

Also Wednesday, Nessel gave an update on a yearslong probe of sex abuse by clergy in the Roman Catholic Church. It has resulted in 11 prosecutions.

The office has reviewed all but 245,000 of 5 million paper and digital documents from Michigan’s seven dioceses. The review has identified 454 accused priests and 811 reported victims, she said.

NATIVE AMERICAN GROUP DEMANDS DETROIT COPS CULTURAL AWARENESS TRAINING

DETROIT NEWS — A Native American group is demanding Detroit police undergo “cultural awareness training” weeks after officers broke up a ceremony in Rouge Park involving fire that was performed without a permit and an expired memorandum of understanding with the city.

The Detroit Indigenous People’s Alliance issued a statement Wednesday about the Feb. 18 incident involving the Detroit Sugarbush Project, which says on its website is dedicated to “connecting youth in Detroit to Indigenous experts in the cultural tradition of making maple syrup” as was done by the Anishinaabe and Potawatomi tribes.

“Our response has taken some time, as we have been tapping trees, hauling sap and boiling it down for the past two weeks,” Wednesday’s statement said.

The group last month “hosted a sacred fire with a small group of sugarbush organizers and urban native peoples,” in Rouge Park on Detroit’s northwest side, the statement said.

“Despite being informed of the ceremonial nature of this gathering … officers threatened to arrest Indigenous participants, including members of federally recognized tribes, forcing them to extinguish this sacred fire,” the statement said. “This was a desecration.”

“Many share responsibility for this night: event organizers, police, and communications between city departments,” the statement said.

At the end of the statement, the group issued nine “demands,” including a call for officers to attend cultural awareness training, and that the city permanently recognize the Sugarbush Project and “work toward Land Back … the concept of returning lands to the original peoples who were stewards of those lands prior to European invasion and colonization.” The group also wants the city to work with the Sugarbush Project to make the location of the event “more accessible to our elders and community” and provide some funding.

Antonio Cosme, who helped organize the ceremony, told The Detroit News he hopes city, fire and police officials will work with the coalition so that future ceremonies will be held without issues.

“What I’d like to see happen is for the city departments to communicate better,” he said. “We’d had (a memorandum of understanding) with the city for two years.”

Cosme acknowledged the memorandum of understanding had expired prior to last month’s event, and that the group didn’t have a valid permit to perform the ceremony.

“The MOU had expired the week before the event,” he said, adding that the group was still waiting for a permit.

“We had applied, but the maple sap doesn’t wait for the permit process,” he said. “The city is slow about getting permits out.”

Three days after the incident, Detroit Police Chief James White issued a statement explaining that officers responded to a report of a fire in the park and that the group had shown officers “no evidence of compliance with key components of the expired MOU, such as a fire permit and proof of insurance.

“The officers’ actions were only due to the bonfire in the middle of a public park without a permit and was not directed as a means to break up a sacred cultural ceremony,” White said.

However, White added in his statement: “We would like to apologize for the interruption of a sacred ceremony. I have directed our Executive Manager of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Mary Engelman, to identify opportunities for our officers to work with the organizers.

“I’ve been in contact with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, state and local elected officials, and community members. I plan to meet with Michigan Sen. Adam Hollier and the Native American community to learn and grow from this situation,” White’s statement said.

BIRMINGHAM SCHOOLS BUDGET SHORTFALL GOES FROM $1.6 MILLION TO $14 MILLION

DETROIT FREE PRESS –Birmingham Public Schools miscalculated its budget by $11 million this year, and finance officials revised the district’s estimated shortfall from $1.6 million to $14.3 million.

The district also revealed in a finance update at the end of February that it has been overcharging property taxpayers in the district, and that the error will result in a credit to taxpayers. The overcharge this year amounted to $2.2 million, according to Maria Gistinger, interim assistant superintendent for business services.

The dramatic revision in the budget’s expected shortfall is unusual for a school district. It’s still unclear how exactly the district amassed such a shortfall, which is equivalent to about 10% of the district’s general fund spending.

Birmingham officials did not respond to an interview request from the Detroit Free Press, but shared a statement to community members that the district overestimated student enrollment numbers while underestimating salary, health insurance, payroll tax, retirement and other benefit costs.

Superintendent Embekka Roberson wrote in a letter to the community that the district planned to share more updates about the shortfall going forward.

“We can and will do this transparently and responsibly with minimal impact on our students’ education,” she wrote. “We will keep our families, staff, and students updated on this situation in the days ahead.”

Nearly 7,400 students attend Birmingham Public Schools, a district in Oakland County.

The district lost 186 students between this school year and last, according to state data. Schools in Michigan are funded per student. Birmingham officials wrote that the district originally projected it would receive $6 million more in state aid and property taxes than it actually did.

Craig Thiel — research director at the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, a nonprofit government research organization based in Livonia — said now that the district is well into the budget year, which ends about four months from now on June 30, it likely has a much clearer picture of its spending.

But Thiel also said the high discrepancy between the original budget reported by Birmingham and the amended budget reported this month is unusual.

What happens next?

The district has a rainy day fund balance of $20 million, but Birmingham’s policy allows it to use only about $3 million to $4 million toward addressing the shortfall, according to a district Q&A about the budget.

The district only vaguely addressed whether there would be budget cuts to address the shortfall. Officials wrote in the Q&A that Birmingham’s leadership team would first explore “other funding avenues at the federal and state levels, seeking cost-saving opportunities, expanding revenue generating programs, and creating a long-term financial planning process.”

“If the structural deficit persists or gets worse, we will have to make tough choices and difficult adjustments in the weeks and months ahead,” reads the Q&A.

The district also wrote that it is planning to strengthen its exit process to help retain students who might be planning to leave to stem enrollment loss.

It’s unclear how tax credits will come to property owners who were overcharged. The district has pledged to work with its auditors and attorneys to more accurately calculate its millage rate. Gistinger wrote that this year, the district miscalculated enrollment numbers and property tax values, which led to the over-levy. Taxpayers can expect a lower millage rate next year to compensate, she wrote.

Spokesperson Anne Cron wrote in an email that the district’s school board will be reviewing and voting on the amended budget at its next regular meeting at 7 p.m. March 15.

GOP-LED LEGISLATURE TO PROPOSE 6-MONTH PAUSE OF MICHIGAN’S 27-CENT GAS TAX

DETROIT NEWS — The Republican-led Legislature will start voting Wednesday on legislation that would suspend Michigan’s 27-cent gas tax as well as a resolution calling for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer “to support energy independence.”

House Speaker Jason Wentworth and Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey announced the plan Wednesday morning in a joint statement a day after Whitmer signed on to a letter calling on the federal government to put a pause on the 18-cent per gallon federal gas tax.

Under the legislation to be voted on Wednesday in the House, Michigan’s 27-cent-per-gallon gas tax would be removed through the end of the fiscal year, or over the next six months.

“Why in the world would we write a letter to Congress asking for lower gas prices somehow, someday when we can just step up and fix it ourselves?” Wentworth, R-Farwell, said in a statement. “Michigan has billions of dollars in surplus revenue available and one of the nation’s highest state fuel taxes. The solution here isn’t complicated.”

While the House will vote Wednesday to suspend both the gas and diesel tax, the Senate will push the bill through next week after a five-day layover required when new bills pass from one chamber to the next.

Shirkey and Wentworth estimated the suspension of the 27-cent-per-gallon fuel tax would save drivers a total of about $750 million over the six-month pause.

“This is a serious situation that requires more than letter writing and the magnanimous gesture of asking someone else to foot the bill,” Shirkey said in the statement. “Six in 10 Michiganders are living paycheck-to-paycheck, struggling to feed their families, heat their homes and put enough gas in their cars to get to work. Republicans in the Legislature will again vote to help residents keep more of what they earn, but we need the governor to lead instead of abdicating her responsibilities to Washington.”

Michigan’s average price of gas as of Wednesday was $4.25, according to AAA estimates. The average price a month ago was $3.37.

Whitmer joined five other governors on Tuesday calling on congressional leaders to suspend the federal gas tax of 18.4 cents per gallon until the end of the year.

“At a time when people are directly impacted by rising prices on everyday goods, a federal gas tax holiday is a tool in the toolbox to reduce costs for Americans, and we urge you to give every consideration to this proposed legislation,” the governors’ letter said.

Shirkey and Wentworth noted that the governor also has on her desk a $2.5 billion tax cut plan that includes increased deductions for seniors, a personal income tax cut and a $500 child tax credit. Whitmer has said the cuts proposed are “unsustainable” and instead touted her plan to roll back taxes on some retirement incomes and increase the Earned Income Tax Credit.

“Rejecting our income tax cut and passing the buck to Washington, D.C., here doesn’t solve a thing,” Wentworth said in the Wednesday statement. “The governor keeps saying she wants to cut taxes, but I’m not sure she’s actually willing to do it. I guess we’ll find out soon.”

The Legislature also plans to pass a resolution urging the governor to put her support behind “energy independence” and end “her opposition to the Great Lakes tunnel project.”

Whitmer in November 2020 called for the shutdown of Enbridge’s 68-year-old Line 5 segment through the Straits of Mackinac, but the governor has not not moved to block a planned tunnel to house a new segment of Line 5. She ordered her departments to process permit applications for the tunnel project as they would normally even as she called on the pipeline’s closure.

The pipeline has yet to close as Enbridge and the state remain locked in legal battles over the shutdown order in court.

The $500 million tunnel is awaiting one more state approval before construction starts from the Michigan Public Service Commission as well as permitting approvals from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Line 5 carries about 540,000 barrels of light crude oil and natural gas liquid. Studies over the impact of a Line 5 shutdown are conflicting, with industry-sponsored assessments predicting large increases in gas prices and opposition-sponsored studies predicting a smaller impact on wallets because of alternative transportation such as other pipelines, rail and trucking.

MICHIGAN REDISTRICTING PANEL FINISHED MAPS MONTH AGO. WHY IS IT STILL MEETING?

BRIDGE MI — Despite approving the new congressional and state legislative maps over two months ago, the Michigan redistricting commission continues to meet, and commissioners continue to get paid.

That’s partly because there’s no clear expiration date for the group created in 2018 by a voter-approved constitutional amendment that some observers and experts now say was too vague.

“The drafters (of the amendment) did sort of create an issue,” Steve Liedel, an attorney who worked as legal counsel to former Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm, told Bridge Michigan. The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission was created after voters overwhelmingly supported a constitutional amendment that changed how the state draws boundaries for congressional and state legislative districts.

The prior process, in which the majority party in the Michigan Legislature drew the districts every decade after the decennial census, led to some of the most gerrymandered districts in the country.

There are now two legal challenges pending against the maps that were approved by the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission in December.

A simple reading of the constitution would suggest that once those lawsuits are resolved, the commission’s work would end — but some commissioners say it’s not that clear.

The maps are expected to go into effect later this month, but it could take months for the legal issues to be resolved. And there could be more legal challenges in the next few years as well.

The old districts, approved in 2011, were challenged in federal court by the League of Women Voters in 2017 and the case dragged on to 2019.

The issue has gained resonance in the past few weeks when commissioners voted to increase their salary by 7 percent to nearly $59,650 and the 13-member commission asked its legal team to advise them on when to stop meeting.

Nancy Wang, the executive director of Voters Not Politicians, the group behind the push for the constitutional amendment, told Bridge Michigan in a text message the amendment will have to be interpreted by the commission’s lawyers.

“It is impossible to answer or even analyze questions regarding hypothetical mid-cycle litigation without knowing the issues, the parties, or the precise timing, all of which would impact such analysis,” Wang said.

Rebecca Szetela, the chair of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, told Bridge Michigan “it seems more likely that the commission should disband rather than just continue on for the next nine years in perpetuity.”

“That doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.”

She said she believes the legal opinion should be able to shed some light on the issue, and clarify the commission’s next steps.

“That’s the concern that if we disband, and then the call goes out two years from now, are we going to have that nine immediately that we need to take action?” Szetela said, referring to the fact that the constitution requires at least nine members to be present in order to have a quorum.

Liedel, however, said it might be necessary to get a judge to decide what the commission does next.

“The Legislature can’t pass a law (to decide length of commissioner’s term),” Liedel said. “And the commission can’t adopt language with regard to the length of their terms that would be inconsistent with the Constitution.”

So, Liedel said, it is likely a court would have to decide whether a new lawsuit automatically extends the commissioners’ terms, or whether the Michigan Secretary of State would have to select 13 new commissioners in the same decade.

MICHIGAN ADDS 1,656 CASES, 16 DEATHS FROM COVID-19 OVER 3 DAYS

DETROIT NEWS — Michigan added 1,656 cases of COVID-19 and 16 deaths from the virus on Monday including totals from Saturday and Sunday.

The state reported an average of 552 cases per day over the three days.

Monday’s additions bring the state’s overall total to 2,062,354 confirmed cases and 32,134 deaths since the virus was first detected here in March 2020.

Hospitalization rates and case counts in Michigan have been on the decline for the last seven weeks, indicating to some health experts that the fourth surge is subsiding as predicted.

The latest figures come as the state and several Michigan counties have relaxed regulations to stem the spread of the virus.

State employees in standard office and outdoor settings are generally no longer required to wear masks while working, effective Thursday.

Wayne County lifted its emergency mask order for K-12 schools earlier in February. The county’s decision came after state health officials dropped public health advisories regarding mask usage in most indoor public settings and K-12 schools.

Health departments in Washtenaw and Oakland counties lifted COVID-19 orders related to K-12 schools at the end of February.

On Friday, the state reported 865 adults and 27 pediatric patients were hospitalized with confirmed infections and 81% of the state’s inpatient hospital beds were occupied.

It’s a steep decline from records set on Jan. 10, when 4,580 adults were hospitalized with COVID-19.

About 6% of the state’s hospital beds were filled with COVID-19 patients and there were an average of 983 emergency room visits related to COVID-19 per day in the state as of Friday. That compares to 24% of hospital beds being full and 2,889 daily emergency room visits due to the virus in the first week of January.

Case counts continue to drop from early January when the state set a new high mark with more than 20,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 per day.

As of Monday, 29 new outbreaks were reported over the prior week. The majority, 22 outbreaks, were in long-term care facilities and senior assisted living centers. Another seven outbreaks occurred in K-12 schools. The state is tracking 535 ongoing outbreak cases.

About 65%, or 6.5 million, state residents have received their first doses of a vaccine, as of Friday, and 59% are fully vaccinated. More than 225,000 children ages 5 to 11 in Michigan, or 27%, have received their first dose of the vaccine.

More than 3 million vaccine booster doses have been administered in Michigan.

Approximately 2% of those fully vaccinated have been reported with a breakthrough infection, according to the state health department.

DETROITER, 62, READY TO FIGHT IN UKRAINE. HIS FAMILY IS ‘100% OPPOSED’

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Inside a Pentecostal church on 12 Mile Road, a group of Ukrainian-Americans and pastors stood around M. Dujon Johnson, their heads bowed and hands stretched out, some touching the Detroiter in a show of support.

“Deliver us from evil,” they said Friday afternoon, reciting the Lord’s Prayer at Church of the King in downtown Berkley.

A pastor then asked God to protect Johnson, 62, who had told the group he’s on his way to Ukraine to fight alongside their forces.

Johnson said he was with the Peace Corps Response in Ukraine from 2018 to 2019, teaching at Cherkasy National University and Cherkasy State Business College. While living in Ukraine, “my job was to train university professors in how we bring transparency and democracy in the classroom,” teaching about government and civic society, Johnson said. After the pandemic began, he taught online at the Ukrainian universities. Now, he said he’s planning to go back to Ukraine — this time to be on the front lines with Ukrainians defending their land against Russia’s military attacks.

Speaking with the Free Press, Johnson described his plans and provided a copy of his flight itinerary.

He said he is taking a flight Wednesday to Amsterdam and then Krakow, Poland. He then plans to cross over into Ukraine to meet up with groups in Cherkasy coordinating foreign fighters. He said he’s been in touch with Ukrainian officials and other contacts he developed while living there with the Peace Corps.

Johnson said he’s a veteran of the U.S. Army and served in Germany in the 1970s. He expects to be given a weapon once he joins up with Ukrainian forces.

“I’m actually going to fight,” said Johnson, who lives on Detroit’s west side. “That’s the purpose. It’s not humanitarian; it’s actually going to fight. I’ll be issued a weapon once I once I get there.”

At the Berkley church Friday, about a dozen Ukrainian Americans showed up to thank him and praise his efforts, trying to help him with getting a medical kit and binoculars before he leaves. He turned down an offer from them of monetary assistance.

“If a democratically elected government can be wiped off the map, the question is: Who’s next?” Johnson said. “Is it Estonia? Is it Poland? Is it Lithuania? Is it Hungary? Where does it stop? With Hitler, people kept thinking he would stop as he was invading these countries.”

Inspired by Black history

Born and raised in Detroit, Johnson said his experiences as a Black man motivate him to help Ukraine.

“As an African American, we have a legacy, a history of standing for what is right,” Johnson said, standing outside the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Warren. “It goes way back.”

Johnson said African Americans in the U.S. spoke out against the anti-Chinese immigration laws in the 19th century and the Nazis during World War II who targeted Jews and others.

“When people hear about Black Lives Matter and voting rights, they think it’s just for Black folks, but we’ve always stood up for what’s right for all people” Johnson said. “So I’m going there, because the concepts of democracy, freedom, being treated right, that’s just part of our legacy. And I feel compelled to uphold it.”

The issue of race has come up amid the war in Ukraine, with some Black students saying they were mistreated by border guards and not allowed to board trains, according to media reports.

Johnson added: “I’m not a war guy,” saying he has worked in his career to bridge divides and promote peace.

But given the severity of what Russia is doing, “I don’t fear fighting, I fear not fighting,” he said.

The State Department is expressing caution about U.S. citizens going to Ukraine.

“Ukrainians have shown their courage and they are calling on every resource and lever they have to defend themselves,” a spokesperson for the State Department said in a statement to the Free Press. “We applaud their bravery. However, our Travel Advisory remains: U.S. citizens should not travel to Ukraine, and those in Ukraine should depart immediately if it is safe to do so using commercial or other privately available options for ground transportation.”

YPSILANTI’S HAAB’S RESTAURANT ENDS 87-YEAR RUN, ANOTHER INSTITUTION GONE

BRIDGE MI — The songs of Frank Sinatra still came through the speaker in the lobby of Haab’s Restaurant on Friday afternoon, but this time his crooning about good-byes hit closer to home.

After 87 years in operation, the landmark restaurant that defined the city’s downtown had closed for good the night before.

[Mike] Kabat, who’d spent 47 years behind that counter and answering that phone, said he’s had trouble envisioning a day when he’d show up at the restaurant but have no customers, no reason to open the kitchen and no idea of what will come next.

“It’s been terrible,” Kabat, 80, told Bridge Michigan.

Kabat and David Kabat, his son and business partner, announced the closing to staff at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, then sent an email on Friday morning to the 7,000 people who received regular email updates from them.

The Haab’s closing was sudden, planned just days ago as David Kabat’s doctors told him he needed an immediate lifestyle change due to a health crisis, his father said.

But looming over that was COVID-19 and all of the changes the restaurant had to absorb during the pandemic. By the time the family health crisis struck, there was no cushion left to keep the doors open.

Thousands of restaurants are estimated to have shuttered in Michigan since the pandemic began and — even as the latest wave of COVID fades — more closings still may hit the state’s industry, said Justin Winslow, president and CEO of the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association.

“Some narrowly survived,” he said, “but that leaves their health so complicated that it won’t take much (to make them vulnerable).”

That includes beloved institutions like Haab’s, the kind of places that helped define downtowns and lead restaurant movements in cities.

Common Grill, which anchored downtown Chelsea, will close this month as founder and chef Greg Common announced in mid-February. Roast, a Michael Symon restaurant, closed suddenly in January, years after it trailblazed a new wave of restaurants in downtown Detroit. Osteria Rossa closed at the end of 2021 in Grand Rapids.

“The connection people have with some restaurants gets very personal and very deep,” Winslow said. “You become close with the owner … it’s hard when it goes away.”

That was clear on Friday at Haab’s as Mike Kabat talked about how he was well into his career in hotel and restaurant management in the 1970s when Oscar Haab approached him, asking the Ann Arbor native to buy the restaurant Haab had founded with his brother Otto in 1934 amid the Great Depression.

During an interview, the phone kept ringing with people who wanted to tell him that they couldn’t believe that Haab’s would not reopen and that they would miss it.

And people knocked on the door: Men telling Kabat that they’d come to his restaurant since they were children. A woman who handed over a card with her name and phone number, hopeful that he would give her a cherished photo of her late mother, a former Haab’s employee of the year.

Haab’s was known for many things. It could host a crowd, like a post-football party for University of Michigan fans and television broadcasters. Holiday events and business meetings, including for General Motors executives who once worked a few miles east in Ypsilanti Township, fueled business. Many customers came from across Washtenaw County to celebrate family milestones.

During the pandemic, the restaurant couldn’t help but change. Mike and David Kabat ran the restaurant’s carryout operation when the state ordered restaurants to close dining rooms. As reopening was allowed, many staff did not return, forcing the partners to shoulder all of the management, David, 51, in the kitchen and Mike in the “front of the house.”

With only some of the 30-person staff returning to work, that kept pressure on as customers returned, some slowly.

Business group meals tapered off, as people hesitated to gather and many businesses worked remotely. The customer base — which Kabat described as “mature” — didn’t feel as comfortable going out amid the unpredictability of COVID.

The Kabats own the building and the apartments above it, something that helped their bottom line. And $172,000 in federal Paycheck Protection Program forgivable loans helped them to bridge the financial gap.

But David’s health became a crisis, Kabat said. “His prognosis was not good.”

And the father and son, supported by the rest of the family, made the hard decision. They had no fallback.

And, said Mike Kabat, no sense of relief yet.

He’ll figure out what will happen to the building over the next few months. It’s filled with 90 years of keepsakes: from the original menus to more recently designed swizzle sticks for the annual plumber and pipefitter conventions.

Employees were given information on how to apply for unemployment on Thursday. They will return next week for severance checks and leftover food. Perishables will be sent to Food Gatherers, an Ann Arbor food bank.

Kabat said he doesn’t regret a minute of the years he’s devoted to the restaurant, nor the decision to close because of what it means for his son. What he will miss is the community.

“There wasn’t a choice,” he said.

MICHIGAN GAS PRICES SET NEW 2022 RECORD — AND THEY’RE LIKELY TO KEEP CLIMBING

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Gas prices hit $4 a gallon in metro Detroit and soared even higher in the Upper Peninsula early Monday, surging an average of 42 cents in Michigan in a week and setting a new high for the calendar year.

But brace yourselves, that likely won’t be the worst of it — at least for a while.

“Rising crude oil prices sent Michigan pump prices soaring to the highest prices since June of 2013,” said Adrienne Woodland, spokesperson for AAA Auto Club, which tracks gas prices. “Pump prices will likely continue to rise as crude prices continue to climb.”

The conflict between Ukraine and Russia is mostly to blame, as it continues to bring uncertainty to the market. Inflation also pushed prices upward as the world uses more oil, and on top of that, oil production globally has tightened.

The average price in the state on Monday for regular unleaded was $3.97 a gallon, according to AAA. That’s 60 cents more than this time last month, and $1.25 more than this time last year.

In terms of fill-ups, you’ll pay about $59 for a full,15-gallon tank.

The average national gas price was $4.01 a gallon,

The highest prices have been in Michigan is $4.26 in May 2011.

On Tuesday, for instance, the Marathon gas station at Hilton and 10 Mile in Ferndale was selling regular gas for $3.58 a gallon, by Friday, the price at the same station jumped 30 cents to $3.88.

Total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 500,000 barrels of crude oil to 246 million, according to the Energy Information Administration. Gasoline demand increased slightly from 8.66 million barrels a day to 8.74 million.

An increase in gas demand, combined with a reduction in total supply, is contributing to price increases.

Oil prices surged above $100 a barrel — the first time since 2014 — after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. On Monday, West Texas Intermediate, a grade of crude oil and oil pricing benchmark, was $123.15 a barrel.

The most expensive places for gas in Michigan: Marquette, $4.07 a gallon; metro Detroit, $4; and Benton Harbor, $4. Least expensive: Traverse City, $3.86; Grand Rapids, $3.93; and Ann Arbor, $3.94. To help, the IEA has coordinated a release of 60 million barrels of crude oil from its 31 member countries’ strategic reserves, including the U.S., Germany, Canada, South Korea, and Mexico.

The announcement did not detail the amount of each contribution from each country, but half of the release — 30 million barrels — is expected to come from the U.S.

Still, it likely will have a limited effect on prices at the pump, given that the amount of oil is small in comparison to the amount of oil that flows daily from Russia around the globe. Russia exports about 5 million barrels a day of crude oil, about 12% of global trade.

Personal Finance Columnist Susan Tompor contributed.

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

To save at the pump

Here are a few tips from Personal Finance Columnist Susan Tompor to save on gas:

Drive less. It’s common sense, but you might be surprised how much it adds up.
Us a mobile app to comparison shop. GasBuddy, Gas Guru, and AAA have apps.
Pay with cash. Many stations offer a deal on cash-only sales instead of credit.
Join a warehouse club, like Costco or Sam’s which generally sells gas at a discount.
Enroll in gas rewards programs like GetUpside and Kroger Fuels Points. Some credit cards also offer special gas discounts and cash back for gas purchases.

MICHIGAN CLOSES GAP ON RACIAL DISPARITIES IN COVID-19 DEATHS

BRIDGE MI — In the earliest days of the coronavirus pandemic, African-Americans in Michigan represented four of every 10 COVID-19 deaths, a startling number given they make up 14 percent of the state’s population.

The tragic trend took advantage of the health disparities afflicting communities of color: Blacks are more likely to suffer from heart disease, diabetes, obesity and other ailments that made them more susceptible to COVID-19.

Now, nearly two years after the pandemic began, those disparities have nearly vanished, with Blacks now at 18 percent of all COVID-19 deaths. That’s still above their makeup within the state but it’s half the rate from the pandemic’s early days. According to a new report from a statewide task force created to address racial disparities, state and local leaders worked with public health professionals to change behaviors to help protect entire communities.

“We felt we had no choice but to act,” Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist said Friday at a press conference to announce the report and its findings. Gilchrist, who led the task force, said he lost 27 family members and friends to COVID-19.

“Michigan families were losing brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, cousins, teachers, students and grandparents. And communities of color cannot afford for us to wait.”

Gilchrist and others said the task force focused on encouraging people early in the pandemic — long before vaccinations — to wear masks and social distance. They specifically reached out to people in exposed occupations like public transportation employees who had to work in-person and were often face-to-face with dozens of people a day.

Thomas Stallworth, a senior advisor to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer who directed the task force, said the state talked with employers and explained the importance of masking and other preventive measures to benefit their employees.

“They had to take steps to protect their folks and they did,” Stallworth said.

Those efforts appeared to work. A survey taken by the state in 2020 showed that African-Americans were far more likely to wear masks. The survey showed 81 percent were “always” wearing them, compared to 69 percent of everyone else, according to the report.

Those changes may have helped change the arc of the pandemic: Through August 2020, Blacks comprised 39.2 percent of COVID-19 deaths, according to a Bridge Michigan analysis of state demographic COVID-19 data. Since then, they’ve comprised 13.9 percent — almost exactly their proportion within the state.

That’s despite Blacks having the lowest rate of vaccinations in the state. While 53 percent of white residents have completed vaccination, 40 percent of Blacks are fully vaccinated, according to the state. The unvaccinated account for over 80 percent of COVID-19 deaths since Jan. 1, 2021.

Stallworth said the task force is continuing to work to improve vaccinations among minorities, who have cited distrust in medicine among a host of reasons.

In addition to noting steps already taken — like promoting masks and vaccines and helping more people connect with doctors — the task force also made recommendations that would continue improving health prospects for communities of color.

Among its recommendation, the task force calls for:

Lowering the number of people who are uninsured or underinsured, because the uninsured are less likely to have health conditions treated, making them more susceptible to COVID-19 and potential future viruses.
Continuing to fund neighborhood vaccination and testing sites. Easier access to the sites improves the likelihood of getting tested or vaccinated, officials said.
Maximizing use of school-based clinics. The state started a pilot program with the Detroit public schools to offer vaccinations to students with parental consent, Stallworth said.
Improving access to high-speed internet. During the pandemic, many people stayed in contact with healthcare providers via telemedicine calls. Because many people in poverty do not have those resources, the task force said the state has spent over $23 million to help put laptops in homes and train people in how to use them.

As much as the task force was focused on improving outcomes related to COVID-19, it also looked at making long-term improvements to help minimize the health disparities that already exist.

Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, the state’s chief medical executive, said COVID-19 provided the impetus to make changes that affect people today and in the future.

“This is probably not the last public health emergency,” she said. “So the goal … is to shore things up.”

FAITH GROUPS DELIVER HOUSEWARMING KITS TO RESETTLED AFGHAN REFUGEES IN SE MICHIGAN

DETROIT NEWS — Housewarming gifts traditionally are seen as tokens to add to a new place. But the ones headed to about 30 households in southeast Michigan over the weekend were a way to not only do that but help families start over.

On Saturday, members of Dawoodi Bohras Community of Detroit and regional congregations under Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints joined the nonprofit Zaman International to deliver welcome kits to Afghan refugees resettling in the region.

The volunteers fanned out across Washtenaw County with food, silverware, bedding and more for the new residents finding their first homes since fleeing.

The act was both a show of communal generosity and a pledge to give back, coordinators say.

“It shows the powers of groups that are able to come together,” Monica Boomer, chief impact officer at Zaman. “As individual congregations they’re able to do so much but it just grows exponentially when they come together.”

Her group, which is based in Wayne County and officially launched as a nonprofit in 2004, has long collaborated with others to serve the less fortunate and earned renown for its efforts.

In addition to programs providing food, clothing, medications and shelter, Zaman last year worked with the agencies overseeing refugees headed to Michigan from Afghanistan once the military and government fell to the Taliban and American troops departed.

The state was assigned to receive more than 1,600 refugees through last month, with most in southeast Michigan or Metro Detroit.

The 30 households presented housewarming gifts Saturday represent nearly 100 people, including children, Boomer said.

Between 40 to 50 volunteers helped deliver the gifts, said Zainab Hachem, a volunteer with Zaman International who helped load vehicles on Saturday.

“I think it was an amazing turnout,” she said. “We had things ranging from household items like can openers to towels, pots and pants, pillows. …

“I hope that this serves a big impact, especially with Ramadan coming up next month. … Hopefully these items will be of utilization for these families so they can prepare their food and use that as a means of having dinner every night.”

Zaman worked with Samaritas and the other resettlement agencies overseeing them to assess their most pressing and long-term needs.That included “things we take for granted … anything that they would need to really start their journey to permanent housing here in Michigan,” she said.

To stock enough toiletries winter gear, and other items, Zaman worked with its partners as well as the Dawoodi Bohras and Latter-day Saints, which already had relationships.

“Fundamental to our belief is to reach out and help others because we follow Jesus Christ and that’s what he did,” said Rachel Cannon, communications director for the Westland, Michigan Stake in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “We’re all children of God. We want to show love to anyone who is in need.”

Donating needed items for the distribution was equally important to the area members of the Dawoodi Bohras, a Muslim community with ties to India.

The effort coincided with the Dawoodi Bohra’s global Project Rise initiative that aims to help others through programs targeting areas such as food security, clean water and education.

“As a community of immigrants ourselves, it’s an honor to be able to support Zaman International’s mission of welcoming our newest neighbors,” said Mariyah Saifuddin of West Bloomfield Township, who is joining the effort and has been active with the local Dawoodi Bohra’s community outreach group.

The congregations rallied volunteers to deliver the gifts over several hours Saturday.

The recipients, who can continue to find help through Zaman services, have faced much adjusting to their new country and transitioning, Boomer said.

“We’ve heard a lot of relief that the families are able to leave the hotels and get started. They’ve been eager to find work, learn English, enroll their kids in schools.”

MICHIGAN REPUBLICANS TO WHITMER: WE DARE YOU TO VETO INCOME TAX CUTS

BRIDGE MI — Michigan’s Republican-led Senate on Thursday gave final approval to a $2.5 billion plan that would cut individual income tax, expand senior relief and create a child tax credit but force unspecified spending cuts in future years.

The election-year proposal now heads to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, putting pressure on the first-term Democrat to sign a plan that is considerably larger than her $757 million tax cut proposal.

Whitmer’s office says she’s “all-in on cutting taxes for seniors and working families” but the governor is expected to veto a GOP plan she calls “fiscally irresponsible” and “unsustainable”given non-partisan projections it could force more than $1.8 billion in annual spending cuts despite one-time federal stimulus funds. Republicans contend the state budget is large enough to allow for tax cuts. One-time stimulus funds helped grow the Michigan government budget from $58 billion in 2019 to $63 billion in 2021.

“Every Michigander needs help at this time of record-high inflation, supply chain shortages and communities struggling to recover from shutdowns,” said sponsoring Sen. Aric Nesbitt, R-Lawton. “No Michigander has been immune from the state of our economy and no Michiganer should be left behind when it comes to providing substantive tax relief.”

The GOP plan brokered by House and Senate leaders would reduce Michigan’s individual income tax rate from 4.25 percent to 3.9 percent. That would cut taxes for millions of Michiganders – everyone except those who don’t earn enough to pay tax – but high earners who pay the most tax would save the most money.

A family of four with an income of $63,829 — the median for Michigan in 2020 — would save $153 next year, for instance. A family of four with $200,000 in earnings — which would put it in the top 5 percent of earners — would save $630.

The GOP plan, approved by the Senate in a 22-15 party-line vote, would also create a $500 per-child tax credit for families. And it would double a senior income tax exemption from $20,000 to $40,000 for an individual while lowering the qualifying age from 67 to 62 years old.

As part of a deal with the House GOP, Senate Republicans agreed to drop a $490 million corporate tax cut from the package now heading to Whitmer. But the upper chamber approved separate standalone legislation on Thursday that would cut the corporate rate from 6 percent to 3.9 percent, sending that proposal back to the House for additional consideration.

Michigan is flush with roughly $7 billion in federal stimulus funds and another $7 billion surplus, but federal rules generally prohibit states from using the stimulus money to pay for tax cuts.

To comply with the federal law, the non-partisan Senate Fiscal Agency projects that Michigan would have to generate new revenue or cut spending by $4.1 billion across the next three fiscal years in order to pay for the GOP tax cut.

“This legislation will create a massive, ongoing, multi-billion-dollar budget deficit” that could force future tax cuts or painful cuts to public schools, road repairs, and police and fire protection,” Whitmer warned Thursday in a letter to legislative leaders.

“It is my sincere hope that we can now come together to negotiate a compromise that fully considers a budget alongside any tax policy decisions while putting the people of Michigan first,” Whitmer continued, requesting a meeting next week.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, criticized the governor’s comments.

“A sure sign someone has been in government too long is if they’re trying to convince you the bureaucracy can’t afford a $2.5 billion tax cut when it has an $8 billion surplus.” he said in a statement. “The governor’s veto threat is a slap in the face of Michigan residents struggling to fill their gas tanks and pay for groceries at a time of record inflation.”

Whitmer’s plan would expand the Earned Income Tax Credit for low and middle-income workers from 6 percent to 20 percent of the federal version, reversing a 2012 cut to the state-level program. The administration estimates 738,400 households would benefit, with the average credit increasing by more than $300 a year

As Whitmer and GOP leaders both eye tax cuts, a business coalition is urging an even larger EITC expansion: A bill from Sen. Wayne Schmidt, R-Traverse City, would increase the credit to 30 percent of the federal level over four years, eventually boosting the credit by an average of $460.

The credit “is explicitly designed to encourage greater participation in the workforce because it is only available to families that work,” local chambers of commerce from Detroit, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, Flint and other regions wrote in a recent letter to Whitmer and GOP leaders.

“In a time when many employers are having difficulty filling available jobs, the EITC has a proven track record of pulling people into the workforce.”

SHIPWRECK DISCOVERED IN LAKE SUPERIOR AFTER 130 YEARS: ‘STILL BEAUTIFUL’

DETROIT FREE PRESS — After searching more than 2,500 miles of the bottom of Lake Superior, the Atlanta — a 172-foot schooner-barge that sank during a terrible storm — has been found, preserved in the icy water just as it was when it went down more than 130 years ago.

Even the gold letters of the ship’s nameplate are still visible.

“It is truly ornate and still beautiful,” Bruce Lynn, executive director of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society, said. “It is rare that we find a shipwreck that so clearly announces what it is and the nameboard of the Atlanta really stands out.”

The discovery, which the society announced this week, solves another mystery of what happened to hundreds of vessels swallowed by the lake and offers historians a window into the past.

The shipwreck is sitting 650 feet below Lake Superior’s surface, about 35 miles away from Deer Park in Luce County in the Upper Peninsula.

In that depth, which is beyond what a human diver and sunlight can reach, the water is in the low to mid-30s, a temperature that preserves shipwrecks.

It gives you a sense of what it was like to travel on the Great Lakes during dangerous conditions, before the Coast Guard and modern technology to predict the weather, communicate with others and navigate.

And society spokesman Corey Adkins said the discovery may also give descendants of the crew that didn’t survive some peace.

“Many people out there think the Edmund Fitzgerald is the only shipwreck on the lakes,” he said. “While that’s an important shipwreck on the lake — 29 men lost their lives on it — five people lost their lives on the Atlanta.” “Their stories,” he added, “don’t deserve, for lack of a better term, to get washed away.”

There are more than 6,000 Great Lakes shipwrecks, which have taken the lives of 30,000 mariners, according to the society. Of those, there are about 550 wrecks — most of which are undiscovered — in Lake Superior.

The society also has a shipwreck museum at Whitefish Point.

To find the shipwreck, more than 2,500 miles of Lake Superior were mapped by the society last summer with Marine Sonic Technology using side-scan sonar, a sonar system for detecting and imaging objects on the seafloor.

Multiple sonar sensors — called a transducer array — send and receive acoustic pulses that help map the lake floor and detect objects.

In this case, it detected the Atlanta.

Records show the ship sank on May 4, 1891.

Its home port was Port Huron, and it was bound with a load of coal in tow of the steamer Wilhelm when both vessels got caught in a northwest gale. In the storm, the towline winch snapped. The crew took to the lifeboat.

They pulled at the oars for hours and eventually came within site of the Crisp Point Life-Saving Station. But, while attempting to land, the boat overturned — twice — and only two men made it safely to the beach.

The survivors said all three masts broke off during the storm, and video from a remote operated vehicle confirmed that account.

All three masts broke off flush with the deck and the hull is starting to split.

“It was tough out there for them,” Adkins said. “If anyone is seeing this, reading this, and you are one of the family members — a great- and great-great grandchild of the crew — contact us.”

60-DEGREE DAY LIKELY COMING FOR SMICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY TO RELAX COVID-19 MASK MANDATEOME OF US IN MICHIGAN

BRIDGE MI — Michigan State University will loosen its mask requirement effective Sunday, university President Samuel Stanley Jr., told the campus in an email.

Masks will no longer be required in most indoor settings on MSU property including offices, libraries and dining halls. But they will still be required in classrooms, labs and research spaces when there is instruction being done or research being conducted. Masks will also continue to be required in buses and health care facilities.

Faculty, staff and students are still required to be vaccinated and boosted against COVID or get an exemption, according to the Thursday email. But MSU athletic events will no longer require a mask and proof of vaccination. “Masks still are strongly recommended for those who are unvaccinated, have symptoms of COVID-19, have been exposed to the virus or are medically vulnerable,” the email said.

The president encouraged people to respect individuals’ decisions if they choose to continue masking. Students are on spring break next week.

The news comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed its mask guidance last Friday, with the CDC urging continued mask usage only in counties with high risk levels. MSU’s East Lansing campus is in Ingham County, which is currently listed at a medium level, and thus is considered a mask-optional county by the CDC.

The University of Michigan still has an indoor mask requirement in effect.

MICHIGAN ADDS 2,105 CASES, 233 DEATHS FROM COVID-19 OVER 2 DAYS

DETROIT NEWS — Michigan added 2,105 cases of COVID-19 and 233 deaths from the virus on Wednesday including totals from Tuesday.

The state reported an average of 1,052 cases per day over the two days.

Of Wednesday’s tallied deaths, 207 were identified during a delayed records review, according to the state health department. If a death certificate is matched to a confirmed COVID-19 case and that record in the state’s system does not indicate that the individual died, the record is updated during a records review that’s conducted twice each week.

Wednesday’s additions bring the state’s overall total to 2,058,856 confirmed cases and 32,050 deaths since the virus was first detected here in March 2020.

Hospitalization rates and case counts in Michigan have been on the decline for the last seven weeks, indicating to some health experts that the fourth surge is subsiding as predicted.

The latest figures come as the state and several Michigan counties have relaxed or intend to curtail regulations to stem the spread of the virus.

State employees in standard office and outdoor settings are generally no longer required to wear masks while working, effective Thursday.

Health departments in Washtenaw and Oakland counties lifted COVID-19 orders related to K-12 schools at the end of February.

On Wednesday, the state reported 1,004 adults and 26 pediatric patients were hospitalized with confirmed infections and 81% of the state’s inpatient hospital beds were occupied.

It’s a steep decline from records set on Jan. 10, when 4,580 adults were hospitalized with COVID-19.

About 6% of the state’s hospital beds were filled with COVID-19 patients and there were an average of 1,097 emergency room visits related to COVID-19 per day in the state as of Friday. That compares to 24% of hospital beds being full and 2,889 daily emergency room visits due to the virus in the first week of January.

Case counts continue to drop from early January when the state set a new high mark with more than 20,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 per day.

Coming off the highest case numbers of the entire pandemic, all of Michigan’s regions are experiencing declines in case rates and hospitalizations, the state health department noted earlier this month.

Three medical teams from the Department of Defense remain in Michigan at Covenant Saginaw, Henry Ford Wyandotte and Lansing-based Sparrow Health System.

In Michigan, variants of the virus have moved at a high rate, proving more contagious than past variants and infecting both unvaccinated and vaccinated residents.

The state, as of Friday, confirmed 5,000 cases of the omicron variant and 31,000 cases of the delta variant by genetic sequencing at the Michigan Bureau of Laboratories in Lansing. The majority are in southeast Michigan.

Although a small percentage of tests are selected for genetic sequencing, health officials believe roughly 95% of cases of COVID-19 in the country are caused by the omicron variant, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The percentage of COVID-19 tests returning positive in Michigan is on the decline. Minnesota and Indiana have the highest case rates in the Midwest; California and Texas have the highest case rates in the U.S.

Between Feb. 21-27, about 7.2% of Michigan’s COVID-19 tests returned positive, compared to 7.7% a week prior. There is an average of 12,625 weekly cases in the state.

Residents aged 30–39 currently have the highest case rate of any age group.

As of Monday, 50 new outbreaks were reported over the prior week. The majority, 30 outbreaks, were tallied in long-term care facilities and senior assisted living centers. Another 17 outbreaks occurred in K-12 schools, two at child daycare or sports programs, and five in jails or detention centers. The state is tracking 782 ongoing outbreak cases.

About 65%, or 6.5 million, residents have received their first doses of a vaccine, as of Tuesday, and 59% are fully vaccinated. More than 221,000 children ages 5 to 11 in Michigan, or 27%, have received their first dose of the vaccine.

More than 2.9 million vaccine booster doses have been administered in Michigan.

Approximately 2% of those fully vaccinated have been reported with a breakthrough infection, according to the state health department.

MICHIGAN MAY RESTRICT WITHDRAWALS FOR BOTTLED WATER LIKE NESTLE

BRIDGE MI — The Michigan Legislature might soon look at a package of bills that would change how the state protects groundwater. However, the goal of the bills and the legal tool the sponsors want to use might be at odds.

Do you remember when Nestlé applied to increase the amount of groundwater it was pulling from wells near Evart, Michigan?

Nearly 81,000 people asked the state to turn down the request. Only 75 indicated they supported the request. But despite overwhelming opposition, the state approved the permit in 2019. It said it had to, under the law. A lot of people were outraged.

Since then environmental groups have been trying to change the law.

“The problem with the whole water bottling system is that we’re just…we’re simply taking that public resource and turning it into a commodity. And if we walk too far down that road, we wind up to a place where water is only available for those who can afford it,” said Sean McBrearty with Clean Water Action.

He’s working with legislators to find a way to restrict groundwater withdrawals for bottled water.

Democratic Representative Yousef Rabhi is one of the sponsors working to draft the legislation.

“Right now, the Great Lakes Compact protects the Great Lakes from water withdrawal so that a state like Arizona couldn’t come and hook a pipe up to Lake Michigan and start pumping. But as long as the water is bottled and in small containers, there is no prohibition on the amount of water that can be taken out of the Great Lakes,” Rabhi said.

Once they’re drafted, the package of bills would do a couple of things: It would target companies that bottle water and it would expand the Public Trust Doctrine. That doctrine says the state holds resources in trust for the people. It must protect those resources.

The doctrine already covers surface water such as streams and lakes. It does not protect groundwater.

Lawmakers killed that idea back in 2006.

That’s when Michigan was putting together state laws to comply with the Great Lakes Compact. The intention at the time was to include groundwater under the Public Trust Doctrine protection.

Bob Wilson was counsel for the Senate Natural Resources Committee at the time. He says the idea was that water -whether underground or on the surface- is one big hydrological system.

“Because the public trust doctrine extends to bottomlands in the Great Lakes and surface water, it should also extend to the groundwater,” he said.

But there were powerful groups who didn’t want the state regulating groundwater. Big businesses including farms and manufacturers said, ‘no.’

They did not want government regulations on the amount of groundwater they used. They also understood that, “it imposes a duty on the state to protect the resource, not just enable the state the option of doing so,” said Michael Blumm, a law professor at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon who’s written extensively on public trust doctrine issues.

If the state doesn’t protect resources, citizens can take the issue to the courts.

Bob Wilson, the long-time advisor in the Michigan Senate, said it’s a good move to expand the public trust doctrine to include groundwater.

He thinks, though, it’s a mistake to single out water bottlers for regulation.

He said whether it’s bottled water, beer, irrigating crops, or manufacturing, every kind of groundwater withdrawal should be treated the same.

“You needed to regulate and take a look at the withdrawal of the water simply for the impact itself on our natural resources. It shouldn’t matter, the end users of the water, it shouldn’t matter at all.”

Still, it’s hard for politicians to ignore people’s outrage about bottled water. Think back to those 81,000 public comments protesting Nestle’s water withdrawal plans.

Representative Rabhi says people want something done about it.

“This legislation is to say, look, it’s not OK for a company to come to Michigan, pump out our groundwater. Put a price tag on it and make a profit. That’s not OK.”

Two years after it won its permit to pump more groundwater in west Michigan, Nestle sold its water bottling operation to a different company, Blue Triton. Later that year, Blue Triton announced it would not take advantage of the permit after all.

When asked for comment for this story, the company responded, “Blue Triton Brands is not in a position to comment on the legislation at this time as it has not been introduced and made public.”

The legislation is expected to be introduced in mid-March.

60-DEGREE DAY LIKELY COMING FOR SOME OF US IN MICHIGAN

MLIVE — A storm system is heading our way. Southern Michigan could have a really spring-like period in the dry stretch in the middle of this storm.

We are now transitioning from entirely winter-like storms to storms that pull some spring weather from the south. The track of the low pressure center makes all the difference in staying on the cold, snowy side of a storm or getting into the warm sector on the south side of a storm system.

The next storm will put at least the southern half of Lower Michigan in the warm sector for about 24 hours. Saturday should also have some dry conditions in the afternoon across southern Lower.

Here’s the forecast of the coming storm system. Focus at least once on the track of the storm center by looking at the smallest, inner closed circle of the dark pressure lines.

The storm center is going to track across the Straits of Mackinac region. By the second half of Saturday afternoon, areas from Saginaw, Bay City and Grand Rapids and southward will be in the dry, warm sector of the storm.

Here’s what the two best models say for a temperature forecast Saturday afternoon.

The European Model is usually pretty close at three days out. The U.S. Model is often a few degrees too cold at this far out in time. I would say anywhere from Grand Rapids to Flint and southward should make it to 60 degrees late Saturday afternoon. Kalamazoo, Lansing and Jackson should easily warm into the 60s Saturday.

The warmth should hang on into Sunday morning, although it will come with rain.

By Sunday morning the 60-degree warmth should finally make it into southeast Lower Michigan. The whole Detroit area and Ann Arbor area should have spring-like temperatures Sunday morning.

This will be the first 60-degree day in the Detroit area since Dec. 11 of last year.

WHITMER ISSUES EXECUTIVE DIRECTIVE TO SPEED UP MICHIGAN POTHOLE REPAIRS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who campaigned in 2018 on a promise to “fix the damn roads,” told the state roads agency Wednesday to pull out all stops to quickly address Michigan’s pothole problem.

That includes paying overtime, hiring more contractors, and speeding payments to local road agencies, Whitmer said in a news release after issuing an executive directive to the Michigan Department of Transportation.

“We’re kicking this into overdrive,” said Whitmer, who faces reelection in November.

“Dealing with car damage from driving over potholes while on your way to work or school is frustrating for every Michigander. No family should have to spend their hard-earned money on repairing a flat tire or a broken axle caused by these potholes. That’s why I’m directing the state transportation department to speed up pothole repairs.”

A cost for the speed-up plan was not immediately disclosed.

Whitmer said the directive is intended to address a short-term pothole problem, but she will continue to address a long-term fix to the condition of state roads.

She directed MDOT to continue broader road improvement projects to prevent potholes and other road surface issues from developing in the first place.

Whitmer said that taking office the state has repaired, replaced, or rebuilt over 13,000 lane miles of road and over 900 bridges. Her latest budget proposal gives a $1 billion boost to the state road agency.

In 2020, Whitmer announced, and the State Transportation Commission approved, a five-year, $3.5 billion road bonding plan after the Legislature rejected her proposal for a 45-cent-per-gallon increase in the state fuel tax.

MICHIGAN LAWMAKERS ADVANCE $2.5B TAX CUT PLAN

MLIVE — Michigan lawmakers advanced a proposal for slashing taxes Tuesday, approving a $2.5 billion plan to cut the state income tax rate to 3.9%, expand tax breaks for seniors and put funding toward paying down pension debt.

The Republican-led legislation would bring the state income tax from 4.25% to 3.9%, offer a $20,000-per-person income tax exemption for seniors 62 and older and drop $1.5 billion in one-time funding into paying down pension debt for local governments, road commissions and the Michigan State Police. The plan would also create new tax credits for qualified dependents.

House members voted 71-33 to advance HB 5054 to the Senate. They also voted 62-42 to pass SB 768. Both bills earned some support from a handful of Democrats, including Reps. Jewell Jones, D-Inkster, Karen Whitsett, D-Detroit and Shri Thenadar, D-Detroit.

The House bill, sponsored by Rep. Thomas Albert, R-Lowell, would allocate $1.5 billion in one-time funding from the state’s general fund surplus to reduce debt and improve the finances of public employee retirement systems.

Republican supporters called the proposal a way to offer meaningful tax relief to all Michigan residents, while some House Democrats questioned the long-term feasibility of the plans and whether reducing the income tax was the best way to provide targeted tax relief.

“This proposal is a no brainer,” said Thomas Albert. “If their pensions run out of money, the income tax relief we’re providing seniors won’t do them any good… Making this investment now will help deliver promised retirement benefits and essential public services in the future – without saddling our children and grandchildren with more debt.”

House Democratic Leader Donna Lasinski, D-Scio Township, argued that the Republican proposal would put an unnecessary strain on the state’s revenue and would risk losing American Rescue Plan funding.

The federal government requires a state’s tax revenue to exceed the amount it took in in 2019, prior to the pandemic’s effects on the economy and government coffers. If that condition isn’t met, the state would need to cut its spending or return American Rescue Plan funds.

“This Republican tax shift is the most fiscally irresponsible action we’ve ever seen before in our chamber. Losing $6 billion in revenue in revenue is an astonishing hole in our government, and this wound to our state, our public services, our financial health will pain the people of Michigan for decades,” Lasinski said.

House Bill 5054, sponsored by Albert, provides $1.5 billion in one-time funding from the state’s general fund surplus to reduce debt and improve the finances of public employee retirement systems. Most of the funding would go to pension plans for local governments and road commissions, with an additional $350 million to improve financing in the Michigan State Police retirement system.

The plan is the latest in a string of tax cut proposals circulated by Michigan officials in light of record-high revenues in recent years.

“This is the only plan that gives relief to all Michigan families, workers and seniors,” Hall said. “If we cant do it now, when we have millions of dollars of surplus, we’re never going to do it.”

The Michigan Senate recently approved a plan to reduce both the individual income tax rate and the corporate income tax rate to 3.9%. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has proposed repealing Michigan’s so-called “pension tax” and increasing a tax credit for low-income working people from 6% to 20%.

The state’s corporate tax rate cut would stay the same under the bills passed Tuesday, a change from the Senate-passed version that would have cut it to 3.9%. Tax plans from the Legislature and the governor’s office represent a statement of priorities as budget talks get underway.

“We know that it’s easy to sell a tax cut,” said Rep. Yousef Rabhi during an impassioned floor speech Tuesday. “Things can turn on a dime and they have before, we know it,” Rabhi said. “We are making a structural change that will gut our state government for years, decades to come.”

Rabhi called the measure “pure and utter fiscal irresponsibility.”

MICHIGAN STATE EMPLOYEES WON’T HAVE TO MASK AT WORK STARTING THURSDAY

BRIDGE MI — Most Michigan government employees will no longer be required to wear a mask to work beginning Thursday unless told otherwise by their department directors.

The Michigan Office of State sent a letter to state departments on Monday that employees in standard offices and outdoor settings are generally no longer required to wear masks to protect against COVID-19. However, there are exceptions for employees working in high-risk settings such as long-term care, healthcare and correctional facilities.

“More changes to policies may be coming in the following weeks,” Director of the Office of the State Employer Liza Estlund-Olson wrote in the letter. “We look forward to seeing more of the smiles of our coworkers as we continue with our work.” The change comes as school districts and counties recently lifted mask mandates as the amount of COVID cases and hospitalizations decreased statewide.

State agencies may have different policies for visitors and to address specific operational needs. Local health departments and organizations can adopt their own masking requirements. According to the Office of State, masking requirements may return as COVID-19 conditions evolve.

Jana Nicol, an employee at the Michigan Department of Transportation, said she is concerned about officials lifting the mask mandate because her department is requiring employees to return to the Lansing headquarter or regional offices twice a week beginning in May.

“I’m worried because our building has not been remodeled and has an old air system,” Nicol said. “Even before the pandemic, if a cold was being spread around, it seemed like everyone would get it.”

While Estlund-Olson referenced recently relaxed guidelines from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention in ending mask requirements, the Michigan Republican Party accused the Whitmer administration of playing politics.

“The political science continues to shift as polling shows Democrat policies are becoming more and more unpopular,” MIGOP Communications Director Gustavo Portela said in a statement Tuesday.

“With majorities on the line in the U.S. House and Senate, along with a number of gubernatorial elections like here in Michigan, Biden and Whitmer are shifting away from these unpopular policies in an attempt to save their own skins at the ballot box this November. We’re not going to let Michiganders forget their policies wreaked havoc on our economy.”

MORE THAN 1,000 RALLY FOR PEACE FOR UKRAINE IN DETROIT’S HART PLAZA

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Children draped in blue and yellow flags joined the chorus of more than 1,000 voices singing in Ukrainian at a gathering Sunday afternoon at Detroit’s Hart Plaza in support of peace for Ukraine amid an ongoing Russian invasion.

Supporters spilled onto Jefferson Avenue, near the Joe Louis monument known by many as “The Fist,” as they waved large the Ukrainian flags and chanted “Hands off Ukraine” and “Ukraine wants peace.” Others held handmade signs reading “Stand with Ukraine” and “Stop war in Ukraine,” while motorists circled the intersection honking and waving flags in support.

Organized by the Ukrainian-American Crisis Response Committee of Michigan, or UACRC, the event came three days after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the commencement of a “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Jordan Fylonenko, communications lead of UACRC and one of the event’s organizers, said he was “blown away” by the large turnout, adding that the size of the crowd shows “the importance and gravity of what’s going on right now with the community.”

“It shows that what you’re watching on TV matters to people,” Fylonenko said. “It’s not just something going on (thousands of) miles away. It’s going to affect people here. It’s going to affect the United States. And we’re standing here to ask for people for support.”

Katherine Morozovska, a Troy resident with family in Ukraine, was adorned in a vinok — a traditional Ukrainian flower crown — and blue and yellow face paint. She said the outpouring of multi-ethnic support at the rally repeatedly brought her to tears.

“It means the world to me and my family, and every single Ukrainian out here, that I’ve seen people from Georgia, from Kazakhstan, from America,” Morozovska said.

Natalia Melnyczuk, a Livonia resident who lived in Ukraine for seven years, agreed, wishing Ukrainians “the freedom of choice to decide what kind of government to live under.”

The crowd, which met about 1 p.m. and marched on Woodward Avenue for a short while before returning to Hart Plaza, stayed to linger in the winter sunshine, showing no sign of leaving a few hours into the gathering. Organizers handed out Ukrainian snacks and hot coffee to supporters in exchange for donations as traditional music played from loudspeakers.

Although many attendees seemed to take comfort in a shared heritage and mission, they voiced feelings of anger, fright and sadness at a Russian assault on Ukraine’s independence.

“It’s not fair that innocent people are getting killed just because one man is hungry for power,” Morozovska said. “I’m here today to honor my people … and stand for what’s right.”

Police presence was measured, with some officers seen standing with supporters for pictures. Detroit Police Department and Michigan State Police officers focused primarily on traffic and crosswalk control.

The rally was organized in part to fundraise, Fylonenko said, urging supporters to contribute “donations, medical supplies, whatever they can provide.” A list of recommended charities is available at www.uacrisisresponse.org/donate.

PARENTS OF 2 OXFORD SHOOTING SURVIVORS SUE SCHOOL STAFFERS, DISTRICT

DETROIT NEWS — The parents of two students who survived the Oxford High School shooting last year are suing staffers and the district, alleging they failed to protect the youths and had reason to believe the suspect would commit violence.

The lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court lists Oxford Community Schools Superintendent Timothy Throne; Principal Steven Wolf; dean of students Nicholas Ejak; counselors Pam Fine and Shawn Hopkins; as well as three unidentified teachers.

It was launched by the lawyer for the mother of John and Anthony Asciutto as well as the father of another student, Marco Vackaro.

Much of the filing centers on the events leading up to accused shooter Ethan Crumbley bringing a Sig Sauer handgun to the high school on Nov. 30.

Among the allegations are that Throne and Wolf “had knowledge of (Crumbley’s) mental disturbance and dangerous ideations,” including after he allegedly left a severed bird head in the boys’ bathroom and “posted countdowns and threats of bodily harm, including death, on his social media accounts.”

The lawsuit accuses the superintendent and principal of downplaying the incidents and ordering others not to discuss them.

It alleges Fine failed to notify police or the school liaison officer after learning the day before the shooting that Crumbley allegedly had ammunition and a teacher saw him searching for more online.

On Nov. 30, after a teacher allegedly spotted Crumbley’s disturbing pictures in math class, including writing “blood everywhere” and depicting shooting victims, his backpack wasn’t searched, the court filing alleges.

“ …”Defendants who knew the relevant facts, knew that (Crumbley) needed immediate psychiatric intervention and should not be allowed access to the school and its students until the same could be obtained. …Upon information and belief, after being allowed to return to his classroom, EC took his backpack to a school bathroom, loaded ammunition into the 9mm handgun, and commenced his mass school shooting,” attorney Robert Giroux said in the filing. District officials and the attorney representing the school did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The lawsuit recounts that John Asciutto and Marko Vackaro were shot at while walking down a hallway. Vackaro was not struck and drove Asciutto to the hospital for treatment.

Meanwhile, Asciutto’s brother hid with more than 20 other students in a classroom for about an hour, according to the lawsuit. “During that time, they heard someone using the handles on the art room door, trying to enter,” Giroux wrote.

Four Oxford classmates — Hana St. Juliana, 14; Tate Myre, 16; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; and Justin Shilling, 17 — died in the attack. Six other students and a teacher were wounded.

The suit accuses the defendants of supervisory liability, state-created danger and violating Michigan’s Child Protection Act. It seeks an unspecified amount of damages.

The shooting has sparked other litigation.

Attorney Geoffrey Fieger filed a $100 million lawsuit against the district on behalf of survivors of the mass shooting in December then amended it with 11 new counts against school officials.

In response to that case, Oxford school officials have denied “they were negligent in any manner.” Their lawyer also has called the allegations false and said his clients would claim they are immune from liability.

Myre’s parents have also sued Crumbley, his parents as well as six high school personnel.

Meanwhile, Crumbley remains at the Oakland County Jail as he awaits trial on 24 felonies including first-degree murder and terrorism. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

His parents, James and Jennifer, were ordered this week to stand trial for involuntary manslaughter in connection with the rampage.

NEW GUIDANCE: MOST IN MICHIGAN CAN DITCH THEIR MASKS FOR NOW

BRIDGE MI — The federal government gave its blessing on Friday to making masks optional indoors for broad swaths of the nation, including for residents in 66 of Michigan’s 83 counties.

In a nod to waning COVID-19 infection across the nation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday suggested that mask wearing should be optional in counties where COVID spread is low and hospitals are no longer strained by COVID patients.

Under the CDC’s new three-tied risk system, which asks local officials to look beyond just new case numbers, most Michigan counties meet the “mask-optional” guidance. In fact, about 70 percent of the U.S. population now can feel more comfortable about going maskless indoors, though the CDC makes clear that individuals have different levels of risk.

The tiers are based on three factors: a community’s case rates, new COVID-related hospital admissions, and the number of beds occupied by COVID patients. County risk levels can be found here at the CDC’s homepage, as well as a more detailed list of recommendations, including the recommendation to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Under the CDC’s new advisory system:

Residents in low-level counties should consider mask wearing based on “personal preference, informed by your personal level of risk.”
Residents in medium-level counties should talk to a health provider and consider masks indoors if they are immunocompromised or at high risk for severe illness. Anyone who lives with or has social contact with someone at high risk for severe illness, should consider testing and masking indoors.
Residents in high level counties should wear a well-fitting mask in public indoors, including in K-12 schools and other community settings, regardless of vaccination status or individual risk.

The new guidance was not unexpected.

Less than a month ago, as omicron continued to batter the country and Michigan, the CDC stepped up mask recommendations by asking people to wear N95s or any other high-quality mask they could wear comfortably and “consistently.”

But cases and hospitalizations have plummeted since then.

In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer dialed back the state’s mask recommendations just over a week ago, even as the final few county health departments that still had school mask mandates rescinded theirs.

Some of the mandates were lifted immediately; others — including Oakland and Washtenaw counties — were effective Feb. 28, meaning students would have returned to mask-optional classrooms, anyway, Monday.

But expect to see masks in plenty of places still in Michigan, at least in the immediate future. Michigan hospitals are likely to keep mask policies for visitors in place, for example. Spokespeople for some of the largest health systems — the newly merged Spectrum and Beaumont health systems, known as BHSH, Trinity Health Michigan, and Michigan Medicine — said patients and visitors still must be masked.

And a mask mandate remained in place Friday at Detroit Public Schools Community District, and will likely stay in place for some time, according to a statement by Superintendent Dr. Nikolai Vitti, noting once again “the city’s lower vaccination rates and higher transmission rates.”

The guidance is unlikely to change everyday behavior for many in a state where residents have already decided to keep or ditch masks. The guidance makes clear that everyone’s risk level may be different, especially for those who are immunocompromised or face high risk of severe

JAMES, JENNIFER CRUMBLEY ORDERED TO STAND TRIAL AFTER BREAKDOWN IN COURT

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Not long after James and Jennifer Crumbley broke down crying in court after hearing an excerpt from their son’s journal, a judge ordered the distraught couple to stand trial for their alleged roles in the deadly Oxford school shooting, concluding they could have stopped the rampage that was carried out by their “troubled” son.

“The court finds that the deaths of the four victims could have been avoided if James and Jennifer Crumbley exercised ordinary care and diligence in the care of their son,” 52-3 District Court Judge Julie Nicholson said in reaching her decision. “There was extensive testimony that Ethan Crumbley was certainly a troubled young man, and that the (parents) had knowledge of that situation. But they purchased a gun, which he believed was his and and that he was free to use.”

The judge’s decision came down not long after entries from Ethan Crumbley’s journal were read in court, including this one that brought the couple to tears.

“I’m sorry for this mom and dad. I’m not trying to hurt you by doing this. I have to do this … I hope my parents can forgive me for what I do.”

Prosecutors say Ethan Crumbley wrote those words before he allegedly carried out the Nov. 30 shooting that killed four classmates and injured seven others.

In the journal, the 15-year-old also allegedly blamed his parents for what he was about to do.

“I will cause the biggest school shooting in Michigan’s history. I will kill everyone I f—— see,” Ethan allegedly wrote. “I have fully mentally lost it after years of fighting my dark side. My parents won’t listen to me about help or a therapist.”

He also allegedly wrote: “The first victim has to be a pretty girl with a future so she can suffer like me.”

Perhaps most chilling, said Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, was this excerpt: “I have zero help with my mental problems and it’s causing me to shoot the school. My parents won’t listen to me.”

The journal entry was among many pieces of evidence that were entered during a two-day preliminary exam in which the prosecution successfully convinced the judge to order the Crumbleys to stand trial on involuntary manslaughter charges.

On cross-examination, defense attorney Shannon Smith argued there is no evidence in the journal — or anywhere else — that Ethan told his parents that he planned to carry out a mass shooting, nor is there any evidence that the parents knew he would do this.

“The element that they can never prove is that Jennifer and James Crumbley knew that their son was going to commit the school shooting,” Smith said. “The prosecution knows this, which is why they stretched hard to make these people look like the worst parents in the world.”

Parents ‘weren’t friendly’

Hopkins said the meeting with the Crumbleys was different than other meetings he has had with parents and their kids.

“They weren’t friendly or showing care to their son,” Hopkins said. “They didn’t greet him. They didn’t hug him.”

Hopkins said he expressed to the parents that he was concerned about Ethan’s well-being and suicide ideation, gave them a list of mental health resources and said that “he needs someone to talk to for mental health support. I said as soon as possible. Today, if possible.”

But Jennifer Crumbley said that day was not an option because she had to return to work. He doesn’t recall the dad saying anything, and noted “I have never had parents arrive at the school and not take their student home.”

Hopkins said he met Ethan Crumbley during his freshman year, but that it was a brief encounter over Zoom and involved making his schedule.

He said that Ethan had no history of disciplinary problems at school, and there were no records of him being bullied. On one occasion, a Spanish teacher contacted him about Ethan and said that the student appeared sad.

Hopkins said that he checked on Ethan. After waiting outside a classroom for him, he said he went up to the teen and said, “Hey, I hear you may be having a rough time. I’m here if you need to talk.’ ”

He said, “OK.”

But Hopkins never heard from him.

Thursday’s hearing also included testimony from:

A gun shop owner testified that James Crumbley came into her shop on Nov. 26 with a minor and purchased the 9 mm handgun, telling her “I’ve had my eye on it for a few days.” Police say the gun was used in the school shooting, though the defense argued on cross-examination that it’s not illegal for a minor to temporarily possess a handgun under certain circumstances, like target shooting with a parent.
The manager of a shooting range testified that on Nov. 27, two days before the school shooting, Ethan and his mom went target shooting together. Video was played in court of the mom and son target shooting together, though the defense argued that there’s nothing illegal about that.
Oakland County Sheriff Sgt. Matthew Peschke, who helped search the Crumbleys’ home on the day of the shooting, also testified Thursday. He said police searched Ethan’s room and found shell casings from a gun in plain sight, a nearly empty bottle of whiskey, folding knives, feces from a small animal and a Nazi coin — all of which were shown on a screen in court.

Prosecutors also sought to introduce as evidence a marijuana grow operation that police found in the Crumbleys’ basement. But the defense objected, arguing that information was irrelevant to the case. The judge sustained the objection.

REDISTRICTING COMMISSION GIVES ITSELF 7% PAY INCREASES DESPITE $1.2M SHORTFALL

DETROIT NEWS — The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission voted on Thursday to give its 13 members a 7% pay raise, an increase that the members framed as a cost of living adjustment in line with inflation.

The increase, approved 8-3, boosts commissioner pay from about $55,000 to about $59,000. The vote comes as their work begins to taper off and the commission faces a $1.2 million shortfall through the remaining fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

The commission said its pay raise, estimated to total about $32,000 through the end of the fiscal year, will be covered by the more than $100,000 in savings realized with the departure of their general counsel, who submitted her resignation last month and whose last meeting was Thursday.

“By failing to increase the salaries we’re effectively reducing our salaries because of the inflation rate,” said Chairwoman Rebecca Szetela, an non-affiliated member of the commission.

Commission member Doug Clark voted against the increase, citing the commission’s main task — drawing new voting districts for the state House, Senate and Congress — was complete at this time.

“I don’t believe that we should have a salary increase based on our workload diminishing at this time,” he said. “I don’t think it’s the prudent thing to do at this point.”

Clark, a Republican, was joined in opposing the pay increase by Commissioner Cynthia Orton, a Republican, and Commissioner Richard Weiss, a non-affiliated member of the commission. Republican members Erin Wagner and Rhonda Lange were not present for the vote.

The 13-member commission is seeking a legal opinion on when the duties of commission members expire and how their pay should be handled moving forward. While the commission’s maps are complete, they still are completing final reports on their work and are facing two lawsuits challenging the maps.

At any point in the next 10 years, the maps could face additional challenges in court potentially leading to a court order for the commission to redraw the maps, at which point the commission would need to reconvene.

The constitutional language that created the commission appears unclear about how long their pay should continue. It requires each commissioner’s salary be at least 25% of the governor’s salary, or $39,825, and that their terms last through a “census cycle.” The language requires the Legislature to fund the commission for “each year the commission operates.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer did not include funding for the commission in her proposed budget, which begins Oct. 1.

The commission also is exploring ways to approach the GOP-led Legislature for more money. The commission faces a $1.2 million shortfall based on their “best guess” of ongoing legal costs for the defense of its maps.

Through January alone, the commission spent $477,000 on litigation and local counsel to defend the commission and its maps in court.

“We are in active conversation on how best to approach the Legislature in requesting these funds,” said Executive Director Suann Hammersmith.

The Senate would consider “any legitimate expenses,” said Matt Sweeney, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake.

“But commissioners giving themselves pay raises at taxpayer expense isn’t likely to fall into that category,” he said.

Rep. Greg VanWoerkom, the Norton Shores Republican who chairs the Appropriations General Government Subcommittee, was critical of the commission.

“What job do you know where you vote for your own pay increase even when your work is done?” VanWoerkom said in a Thursday statement. “Already running a deficit, the Legislature and taxpayers will have plenty of questions should they come asking for more funding.”

The commission has come under fire for the pay raises and a roughly $50,000 expenditure for the production of a “lessons learned” documentary on their work.

On Thursday, the commission disclosed it’s spent roughly $48,000 on public opinion polling regarding the commission’s work and name recognition among Michigan voters. The commission said the purpose of the polling was to inform the work of current and future commissions.

The polling released Thursday found 41% of respondents had heard “something” about the 2018 constitutional amendment changing Michigan’s redistricting process, a figure that dropped nearly 12 percentage points from a baseline assessment in March 2021. The survey of 600 likely Michigan voters was conducted Feb. 11-14 by the Glengariff Group and had a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points. The initial baseline survey was conducted March 27-31, 2021.

Additionally, the survey found 35% of those contacted had heard of Michigan’s Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission and 66% of Michigan voters said the state should continue using an independent commission to redraw its political lines every 10 years.

“One of the things moving forward for any commission to realize is they need to have realistic expectations about the difficulty of engaging the voters across the state,” said pollster Richard Czuba.

MICHIGAN ENROLLMENT TICKS UP, BUT STILL DOWN SINCE BEFORE PANDEMIC

BRIDGE MI — Enrollment in Michigan schools grew slightly this year, but Detroit districts continue to lose students.

The addition of nearly 6,000 students, or 0.4 percent, may be a hopeful sign that parents are becoming more comfortable sending their children to classrooms nearly two years after Michigan schools were first shuttered due to COVID, officials said.

“We’re starting to see that public education is getting back to normal,” said Casandra Ulbrich, president of the state board of education. “Having a consistent in-person education opportunity for kids is going to help us continue to see these numbers increase.” But statewide enrollment is still down 3.7 percent since before the pandemic — and 5 percent in Detroit districts — raising questions about where those students went and concerns that declining student counts could hurt district finances.

“Let’s say you’ve lost 10 students, a small number — that’s $87,000 right there,” said Bob McCann, executive director of the K-12 Alliance, an advocacy group, noting that Michigan schools received an average of $8,700 per pupil last year. “The loss of a small number of students can have a direct impact on a district’s bottom line and the services they’re able to deliver.”

Enrollment fell by 256 students, or 0.5 percent, in the Detroit Public Schools Community District. That’s an improvement over last year, when enrollment fell by 3.7 percent.

Detroit is far from the only big-city school district grappling with enrollment declines. There are fewer students on the rolls this year in New York, Memphis, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

The same holds true in Michigan, where urban school districts have seen enrollment declines in line with DPSCD’s over the last two years. District officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Overall, the latest data suggest that Michigan’s statewide enrollment is beginning to stabilize. This fall, the state enrolled 1,443,456 students, an increase from 1,437,612 the previous fall.

In a sign that some parents remain concerned about in-person instruction, enrollment in fully online charter schools in Michigan has risen 63 percent, or 6,200 students, since fall 2019. Driven by the increase in virtual enrollments, charter school enrollment statewide increased by 988 students, or 0.6 percent..

Statewide, the enrollment increase was driven by students of color and students from low-income families:

Black enrollment rose 1.89 percent from fall 2020, while hispanic enrollment rose 3.16 percent. White enrollment fell 0.7 percent since fall 2020. Enrollment in all three categories has declined since fall 2019.
Among students from low-income families, enrollment rose 2 percent over the last year, though it has declined by 2 percent since fall 2019.

Kindergarten enrollment rose sharply this year, increasing 7 percent or 8,200 students from the prior year. That’s a reversal from last year, when enrollment declines were concentrated in kindergarten. At the same time, a marked decline in the cohort that started kindergarten during the 2020-21 school year suggests that some parents opted to have their children repeat kindergarten.

It is unclear why statewide enrollment has declined since the outset of the pandemic. While data points nationally suggest that homeschooling has increased during the pandemic, Michigan doesn’t collect homeschool enrollment data, and the state doesn’t publish private school enrollment data. Students may have left the state, though many other states are also seeing enrollment declines. And setting aside the pandemic, Michigan’s declining population is likely also playing a role.

“I don’t know” why enrollment is declining, McCann said, but he added that more families may be comfortable sending their kids to school as the pandemic wears on.

“We certainly heard at the beginning of the school year from parents who weren’t convinced it was safe to send their kids back,” he said. “We may be in a little bit of a different position in 2022.”

Michigan counts students in October and February. The February counts for this year aren’t yet available.

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER | COVID-19 CASE LEVELS NOW LOWEST SINCE AUGUST

BRIDGE MI — Michigan reported 5,931 new COVID-19 infections over the past five days on Wednesday, dropping the seven-day average to the lowest point since mid-August.

Over the past week the state has averaged 1,394 cases a day, the lowest since it was 1,339 a day on Aug.18. A month ago the state was averaging nearly 16,000 cases a day.

But the state also reported 312 additional COVID-19 deaths, including 250 that came after a review of health and medical records. Of all the reported deaths, 227 occurred in February and 73 in January.

There have now been 878 confirmed COVID-19 deaths in February over 23 days. In January there were 2,774.

The percent of coronavirus tests coming back positive fell again, with 7.7 percent of the tests over the past week coming back positive. That rate was 9.8 percent last Friday and 31 percent a month ago.

The number of patients hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 fell as well, down to 1,657 on Wednesday. There were 1,745 patients a week ago and just over 4,200 a month ago.

UKRAINIAN AMERICANS IN MICHIGAN ‘WATCH IN HORROR’ AS RUSSIA ATTACKS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Ukrainian-Americans in metro Detroit are anxiously following Russia’s attack on Ukraine, calling for support as they worry over the fate of family and others.

“It is hard to watch,” Olena Danylyuk, of Bloomfield Hills, said early Thursday morning. “We are extremely disturbed, saddened, and angered by the senseless violence.”

Danylyuk, an immigrant from Ukraine who is vice chair of the Ukrainian-American Crisis Response Committee of Michigan, worries about family and friends in her native country.

She said that one of her sisters and her children have fled the capitol of Kyiv, hiding in a small town. Others are in the city of Lviv. She said that they were not expecting a war today.

“They woke up in total shock,” Danylyuk said.

There are more than 39,000 Ukrainian-Americans in Michigan, according to 2019 Census data. They have held two rallies in recent weeks in support of Ukraine and are planning a third one at 5 p.m. Thursday at St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic in Warren.

“Ukrainian-Americans watch in horror as their ancestral homeland is being invaded by the Kremlin’s forces,” Mykola Murskyj, chair of the Ukrainian-American Crisis Response Committee of Michigan, said in a statement late Wednesday night. “There’s only one aggressor in this — Russia. … Innocent people are losing their homes and their lives.”

Murskyj added: “We urge our fellow Americans to pray for the resolution of this senseless violence and for the safety of the Ukrainian people. Slava Ukraini! (Glory to Ukraine.) God bless the United States and Ukraine.”

In a statement released late Wednesday, President Biden said: “The prayers of the entire world are with the people of Ukraine tonight as they suffer an unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces. President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering. Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its Allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way. The world will hold Russia accountable.”

Murskyj also blamed Russia.

“At the United Nations Security Council tonight, country after country has pleaded with President Putin to choose peace at the very same moment that ballistic missiles are exploding Ukrainian cities,” he said. “Russian leaders — desperate to destroy Ukraine’s democracy — have chosen war over diplomacy.”

U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, a former CIA and Pentagon official who has been outspoken in criticizing Putin, said on Twitter late Wednesday: “Firing artillery or missiles into Ukraine makes clear that Putin has his own distorted, delusional view of the world. He’s lying about the need for military operations to propagandize his own people — and he’s taking us into a very serious and dangerous chapter.”

U.S. Rep Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, wrote on Twitter Thursday morning: “Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified declaration of war against the sovereign nation of Ukraine calls for an immediate, strong, and coordinated response from the U.S. and our allies. Praying for the people of Ukraine.”

MICHIGAN’S UPPER PENINSULA BURIED IN RECORD SNOWFALL

DETROIT NEWS — As Metro Detroit prepares for more snow, parts of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula are digging out from record-breaking totals.

The National Weather Service office in Marquette reported two consecutive days with multiple historic precipitation numbers. Some 21.6 inches fell, burying the prior Feb. 22 record of 7.5 set in 1974, the weather service reported.

“Yesterday’s snow was the single largest snowfall amount for any day in February on record,” NWS said, announcing the stunning total for Tuesday.

There were other heavy hauls noted across the U.P.

“Areas prone to NE wind lake-effect have had their fair share of snow the last couple days,” said in a statement Wednesday, referring to Lake Superior.

On Monday, the station notched 0.70 inches of melted snow or precipitation, beating the record 0.37 set on Feb. 21, 1979.

Then came the snow: 9.7 inches, burying the previous record for the date, 6.9, set in 2009.

Tuesday again had double feats. Marquette saw 1.36 inches of precipitation, blasting the old record from 2017: 0.38.

But the snowfall record was legendary.

Some 21.6 inches fell, burying the prior Feb. 22 record of 7.5 set in 1974, the weather service reported.

The old record for the month was 19.4 set on Feb. 26, 2002.

Negaunee Township added to its massive haul this winter.

“An additional 2 inches of snow fell at the National Weather Service Office in Negaunee Township between 7 AM and 1 PM which brings our official 54 hour storm total to 37.1 inches,” the weather service tweeted Wednesday.

Other totals the agency recorded between Monday and Wednesday included 30 inches in Ishpeming; 24 in Sands Township; 23 in Herman; 22 in Trowbridge Park; 20.8 in Baraga; and 14.4 in Ironwood.

Meanwhile, Marquette has seen 56.3 inches of snow so far in February, the weather service reported Wednesday. That’s 26.1 inches above normal.

JUDGE TO DECIDE IF OXFORD SCHOOL SHOOTING SUSPECT SHOULD MOVE TO YOUTH DETENTION CENTER

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Oxford school shooting suspect Ethan Crumbley is due back in court Tuesday to find out if he will be sent to a youth detention center, as his lawyers have requested.

The defense argues that an adult jail is no place for the 15-year-old suspect, who is locked up on terrorism and first-degree murder charges for allegedly carrying out the Nov. 30 mass shooting at Oxford High School with a gun his parents bought him. Four students died and six students and a teacher were injured in the shooting.

Prosecutors have argued that Ethan Crumbley belongs behind bars due to the severity of the alleged crime. He is being held on no bond in the Oakland County Jail. His lawyers are fighting to have him sent to the Children’s Village in Pontiac pending the outcome of his case.

The defense has expressed concerns that Crumbley can hear the adult prisoners in nearby cells, which is a violation of a federal statute that says juveniles held in adult jails or prisons cannot be within sight or sound of adult inmates. The defense also has argued that the teen’s mental and emotional wellbeing may be harmed in that environment, and that a juvenile facility is more fitting, where he could go to school and get more help.

“I understand the severity of what occurred. I think everybody does, including Mr. Crumbley,” Deborah McKelvy, a guardian ad litem assigned to Crumbley, has argued in court.

But, McKelvy added: “I do have concerns for him and his mental and emotional well-being. … The jail is not conducive, not designed for juveniles.”

Ethan Crumbley’s lawyer, Paulette Loftin, also has argued that the teenager has never been in trouble before the shooting and has no history of assaulting kids.

“There are other juveniles housed at Children’s Village charged with murder. This would not be the first time,” Loftin has argued.

The prosecution is adamantly opposed to moving him out of jail, saying Ethan Crumbley is where he belongs given what happened.

“This was a mass murder at a school .. It was planned. It was premeditated. … He targeted juveniles,” Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Marc Keast has previously argued.

Those arguments convinced a lower court judge to keep Ethan Crumbley in jail. The case is now before Oakland County Circuit Judge Kwame Rowe, who scheduled a hearing for 2 p.m. Tuesday to take up the issue.

Ethan Crumbley is charged in the deaths of four classmates. According to police and prosecutors, Crumbley shot up his school using a gun that his parents had bought him four days earlier as a Christmas present.

The parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, also have been charged in the case. They are facing involuntary manslaughter charges for allegedly failing to keep the gun secure, and never notifying the school about the gun when they had a chance to.

Ethan Crumbley has pleaded not guilty through his lawyers, who have said they are preparing an insanity defense.

GRAND HAVEN UPS PARTY VIBE WITH DOWNTOWN STREET CLOSURE ALL SUMMER

MLIVE — Grand Haven is upping its downtown party vibe with the full closure this summer of a block of its main street for social gathering and outdoor dining.

The first block of Washington Avenue, from Harbor Drive to First Street, will be closed to traffic from May 1 through Sept. 30. Half the street was closed the last two summers to allow for more outdoor dining during COVID pandemic restrictions.

The Grand Haven City Council on Monday, Feb. 21, unanimously approved the one-year experiment.

“The thought is we’re creating a gathering space for the community to and enjoy and that in turn will … create a more vibrant area that more people visit,” said Jeremy Swiftney, executive director for the Main Street Grand Haven Downtown Development Authority.

After studying the issue since last summer, the DDA recommended the council close the street, leaving access for emergency vehicles, from May through October. The council amended that timeframe to the end of September to avoid the appearance of “a dead zone” when cold temperatures push people back inside.

The area is also part of Grand Haven’s social district, meaning drinks from participating establishments can be taken out onto the sidewalks to be consumed. City officials said they will have to check state rules to see if those drinks also can be taken onto the closed public street.

The block is home to about nine eating and drinking establishments, including The Kirby House, Odd Side Ales, Long Road Distillers, Anna’s House and Porto Bello.

Each establishment will be able to delineate its own outdoor area on the public street using planters, ropes or other items. The concrete barriers the city made available last year to protect the outdoor areas from street traffic will not be used this summer.

In addition, the DDA will create an area for the public to use with picnic tables and games, Swiftney said.

Tim Riley, general manager of The Kirby House, said his establishment plans to offer more outdoor music on the street this summer.

“It’s not just about food and beverage there,” Riley told the council. “That’s a great space for tourists, for locals to gather and meet…This expands the opportunity for others to enjoy that space.”

The block also is home to two retail shops, The Calico Cat and the Surf Shop, as well as Harbor View Eye Care optometry.

Swiftney said sufficient breaks in the outdoor dining areas should take away concerns about access to retail shops.

Kelly Larson, owner of Fortino’s retail shop in the next block of Washington, told the council the street closure will be good for the downtown.

“I love the vibe,” she said. “I think it’s super fun…It’s a really great effort to maintain the excellent atmosphere downtown.”

The social district, allowed under state law pushed forward during the pandemic, is among the “interesting opportunities” COVID brought about, said Grand Haven City Council Member Ryan Cummins.

“I never thought we’d be dining in the streets,” he said.

The council made special consideration for The Toasted Pickle, also located in the next block of Washington, at the request of owner Jim Avery. It will be allowed again this summer to use about two parking spaces to create its own outdoor dining space on Washington Avenue.

Avery said having the outdoor dining space “was wonderful” for this business and he received “a ton” of positive feedback about other outdoor dining areas as well.

Establishments that use Washington Avenue for outdoor seating most likely will be charged rent for using the public space. City Manager Patrick McGinnis said he will bring proposed rent amounts to the council soon.

It will be up to each business to decide how much of the outdoor space they will use. Some may not need as much as they did the last two years since pandemic-related restrictions on indoor dining have been lifted, Swiftney said.

The street closure will take away 22 parking spot, which is 11 more than last year’s partial street closure took up.

Doug Vance, owner of The Copper Post at Washington and First Street, said more parking is desperately needed.

Vance didn’t directly address the Washington Avenue closure, but said his customers and tenants of 11 apartments above his business struggle to find parking downtown. Vance inferred he has plans to upgrade his 150-year-old building, but only if the council does something about the lack of parking that he said he brought to its attention along with suggestions for improvement a year ago.

NORTHERN MICHIGAN HEALTH DIRECTOR QUITS, CITES ANGER OVER MASK MANDATES

BRIDGE MI — A northern Michigan health officer who drew intense criticism over school mask mandates in six counties announced her resignation Tuesday, citing a “hostile work environment” created by the multi-county Board of Health.

Lisa Peacock will leave her positions as health officer for the Health Department of Northwest Michigan, which covers Emmett, Charlevoix, Otsego and Antrim counties, and the Benzie-Leelanau District Health District, on April 29, according to her resignation letter.

The resignation follows months of vitriol in the region over school mask mandates her department implemented. The department rescinded the orders last week, as did several other health departments, citing falling COVID-19 case rates. But Peacock told Bridge Michigan late Tuesday that she didn’t believe her relationship with the health board “was getting better any time soon.” Her resignation from the Northwest Michigan health department means she will also no longer serve as health officer in Benzie and Leelanau counties, because those counties contract with Northwest Michigan for a health officer.

“I love my job and I love the people of northern Michigan,” Peacock told Bridge Michigan late Tuesday. “But my health is suffering.”

Some members of the board of the Health Department of Northwest Michigan, made up of two commissioners from each of the four counties, had tried to fire Peacock last fall over the mask mandate, but that motion failed on a 5-3 vote. While the four counties share a health department, they are politically split between conservative and progressive constituencies.

In September, shortly after Peacock had instituted school mask mandates in the six counties amid the delta variant, a board of health meeting was so tumultuous that two commissioners resigned and Peacock took a medical leave.

She also had become a known face to local residents from weekly public COVID updates, streamed on Facebook, with Traverse City-based Munson Healthcare.

Even after the mask mandate was lifted last week, the board of health is still considering cutting the health department’s budget, Peacock told Bridge, citing the agenda for a meeting next week.

“I am most disappointed in the recent retaliation I have endured for the issuance of a public health order aimed at protecting children, school staff, and the general public,” Peacock wrote in her resignation letter, given to board of health members at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“I am extremely disheartened by the board members who have questioned my integrity and intentions and have even expressed their belief that I deserve the abuse I have received. The public attacks and campaign of humiliation at public meetings is something I no longer have the strength to endure, and no reasonable professional would, either.”

The resignation appeared sudden. Just a few hours earlier, Peacock appeared publicly in the regular call with Munson Healthcare. She said she was optimistic about declining COVID case rates and about celebrating those as a community.

“This is wonderful that we’re in the stage, and we expect to see that happen for longer periods of time as COVID evolves,” she said.

“As we move through the cycle together, it’s just important to understand that we know more now, we have more tools in our toolbox, and we’re able to kind of enjoy this recovery post-surge,” she said.

At noon Tuesday, she joined a call with fellow executive committee members of the Michigan Association for Local Public Health, which represents Michigan’s local health departments.

“She said nothing about it (leaving),” said Norm Hess, the group’s executive director.

Peacock was set to become MALPH’s president this past October. But last fall, as political divisions over COVID policies mounted, several county commissioners unsuccessfully tried to oust Peacock and the health department’s medical director Dr. Josh Meyerson.

Given the local “difficulties,” she asked MALPH President Nick Derusha to continue his role, Hess said.

Hess and Derusha told Bridge Tuesday evening they were not aware of Peacock’s resignation. Both, though, said they were not surprised, given the community’s reaction to her mask orders.

“It’s a sad, sad day when a true local public health professional that has dedicated her career to protecting the health of her community is driven out by pandemic politics,” Derusha said.

He said Peacock’s feelings are shared by other health officers who also have endured two years of criticism and second-guessing over pandemic orders.

“If somebody says they don’t feel like that, they’re probably lying,” he said.

AFTER MASSIVE FIRE, OAKLAND HILLS WILL BUILD A REPLICA CLUBHOUSE

THE OAKLAND PRESS — Following the massive fire at the Oakland Hills clubhouse on Thursday, the club is moving forward on rebuilding and making the club operational for the golf season that opens in a few months.

“I can report that at our board meeting this past Saturday morning, the board unanimously made an easy decision to determine that the restored. rebuilt clubhouse will be a replica of what the iconic clubhouse was before the fire,’’ Oakland Hills President Rick Palmer said on a Zoom on Monday morning.

He said the decision was easy after the outpouring of support from the membership and the golf community.

They are in the process of looking at architects for the rebuild.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation by the Bloomfield Township Fire Department.

“Our insurance carrier will make the final determination if it is a total loss, however we are operating internally and planning that it is a total loss and taking steps assuming that will be the case,’’ Palmer said.

The club has also retained an independent insurance adjuster. Palmer said it’s still too early to comment on any specifics such as dollar amounts.

He confirmed that much of the memorabilia was saved through efforts of the fire department. The fire crew had a window and asked Oakland Hills workers where the memorabilia was located.

“”They kept going in and out of the facility and actually passed that out to our employees who formed a kind of bread line and loaded that into the van,’’ Palmer said. “There are a lot of items that got recovered, a lot of our valuable items got recovered, but we’re just assessing whether they are fully OK and restored.’’

He said they are hopeful to retrieve more items.

Palmer was emphatic about one thing.

“What happened at Oakland Hills was very devastating emotionally, but tragedies are Oxford schools and COVID-19. We lost things,’’ Palmer said. Four students were killed at Oxford High School in November.

The plan is for a full golf schedule for this year.

“Keep in mind that other than the clubhouse fire, our tennis building, our golf shop, golf operations building and maintenance facility were all untouched.,’’ Palmer said.

Some type of temporary structure could be added. It is unclear at this point.

“That is ongoing right now, what are our options, where will that be, what does it look like. And really we want to move quickly but we want to move slow in order to move fast because we’re really making not just the 2022 decision, we’re making 2023 and potentially 2024 depending on the process,’’ Palmer said.

He said the USGA has been helpful offering assistance for temporary structures like they do at events for pavilions and merchandising.

Palmer said Oakland Hills will help reschedule weddings and charity events at nearby country clubs that have offered to help.

He also noted along with local clubs, the Golf Association Managers of Michigan have reached out and made all of their facilities available for dining and other things for Oakland Hills members.

Also the National Club Association has established a nationwide marching fund for monetary assistance to the workers who will be out until they get opened up.

Palmer said there were 25 full-time employees in the building when the fire broke out. That is the typical number of workers for January, February and March. Once the golf season gets going they typically have 300 employees.

Palmer was on the Zoom call from Barton Malow offices in Southfield. Or, as he called it, Oakland Hills South. The construction company on Friday offered space for 25 workstations, along with technology and anything else required.

“We are fully operational from an administrative perspective 48 hours after we started. Besides the physical space, their employees welcoming our employees has been overwhelming,’’ Palmer said.

When the recent $12 million renovation of the South Course at Oakland Hills was ongoing the motto was “forward together” which Palmer said is absolutely appropriate for the next steps.

“We are resolved and dedicated to move forward with all diligence to come back stronger than ever. We are confident about our future and all the great things we hope to achieve,’’ Palmer said.

MICHIGAN NEEDS SKILLED WORKERS, BUT LACKS ENOUGH INSTRUCTORS TO TRAIN THEM

BRIDGE MI — Mary Kay Voeks unlocked the door to a darkened classroom at Mt. Pleasant High School. She flicked on the lights to reveal 12 empty desks with 3-D printers on each of them.

In the front of the room were two large, yellow robotic arms.

Two years ago, this classroom, along with a fully outfitted computer lab across the hall, were filled with 60 students a day learning industrial electronics, computer programming and robotics. But the classrooms have gathered dust the past two school years.

It’s not for lack of interest — students from across Isabella and Gratiot counties sign up for this career and technical education program every spring. And businesses in the mid-Michigan region still want employees with skills in robotics, said Voeks, the principal of the Gratiot-Isabella Technical Education Center, which is located in a wing of the high school

But career tech officials can’t find an instructor.

The program instructor at Mt. Pleasant High quit in August 2020. For 18 months, Voeks has been advertising for a replacement — someone with technical know-how, no teacher license required — and received zero applications.

The reason is simple, sobering, and similar to what is happening at some other career tech centers around the state:

“People in this industry are getting paid three times what a (K-12 classroom) teacher would be paid,” Voeks said.

CTE enrollment in Michigan has grown 21 percent since 2013-14. More than 100,000 high school students — 30 percent of all 10th- through 12th-graders — took at least one CTE class in 2020-21.

Career tech programming has taken on greater importance as Michigan businesses have struggled to find enough skilled workers.

That same worker shortage has hit CTE. The more demand there is for skilled workers in a field, the harder it becomes to find instructors to offer training in that field. While businesses can increase pay to find skilled workers, high school-level career and tech education programs are limited to the pay scale of traditional teachers, because of union contracts that set school district pay scales, according to CTE administrators who spoke to Bridge.

Recently in the Gratiot-Isabella Career Center, “we had a mechanical drafting instructor who resigned after the first trimester of this year,” said Doug Bush, associate superintendent of CTE. “They were offering him $25,000 more to come back to work for his old employer.

“Luckily, we found a replacement,” Bush said.

New instructors, no matter if they are experts in culinary arts or computerized manufacturing, are usually paid the same pay as a first-year teacher, which is typically under $40,000 a year.

By comparison, the average salary in Michigan for an HVAC (heating, ventilation and air condition) technician is, including overtime, $65,000 a year.

“We have had an HVAC class, state approved, for two years, and we cannot find an instructor,” said Chris Machiniak, assistant superintendent of career and technical education for Berrien Regional Educational Service Agency, which provides services for school districts in that west Michigan county.

“The higher skill you get, the more they can walk out and make three times in the private sector what they can make in (CTE),” he said.

Machiniak said CTE classes related to engineering, manufacturing and industrial technology have been particularly hard hit by the worker shortage.

“We’ve had business and industry pressure put on us” to offer industry-related classes, he said. “We said, ‘look, give us someone (one of your employees) part-time (as an instructor).’ But they can’t find enough people to do the work they have, so they can’t. “If we can build a pathway (to train more students in CTE), we could be cranking kids out in a year or two,” Machiniak said. “But (businesses) need people now.”

CTE instructors in Michigan need certification in their field, but are not required to have a teaching license, any background in education or a college degree of any kind.

Instructors who lack a college degree are required to take classes toward a degree in their field, but they have 10 years to complete the degree, said Gratiot-Isabella’s Voeks. Still, Voeks’ center has had no luck finding anyone who would allow her to unlock the computer and electronic robotics labs for good.

“We may have to find a young person or someone who’s retired,” Voeks said. “That’s the niche, and we haven’t found them yet.”

After the instructor left in August 2020, the Mt. Pleasant career tech center received delivery of a new industrial robot. The box sits in a closet, unopened.

Voeks picked up a plastic face mask filter from one of the desks in the industrial electronics and computer lab. It’s the last project students completed on the center’s 3-D printers. in the spring of 2020.

“It’s disappointing we have such an outstanding place for students and it sits idle,” Voeks said. “There are so many jobs out there. We’re the pipeline, and I feel bad we can’t fill that pipeline.”

ROYAL OAK LIBRARY CLOSING SOUTH ENTRANCE FOR NEW TERRACE CONSTRUCTION

THE OAKLAND PRESS — Workers are set to begin construction Tuesday on a new colorful terrace on the south side of the Royal Oak Public Library.

The south side entrance of the library will have to close for up to a month, and patrons will be limited to accessing the facility at the entrance on 11 Mile Road.

Library Director Sandy Irwin said the north entrance has ADA compliant paddles that allow wheelchair or walker users and others to open the doors there.

The new terrace will overlook the Centennial Commons downtown park when it is finished and have cafe-style tables and chairs.

Overhead, 14 lime green canopies will be attached to tubed columns of stainless steel 13-feet high to offer shade out on the new 76-by-44-foot terrace, which will include new floodlights.

“We’re really looking forward to it,” Irwin said, “and hope to do some of our programs out on the terrace.”

Library employees will begin to plan which programs they conduct on the terrace after it is completed, and start offering the programs in the summer, she added.

Irwin was named library director last year and last worked at the public library in Durango, Colo.

“We had an enclosed terrace there and seating outside,” she said. “People enjoyed picking up lunch and reading out there.”

Similarly, Irwin said she expects the terrace in Royal Oak to draw more people to the library area and spur more foot traffic inside as well.

“We’re excited to envision the future of the whole area here and how the library interacts with Centennial Commons,” Irwin said.

The canopies are made of circular ribbons of steel with openings in the center and on a portion of the outside.

Color on the canopies is powder-coated and enamel baked to keep it from requiring repainting because of flaking, said Judy Davids, the city’s community engagement specialist.

“It’s going to be spectacular and add a pop of color,” Davids said. “The terrace will be a major focal point of the park.”

Most of Centennial Commons is already completed, but there are features that will be installed in the coming months.

The park will be further landscaped after spring arrives and the snow fencing protecting the sod is removed.

Workers will begin installing a unisex bathroom and a nearby splash pad after the weather warms up, Davids said.

“All the plumbing has been completed, but there’s some concrete work to be done,” she said.

The splash pad will cover a 26-by-52-foot area and have 18 fountain jet heads that spray water up from the ground.

The area will be covered with granite pavers and a large concrete bench will be added along one side of the splash area, Davids said.

Royal Oak opened Centennial Park to the public in December 2021. The opening coincided with the community’s 100th year as a city.

CAUSE OF MASSIVE OAKLAND HILLS FIRE? THOSE AT SCENE SAY, ‘WE MAY NEVER KNOW’

DETROIT FREE PRESS — It was one of Michigan’s largest wooden structures and modeled after George Washington’s historic mansion at Mount Vernon.

More than 24 hours after Thursday’s momentous fire that destroyed the historic Oakland Hills County Club clubhouse, firefighters were still pouring water Friday afternoon on “hot spots,” trying to keep the piles of century-old timbers from reigniting.

They’d spent the entire night on the scene at Maple Road just east of Telegraph in the heart of Oakland County’s affluence, officials said Friday. At the same time, local firefighting veterans were looking ahead.

The Bloomfield Township Fire Department was forming a team of inspectors, to include experts from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and from multiple insurers that are said to have provided coverage for the venerable clubhouse. Bloomfield Township Fire Marshal Peter Vlahos predicted they’d end up conducting “one of the most extensive investigations that I’ve ever been involved with” in the community of more than 42,000 residents.

Yet, already both Vlahos and his boss — Fire Chief John LeRoy — said they believe that the cause of the blaze may never be known.

Like most commercial buildings, the clubhouse was equipped with heat-sensitive, ceiling-mounted sprinklers which — when their “fusible link melts, usually at 165 degrees Fahrenheit” — begin emitting a mist-like spray usually in a circular pattern, according to Craig Holmes, a retired civil engineer and risk-management consultant in Brighton. Still, the clubhouse sprinklers had been unable to quench the fire.

The fire’s origin and initial spread “may have been in the walls and between the floors, so the sprinklers couldn’t get at it,” LeRoy said. The initial 911 call for the fire came at 9:17 a.m. Thursday after a cook smelled smoke in the kitchen, although it’s unknown whether the fire started there, LeRoy said.

His dire prediction: “We’ll probably never know what truly happened, the damage is so far advanced.”

The piles of ancient smoldering timbers are so daunting that fire inspectors will be challenged to survey the ruins, Bloomfield Township Fire Marshal Peter Vlahos told the Free Press. Likewise, Vlahos also said he was doubtful that a cause would be pinpointed.

“We’re going to have to use some heavy machinery” to move debris so that inspectors can, literally, get to the bottom of the conflagration’s trail of evidence, Vlahos said.

And when they get there? Clear evidence of the fire’s cause may well have gone up in smoke.

UKRAINIANS RALLY IN WARREN WITH POLITICIANS AND FAITH LEADERS IN SUPPORT OF HOMELAND

DETROIT NEWS — When people tell Borys Potapenko that his Ukrainian activism is a result of his personal connection to the country, he scoffs.

Though his own family history is rife with examples of violence endured in Ukraine in the past century, Potapenko, 71, says he advocates for Ukraine because of the millions of lives lost due to wars and famine and the others that might be lost if Russia invades Ukraine.

Potapenko, with the Detroit chapter of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, helped organize an “All-Community Rally” Sunday with the Ukrainian-American Crisis Response Committee of Michigan to speak out against the threat from Russia and to commemorate protesters who were shot by snipers in Ukraine in 2014 known as “the Heavenly Hundred” and others who died.

“It’s got to do with 40 million dead in the 20th century, 14,000 more in the last eight years. And God only knows what is going to happen perhaps in the next days,” said Potapenko.

President Joe Biden last week said he was “convinced” Russia President Vladimir Putin had decided to invade Ukraine, including an assault on the capital, Kyiv, a city of nearly three million people. Hundreds of thousands of Russian troops are stationed at the Ukrainian border, but the country denies its intention to invade.

“What President Biden is doing right now is totally unprecedented,” said Potapenko. “For him to say that Ukraine’s freedom is so important that the U.S. will band their allies together, that they will stand up to Putin, that they will defend Ukraine, that’s like a wild dream.”

In Warren, some 250 attendees trickled into the crowded banquet hall, and the rally began with opening remarks by Mykola Murskyj, chairman of the crisis response committee, who said he grew up listening to his grandmother’s stories about the struggles Ukrainians endured before their country declared independence in 1991.

“The prospect that Vladimir Putin’s ambitions of empire could undo centuries of freedom fighting, could undo all the work of millions of fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, who left home to fight for freedom … That terrifies me,” said Murskyij.

By the committee’s estimate, 46,000 people of Ukrainian heritage live in Michigan. The event Sunday was held to raise awareness about the imminent danger of a Russian invasion and occupation, as well as to highlight the plight of Ukrainians living in Crimea, including the region’s indigenous Muslim population, the Tatars.

Murskyij and other organizers spoke of the massive human and economic toll of a war in Ukraine, and penned a letter to Biden and urged the federal government to enact severe, immediate sanctions against Russia if the country invaded Ukraine, including personal sanctions against Kremlin leaders. They also recommended continued defense security assistance.

Senior U.S. officials on Sunday defended their decision to hold off on crippling sanctions of Russia ahead of an expected invasion, leaving open the door for a diplomatic solution.

“In these coming days and weeks, we will have to decide whether our convictions mean anything,” said Murskyij. “Whether right and wrong are something more than nice ideas.”

A Presentation of the Colors, in which American and Ukrainian flags were carried onto the stage by Ukrainian-American veterans, followed Murksyij’s remarks. The crowd, all standing, sang both countries’ national anthems, before a prayer for peace was led by the Rev. Daniel Schajkoski of the Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Catholic Church.

Warren Mayor Jim Fouts joined organizers in calling on the U.S. to continue its support of Ukraine’s democracy, and emphasized the importance of unity between Democrats, Republicans and Independents in the country when it comes to protecting Ukraine’s democracy.

Fouts commended politicians like U.S. Rep. Hayley Stevens, D-Rochester, and Rocky Raczkowski, chair of the Oakland County Republican Party, for attending the rally Sunday and embodying that unity.

The newly elected mayor of Hamtramck, Amer Ghalib, said he attended the event in the solidarity with the Ukrainian community which is “part of the fabric of Hamtramck.”

“There is no good war and bad war, all war is bad,” said Ghalib, stressing his support for a democratic Ukraine and opposition to a war that would create “a mess all around the world.”

Outside the banquet hall, Eugene Bondarenko, 33, of Ann Arbor, said he was happy about the difference he saw between the West’s reaction to the Ukraine crisis in 2014 and 2022.

“In 2014, the Ukrainian community was largely playing catch-up to a degree where sometimes we had to to explain … hey, we’re actually a different country (than Russia), with a different language,” said Bondarenko, who teaches Ukranian and Russian languages and cultures at the University of Michigan.

“I’m very heartened by the fact that the West has taken sort of a more active role in this,” he added.

Ukrainians in the country have been the calmest group about the prospect of a Russian invasion, Bondarenko said, with many doubting the possibility of a full-scale war. Still, he added, no one he spoke to ever said that they would leave the country because they were afraid of having to fight.

“I really hope that the Kremlin is aware of this,” he said.

For Maria Kohut’s parents, leaving the country was not a choice. Like Potapenko’s parents, they were forced into Nazi labor camps during World War II.

Kohut, 77, of West Bloomfield was born in Munich, and wasn’t able to visit her parents’ homeland and see the impact of the Soviet Union’s occupation until she was in her 40s.

She sees the impact of the Soviet Union and Russia on her family to this day, however, and said it reached her children as well. She blames Russia for having a small family, without a connection to her parents’ siblings and other relatives.

“Russians, what they did in war after war, is they took families apart,” said Kohut. “My family was separated; some are in Poland, in Germany, in Ukraine, all in different places.”

This meant Kohut grew up without an extended family, and raised her children without one as well.

“In the summer, your next door neighbors have barbecues. They have a big family, aunts, uncles, grandma, grandpa and they’re all happy,” said Kohut. “And you’re kind of alone.

“I never had any support group to help me raise my children. Always I had to fight my own battles.”

DNR ANNOUNCES FISHING REGULATIONS FOR MICHIGAN’S 2022 SEASON

BRIDGE MI — Expanded underwater spearfishing, catch limits and size restrictions are among Michigan’s new fishing laws.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources this week announced most of the changes will go into effect April 1. Fishing licenses go on sale online March 1 and are valid for a year.

Here is a direct look at some of the fishing changes for 2022. Walleye size limit increased in Lake St. Clair and St. Clair River

Anglers who are fishing in Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River have to catch longer walleye. The DNR increased the size limit minimum from 13 inches to 15 inches, which is the same as the statewide regulation.

The DNR changed the minimum size limit to make its walleye regulations uniform throughout the connected waters of the St. Clair-Detroit River system. The system includes Lake St. Clair, the St. Clair River, the Detroit River and Lake Erie.

Catch more round whitefish in Lake Superior

Anglers can try to catch more whitefish in Lake Superior. The DNR increased the daily round whitefish limit to allow anglers to keep 10 additional fish in Lake Superior.

Similar to the lake whitefish, but smaller, few round whitefish are caught by recreational anglers because it is primarily a commercial species. That’s because round whitefish are rarely seen unless they venture into shallow waters in April and May and again in October and November to breed.

Underwater spearfishing in southern Lake Michigan and Lake Huron

Anyone interested in trying to spear lake trout, northern pike, and walleye underwater can do so in southern Lake Michigan and Lake Huron starting April 1. Such areas include waters south of the southernmost pier at Grand Haven and waters south of the southernmost pier of Thunder Bay River, extending south to the mouth of the St. Clair River.

Underwater spearfishing involves gear and slingshot-like elastic-powered spearguns to catch fish.

The DNR does not expect many people to catch a lot of fish using this unique and demanding method. So, the agency is not concerned about the expansion causing biological concerns.

Underwater spearers will have to get a no-cost underwater license and report their effort and harvest monthly to the DNR.

This way the agency can track and collect information about the number of people taking part in the activity.

More fishing in Torch and Rapid rivers with special hooks

Anglers can fish on Torch River in Antrim County and Rapid River in Delta County from May 1 to July under the DNR’s new special hook regulations.

To fish legally on Torch River from the Crystal Beach Road Bridge downstream to Lake Skegemog including the Rapid River up to Aarwood Road Bridge, anglers have to use a single-pointed hook measuring one-half inch or less from point to shank from May 1 to July 1.

According to the DNR, the regulation replaces the fishing closure on these waters and allows anglers to fish while protecting resources.

Catch only one rainbow trout (steelhead) a day in some waters

Anglers may only catch one rainbow trout (steelhead) in some inland streams from March 15 to May 1.

The Michigan Natural Resource Commission, the government body that approves new wildlife and fish regulations, changed the bag limit in November 2021 amid declining steelhead populations in some tributaries.

The one fish bag limit applies to Bear Creek, Manistee River, Pere Marquette, Muskegon River, Manistique River and Carp River.

The steelhead population in Lake Michigan has steadily declined from 3.5 million in 2011 to just under 3 million in 2018, according to the state Steelhead populations at Little Manistee Weir dropped significantly from just over 6,000 in 2002 to just under 2,000 in 2020.

MASSIVE FIRE CAUSES ‘EXTENSIVE’ DAMAGE AT OAKLAND HILLS COUNTRY CLUB

DETROIT NEWS — A massive blaze Thursday caused “extensive” damage to the Oakland Hills Country Club, complicating the future of an ornate and historic facility that has been host to major national golf championships.

People in the clubhouse alerted firefighters to the smell of smoke at 9:17 a.m., Bloomfield Township Fire Chief John LeRoy said. Firefighters used thermal imaging cameras and drilled inspection holes in the ceiling to find flames in the attic. It was difficult to find the cause of the smell in such a large building, LeRoy said. The clubhouse is 110,000 square feet.

The stately clubhouse was engulfed by mid-morning in a blaze of spectacular size. The fire lost some strength by mid-afternoon, but by 6:20 p.m. had grown again on the south end of the building

Crews remained on the scene through 11 p.m. and were expected to stay throughout the night, the township fire department said.

“It’s a tough, tough day,” said Rick Palmer, Oakland Hills club president. “It’s really a devastating day for Oakland Hills, for the golf community, for our members, for our staff. There’s so much history. But the blessings are, nobody was injured and everybody got out of the building.”

He described the back of the building as “not recoverable.”

Oakland Hills is over a century old and highly ranked in the golf industry and was poised to host major championships in the next decade.

The clubhouse also is a museum of sorts, displaying photos, paintings, trophies and other artifacts from majors tournaments over the years. A trophy case near the front entrance displayed replica trophies of tournaments won by the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Ben Hogan.

Palmer and LeRoy both praised firefighters for rescuing a significant number of artifacts in the clubhouse.

“We had some mutual aid crews that were instructed where the things were, since (the fire) was in the attic at the time,” LeRoy said. “They were able to get to locations they could get to quickly, pull that memorabilia out and hand it to the club members at the front door and go back in.”

It’s unclear how much was salvaged, and how much damage the clubhouse sustained. Firefighters were using aerial ladders to spray the clubhouse roof, and much of the afternoon smoke billowed south for miles.

The multi-story clubhouse featured a pro shop, dining halls, locker rooms, banquet facilities, meeting rooms and many more amenities for the membership of about 750. Many of the members socialize there even when not golfing, including throughout the winter, and it was a popular venue for weddings and receptions.

LeRoy said he expected firefighters would continue fighting the blaze into Friday morning.

“We’re still pouring a tremendous amount of water on this,” he said. “At this point, we’re just going to be providing copious amounts of water to put it out as best we can and as safe as we can.”

A fire official who gave an evening briefing said the building was likely going to need to be rebuilt.

More than a half dozen departments assisted, including firefighters from Farmington Hills, Rochester Hills, Southfield and Franklin.

It will take days to determine the cause of the fire, LeRoy said.

There had been recent construction ongoing on a patio, members said. It’s unclear if that was related to the fire.

WAYNE COUNTY DROPS SCHOOL MASK MANDATE ‘EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY’

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Wayne County’s chief medical officer rescinded a mask mandate for K-12 schools Thursday morning, effective immediately — following the lead of state health officials, who on Wednesday dropped a statewide mask advisory.

Starting at 8 a.m. Thursday, students and staff at all of the county’s schools were no longer required to wear masks under the county public health order. Local school districts, however, still have the authority to issue their own mask rules and may continue to mandate them.

Dr. Avani Sheth, chief medical officer for the health department said in a statement that even though masks won’t be required in K-12 schools, they remain an important tool to slow the spread of coronavirus.

“Children should continue to be supported to wear a mask, including, but not limited to for reasons such as individual and/or household risk factors and vaccination status,” Sheth said.

At Grosse Ile Township Schools, superintended Valerie Orr sent an email to parents Thursday morning announcing that the school district would follow the county health department’s guidance.

“Given the timing of their announcement, we are asking that our students continue to mask today until they have a chance to speak to their parents this evening about whether or not they should continue to mask,” Orr wrote. “However, we will not be enforcing any mask mandate today.”

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services updated its mask recommendations Wednesday for indoor, public settings, saying that rapidly falling coronavirus case rates and hospitalizations suggest the state has moved into a post-surge recovery phase. “During this phase, MDHHS recommends that all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, continue to practice universal masking in high-risk congregate settings including long-term care facilities, homeless shelters, correctional facilities, jails and health care facilities,” a statement said.

“All individuals, regardless of vaccination status, should also wear a mask during isolation and quarantine periods to stop further community spread of COVID-19.”

State health officials said school districts should work with their local health departments to set mask policies.

School mask mandates are to expire at 11:59 p.m. Thursday in Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet and Otsego counties, which are served by the Health Department of Northwest Michigan, and in Benzie and Leelanau counties, which fall under the jurisdiction of the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department.

Ingham County’s emergency public health order requiring masks in K-12 schools expires as of midnight Saturday.

Oakland and Washtenaw counties will no longer require masks in K-12 schools as of Feb. 28.

“With the continued decline in cases and hospitalizations, we are now entering a post-surge, recovery phase,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, the state’s chief medical executive, in a statement issued Wednesday. “As we move through the phases of our COVID-19 response, our recommendations will be updated to reflect the current status of transmission, but we will continue to prioritize public health and promote health and wellness for all families and communities.”

The state health department still suggests those who are immunocompromised or otherwise especially vulnerable to COVID-19 to wear masks.

Although pandemic trends are rapidly improving, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends universal masking in K-12 schools and all indoor, public places when transmission is high.

As of Thursday morning, all but one county in Michigan — Presque Isle — still had high transmission rates.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, said Wednesday that the agency is considering an update to its mask guidance, and is looking not only at transmission of the virus, but also hospital capacity.

“We are assessing the most important factors based on where we are in the pandemic, and we’ll soon put guidance in place that is relevant and encourages prevention measures when they are most needed to protect public health and our hospitals,” Walensky said. “We want to give people a break from things like mask-wearing when these metrics are better, and then have the ability to reach for them again should things worsen.

“If and when we update our guidance, we will communicate that clearly, and it will be based on the data and the science. However, it’s also important to remember, regardless of the level of disease burden in your community, there are still very important times to continue to wear your mask.

“If you are symptomatic or feeling unwell, you should wear a mask. If you are in the 10 days after a COVID diagnosis, you should wear a mask. If you were exposed to someone with COVID-19 and are quarantining, you should wear a mask.”

UM PLANNING $190 MILLION DORMITORY PROJECT ON NORTH CAMPUS

DETROIT NEWS — For the first time in years, the University of Michigan will build new dormitories.

Three residence halls for undergraduates are part of a proposed $190 million plan on UM’s North Campus to be open by fall semester 2024.

On Thursday, the board of regents approved the project, which will include demolition of the apartment buildings in Northwood III, eight buildings that now are only used for COVID-19 quarantine and isolation housing.

The new residence halls, to be approved at a later date, will total 380,000 square feet and will include 1,200 beds. Future plans may include dining, student wellness spaces and a geothermal unit to heat and cool the spaces.

The regents authorized issuing bids and awarding contracts for demolition and site preparation at a cost not to exceed $5 million. They also approved Chicago-based architect Solomon Gordwell Buenz to design the project.

Funding for the project will come from Student Life Resources, university officials said in a request outlining the project.

UM Vice President for Student Life Martino Harmon said the first phase of the North Campus housing project will help address the university’s housing shortage.

“Currently the demand for University of Michigan housing exceeds the supply,” said Harmon. “Although we are able to house all first-year, incoming students who need housing, second-, third-, fourth-year students and transfer students are not always able to obtain housing at the university. It is our position that we want all students who need and want housing to have a bed.”

The project will have a short-term impact on displacement of students, Harmon added.

“Yet it will make a long-term impact on student well-being,” Harmon said.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THURSDAY’S SNOWSTORM: HIGHEST SNOW NOW UP TO 9 INCHES

MLIVE — As the storm approaches Michigan, there are a few things I think you should be aware of. The latest data has slight changes, but significant changes in my mind.

First, it’s becoming really apparent it’s a two-part storm, with the second part being later and the most significant part. The accumulation of snow will almost stop in the middle of the day Thursday, and you may think the snowstorm isn’t happening. The snow will come back into the southeast populated part of Michigan late Thursday afternoon and drop most of the snow Thursday evening.

This also means there may be not-so-dangerous roads to drive on Thursday morning and early afternoon. The road conditions won’t be great, but they may also not be terrible. That situation will change quickly when the second wave of snow starts late Thursday afternoon.

This leads to the second slight tweaking. All of the data is consistent on shifting the heavy snow band about 20 miles southeast. Now this puts Ann Arbor, the entire Detroit area, the cities along Lake St. Clair, Monroe, Adrian and Hillsdale right in the middle of the heaviest snow swath. This also means the cities that are on the northern edge of the heaviest snow will have less snow. Grand Rapids, Saginaw and Bay City are definitely not in the heavy snow now. Of course, they weren’t projected to be in the heavy snow earlier either. Flint and Lansing are in the transition zone from heavy snow to not heavy snow.

The final tweak is the total snowfall forecast. The heaviest swath of snow has increased an inch or two for the most common amount of snow. Earlier, it looked like a 5 to 8-inch snow in the heavy swath. I would now call it a 6 to 9-inch snow in the heaviest swath. What that should tell you is the storm isn’t falling apart. It’s holding together to be a pretty solid snowstorm for southeast Lower Michigan.

Yesterday, it looked like some above-freezing air could hang in the Detroit Metro area, and cut the snow by a couple of inches. Now it appears the cold air will be in place before the second wave of heavier precipitation moves into the Detroit area.

We have to choose one model to go from. I like the North American Model (NAM) at this distance out from the start and end of the storm. The NAM is good at giving an accurate overall snowstorm placement and snow amount. It can also pinpoint some of the heavier streaks of snow.

I would still ignore the 10 inch amounts in the forecast, but keep it in the back of your head that it is possible.

So look for 6 to 9 inches, with 6 and 7 inches being common, from Kalamazoo to Coldwater to Jackson to Ann Arbor, Detroit, Oakland County, St. Clair County and the Monroe, Hillsdale and Adrian areas. Kalamazoo will be on the low end of that scale.

The Lansing area will be in the taper-off zone, probably going from around 6 inches southeast of Lansing to 4 inches northwest of Lansing. So you get a solid snow in Lansing, but probably not what most of us would call a “snowstorm” in February.

Genesee County and the Flint area will also be in the taper-off zone, getting 5 inches south to 3 inches north.

Grand Rapids, Saginaw, Bay City and Midland should get only one to 2 inches of snow.

The storm is still in the Southwest, so we still have to monitor for slight tweaks. Keep updated here.

GRETCHEN WHITMER DROPS MASK SUGGESTION, MICHIGAN GETTING ‘BACK TO NORMAL’

BRIDGE MI — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration on Wednesday dropped its recommendation that everyone wear masks in many indoor settings, including in schools, citing big drops in new COVID-19 infections.

The state released updated COVID-19 mask guidelines as case counts and COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to plummet, with the state’s hospitals on Wednesday treating fewer than 2,000 COVID-19 patients for the first time since Oct. 8.

In making the change, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said the state is in a “recovery” phase and does not anticipate a resurgence of infections. In a statement, Whitmer called the decision “good news,” noting Michigan had not changed its guidelines on mask policies since last June. Since then, the state endured a deadly surge spurred first by the delta variant, in which more than 6,000 deaths were linked to COVID-19, and then another surge of the omicron variant began in mid-December, with more than 630,000 infections tied to it.

“While Michigan hasn’t had statewide mask policies since last June, this updated guidance will underscore that we are getting back to normal,” Whitmer said in the statement. “Let’s keep working together to build on our momentum so we can keep our kids learning in person.”

Last week, public health leaders in the remaining counties with school mask mandates, including Wayne, Oakland, Washtenaw and Ingham, announced plans to rescind school mask mandates, some at the end of this month. Leaders in states across the country have made similar recommendations as the nation exits the omicron surge.

Critics of the governor have long attacked her for pandemic restrictions, particularly early in the pandemic. But Whitmer and MDHHS avoided imposing statewide mandates as the current school year began, leaving those decisions to local health departments and school districts. But the state’s continued mask recommendation was cited by many local officials as a factor in their decision to implement school mask mandates.

MDHHS defines new “phases”

The new state guidance may not cause sweeping changes in behavior in a state that has become increasingly divided into the masked and unmasked. Rather, its import is to reframe the pandemic going forward into three simplified phases, compared to the six intervals of a pandemic outlined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Dr. Juan Marquez, medical director of Washtenaw County Health Department.

The three phases allows Michigan residents and policy-makers to understand the extent to which they should employ the tools of COVID control — masking, social-distancing, and other measures — going forward, Marquez said.

The MDHHS said it will base future mask guidance on three factors:

Response phase: Should local or state public health implement rapid response policies to combat a future surge, the public may be advised to increase masking, testing and social distancing.
Recovery phase: When a surge has ended and no immediate resurgence is predicted, public health officials will monitor conditions that could lead to future surges.
Readiness phase: If a surge in cases is expected that carry serious risk of illness and hospitalizations, the state will communicate those risks to the public.

The new guidance “does speak to the different situation we’re in now, but the bigger piece is this shifting of the framework in how we feel about surges and how we manage them,” Marquez said. MDHHS continues to recommend “all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, continue to practice universal masking in high-risk congregate settings including long-term care facilities, homeless shelters, correctional facilities, jails and health care facilities.”

It also recommends that everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear a mask during isolation and quarantine periods. Though MDHHS mask guidelines from last June were only recommended, Whitmer strongly supported local mask mandates amid a surge in new COVID cases last September as the school year began.

Whitmer signed a budget bill in late September that included a Republican provision that counties could lose funding if they imposed mask mandates, but she said she was willing to do so because she considered the provision “unenforceable,” and continued to back county efforts to keep mandates. “Local health departments should keep their mask policies in place,” Whitmer spokesperson Bobby Leddy said in a statement last September. At the time, cases of COVID-19 were rising quickly, particularly among school-age children.

Impact unclear on remaining mandates

Some of the last remaining county school mask orders were to remain in place until Feb. 28, and it was not immediately clear whether the updated state recommendations Wednesday would shift that date. Oakland County spokesperson Bill Mullan said the county’s position remains unchanged and the school mask order there remains in place until Feb. 28 to give school administrators time to adjust their policies.

Oakland County’s decision last week aligns with the new state recommendations Wednesday — that masks are recommended in high-risk areas, and that schools and local health departments should consider local case numbers and other factors in determining school mandates, he said.

DRUG OVERDOSE DEATHS CONTINUE TO CLIMB IN MICHIGAN, ACROSS NATION

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The number of people who died of drug overdoses in a single year has reached an all-time high, yet another grim milestone in the nation’s ongoing opioid crisis.

More than 104,000 people nationwide died of overdoses during the 12-month period ending in September 2021, according to newly released provisional data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That figure eclipses — by 15.9% — the 90,000 deaths that occurred during the 12 months ending in September 2020.

In Michigan, 2,933 people died during the 12 months ending in September 2021, compared with 2,741 during the 12 months ending in September 2020, the CDC data said. It is an increase of 7%.

No matter the location, most deaths involve some form of fentanyl, the ultrapowerful synthetic opioid that is mixed in street drugs of all varieties and often, but not always, ingested unknowingly by drug users.

Fentanyl is up to 100 times more potent than morphine and up to 50 times more potent than heroin. It is so powerful that people overdosing on it often require multiple doses of Narcan — which reverses opioid overdoses — before they can be revived. Because of that, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized an increase in the dosage of Narcan from 4 mg to 8 mg. The higher-dose treatments should be available later this year. But with more and more people dying every year, how long will this drug crisis continue?

The answer: No one knows.

Experts say the current opioid epidemic began with pain medication. When those opioid pain pills became too expensive or too difficult to find because doctors clamped down on prescriptions, drug users turned to the opioid heroin. It was cheap and available. But then, heroin became adulterated with fentanyl. And before long, fentanyl was in just about everything — including counterfeit pain pills, Xanax, cocaine and methamphetamine — which made drugs more potent than ever.

Then, things got worse: Drug use increased during the coronavirus pandemic as feelings of isolation and panic set in; rehabilitation centers closed or limited the number of patients in an effort to accommodate social-distancing safety measures; and support groups, which drug users find especially beneficial in in-person settings, went virtual.

Then, overdose deaths skyrocketed.

They increased exponentially in some states during the 12 months ending in September 2021. They rose by 48.7% in Kansas, 59.1% in Vermont, 40.7% in Oregon and 60% in Alaska.

And some states had lesser increases: Florida 6%, Arizona 5.2%

Three states actually had decreases. Overdose deaths were down 8.8% in New Hampshire, 8.8% in Hawaii and 7.3% in Delaware.

It is not immediately clear why Michigan’s increase is half that of the national average. But Michigan officials have touted their Narcan distribution — a law passed in 2016 allows pharmacies to dispense it without a prescription — as a big part of their strategy in combatting the overdose death crisis. In addition, the state has expanded its syringe replacement services and those agencies generally offer Narcan. Michigan is also expanding a program that allows EMS drivers to leave behind Narcan at the scene of nonfatal overdoses.

Still, at least eight people a day died of drug overdoses in Michigan, according to the preliminary date from the CDC.

Michigan — along with addiction experts and the Biden administration — is embracing an approach to drug addiction called harm reduction. The strategy calls for minimizing the harms associated with drug use, which means providing clean needles to prevent HIV and hepatitis, Narcan and test strips so users can determine whether drugs contain fentanyl before ingesting them. The idea is to keep addicts alive — and relatively healthy — until they are ready for treatment, but not discarding them if they never pursue treatment. It is a far cry from the old Just Say No approach.

Earlier this month, the Biden administration was hit hard by accusations it was providing crack pipes as part of a $30 million harm reduction grant. The administration said it is not providing crack pipes in its safe smoking kits.

“(Crack pipes) were never a part of the kit; it was inaccurate reporting,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. “A safe smoking kit may contain alcohol swabs, lip balm, other materials to promote hygiene and reduce the transmission of diseases like HIV and hepatitis.”

But the strong reaction to the initiative illustrates just how far people need to come to understand the concept of harm reduction, said Susan Styf, CEO of CARE of Southeastern Michigan, which provides drug treatment, Narcan and fentanyl test strips.

“It was remarkable how that turned into people on social media (saying) free crack pipes yet I can’t get my insulin,” Styf said. “Right now, we’re in a place where (some people) will get angry if any initiatives are done toward (harm reduction).”

Meanwhile, the bipartisan U.S. Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking estimated that overdose deaths cost the country $1 trillion a year. It calls for increasing availability of treatment and overdose prevention, among other initiatives.

But even then, experts believe the number of overdose deaths are underreported.

MICHIGAN SENATE PASSES INCOME TAX CUT. ITS PATH FORWARD IS UNCLEAR.

BRIDGE MI — Michigan Senate Republicans on Tuesday approved a $2 billion dollar tax cut proposal that would lower both personal and corporate income tax rates and provide tax relief for senior citizens and children.

The vote was split 22-16 along party lines. The Republican proposal, Senate Bill 768, would lower the state income tax rates to 3.9 percent from 4.25 percent for individuals and 6 percent for corporations. The plan would also offer a $500 tax credit per child under the age of 19.

GOP lawmakers argued the plan would bring tax relief for all Michigan families as the state continues to recover from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

All Senate Democrats opposed the measure, arguing it would further shift tax burdens from corporations onto regular taxpayers. The income-tax savings for an individual making $70,000 would amount to $228 per year if the plan passes.

Tax cut fever is raging in Lansing as officials debate how to spend down a $7 billion state revenue surplus and another $7 billion in federal stimulus funds. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has pitched smaller and targeted tax cuts as part of a massive $74.1 billion budget proposal that Republicans have criticized. The Senate’s proposal could face hiccups in the House, which is also controlled by Republicans.

“The House is putting together its own proposal,” said Gideon D’Assandro, spokesperson for House Speaker Jason Wentworth, R-Farwell. “Speaker Wentworth would like to focus more on helping families and seniors who are struggling with ridiculously high inflation and the cost of living.”

House Appropriations Chair Thomas Albert, R-Lowell, has said he does not want to use federal stimulus funds to pay for any cuts because “it’s expressly not allowed” under the law approved last year by Congress. Albert anticipates the state can cut roughly $800 million in annual tax collections and not run afoul of federal regulations, he said last week on WKAR-TV’s Off the Record. But the House will still consider cuts, including an income tax rate rollback, expansion of the personal exemption for individual tax deductions, property tax relief and commercial personal property tax relief, according to Albert.

“There’s really a lot of options on the table,” he said.

Whitmer, a Democrat who is up for re-election in November, could veto Republicans’ plans and has proposed her own cuts. She wants to phase out what’s known as the “pension tax” — a tiered system applying a 4.25-percent income tax on pensions depending on when the taxpayer is born — and to reverse a 2011 cut to the Earned Income Tax Credit for lower income workers.

“These are hardworking people who had the rug pulled out from under them when the previous administration raised taxes on Michiganders,” Whitmer spokesperson Bobby Leddy said in a Tuesday statement. “We can start with making things right again by eliminating the retirement tax to give seniors a much-needed break and cutting taxes for working families.”

Whitmer’s proposal

Whitmer said last week she is open to negotiating tax policy with Republicans but said her focus is on “making our tax code more fair.” The governor has proposed doing so by reversing a pair of tax changes made in 2011 under Snyder and the Republican-led Legislature.

The first-term Democrat wants to repeal the “pension tax,” which expanded taxation of retirement income. She also wants to reverse a cut to the Earned Income Tax Credit for lower income workers.

Phasing out the so-called pension tax over the next four years, as Whitmer has proposed, would cost the state $13 million in the current tax year and $495 million annually by 2025, according to the Whitmer administration.

The State Budget Office estimates that nearly 500,000 households would save an average of $1,000 if the state restores tax exemptions for retirement income. Restoring the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit to 20 percent of the federal level, up from the current 6 percent, would benefit an estimated 750,000 households but cost the state an $262 million in revenue.

Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit for lower income workers to benefit an estimated 750,000 households, as Whitmer has also proposed, would cost an estimated $262 million in fiscal year 2023 and beyond. Michigan is flush with federal stimulus funds, but the money comes with conditions.

Congress specified that American Rescue Plan Act funding cannot be used to offset tax cuts. Some states have sued over the restriction, and a federal judge in Alabama has called it unconstitutional.

The Whitmer administration is wary of running afoul of the federal stimulus law and wants to make sure Michigan is not required to pay back any funds because of misuse, said Budget Director Chris Harkins. Whitmer’s proposed tax cuts would be phased in and paid for by projected state revenue gains, according to Harkins, which means Michigan would not need to use any federal stimulus funds to offset the changes. “We’re comfortable that (Whitmer’s) proposal doesn’t cause any troubles with requirements” of the federal stimulus law, Harkins said last week.

He contended that any larger Republican tax cut proposal that would require the state to cut spending would be an “area of concern” because of federal regulations.

WEATHER ROLLER COASTER: WIND, WARMTH TURN TO RAIN AND SNOW

DETROIT NEWS — A turbulent period of weather starts midday Wednesday, with windy and warm conditions eventually changing to rain and then snow through late Thursday.

There are wind advisories, flood watches and winter storm watches from the National Weather Service in effect for Wednesday and Thursday for central and southern Michigan. Uncertainty remains, according to the weather service, on when the rain will change to snow and how much freezing rain and sleet could factor into weather conditions.

What to expect

Wednesday

The forecast: Warming temperatures and increasing wind for much of the day.

The details: Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 50 mph are expected. Temperatures are expected to rise into the upper 40s to near 50.

Advisories: Wind advisories have been declared through Wednesday night for Midland, Bay, Huron, Saginaw, Tuscola, Sanilac, Shiawassee, Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Livingston, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw, Wayne, Lenawee and Monroe counties. Also under a wind advisory: Gratiot, Ionia, Clinton, Allegan, Barry, Eaton, Ingham, Van Buren, Kalamazoo, Calhoun and Jackson counties.

Wednesday night

Forecast: Rain will begin overnight and fall through Thursday morning.

Details: More than an inch of rain is expected. Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams and other low-lying and flood-prone locations.

Advisories: Flooding caused by rain and snowmelt is possible in southeast Michigan, including in Lenawee, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne counties.

Thursday

Forecast: As a cold front moves through, rain will change to snow, though periods of freezing rain and sleet also are expected.

Details: The forecast calls for 3 to 6 inches of snow for west, southwest and southeast Michigan. More freezing rain and sleet could keep totals down, though up to 7 inches of snow could fall in southwest Michigan.

Advisories: A winter storm watch is in effect for all of Thursday for Sanilac, Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Livingston, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw, Wayne, Lenawee, Monroe, Eaton, Ingham, Van Buren, Kalamazoo, Calhoun, Jackson, Berrien, St. Joseph, Branch and Hillsdale counties.

MOTORCITY CASINO TO END COVID-19 MASK MANDATE FOR VACCINATED GUESTS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Beginning Thursday, vaccinated guests will no longer be required to wear masks at MotorCity Casino.

The casino-hotel announced Monday that its mask mandate is lifting for those who are vaccinated, effective as of 8 a.m. Thursday. Masks will still be required for players and guests who have not completed vaccination.

MotorCity Casino is the first Detroit casino to announce an end to its mask mandate.

The casino’s announcement comes as the state is experiencing a decline in coronavirus cases.

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER | CASES FALL TO LOWEST LEVEL IN FIVE MONTHS, HOSPITALIZATIONS PLUMMET

BRIDGE MI — The daily average of confirmed COVID-19 infections in Michigan fell below 3,000 on Monday for the first time since late September.

The state reported 5,380 new infections since Friday, or 1,793 per day for Saturday, Sunday and Monday. That lowered the seven-day average to 2,660. It was last below 3,000 on Sept. 29, when it was 2,941.

By every metric the state provides, the news is positive: Fewer people are seeking coronavirus tests and far fewer are coming back positive. Case rates are down across the entire state and hospitals again saw the number of COVID-19 patients fall.

There are now 2,236 patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, down 207 from Friday and just 370 in intensive-care units. That number was 435 on Friday and during the height of the omicron surge it was above 800 in early January.

Overall, 11.5 percent of coronavirus tests in the past week came back positive, down from 14.6 percent on Friday and 18.5 percent a week ago. That’s coupled with a plummet in testing demand: Over the past week, 204,000 tests were reported, down from 500,000 per week four weeks ago.

The state also reported an additional 60 COVID-19 deaths on Monday. There have been 360 so far in February, or 26 a day. In January, the fourth deadliest month of the pandemic, there were 2,578 deaths, or 83 per day.

FREEDOM CONVOY BLOCKADE OF AMBASSADOR BRIDGE CAUSED NEARLY $300M LOSSES IN WAGES, PRODUCTION

DETROIT FREE PRESS — A week of protesting at the Ambassador Bridge has cost the auto industry more than a quarter of a billion dollars, according to an analysis Monday by an East Lansing-based economic research group.

Stemming from opposition to vaccine border mandates by the Canadian government, the Freedom Convoy gained international attention when it moved to the Windsor bridge from Ottawa, effectively interrupting traffic between the United States and Canada. The bridge reopened for travel late Sunday night and a few demonstrators remained at an intersection Monday, with a continued heavy police presence.

In just one week, automakers, including General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Honda, and Toyota suffered an estimated $155 million in losses, Anderson Economic Group said in the study released Monday analyzing the impact of the blockades thus far. Within hours, assembly plants were troubled with shortages and slowdowns.

“The border between Michigan and Canada that runs right along the city of Detroit is the site for probably the most important volume of trade between any two countries in the world,” said Patrick Anderson, Anderson Economic Group’s principal and CEO. “The auto industry for the last half-century has treated that border as a temporary obstacle, as an obstacle to be traversed quickly and to allow a tremendous set of assembly plant workers and suppliers on in both the United States and Canada to work efficiently together.” Workers, spanning from Ontario to Alabama, were hit by the protest right in their pockets. AEG estimates employees, the majority of whom are in Michigan and Ontario, lost $144.9 million in wages, with Michigan autoworkers alone losing an estimated $51.26 million.

Workers, spanning from Ontario to Alabama, were hit by the protest right in their pockets. AEG estimates employees, the majority of whom are in Michigan and Ontario, lost $144.9 million in wages, with Michigan autoworkers alone losing an estimated $51.26 million. “The losses we’ve estimated here are real losses that are unlikely to be recouped,” Anderson said. “We’re already assuming that 90% plus of these parts get used, get to their destination and get put into vehicles, but the opportunity to build these cars in many cases has been lost.”

And with the auto industry already strained because of supply chain issues and shortages, the protest has further squelched consumers’ ability to hop in and turn the key.

“There are competitors out there that are building vehicles in southern United States right now or building them in the United States and that haven’t shut down production, and you’ve got consumers out there that are discouraged because they can’t get cars,” he said.

Even with the bridge reopening, the protest could have a continued impact on auto production, Anderson said, much to the fear of automakers and international leaders.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued a statement Monday calling the reopening a “win for Michigan families.”

“It’s time to get traffic and trade moving across North America’s busiest land border crossing again. I will always stand with every hardworking Michigander and do whatever it takes to ensure that our businesses can keep humming along,” Whitmer said.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used the Emergencies Act for the first time in the nation’s history in response to the Freedom Convoy’s protests, he announced Monday. The act allows the federal government to override provinces and authorize temporary security measures. However, Trudeau said the military will not be called to action, and the act will not be used to supersede the charter.

While protests have remained largely peaceful, with demonstrators singing and dancing, some have criticized the leniency of law enforcement. Protesters were gradually pushed back from the site of the Ambassador Bridge and landed in a cleared intersection near the border.

According to Windsor Police, there have been 42 arrests and 37 seized vehicles since the protest began. The large majority of persons arrested have since been released with a future court date and are facing a charge of mischief, police said. Some are also facing a charge of disobeying a court order.

Answers to questions about penalties and arrests often focused on a need to reopen the bridge safely without threatening commerce or public safety. When the Ambassador Bridge reopened, streets intersecting with the road leading to the border, Huron Church Road, were blocked off by police cruisers to ensure traffic on the main road was limited to travelers.

“Local manufacturers and exporters who rely on the Ambassador Bridge know the dramatic and significant impact that the illegal occupation had on operations last week,” said Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens in a news release Monday afternoon. “To ensure that we can maintain a reliable border crossing for trade and commerce in the immediate near term, we need to ensure Huron Church Road remains cleared. We commit to working closely with businesses along the route who are adversely impacted by these short-term and time-limited measures.”

Police did not respond to Free Press inquiries regarding the timeline of when the main road is expected to open to the general public.

ONTARIO TO END COVID-19 VACCINE PASSPORT SYSTEM MARCH 1

DETROIT NEWS — Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Monday he is ending effective March 1 the province’s COVID-19 vaccine passport system that required people to offer proof of vaccination for a multitude of activities, from shopping to the gym to restaurants.

Ford made his announcement about a half-day after a blockade of the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor was ended, but insisted the decision was in the works “long before” the seven days of protests — spurred by COVID-19 restrictions and a trucker vaccine mandate — had threatened the economies of both nations.

Ford said the end of the vaccine passport system, whose federal version has inspired a weeks-long trucker convoy in Canada’s capital city, Ottawa, is coming “not because of what’s happening in Ottawa or Windsor, but despite it.”

Along with the end of vaccine passports, capacity limits for personal gatherings and public events will be removed.

“We’re moving in this direction because it is safe to do so,” Ford said. “Through the advice of (Dr. Kieran Moore, chief medical officer of health for Ontario), we accepted the passports. Through the advice of Dr. Moore, we’re going to get rid of the passports.

Added Moore: “All of the metrics are improving dramatically in terms of the number of people hospitalized, the number of people in intensive care units, the percentage of tests that are positive.”

Citing a 92% Ontario vaccination rate of people 12 and up, Moore said the mandate “served its purpose,” but that “as of March 1, it will no longer be necessary.”

The COVID-19 pandemic “polarized us in a way we could never imagine,” Ford said. “But for all of this, I can still take comfort in knowing that there remains so much that unites us.”

Ford said repeatedly that “Ontario is open for business.” He cited conversations with “Fortune 500 CEOs” worried about whether Ontario is stable enough to do or expand their businesses.

“We will guarantee you a stable environment and to make sure we get goods from one side of the border to the other,” Ford said.

At the same time, Windsor officials said Monday that public access to the area near the Ambassador Bridge will be limited for an indefinite but “temporary” time to prevent an international incident.

The bridge reopened late Sunday night for business.

“The Michigan Chamber and our member businesses across the state are relieved to see commerce across this critical border crossing flowing again, helping reduce the strain on fragile and recovering supply chains and restoring the essential trade and travel our employers, workforces and communities rely on,” Michigan Chamber of Commerce CEO Jim Holcomb said in a statement.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday called the reopening “a win for Michigan’s working families.”

“I want to thank the unified coalition of business leaders and organizations representing working men and women on both sides of the border for coming together to get this resolved,” Whitmer said in a statement. “And I appreciate the U.S. and Canadian governments for hearing Michigan’s concerns loud and clear and stepping up to reopen the bridge.”

Others weren’t pleased with how long it took Canadian authorities to clear the blockade.

U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, a Bloomfield Township Democrat who chairs the Senate Homeland Security panel, said Monday it’s not a surprise that a disturbance at the Ambassador Bridge could disrupt the supply chain, and that the episode underscored the importance of a strong working relationship with Canadian counterparts.

“I was certainly aggressively pushing for the Canadian government to respond quicker than they did, and but I’m certainly pleased that it’s been finally has been resolved,” Peters said. “We need to continue to discuss how we make sure that our vital border crossings are able to stay open.”

On Monday afternoon, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, there was a 50 minute wait time at Blue Water Bridge, which is in line with its average wait time of 46 minutes. There was no wait at the Ambassador Bridge, which usually has an average wait of 34 minutes.

As of mid-afternoon Monday, a live camera feed of the Ambassador Bridge, from Windsor entering the United States, showed a light trickle of vehicles. Traffic on the American side, Detroit-to-Windsor, appeared much heavier.

AMBASSADOR BRIDGE REOPENS AFTER WEEKLONG ‘FREEDOM CONVOY’ PROTEST OVER COVID-19 VACCINE MANDATE

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The Ambassador Bridge is open again after a vaccine mandate protest prompted a blockade, pausing traffic on a key international land port and costing millions of dollars in lost production.

The Detroit International Bridge Company announced Sunday night that the Ambassador Bridge is fully open allowing free flow of commerce between Canada and the United States.

The weeklong protest was started by truckers in opposition to COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other quarantine requirements, but early Sunday police said it ended after negotiations and multiple arrests. Despite the supposed peace talks, about a dozen protesters remained at an intersection close to the bridge into Sunday evening, waving flags and occasionally cheering.

Windsor Police Sgt. Steve Betteridge said Sunday afternoon that “about 15” people were arrested over the weekend and police towed “seven or eight” vehicles. Most of those arrested face a charge of mischief.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said travellers and commercial carriers may still experience delays due to traffic volumes.

Border wait times can be checked here. As of 8:14 a.m. Monday, the Ambassador Bridge was showing no delay.

“The CBSA would like to thank travellers and commercial carriers for their patience and for helping to minimize the impact of this border service disruption,” the agency said in a news release.

The so-called Freedom Convoy originally began last month in Ottawa, Canada’s capital, but since then moved to the international border, gaining the attention of politicians internationally and the support of fellow vaccine and mask skeptics. Demonstrations at the border were largely nonviolent, with protesters singing, dancing and waving flags.

The closure of the bridge had an almost immediate impact, as an estimated 10,000 commercial vehicles cross the bridge each day with $325 million worth of goods, according to the Michigan Department of Treasury.

VEHICLE-PEDESTRIAN CRASH LED TO 1 OF 4 MULTI-CAR CRASHES ON METRO FREEWAYS

DETROIT NEWS — At least four multiple-vehicle crashes, including one involving more than 50 cars, injured at least 17 people and closed Metro Detroit freeways Sunday as heavy snow returned to the region, authorities said.

Most crash sites were cleared and lanes reopened by Sunday evening, even as the National Weather Service warned of continued heavy snowfall in parts of Metro Detroit between Interstate 96/696 and Interstate 94 corridors with near whiteout conditions.

Crashes roiled traffic from Wayne County to Macomb County due to “driver-error” events in falling snow and white-out conditions.

What appeared to be the largest pileup, with more than 50 cars, occurred on I-96 east of Grand River Road, according to David Fornell, deputy fire commissioner for the Detroit Fire Department, which had transported 17 motorists to hospitals.

One person was in critical condition, Fornell said; the others were in stable condition.

A driver on I-96 express lanes near Grand River was involved in an earlier crash, Michigan State Police said. The driver exited his vehicle to check the damage and another driver couldn’t stop and struck his vehicle, pushing it into the driver who had exited his car, according to MSP. The man was pushed into the retaining wall of the freeway and was taken to a hospital with critical head injuries.

Crashes, largely cleared up by nightfall, were reported here:

►East and westbound Interstate 696 closed from Interstate 275, Interstate 96 and M-5 to Orchard Lake Road in Oakland County, authorities said. MDOT announced shortly before 6 p.m. that all lanes had reopened.

►Westbound Interstate 696 at Hoover in Macomb County due to a multi-car pileup, said Diane Cross, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Transportation. The scene has been cleared, MDOT reported.

►I-696 reopened after closing at Van Dyke in Warren, according to MSP.

►Eastbound I-96 express lanes, east of M-39, closed due to a crash, and the ramps from M-39 to eastbound I-96 closed, according to MDOT. It reopened near 6 p.m.

►Eastbound I-96 closed at Grand River in the Farmington area, including the express lanes.

The westbound exit ramp from M-5 to I-696 was closed, as was the I-275 ramp to I-696 east, MDOT said.

►Westbound Interstate 94 after Outer Drive was cleared after a crash.

Shaw blamed the crashes on careless driving.

“I never worry about a 12- to 15-foot snow in Metro Detroit,” Shaw said. “I worry about 1 to 2 inches, because drivers continue driving just as fast as if there was no snow at all. They continue to tailgate each other, they continue to use their phones, and this is basically what happens.

“You have one car that may spin out or have to stop, the next car can’t, and the next car can’t, and next thing you know you have a multi-car crash. These are accidents, these are crashes. They’re driver-error events that should not happen with one to two inches of snow.”

Whiteout conditions may have led to some of the crashes and were reported in areas with heaviest snowfall, including the I-96/696 corridor, according to Ian Lee, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in White Lake Township.

Southbound M-10 at Wyoming in Detroit reopened after closing due to a crash, MDOT’s Southeast Michigan Transportation Operations Center reported at about 3:30.

Photos and videos posted on social media show vehicles sliding on the freeway and colliding with vehicles or spinning off the freeway.

Photos posted after the pileups show long lines of vehicles not moving or inching along.

OAKLAND, WASHTENAW, WAYNE SIGNAL LIFT OF COVID SCHOOL MASK MANDATES

BRIDGE MI — Oakland and Wayne counties announced Friday that students will no longer be under a county-wide school mask mandate as of March 1, marking the end of county-level mask orders in K-12 schools.

“We’re at the personal responsibility point of the pandemic,” said Oakland County spokesperson Bill Mullan.

Washtenaw County also announced Friday that it, too, will lift its mask order, effective the same day. “Since these orders were issued, pandemic conditions have changed considerably,” according to a statement issued by Washtenaw officials.

The counties stressed that they continue to recommend masking in public indoor settings.

Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, in a statement, said the decline in cases prompted the change but acknowledged that surges have followed previous drops in cases.

“This time I think we can feel hopeful that the light at the end of the tunnel is real,” he said.

The Oakland County mask order, in place since just before Thanksgiving, requires students, teachers and staff to wear a face covering, and applies to daycares as well. The county said it was holding off on ending the order until the end of the month to give schools and daycares time to alert board members and formulate their own policies.

“It actually isn’t a lot of time,” Mullan told Bridge Friday. “If any of the school districts — in the absence of a (county-wide) mask requirement — plan to formulate their own policies, it needs time to get info about best practices, time to put it before their own board, and time to prepare their students, staff and families.”

In its announcement Friday morning, the county cited a “a sharp decline in new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations and increasing vaccination rates in Oakland County.”

“It’s always been about what’s going to be the best practice,” Mullan said of the health department’s change.

“The county’s test positivity (rate) has dropped nearly 50 percent; cases of COVID-19 during the week ending Feb.6 declined 40 percent, and the seven-day case average for Feb. 8 declined 83 percent from its peak in early January,” according to the county’s announcement.

In Washtenaw, health officials noted that “(s)tudents who test positive or are exposed as close contacts will continue to be excluded from school” under state rules.

Vaccines for children 5 and older have been available since November, and a vaccine for the youngest children appears to be nearing federal authorization, too.

About a third of children 5 to 11 are fully vaccinated in Oakland County, well above the statewide rate of 21 percent and one of the highest child vaccination rates in the state. Nearly 58 percent of Oakland children ages 12 to 15 are fully vaccinated, compared to the statewide rate of 43.3 percent.

“Our vaccine coverage is in a good spot,” Mullan said.

The decisions Friday follows similar announcements by eight other counties — Ingham and six northern Michigan counties — across Michigan that this week announced they were rescinding school mask mandates next week.

Oakland County is the second largest in the state and has nearly 180,000 schoolchildren in 52 districts, including charter schools, second only to Wayne County, which has 267,000 students.

Ingham County’s mandate ends Feb. 18. A mandate covering Benzie, Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, Leelanau, and Otsego in northwest Michigan lifts next week.

Though community transmission of the virus remains relatively high, new case numbers have fallen in recent weeks.

Michigan is averaging just under 4,000 new infections a day — considered high by standards established by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — but that’s a quarter of the cases reported just three weeks ago.

After hitting a peak of 5,009 COVID-19 patients in Michigan hospitals with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 on Jan. 10, there were 2,595 patients as of Wednesday.

Despite the local decisions, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services continues to recommend (but not require) “universal masking” in K-12 education, with department spokesperson Lynn Sutfin noting Thursday that there remains a “high plateau” of cases.

County-level school mask mandates were first enacted as the delta variant swept the state last summer and fall, just as the school year was beginning. The Whitmer administration declined to make those decisions at the state level, leaving the decision (and controversy) to local government and education officials.

As of Feb. 3, 682,356 students — 54 percent of all Michigan public school students — were covered by mandates in 173 districts, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

POLICE, PROTESTERS STILL AT AMBASSADOR BRIDGE BLOCKADE AS NIGHT FALLS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — After four days of truck protests that shut down the Ambassador Bridge, one of North American’s biggest commercial gateways, an end may be in sight.

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens signaled Thursday that he hoped for a peaceful resolution but was preparing to use police reinforcements to remove the protesters, who he said were trespassing, if they did not disperse on their own soon.

“A short time ago,” he said, “Windsor City Council met and had authorized that an injunction be sought from Superior Court to bring about an end to this illegal occupation.”

He was joined by business association representatives, and in clear terms said the protest “must come to an end.” Speaking directly to anyone thinking of joining the group to reinforce it, he said: “You are not welcome here.”

In addition, Matt Moroun, chairman of the Detroit International Bridge Co., which owns the privately held span, said the blockade “cannot continue any longer.”

“After the blockade is cleared,” Moroun added, “we need to shift our thinking and recognize that these crossings are too important to be subjected to politics and short-term thinking that compromises the ability of commerce to flow.”

Still, the Canadian Trucking Alliance added that the protests are not peaceful and many of the vehicles and people involved in the protest are not heavy trucks or people in the trucking industry.

As of 9 p.m. Thursday night, the police had not removed anyone from the bridge, but had set up a blockade of cop cars with flashing blue and red lights on all of the surrounding roads.

A group of about 100 protesters on foot at the base of the bridge were carrying Canadian flags and signs reading “don’t tread on me” to the thumping bass of loud electronic music.

The Ambassador Bridge is not closed heading into the U.S., Windsor Police said Thursday, but the demonstrators make it difficult to access the bridge at all and they recommended everyone avoid the area.

Late Thursday, Winsdor Police said “resources” from other jurisdictions are coming to the bridge to support a “peaceful resolution.”

On the Detroit side of the border, Michigan State Police said to “Avoid the area around the Ambassador Bridge if you can. There are going to be back ups in the area.”

The protest, however, is much more than a traffic issue, it is now a serious commerce and political concern that has forced automakers to cancel shifts and even close plants. It is inspiring similar protests as far away as Paris and, potentially, Washington.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called on Canada to take “all necessary and appropriate steps to immediately and safely reopen traffic so we can continue growing our economy, supporting good-paying jobs, and lowering costs for families.”

“Our communities and automotive, manufacturing and agriculture businesses are feeling the effects,” she added. “It’s hitting paychecks and production lines. That is unacceptable.”

The Anderson Economic Group in Lansing calculated an initial estimate for lost direct wages in the Michigan auto industry as a result of the protest beginning Monday at more than $51 million.

Blockades spreading globally

The Canadian truckers are calling themselves the Freedom Convoy, and in Paris, where trucks arrived from southern France on Wednesday mimicking the same tactics, the protesters are using the name Convoi de la Liberté, a French translation.

In France, the demonstrators reportedly include motorcyclists and car drivers, and represent how these types of protests are spreading via social media to other countries including Australia, Belgium and New Zealand.

In the United States, people are organizing on social media under the name Convoy to DC 2022, and some are rumored to be planning to disrupt the Super Bowl, which is being played in SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

By Wednesday, in addition to truckers, a group of about 20 Canadian protesters with tractors blocked Highway 402 that leads to the Blue Water Bridge, effectively shutting down another international border crossing. Officials: Protest hurting trade

Ontario Premier Doug Ford urged an end to ongoing protests, releasing a statement that said “illegal occupation and blockade happening in Ontario must stop.”

“The Ambassador Bridge is one of the most vital trade corridors in our country,” Ford added. “The damage this is causing to our economy, to people’s jobs and their livelihoods is totally unacceptable. We cannot let this continue.”

General Motors has canceled two shifts at one Michigan factory and has been rerouting trucks to keep another plant running as truckers continued to restrict travel across the Ambassador Bridge.

And Stellantis has had to shorten at least one shift at Windsor Assembly Plant, which produces the Chrysler Pacifica minivan, because of a lack of parts.

“We must do everything to bring them to an end,” Trudeau said Wednesday to parliament in Ottawa. The protesters are “trying to blockade our economy, our democracy and our fellow citizens’ daily lives.”

MICHIGAN COUNTIES DROP MASK MANDATES AS COVID PLUMMETS. SCHOOLS MAY FOLLOW.

BRIDGE MI — Eight counties across Michigan are poised to rescind school mask mandates next week, removing one of the last and most divisive measures taken to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Ingham, Washtenaw and six northern Michigan counties are expected to end mandates that have covered dozens of districts and tens of thousands of students.

Ingham County will end its mandate on Feb. 18, said Linda Vail, the county’s public health officer. Her department will still recommend masking in schools but will no longer require it.

“Public health strategies are shifting to personal responsibility,” Vail told Bridge Michigan on Thursday.

She said falling cases and rising vaccinations, combined with a need to move away from an “emergency” phase prompted the decision.

Other counties could follow suit, including Oakland, but it wasn’t immediately clear Thursday when or if they might do so. In counties where the mandates will be rescinded, the decision on masking will now fall to local school leaders.

One school official believes most will drop the mandates.

“If the counties move to change the recommendations, I think you’ll have a large number of those districts follow suit,” Robert McCann, executive director of the K-12 Alliance for Education, a Michigan school advocacy organization.

Despite the local decisions, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services continues to recommend “universal masking” in K-12 education.

Lynn Sutfin, an MDHHS spokesperson, said nearly 700 infections were tied to school outbreaks in the past week.

“Although case rates and percent positivity have begun to decline in Michigan, we are still at what we consider to be a high plateau and we continue to monitor these metrics closely as they pertain to the use of mitigation strategies such as masks,” she wrote in an email to Bridge.

“To help protect students, staff and communities, we continue to recommend universal masking in schools and wearing masks in indoor public settings to help slow the spread of COVID-19.”

The moves come as omicron cases plummet, and as leaders across the country have dropped mask mandates this week

After hitting a peak of 5,009 COVID-19 patients in Michigan hospitals on Jan. 10, there were 2,595 patients as of Wednesday.

That’s caused public health leaders to reevaluate recommendations that for more than a year have ignited tensions, set off anger-filled school board meetings, created confusion, and prompted some students to switch schools in many communities.

“We are seeing cases and positivity, falling rapidly. Our hospitals are showing early signs of stabilization, and parents have had ample, ample opportunity to get their children vaccinated,” said Lisa Peacock, health officer for six northwest Michigan counties — Benzie, Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, Leelanau, and Otsego.

Peacock told Bridge she told school districts in a morning call Thursday that she is lifting the mask order in those counties, effective Thursday at 11:59 p.m.

That gives school districts time to form their own policies, she said.

“Lifting of the order is appropriate, because it was only a temporary strategy in the first place,” she said.

But, she added: “It doesn’t mean that masking is no longer important.”

Health leaders in Oakland County have considered lifting the county’s mask order for weeks, driven “by what will keep the students in the classroom learning,” said spokesperson Bill Mullan, who added they had no decision to report Thursday.

As of Feb. 3, 682,356 students — 54 percent of all Michigan public school students — were covered by mandates in 173 districts, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

That was 22 districts and 37,000 students fewer than on Jan. 18, showing a growing trend of moving away from the mandates that accelerated this week as leaders in Connecticut, Delaware, California, New York and elsewhere announced the easing of school mask mandates and other requirements.

School mask mandates were first enacted as the delta variant swept the state, just as the school year was beginning. Case counts rose until early December before falling slightly. Then the omicron variant sent case counts to their highest levels of the pandemic.

With nearly 5.6 million state residents fully vaccinated and now hundreds of thousands more having some natural immunity following an omicron infection, there is renewed hope that the surge will lead to an extended reprieve from a virus that has been blamed on the deaths of more than 30,700 residents.

And more help is available for school-age children, with vaccines for children 5 and older available since November, and a vaccine for the youngest children appears to be nearing federal authorization, too.

Whatever health department recommendations, school districts must continue to decide what is best for their students and staff, said Pete Kelto, superintendent of Munising Public Schools in the Upper Peninsula.

The district began the school year with a mask mandate, even though the health department didn’t require one. It dropped it after the holidays, but then reinstated it nearly immediately after the district logged 74 cases within the first two weeks of school in January.

“Every school district is different,” said Kelto, ading that he expects a decision by Monday about whether to lift the mask mandate at the Munising district.

Susan Ringler Cerniglia, a spokesperson for the Washtenaw County Health Department, said the county’s recommendation will likely change on Friday.

“With declining cases and improved hospital capacity, we are reviewing and watching carefully,” she wrote in an email to Bridge Michigan. “We do expect to announce updates soon – likely tomorrow.”

FDA WARNS: STOP USING THIS ILLEGALLY IMPORTED COVID RAPID TEST

MLIVE — A South Korean diagnostics company is recalling its rapid COVID-19 test kits in the United States because they were illegally imported, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The Standard Q COVID-19 Ag Home Test kits were manufactured by SD Biosensor and distributed throughout the U.S., but the FDA said it has not approved, authorized or cleared these tests.

SD Biosensor, in addition to the recall, is taking steps to investigate how the tests were illegally imported.

The FDA also said the South Korean company has “announced publicly that if such illegal importations are discovered in the future, the responsible individuals/distributors will face strict legal action and liabilities for damages.”

The agency is urging anyone who has in their possession one of the illegally imported tests to not use it and throw it away.

For anyone who has already used the recalled test, the FDA is urging these people to retest with an FDA-approved method. You can find a full list of approved rapid kits here.

This is not the first time the FDA has had to recall COVID-19 tests in the past month.

The agency recalled two COVID-19 rapid test kits because they had the possibility of giving false results.

MICHIGAN REPORTS 7,527 NEW COVID-19 CASES, 330 DEATHS OVER 2 DAYS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The Michigan health department on Wednesday reported 7,527 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 330 new deaths over a two-day period.

That’s an average of 3,763 new cases per day.

Of the 330 new deaths, 239 were identified in a vital records review.

Michigan now has a total of 2,026,646 confirmed cases and 30,747 confirmed deaths since March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Michigan had a test positivity rate of 10.81% Tuesday, reporting that 4,475 of 41,365 diagnostic test results were positive.

The state has a fatality rate of 1.5% among known cases, according to data from the state health department.

Michigan also reports 290,225 probable COVID-19 cases and 2,539 probable deaths. The probable cases combined with confirmed cases make up a total of 2,316,871 cases and 33,286 deaths.

DELAYS AT BLUE WATER BRIDGE IN PORT HURON UP TO 4 HOURS

DETROIT NEWS — As the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge by Canadian truckers opposing COVID-19 mandates in their country continues, delays remained for the alternate entry point late Wednesday.

The Blue Water Bridge at Port Huron/Sarnia, Ontario, had no delay for travelers, but commercial traffic faced a delay of up to 4 hours 45 minutes, according to the Canadian government website.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection website reported no wait time at the span for non-commercial traffic at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.

Canada listed both commercial and passenger traffic at the Ambassador Bridge as temporarily closed.

The Michigan Department of Transportation said on Twitter that non-commercial traffic should still head to Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and trucks should take the Blue Water Bridge to enter Canada.

The Ambassador reopened to some U.S.-bound traffic early Tuesday, then fully opened that afternoon with occasional restrictions on Wednesday.

The closures, which started Monday, have caused headaches for commercial drivers and backups on Michigan roadways.

Daily demonstrations are staged by the so-called Freedom Truck Convoy centered in Ottawa, where demonstrators have used hundreds of parked trucks to paralyze parts of the capital for more than 10 days.

Protesters have said they will not leave until all vaccine mandates and COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.

The issue has resulted in manufacturing disruptions that experts say could worsen and result in layoffs if the traffic delays between Michigan and Ontario continue.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday said President Joe Biden “is focused on this and we are working very closely” with the Homeland Security Department and Canadian government to reroute commerce and alleviate the situation.

But the grassroots nature of the Freedom Convoy’s illegal blockade can make it difficult for authorities to negotiate a resolution, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said.

AMBASSADOR BRIDGE TRAFFIC RE-OPENS TO U.S.-BOUND TRAFFIC, BRIDGE OWNER SAYS

DETROIT NEWS — The Ambassador Bridge reopened to U.S.-bound traffic after a protest by Canadian truck drivers had closed it since Monday, Windsor police and the bridge’s owner said.

The news comes after the protest against COVID-19 mandates and restrictions in Canada spread Monday across the Canadian border with the U.S., sparking traffic delays. The traffic-blocking convoy was the first sign demonstrations could affect the United States.

“Thanks to exceptional Windsor Police Services and Freedom Convoy negotiations, inbound traffic from Windsor to Detroit is now fully open,” a representative from the Ambassador Bridge said at 7:30 p.m.

“Traffic into Canada from Detroit is still closed and is being rerouted to the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron. The Detroit International Bridge Company hopes for a swift resolution that will allow traffic to flow unimpeded.”

The bridge to Canada in Detroit shut down Monday night, the Michigan Department of Transportation tweeted at 8:50 p.m. Canada later also listed the bridge as “temporarily closed.”

While the Canadian side reopened before 6 a.m., the U.S. side remained closed at midday. Traffic cameras had trucks backed up for miles at the Blue Water Bridge. The Canadian government said the delay for commercial traffic to cross between Sarnia and Port Huron was more than three hours at 9 p.m..

The backups at the Ambassador Bridge, touted as the nation’s busiest international border crossing, sparked concern among transportation leaders about the impact amid COVID-led supply chain and staffing shortages on Michigan businesses relying on transported goods.

“Any delay or disruption in the supply chain creates problems, not just for agriculture but the state economy,” said Chuck Lippstreu, president of the Michigan Agri-Business Association, which represents businesses that support farmers, said early in the shutdown.

The Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, which represents the Detroit Three automakers, called for an end to the protest, citing its effect on the country’s economy.

“Auto production relies on efficient supply chain logistics for delivery of parts, components and vehicles,” the association said in a statement Tuesday. “Persistent delays at the Ambassador Bridge risk disrupting automotive production that employs tens of thousands of Canadians.”

The bridge’s owner echoed those claims.

“We encourage the appropriate officials to take prompt action to alleviate the situation as quickly as possible in a manner that reflects mutual respect,” Matt Moroun, chairman of the Detroit International Bridge Co., said Tuesday in a statement.

“International commerce needs to resume. The Ambassador Bridge and the Moroun family sympathize with truck drivers and those caught up in this blockade.”

The protest follows rallies over opposition to vaccine mandates and other restrictions in cities across Canada in a show of solidarity with a demonstration in Ottawa that has gone on for more than a week by the so-called Freedom Truck Convoy. The protests paralyzed the Canadian capital’s business district and led the mayor to call for 2,000 extra police officers to quell the nightly demonstrations.

Protesters have said they will not leave until all vaccine mandates and COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. They also called for the removal of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, though it is responsible for few of the restrictive measures, most of which were put in place by provincial governments.

Trudeau backed demonstrators’ right to protest, he tweeted Monday night, but not to disrupt daily activity.

“Canadians have the right to protest, to disagree with their government, and to make their voices heard,” he tweeted. “We’ll always protect that right. But let’s be clear: They don’t have the right to blockade our economy, or our democracy, or our fellow citizens’ daily lives. It has to stop.”

Last month, Canada started to turn away unvaccinated U.S. truckers at the border. The United States has imposed the same requirement on truckers entering that country.

The first trucks in a convoy organized to protest the vaccination measures arrived in Ottawa on Jan. 28.

COURT HEARING FOR ACCUSED OXFORD HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTER’S PARENTS CENTERS ON DEMONS, VOICES, GUNS, INFIDELITY

MLIVE — Testimony during the first day of the preliminary exam for the parents of accused Oxford High School shooter Ethan R. Crumbley delved into infidelity, possible mental illness, Jennifer Crumbley’s love of horses and her 15-year-old son’s fascination with guns.

The prosecution intends to prove parents James and Jennifer Crumbley knew or should have known their son was disturbed, that he needed help, but they were too busy with their own lives, including work, horses and extramarital affairs, to take the measures necessary to head off the shooting that resulted in the deaths of four high school students on Nov. 30.

Jennifer and James Crumbley are each charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection to the school shooting. Oakland County Sheriff’s Detective Edward Wagrowski reviewed photos, videos, call logs and messages extracted from the Crumbleys phones, in addition to analyzing social media posts, school surveillance videos and 911 calls connected to the shooting investigation during a Tuesday, Feb. 8 preliminary examination in Rochester Hills.

“Now it’s time to shoot up the school,” Ethan Crumbley sent in a text to an unidentified person on Aug. 20, according to Wagrowski. Crumbley then typed “j/k,” multiple times, which the detective said is shorthand for “just kidding.”

The messages were accompanied by a video of a hand holding a gun that was played in court.

“My dad left it out, so I thought, well, why not,” Crumbley texted. While the detective didn’t name the recipient of the texts, he said it was a juvenile. Previous testimony indicated Jennifer Crumbley told a coworker her son only had one friend.

In other text conversations, the pair talked about “kidnapping and killing another classmate,” Wagrowski testified. “There’s also videos of killing and mutilating baby birds.”

Within minutes of hearing about the shooting at Oxford High School, James Crumbley, who worked as a food delivery driver for Door Dash, drove home and shortly after called 911. “I’m at the house, there’s an active shooter at the high school, my son is at the high school, I have a missing gun at my house,” James Crumbley told the dispatcher. “My son took the gun. I don’t know what’s going on.”

A couple hours earlier, James and Jennifer Crumbley were called to the school to discuss with Ethan Crumbley’s counselor the disturbing words and drawings their son is believed to have scribbled on a workbook assignment, including a drawing of a gun and the phrases, “help me,” “My life is useless,” and “The thoughts won’t stop.”

The parents didn’t remove their son from school, but they were ordered to obtain professional psychiatric or psychological assistance for him within 48 hours.

After Jennifer Crumbley received a voicemail from the school the day prior, alerting her that Ethan Crumbley was caught looking up bullets on his phone in class, the mother searched for “clinical depression treatment options” on her phone, according to the Wagrowski.

As early as March, Ethan indicated he may have been experiencing paranoid thoughts, according to other text messages the prosecution revealed in court Tuesday.

“Can you get home now,” Ethan Crumbley asked in a string of messages sent to his mother on March 9, according to Wagrowski. “There is someone in the house. Someone walked into the bathroom and left the light on and I thought it was you but when I came out there was no one home.

“There is no one in the house though. Dude, my door just slammed. Maybe it’s just my paranoia.”

A week later, Ethan Crumbley sent a text message to his mother stating the house was “haunted” and referenced a “demon,” Wagrowski testified.

A month later, Ethan Crumbley texted in a message to an unidentified person that he intended to ask his parents to take him to a doctor.

I just “don’t want to tell them about the voices,” Wagrowski said, reading a text sent from Ethan Crumbley’s phone in court.

The first four witnesses of the day included three employees who worked with Jennifer Crumbley in the offices of a real estate company and a friend who owns a horse boarding farm in Lapeer County where Jennifer Crumbley took riding lessons.

Amanda Holland, an administrative assistant at the real estate company, testified that Jennifer Crumbley began speaking with her occasionally about “marital issues” that began in 2021 and led to a temporary separation.

Holland testified that Jennifer Crumbley told her she was having an extramarital affair and meeting with the person during work hours.

Defense attorneys for the Crumbleys, Shannon Smith and Mariell Lehman, argued that the status of the Crumbleys’ marriage wasn’t relevant to the hearing. “What they did and didn’t do, what they spent their time doing, what they exposed their son to, is absolutely material and probative …” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said.

The defense’s objection was overruled by Oakland County 52nd District, 3rd Division Court Judge Julie A. Nicholson.

Following the Nov. 30 meeting with Ethan Crumbley’s counselor about the disturbing drawings on his schoolwork, Jennifer Crumbley notified Kira Pennock, the 25-year-old owner of a 51-acre farm in Metamora where the Crumbleys boarded their horses, that she would be bringing her son to a scheduled riding lesson that same night, Pennock testified.

Soon after, Jennifer Crumbley heard there was an active shooter at her son’s high school. She became immediately “frantic” and left work, multiple coworkers testified.

In the meantime, James Crumbley was returning to the family home to look for the gun that prosecutors said the couple gave Ethan Crumbley as an early Christmas gift.

“The gun is gone and so are the bullets,” Jennifer Crumbley soon after told her boss, Andrew Smith, in a text message, Smith testified. “OMG, Andy, he’s going to kill himself. He must be the shooter … Ethan did it.”

Ethan Crumbley is accused of using the weapon to kill four classmates and injuring seven others, including a teacher, at the high school.

The four students killed in the shooting were: Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Justin Shilling, 17.

He is charged with 24 felonies, including a count of terrorism causing death, four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of assault with intent to murder and 12 counts of felony use or possession of a firearm.

The preliminary hearing for his parents is scheduled to resume at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 24.

A preliminary hearing is held to determine if there is adequate evidence for a case to move forward toward trial in circuit court.

AS GRETCHEN WHITMER PITCHES MICHIGAN EDUCATION, A LAG IN COLLEGE ENROLLMENT

BRIDGE MI — College enrollment among Michigan high school graduates continues to lag compared to pre-pandemic rates, a challenge that could impact the state’s economy for years if not addressed.

A Bridge Michigan analysis of college enrollment data shows 54 percent of students from the high school class of 2021 enrolled in a two- or four-year college last fall, down from an average of 63 percent college enrollment in the three years preceding COVID-19. Declines were seen across much of the state, in wealthy and impoverished districts alike.

Michigan high schools sent about 9,000 fewer students to college last fall than would have been expected before COVID. In the past two pandemic years, that total rose to 17,500 fewer recent grads enrolling in college.

The drop was worse for two-year colleges, with 16 percent of Michigan high school graduates enrolling last fall, down from the pre-pandemic average of 24 percent. Enrollment in four-year colleges rebounded slightly last fall to 37 percent of high school graduates — up from fall 2020, but still below the 39 percent rate before COVID hit.

College access experts say sluggish enrollment numbers are discouraging for multiple reasons. Studies show people with college degrees generally receive higher wages, and a more highly-educated workforce would boost Michigan’s economy and allow the state to attract and fill more high-skilled jobs.

Boosting post-secondary attainment has been a signature goal of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who in her first State of the State speech in 2019 urged the state to raise its rate of working-age adults with a certificate or college degree from 44 percent to 60 percent by the year 2030.

Since the pandemic, Whitmer has rolled out a slew of ambitious initiatives to make college more accessible, including free-tuition programs.

Her proposed education budget, to be released Wednesday, is geared to better supporting K-12 students, including economically disadvantaged students, who already enroll post-secondary education at lower rates. In addition to boosting per-pupil funding, Whitmer’s budget seeks $222 million more for low-income students, $30.8 million for vocational education and career tech and $361 million more for student mental health.

Michigan College Access Network executive director Ryan Fewins-Bliss said he is worried about the latest enrollment numbers, saying they could affect the workforce for years. Business owners are moving toward robotics and machinery and the way to avoid displaced workers in the process is to produce more highly skilled workers, he said. For example, they can be the person who design, service or install the robots.

“We’re going to need more talent who have certificates and degrees to fill these jobs,” Fewins-Bliss said. “But again, we’re pinching the pipeline because our students aren’t going to college right now. So there won’t be people to fill those jobs.”

The median wage for Michigan workers one year after they receive a high school diploma is $12,400, and rises to $19,800 after five years, according to MI School Data, a state data repository.

Paychecks improve dramatically for college grads. The median income for someone with a two-year associate’s degree is $33,700 after one year and $39,600 after five years. For someone with a four-year bachelor’s degree, it rises from $39,300 to $52,900

While low-income students and students of color enroll in post-secondary programs at lower rates than white students, Bridge’s analysis indicates college enrollment fell across much of Michigan, from the richest suburban districts to the poorest urban schools. Consider:

In the Bloomfield Hills district in Oakland County — one of the wealthiest in the state — 87.1 percent of graduating high school students enrolled in a two- or four-year college pre-pandemic. That rate fell to 73.9 percent last fall.
Other wealthy districts, like Forest Hills, Birmingham, Troy and Rochester all saw college enrollment fall.
In Saginaw, where 79 percent of students are considered economically disadvantaged, the city schools had been sending, on average, 46.2 percent of graduates to college before the pandemic, but just 31.9 percent in 2021.
Detroit schools saw a big drop in students attending two-year college, down from 18.5 percent before COVID to 8 percent in 2021. However, the student enrollment rate for four-year colleges rose, from 33.8 percent to 38.6 percent.

Erin Berndt is a school counselor at Norway High School in the Upper Peninsula, with about 175 students. She noted that the high school class of 2020 had most of its senior year to prepare for their future before COVID hit in March of that year. But the class of 2021 spent its entire senior year in pandemic mode, with a lot of unknowns and shifting routines.

Students at Norway, near Iron Mountain, don’t generally get a lot of exposure to visiting colleges because of the school’s geography, so getting college representatives to visit them makes a difference. But college reps weren’t allowed to enter the high school during the 2020-21 school year. And after spending their days in remote learning, the last thing students wanted to do was jump on another virtual meeting for a college tour.

“In many ways, Michigan’s…most pressing economic problem at the moment is demographic,” said Lou Glazer, president and co-founder of Michigan Future, Inc. “So part of it is that we don’t have enough young people, but what we particularly don’t have is enough young people with college degrees…It’s not only important to their life outcome, but it’s also important to the Michigan economy.”

MICHIGAN ADDS 9,898 CASES, 38 DEATHS FROM COVID-19 OVER 3 DAYS

DETROIT NEWS — Michigan added 9,898 cases of COVID-19 and 38 deaths from the virus on Monday, including totals from Saturday and Sunday.

The state averaged 3,299 cases per day over the three days.

Monday’s additions bring the state’s overall total to 2,019,119 confirmed cases and 30,417 deaths since the virus was first detected here in March 2020.

The state on Monday reported 2,516 adults and 62 pediatric patients were hospitalized with confirmed infections and 78% of the state’s inpatient hospital beds are occupied.

Adult hospitalization rates are declining from records set on Jan. 10, when 4,580 adults were hospitalized with COVID-19.

About 15% of the hospital beds were filled with COVID-19 patients and there were an average of 1,366 emergency room visits related to COVID-19 per day in the state as of Monday compared to 24% full and 2,889 emergency room visits due to the virus in the first week of January.

About 85% of COVID-19 hospitalizations are unvaccinated persons, compared to 15% of breakthrough cases.

The case counts continue to drop from early January when the state set a new high mark with more than 20,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 per day.

The dip lines up with modeling predictions that suggest the COVID-19 surge would peak at the end of January or the beginning of February, Lynn Sutfin, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services recently noted.

Henry Ford Health System officials also have expressed optimism over a slight decline in COVID-19 hospitalizations within the medical system and in its staff vacancies in recent weeks.

Federal medical teams were deployed to assist in the care of patients at Beaumont’s Dearborn location, Henry Ford Wyandotte, Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Covenant HealthCare in Saginaw, Mercy Health Muskegon and Lansing-based Sparrow Health System.

Omicron variant driving rise in cases

In Michigan, variants of the virus are moving at a high rate, proving more contagious and infecting both unvaccinated and vaccinated residents.

Medical officials have recommended surgical or KN-95 masks as the omicron variant has been shown to linger on cloth masks.

The state, as of Friday, confirmed 2,561 cases of omicron by genetic sequencing at the Michigan Bureau of Laboratories in Lansing. The majority are in southeast Michigan.

Roughly 95% of cases of COVID-19 in the country are caused by the omicron variant, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Michigan’s latest data

Michigan percentage of tests returning positive has plateaued after increasing for the last four weeks. Illinois and Ohio have the highest case rates in the Midwest; California and Texas have the highest case rates in U.S.

Between Jan. 28-Feb. 3, about 21% of Michigan’s COVID-19 tests returned positive.

About 65%, or 6.5 million, residents have received their first doses of a vaccine, as of Wednesday, and 58% are fully vaccinated.

SOME DETROIT HOMEOWNERS CAN APPLY FOR NEW PROGRAM TO PROTECT BASEMENTS FROM FLOODING

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Homeowners in some Detroit neighborhoods can apply for a new city program to help protect their basements from future flooding.

City officials announced the Basement Backup Protection Program on Monday. It’s an up to $15 million plan, with a pilot phase funded by $2.4 million in federal COVID-19 pandemic relief dollars.

Last summer’s severe rainfall — deemed a major disaster by President Joe Biden — left cars stranded on flooded freeways and damaged homes and businesses. The event led to the creation of the program to install backwater valves and sump pumps, and protect residential homeowners in 11 Detroit neighborhoods who have historically faced basement backups during large downpours.

Late last June when nearly 6 inches of rain fell, more than 32,000 basements saw backed-up rainwater or combined sewage.

“We had about a dozen neighborhoods in this city that are low-lying areas, vulnerable to flooding in times of torrential rains,” Mayor Mike Duggan said Monday during a news briefing.

The program will first begin in the Aviation Sub and Victoria Park neighborhoods, two communities that were hit hardest during the June floods, according to the city. That work will launch in spring and 530 homes are expected to be eligible across those two neighborhoods.

Then in the summer, the program will focus on the following areas: Barton-McFarland, Chadsey Condon, Cornerstone Village, East English Village, Garden View, Jefferson Chalmers, Morningside, Moross-Morang and Warrendale. The city identified these neighborhoods because of Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) service requests for basement backups and claims. This second phase of the initiative is slated to run from July to December 2024.

The city says it can pay up to $6,000 per household.

“If you’re in one of the 11 neighborhoods, apply now. Our plumbing contractors need to understand the capacity, how many people … they need to hire to be ready to get this job done,” said Gary Brown, DWSD director.

Owners of occupied single family homes, two-family flats and duplexes are eligible.

Once an application is approved, the city of Detroit Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environment Department (BSEED) will perform an inspection. A licensed plumber will then look at the home and suggest appropriate services.

Those may include: inspection of sewer lateral service line with a camera, disconnecting downspouts and installing extensions 3 feet from the foundation, installing a backwater valve only if sewer lateral is in “viable condition,” installing sump pumps where possible, and putting in place backwater valves and sump pumps with overflow.

Backwater valves can prevent sewage from traveling back into a home during a heavy rainfall. Sump pumps move water out of a home from a basement. The program does not cover private sewer line repairs and replacements, or fixing up other private plumbing.

If a private sewer pipe has collapsed, has a crack or other defect, the homeowner must first get that repaired themselves before they can move forward with the program.

Water and sewer rate dollars are not being used to fund this program, according to the city. Approved homeowners will have to pay a 10% deposit of the total cost to DWSD before the plumber can begin.

However, the deposit fee will be waived for homeowners whose income qualifies them for the city’s Water Residential Assistance Program (WRAP), which is a water affordability program for households at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. In other words, a family of four with an income of $53,000.

Landlords must pay a 20% deposit for each eligible house and don’t qualify for the waiver. The program is not open to commercial properties or nonprofits.

Eight contractors for the project, five of whom are Detroit-based, are slated to go to City Council for consideration.

The first phase of the plan is backed by $2.4 million in federal pandemic relief dollars. Remaining funding sources are yet to be determined, Brown said.

Last year, the city of Detroit received more than $826 million in American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, dollars — the fifth largest amount among American cities. Of that, $400 million was to address budget shortfalls and the remaining $426 million was for community investments.

The city has since announced a few efforts backed by these dollars — a jobs and workforce training and home repair program. The historic Lee Plaza renovation project earlier this year also received $7M in pandemic relief dollars to build senior housing.

To apply for the Basement Backup Protection Program, go to www.detroitmi.gov/basementprotection. Renters should speak to their landlord because only the homeowner can apply. For help, call DWSD at 313-267-8000.

Nushrat Rahman covers issues related to economic mobility for the Detroit Free Press and Bridge Detroit as a corps member with Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support her work at bit.ly/freepRFA.

FEDS RELAX RULES FOR WORKERS ORDERED TO REPAY MICHIGAN UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS

BRIDGE MI — A wave of Michigan residents who were told they had to repay their pandemic unemployment benefits may no longer need to do so.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced on Monday that the U.S. Department of Labor granted a request by the state to expand eligibility for waivers for workers who’d received Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and other temporary federal benefits from spring 2020 through Sept. 4, 2021.

About $5.7 billion in unemployment benefits were improperly given to people who said they were jobless during the pandemic, the state said in January. The payments were made with federal funds to people who would not normally be eligible for benefits, including part-time, self-employed and gig workers.

However, many of them in the past few months received letters saying they’d been found to be ineligible for the payments — and would have to repay them. In some cases, amounts sometimes exceeded $20,000.

But the federal ruling means the state can now waive repayments for those who applied for the benefits in good faith.

“Michiganders should not be penalized for doing what was right at the time they applied for federal pandemic benefits,” said Whitmer in a statement released about 6 p.m. Monday.

HOW TO GET FREE N95, KN95 MASKS AND COVID TESTS IN MICHIGAN

BRIDGE MI — Access to free masks and COVID-19 tests is expanding, enabling Michiganders to boost their protection against COVID as they pick up library books, a gallon of milk, or their next prescription.

“The demand has been tremendous,” said Mike Snyder, health officer for Delta and Menominee counties in the Upper Peninsula. His office last week received 20,000 KN95 masks from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which staff placed near the doors of the two health offices.

First come, first serve. No paperwork. No IDs. “We’ve probably handed out 15, 18,000 of them,” Snyder said. “People come in just to get them, even if they have no other business with us.”

Consider the shift. When COVID first slammed into Michigan in 2020, there was not nearly enough personal protective gear, including masks — so much so that even health workers were using home-made cloth masks.

But supply chains ramped up, and the especially virulent omicron variant prompted the CDC to recommend that members of the public upgrade to N95s and KN95s — both high filtering masks — for everyday use.

Last year, MDHHS sent out 3.5 million free KN95 masks to Michiganders, but it’s already sent out 10 million in just the first five weeks of this year, said Lynn Sutfin, the department spokesperson.

“There’s a lot of interest,” said Lisa Peacock, health officer at the Health Department of Northwest Michigan, which this week began distributing 23,000 free KN95 masks through its offices in Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet and Otsego counties.

She said the department is also distributing masks to the public at fire stations, food pantries, some churches, through emergency crews and from its new mobile testing unit.

In southeast Michigan, the state is sending 1.5 million KN95 masks to Wayne County next week, said Tiffani Jackson, county spokesperson. Health officials will distribute them to 42 municipalities in Wayne County, excluding Detroit, which has its own health department, in the same way it already has distributed 30,000 at-home antigen tests, she said.

Oakland County spokesman Bill Mullan said health officials there are hammering out details to distribute 800,000 N95 masks next week.

Meanwhile, large chain pharmacies and grocery stores are offering free N95 masks, fulfilling a promise by the Biden administration last month to make 400 million of the highest-quality masks available to the general public.

At the same time, free at-home COVID-19 tests have begun to arrive in snow-covered Michigan mailboxes, part of a federal program announced in December. Consumers must order those tests via a U.S. Postal Service website.

The kits are tested to withstand cold temperatures, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advises consumers to bring the tests inside at least two hours before opening them to use. Tests are to be used between 59 and 86 degrees.

Here are some places to find free masks and tests:

Masks

N95 masks offer the highest protection against COVID and are distributed for free through the same Federal Retail Pharmacy Program established to distribute vaccines. In Michigan, the federal program includes chains such as Costco Wholesale Corp., CVS, Meijer, Rite Aid Corp. and the Kroger Co., Walgreens, Walmart and Sam’s Club.

KN95 masks are available for free through MDHHS offices, local health departments, Area Agency on Aging offices,  Community Action Agencies and Federally Qualified Health Centers.

MDHHS also provides more information here about masks — how they work and how to properly wear them.

Free at-home tests

The Biden administration is shipping up to four rapid antigen tests per household. Consumers can order them at this website.

COVID tests also are available by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services in select zip codes (listed here) in Berrien, Genesee, Kent, Macomb, Muskegon, Oakland, Saginaw and Wayne counties, in the City of Detroit and in select libraries (listed here) in Calhoun, Clare, Newaygo, Oceana, and Wayne counties.

The state also has offered free, at-home COVID antigen tests to students in Michigan’s schools through the MI Backpack Home program. However, a school must choose to enroll in the program, and testing supplies continue to be strained. While 946 school districts have expressed interest, the state has distributed tests to 334 of them as of Friday, Sutfin said in an email to Bridge Michigan.

But COVID tests also can be found at pharmacies now, and most commercial insurers are now required to pay for up to eight tests per month for every person they cover. Some insurers have made it as simple as showing an insurance card at the pharmacy to pick up tests; others require customers to submit paperwork to get reimbursed for the costs. Consumers can learn more here.

Free clinic-based testing

Free testing by professionals remains available throughout the state at sites listed here — make sure you select “no-cost.” They include pop-up community sites listed here.

OXFORD SCHOOLS: WE DID NOTHING WRONG ON DAY OF SHOOTING. WE WERE ‘PROPER, LAWFUL’

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Two months after a deadly mass shooting devastated an entire community, Oxford school officials, through their lawyer, denied engaging in any wrongdoing that day, maintaining their actions were “lawful” and “proper,” and that they’re immune from liability.

“Defendants deny that they breached any duties and, further, deny that they were negligent in any manner,” Oxford schools attorney Timothy Mullins wrote in a Friday filing, adding that school officials “strictly observed all legal duties and obligations” imposed by law.

Mullins wrote that all actions of the school district and its employees were “careful, prudent, proper and lawful.”

This is the Oxford school district’s first formal response to Southfield attorney Geoffrey Fieger’s nearly 2-month-old lawsuit, which claims school officials and staff engaged in many missteps before the shooting, and consequently put students in harm’s way.

Four students died. Six students and a teacher were injured.

At the heart of the lawsuit is a key question: Why didn’t the district remove the shooting suspect from school when he began to display troubling behavior?

Among Fieger’s claims:

The school failed to search the teenage shooting suspect’s backpack, which police say held the gun used in the massacre.

The school let him return to class with that backpack just hours after finding a violent drawing the suspect made that day. The drawing contained a gun and the words: “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me.” The day before, the same student was found searching ammunition on the internet while in class.

The school district, meanwhile, argues that any injury or damage that happened that day was caused by others, and “not under the control of the (school) defendants,” Mullins wrote.

Moreover, the district’s lawyer argued, the teachers, counselors and other school officials named in the lawsuit were performing “governmental functions” that day, and, therefore, are immune from liability.

“Defendants are not liable to (the) plaintiffs for the criminal, assaultive acts of (others),” Mullins wrote, adding that Fieger will not be able to prove that school officials “acted with deliberate indifference” that day.

“As a matter of law, Oxford Community Schools cannot be held vicariously liable for its employees’ actions,” Mullins wrote.

He went on to say that the school will show that the plaintiffs in Fieger’s case “had preexisting medical conditions” that contributed to the injuries they allege in the lawsuit.

Fieger filed the lawsuit on behalf of two sisters who attend Oxford High School. One of them was shot in the neck while her younger sibling watched it happen. Their lawsuit claims that the school put them in harm’s way, and caused them — among other things — severe emotional stress and trauma. Also on Friday, Mullins reiterated his arguments for a stay — or postponement — of Fieger’s lawsuit, arguing the parallel criminal cases are more pressing and that the civil suit should be on hold until the criminal cases are over.

Mullins argued that the issues in the parallel criminal cases overlap with the issues in the civil litigation “because they arise out of the same incident” and the charges are based on the same factual circumstances alleged in the civil lawsuit.

The lawsuit names multiple defendants, including Oxford Community Schools, the superintendent, high school principal, two counselors, two teachers and a staff member.

Fieger has claimed that his request for information from the school will not interfere with the criminal prosecutions. He also has argued that none of the criminal defendants are named in his lawsuit, so there is no overlap.

The Oxford school lawyer disagreed.

Mullins argued that based on Fieger’s Freedom of Information Act requests so far, he intends to seek sensitive information that’s crucial to the prosecution.

Moreover, Mullins wrote, “there is a very real threat that the criminal defendants will attempt to obtain documents through civil discovery and use them in their criminal cases.” He is referring to Jennifer and James Crumbley, the shooting suspect’s parents, whose lawyers have filed a notice with the court, stating that they believe Fieger’s lawsuit should not be put on hold.

“This is the precise type of inference that courts find warrants a stay,” Mullins wrote.

Jennifer and James Crumbley are facing involuntary manslaughter charges for allegedly buying their son the gun that police say was used in the Nov. 30 massacre.

The couple are being held in the Oakland County Jail on $500,000 bond each. A preliminary hearing is set for Tuesday, at which time a judge will decide whether the prosecution has enough evidence to take the case to trial.

Their son, Ethan Crumbley, 15, who was a sophomore at Oxford High School, is facing terrorism and first-degree murder charges in connection with the shooting. He also is being held at the Oakland County Jail, but with no bond. All three Crumbleys have pleaded not guilty.

CYBER THIEVES TARGET LOCAL, COUNTY GOVERNMENTS AS LAUNCH PAD FOR BIGGER ATTACKS

DETROIT NEWS — When Webster Township in Washtenaw County was attacked by ransomware, officials had to create a new website, new emails and new anti-virus and ransomware software to resolve the problem.

It was one of 77 ransomware attacks in the United States last year that were confirmed by the cybersecurity company, Emsisoft.

To lessen such attacks, the federal government has included a new $1 billion cybersecurity grant program in the bipartisan infrastructure law passed last year. It allocates the bulk of the funding that states receive for their local governments, with 25% of the money earmarked for rural governments.

Sgt. Matt McLalin, who investigates cyberattacks in the State Police’s cyber command center, said local and county governments make up a lot of the center’s victims.

“Every single week we are getting multiple reports of local governments who have been affected,” McLalin said.

Brett Callow, a threat analyst from Emsisoft, said the discrepancy in data stems from not all attacks being reported to his New Zealand-based company or being labeled as “cyberattacks” rather than ransomware.

“Tracking incidents is far more challenging than it should be,” Callow said.

The most common type of attacks on rural governments are ransomware attacks and phishing emails, said Michigan Tech University professor Yu Cai, a cybersecurity expert.

“The ransomware is getting explosive in the past 10 years, so we see a lot of cyberattacks based off ransomware,” he said.

When ransomware infiltrates a computer system, those impacted can’t access their information systems until they pay ransom to the hackers, usually in the form of bitcoin, according to Cai.

Rural governments often become targets of such attacks because of their lack of expertise or resources to defend themselves, he said.

“Small towns, rural areas, they can’t even afford an IT person, let alone a security person, so they are an easy target,” Cai said.

A less obvious reason why rural and other small governments are often targeted is because they can be used as gateways to larger attacks, he said.

“A lot of small towns think, ‘Well, we don’t have a lot of valuable information in our computer system, so we don’t care.’ No, that’s wrong,” Cai said. “They want to use your machine, your systems, as a steppingstone to launch a further attack.”

He said attacks from foreign countries are easy to detect, while those from other sources are not.

“If it’s an attack from a small town in Michigan, that will be a lot harder,” Cai said.

McLalin echoed Cai’s concern about using smaller governments as avenues for larger attacks through phishing emails.

“It just spreads like wildfire,” McLalin said. “Unfortunately, down that road will lead to ransomware.”

Cai said he hopes rural officials use the new federal money to boost their IT infrastructures and software, as well as to hire staff.

“Maybe hire a cybersecurity person, or to ask for third-party consultants, or some help from experts to help them test their systems to see how they can improve them,” Cai said.

Andy Brush, a program manager at the state Department of Technology, Management and Budget, also recommended having good backups and doing regular assessments of an organization’s current cybersecurity posture.

“You might be buying the wrong stuff. You might start implementing things and not know where you stand,” he said. “You would not be spending money effectively.”

Funds from the grant could help governments with a budget to ensure they’re spending money on necessary protections, according to Brush.

He said another challenge facing small governments is a lack of the ability and resources to apply for a grant themselves.

“We know that there’s 2,500 or so local public entities, so there are a lot of people we aren’t talking to,” he said.

Brush said the department plans to reach out to smaller local entities that might need additional resources to complete grant applications.

While the state hasn’t received the federal funding yet, Brush said, “You can go to our Cyber Partners website and join there and let us know you’re interested.”

“As these things roll out, we want to make sure we are doing as much outreach as possible so that we are hearing concerns from local entities,” he said.

MICHIGAN SUPREME COURT DISMISSES VOTING RIGHTS ACT CHALLENGE OF REDISTRICTING MAPS

DETROIT NEWS — The Michigan Supreme Court on Thursday denied a request by the Detroit legislative caucus to redraw Michigan’s new voting maps, finding the caucus didn’t prove the decrease in majority-minority districts violated federal protections for minority voters.

The 4-3 decision noted that expert analysis showed White crossover voting made it possible to elect a preferred minority candidate even without a majority-minority district.

“This evidence of White crossover voting — unrebutted by plaintiffs’ expert — reinforces our conclusion that plaintiffs have not made the threshold showing of White bloc voting,” that would trigger the need for majority-minority districts, according to the court’s majority that included Justices Bridget McCormack, Beth Clement, Megan Cavanagh and Elizabeth Welch.

In other redistricting challenges, which historically questioned the work of mapmaking done behind closed doors, further analysis and research might be necessary for the Detroit Caucus to make a proper argument for their case, the order said.

But the high court noted the Detroit Caucus stated several times at oral argument that it had no plans to provide further evidence of its belief that the decrease in majority-minority districts was contrary to the Voting Rights Act.

And, the order said, “the commission’s work has been an open and public process as required” by the Michigan Constitution.

The decision stemmed from a Detroit Caucus challenge of redistricting maps approved by the commission in late December that break up long-held Black majority districts in Detroit to merge them with White Democratic-leaning suburbs.

The commission drew the districts as such to give the Detroit area more Democratic-leaning districts — a reflection of the political makeup in parts of the region. The effort sought to reverse alleged “packing” of Black voters that occurred under past Republican-led map drawing.

The commission’s work resulted in no majority-Black districts in the congressional map, zero in the state Senate map and seven in the state House map. But the new maps did make gains in providing more partisan fairness toward Democrats, who had been subject to maps drawn by the Republican majority in the Legislature for at least two decades.

Some Detroit leaders have argued that the commission went too far and in effect diluted the vote of Black Detroiters, making it difficult if not impossible to get a candidate of color through Democratic primaries.

Justices Brian Zahra, David Viviano and Richard Bernstein argued in their dissent that the dismissal was “premature” and merited further analysis. The case came to the high court as an “original action,” meaning it didn’t have the benefit of analysis or discovery in the lower courts.

“We would appoint an independent expert to assist the court in assessing the evidence and factual assertions presented thus far and any additional evidence the parties would develop and submit for review,” the justices wrote.

The Detroit Caucus’ arguments should proceed in court and merit further expert analysis to examine the claims, especially considering delays in the final approval of the maps because of lags in census data at the front end of map development, the dissent said.

But the court rule governing the case, they noted, doesn’t have a defined process to develop facts and instead faults “plaintiffs for their failure to present evidence that we never requested or required them to present.”

“Procedure matters,” according to the dissent. “People care about how their cases are handled and whether they had a fair opportunity to be heard.”

Instead, the court’s procedure in the Detroit Caucus case, the dissent said, “does not accord with any notion of fair play. The majority’s decision today will do much to undermine the public’s confidence that this court will take seriously original complaints filed in our court.”

COVID-19 TESTS COMING TO DETROIT-WINDSOR TUNNEL — BUT YOU HAVE TO PLAN AHEAD

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Crossing the Detroit-Windsor border is about to get a little bit easier.

A new partnership between Assure Covid Travel Clinics and the Detroit-Windsor tunnel will provide cross-border commuters with on-site access to fast, Health Canada-approved PCR test kits, Assure CEO Dr. Phillip Olla announced in a press release on Wednesday.

The kits are designed to accommodate travelers who, due to immigration restrictions, must submit a negative test result from within 72 hours of their border crossing.

“We’ve had dozens of calls from stranded travelers who were not able to get their results within the 72-hour time limit,” Olla said in the press release. “Having access to this pick-up location at the tunnel will help them get home within about an hour from taking the test.”

The test kits must be ordered on Assure’s website in advance of travel plans. They will then be available for pick-up at the clinic’s operation office on the Detroit side of the tunnel. Travelers can then take their tests with them and perform them as needed prior to their departure.

The tests are self-administered and aided by a virtual telehealth visit, during which an Assure specialist will supervise sample collection and ensure proper processing.

For outbound travelers, Olla recommends booking test kits online several days before their scheduled trip.

For more information or to reserve a test, visit Assure’s website here.

VIRTUAL LEARNING AND THE END OF MICHIGAN SNOW DAYS

BRIDGE MI — Will school snow days soon be a thing of the past?

As a winter storm swept through Michigan Wednesday, many schools closed for winter weather, but Detroit Public Schools Community District and Ann Arbor Public Schools pivoted to online learning.

Both districts had already used up the number of days the state allotted to cancel school for things like bad weather and illness. The pandemic made school districts prioritize technology and internet needs of their students. With teachers and families more familiar with virtual learning, it’s possible that more schools will choose to switch to virtual days rather than completely canceling school.

It’s a dilemma faced by schools this week from Illinois to New York, as a huge winter storm buried parts of the Midwest and East under a thick blanket of snow. Technology is now in the hands of students and teachers in many districts to learn remotely during inclement weather. The question is, do schools — and families — want to replace traditional out-of-school snow days with at-home learning.

Educators say it’s too early to tell if virtual learning will become the new norm for would-be snow days.

The head of the state superintendents’ association also cited potential obstacles.

Tina Kerr, executive director of the Michigan Association of Superintendents & Administrators, told Bridge Michigan virtual days require planning. And in a pandemic, with schools dealing with staff shortages and outbreaks, she does not know of a lot of districts pivoting to a virtual day if they still have days allotted for a snow day.

“I’ve heard of a few that may have utilized” virtual days, Kerr said. “But for the most part, the conversation’s been, ‘What do we do post-pandemic? And how are we going to work with students that may need that additional support?’ But the way things are right now, I think people just look at the snow days as an opportunity to get a break because it’s been so chaotic.”

She said it’s likely school leaders will consider the benefits and drawbacks of virtual learning as an option when snow prevents traveling to school as they figure out what to do for the next school year.

“I think that there would be some interest in the future about using e-learning days versus calling them ‘snow days,’ but it’s going to obviously be dependent on district to district needs. Some of our smaller districts have been able to be in-person all along. Some of our larger districts, obviously due to transmission, haven’t had that opportunity.”

While there is no official state count on the number of districts that closed for snow this week, it appears that of the schools that closed their buildings, the majority fully closed rather than pivoted to online learning, said Peter Spadafore, executive director at Middle Cities Education Association, which represents a consortium of Michigan urban school districts.

Spadafore said he is skeptical the snow days of yore will disappear completely in the near future, both because of the “allure” of unexpected days off to play in the snow, and because internet access is spotty in northern Michigan and in the homes of some lower-income families.

“It’s fair to say that some schools are in the position to think differently (than in the past) about whether to call a snow day or a virtual day,” Spadafore said. “But not all schools or all families could participate in that equitably across the state.”

Detroit Public Schools Community District announced Tuesday it would shift to virtual learning for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. District superintendent Nikolai Vitti said in a statement to Bridge the district will continue to use online learning instead of canceling school if there is bad weather.

“The district is out of emergency days so we do not have a choice,” he said. “Assuming student attendance normalizes from the impact of COVID (i.e. no individual school closings, high rates of quarantining that impacts staff and student attendance) next year and then we would go back to canceling school instead of online learning.”

School districts in a number of states have test driven similar programs, with some dating back to before the COVID pandemic.

Superintendent Jason Mellema of the Ingham Intermediate School District said he sees the potential for virtual days instead of snow days as a conversation of “haves versus the have nots” depending on whether areas have access to high-speed internet.

He said while the pandemic forced districts to invest in technology for students, the pandemic also demonstrated there are geographic areas that still need more support in building internet infrastructure.

“You know, I look at internet access at this point in time as being standard just like electricity, just like water, you know, clean fresh water, I look at it as being one of the basics because regardless of what industry that you’re in, so much of our lives are connected via the internet and so making sure that all of our families have those opportunities is important.”

Michigan districts are allowed six “forgiven” days to close during the school year for events outside their control such as bad weather, outages, or disease outbreaks. Districts can request up to three additional days if needed. If districts cancel more school days than allowed by the state, they have to make up those days. Some do so by adding a few days in June, or shortening spring break.

As Bridge has reported, several districts are already running out of “forgiven” days.

State lawmakers are getting pressure to provide more flexibility for forgiven days or lower the level of student attendance required for schools to receive their full portion of state aid on a given school day.

Thomas Morgan, spokesperson for the Michigan Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, said districts deserve some flexibility because “when these laws were written, no one was thinking of a global pandemic and virtual learning and all this.”

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER | STEEP DROP IN CASES; MICHIGAN PASSES 30K VIRUS DEATHS

BRIDGE MI — Michigan officials reported 327 new COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, pushing the total to 30,170 since the pandemic began in March 2020.

It took 278 days to reach 10,000 deaths, another 251 days to reach 20,000 but just 175 days to reach 30,000 deaths as the delta and omicron variants swept the state.

The toll comes as the current surge fueled by omicron appears to be falling fast. For the first time since Dec. 23, fewer than 20 percent of coronavirus tests came back positive on Monday (17.5 percent) and the overall rate continues to fall.

The state reported an additional 18,803 infections on Wednesday, or 9,402 for the past two days. That lowered the seven-day daily average of new infections to 9,479 cases, the first time under 10,000 since it was 9,210 on Dec. 30.

Prior to the omicron surge, the daily average had never been above 7,654, which it hit on Nov. 19, 2022, during the worst of the delta surge.

All but five of the state’s 83 counties are reporting a drop in average daily infections as the surge continues to wane across most of the state.

The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 fell to 3,202 from 3,423 on Monday, continuing a steady decline since a peak of 5,009 on the Jan. 10.

PROSECUTOR IN OXFORD CASE: JENNIFER, JAMES CRUMBLEY NEED TO STOP ROMANTIC COURTROOM TALK

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Enough with the mushiness.

The prosecution in the Oxford High School shooting case has asked a judge to put an end to what it describes as “inappropriate” and “disrespectful” communication in court between James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of the teenage shooting suspect.

In a court filing Wednesday, the prosecution expressed frustration with the Crumbleys’ behavior, including the two allegedly mouthing “I love you” to each other during hearings.

“These communications … not only disparage the integrity of the judicial proceedings as a serious distraction, but are also traumatic for the families of the deceased victims,” Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Markeisha Washington wrote in her filing. “Their communication is far more distracting and offensive than a cell phone going off, which the court would not condone.”

The Crumbleys are facing involuntary manslaughter charges for allegedly buying their son the gun that police say was used in the shooting, and failing to secure it. Ethan Crumbley, 15, is facing terrorism and first-degree murder charges for allegedly shooting up his school — killing four students and injuring six other students and a teacher.

The prosecution said it has been contacted by family members of the victims, asking why the parents are allowed to communicate in court.

“Mr. & Mrs. Crumbley’s conduct in court makes a mockery of the crimes they are accused of committing. The courtroom is not a place for blowing kisses and sending secret signals. This is a time for families to pursue justice,” Chief Assistant Prosecutor David Williams said in a statement Wednesday.

According to court records, the following incidents are what the victims’ families are upset about:

During one hearing in December, James Crumbley “with his mask partially pulled down, mouthed what appeared to be “I love you” to his wife.
When that same hearing ended, McDonald said, Jennifer Crumbley left the courtroom, which led to “additional nonverbal communication” between the couple.
During a Jan. 7 court hearing by Zoom, when a breakout session with the attorneys and the judge was held, the Crumbleys “remained on screen during this breakout session and … Jennifer Crumbley signaled and mouthed to (her husband) what appeared to be ‘I love you,’ waved at him, and continued to signal and mouth words to him.”

The prosecutor argues in her court filing that judges can restrict defendants from having contact with others by imposing conditions, so long as the judge determines the conditions “are reasonably necessary to maintain the integrity of the judicial proceedings.” She wants the judge to prohibit the Crumbleys from having any physical, verbal or nonverbal contact with each other while in court.

Attorneys for James and Jennifer Crumbley were not readily available, though the prosecution stated in court documents that the defense has “expressed a willingness” to instruct their clients to refrain from “this type of communication.”

The Crumbleys are being held on a $500,000 bond each. Prosecutors have alleged that the Crumbleys knew that their son was depressed and heading down a dangerous and violent path, but they ignored his “troubling” texts and other red flags, paid attention to their own lives instead and bought him a gun when he needed help.

The Crumbleys have denied the allegations, saying they properly stored the gun in their home, had no way of knowing that their son would use it in a school shooting, and that they are not responsible for the shooting.

All three Crumbleys have pleaded not guilty and are being held at the Oakland County Jail.

MICHIGAN BILL WOULD LET COLLEGE STUDENTS LEAD CLASSES TO CURB TEACHER SHORTAGE

BRIDGE MI — Uncertified college students soon could find themselves leading Michigan classrooms and in charge of students’ academic progress for a full year.

The state House Education Committee is considering a bill allowing districts to hire not-yet-certified education majors as paid teachers with their own classrooms for up to one year. The bill aims to alleviate a severe teaching shortage that has hit schools in Michigan and across the country.

Rep. Pamela Hornberger, R-Chesterfield Township, who leads the committee, said her legislation provides one more tool in a toolbox that now also includes legislative authority for bus drivers, library aides, and other support staff to substitute teach if they have a high-school diploma.

She acknowledged that hiring education majors may not work for every district, and it would be optional.

“We’re at the point where we’re voting to put anyone with a pulse and breathing in a classroom to sub,” the Chester Township Republican said during a committee hearing Tuesday. “We need to do something.”

The Michigan Department of Education opposes the bill. Department spokesperson Martin Ackley would not elaborate.

Critics say the measure could do more harm than good.

“This is not a reasonable solution,” said Gail Richmond, director of teacher preparation programs at Michigan State University. “As a parent, I want to know that the teacher of my children has been through a program that has a particular set of expectations, offers a certain set of learning opportunities, and has a set of standards that they’ve met,” she said.

Education majors need that kind of structure too, Richmond said, calling the legislation a “lose-lose situation.”

The bill does not specify how far along students must be in teacher preparation programs to participate, but during testimony Tuesday, Hornberger suggested that they would have had at least some teaching experience during their college coursework.

Former teacher Rep. Lori Stone, D-Warren, said she feels “some hesitancy” about college students leading a classroom without real-time support and feedback from a certified teacher.

Still, she said, the legislation could alleviate financial hardships for education majors, whose student teaching assignments are usually unpaid.

Hornberger said teacher preparation programs could restructure their programs to ensure education majors are prepared sooner to lead their own classrooms, and districts could establish mentorship programs to guide them.

None of that is specified in the bill, and that’s a problem, Richmond said in a phone interview Tuesday afternoon.

“I can imagine some version of this might work if it were carefully crafted, carefully designed, carefully assessed, and carefully overseen, but not if it doesn’t identify the kinds of necessary and powerful supports that developing educators need,” she said. That should include regular real-time feedback, co-teaching experiences, and day-to-day support of an experienced mentor, Richmond said, describing the support students typically receive during unpaid student teaching assignments.

Hornberger said during the hearing that she’s open to amending the legislation. If districts and universities work together, they can craft a model that provides good experience to student teachers while solving local teacher shortages for districts in crisis, she said. Universities might have to restructure their model for how student teaching is delivered, she said.

From South Carolina to Colorado, school systems are increasingly relying on uncertified instructors.

Petoskey Superintendent Chris Parker said he wouldn’t choose to have education majors act as teachers in his district, but said it could be an option for districts with a more severe teacher shortage.

“It’s nice to see the Legislature trying to help solve the current crisis,” he said, but “would you want a surgeon taking out your appendix who’s on a temporary certification but has binge watched the ‘ER’ television series and took a couple biology classes?’

The legislation could add administrative costs for the Michigan Department of Education, according to a House fiscal analysis. Those costs would likely be absorbed using existing staff, analysts said.

Education advocate Lou Glazer, president of Michigan Future, said it isn’t ideal to have uncertified instructors in charge o classrooms, but it’s a reasonable option during a severe shortage. Michigan Future is a nonpartisan think tank focused on education’s role in bolstering the economy.

“There’s more demand for teachers than there is supply. There’s a real problem, and given this environment, we’re going to have to find alternatives,” Glazer said. He said a student in an education school program “sure seems a hell of a lot better” than a bus driver without any college credits.

State Superintendent Michael Rice has proposed a menu of other options to alleviate the teacher shortage. So far, the Legislature hasn’t considered them. They could cost between $300 million and $500 million over five years, he told lawmakers in a November letter.

Rice’s proposals include offering scholarships to education majors, extending loan forgiveness to current teachers, and better mentoring of new educators. He also wants support to ease restrictions on accepting teacher licenses from other states, to create grow-your-own programs that train support staff to become teachers, and to revive teacher preparation programs in the Upper Peninsula and lower Northern Peninsula.

MEIJER TO OFFER FREE, AT-HOME PCR COVID-19 TESTS AT STORES IN MIDWEST

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Meijer plans to offer free, at-home COVID-19 PCR tests to customers at its stores throughout the Midwest.

The Grand Rapids-based company is partnering with eTrueNorth and said in a release Monday that it will be the first retailer to offer at-home PCR COVID-19 tests for free. Meijer has 254 pharmacies throughout the Midwest.

Here’s how the process will work:

Register at www.ineedacovid19test.com.
Complete an online assessment and select a Meijer location. You will be provided a voucher that will be used to pick up the test kit. The voucher can be printed or shown on a smartphone.
Perform the self-collection nasal swab.
Return the specimen in the specimen bag to the same Meijer pharmacy where you received the test kit. Deposit it into a designated drop box at the pharmacy.
Specimens must be returned the same day they are collected. The specimen will be shipped to a certified lab for analysis. Test results are expected within 48 to 72 hours. The service is available Monday through Friday.
Receive an email when the test results are available. Results and a printable report will be available in your account at www.ineedacovid19test.com.

A few additional details from the website to keep in mind:

Every individual, including children, must be registered for their own account, in their own name. Otherwise, the test may not be processed.
A person must log on to enter the activation code located on the tube before taking the test.
Shipping, weather or other unforeseen events may impact turnaround time for results.

If you have symptoms, tests may be picked up and specimens may be dropped off by a family member or friend with proof of the voucher.
Meijer is encouraging customers who use the service to wear a face mask when picking up a test or dropping off a specimen.
The testing is performed under contract with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
“We are very pleased to be the first retail pharmacy location to offer this service,” said Jackie Morse, Meijer’s vice president of pharmacy. “Our pharmacies have provided many important services throughout the pandemic, and this new COVID-19 testing option is another key example of how we continue to look for ways to help our customers, team members and communities.”
Coral May, eTrueNorth CEO, said this option should “dramatically increase Americans’ access to COVID-19 testing.”

eTrueNorth began its participation in the drive-through COVID-19 testing program in partnership with the federal health and human services department. It tests in more than 800 sites across the U.S. and is recruiting independent and small chain pharmacies to join its network of specimen collection sites to offer COVID-19 testing, according to the release.

Meijer’s partnership to offer the free, at-home PCR tests comes at a time when other types of free, at-home antigen COVID-19 tests are being offered by the state and federal government, as well as other partners. Free, limited quantities of COVID-19 tests were being handed out Tuesday at the Detroit Public Library’s main location and its permanent branches.

The state health department announced last month it would be making 5,500 at-home COVID-19 test kits available at 18 libraries across Michigan in a pilot project. The initial test kits went to libraries in Calhoun, Clare, Newaygo, Oceana and Saginaw counties and the cities of Detroit and Taylor in Wayne County.

It has not sent additional tests to participating libraries or expanded the project to more locations because of a national shortage in over-the-counter COVID-19 tests, spokesperson Lynn Sutfin said. The state health department plans to talk with the Michigan Library Association about expanding to more sites as testing supplies allow.

The Rockefeller Foundation also announced Friday that Michigan will be one of six states to receive free COVID-19 tests for vulnerable communities.

Project Access COVID Tests (Project ACT) will provide free at-home COVID-19 tests at www.AccessCovidTests.org. It initially plans to deliver 1.1 million tests to at-risk residents in Arkansas, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, New Mexico and Ohio before expanding across the country.

The federal government also is mailing four, free at-home rapid antigen COVID-19 tests to households via COVIDtests.gov. Orders are supposed to ship within seven to 12 days.

If you have trouble accessing the internet or need additional help placing an order for the federal government tests, call 800-232-0233 to get assistance in more than 150 languages from 8 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week.

Those with disabilities can place orders by calling 888-677-1199 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, or by emailing DIAL@usaginganddisability.org.

The federal government also is giving out 400 million adult N95 masks from the National Strategic Stockpile — masks that are to be available at retailers such as Meijer, CVS, Walgreens, Kroger, Costco, Rite Aid, Walmart and Sam’s Club.

The state health department is handing out 10 million free KN95 masks to residents through community organizations, including state and local health department offices, Area Agency on Aging offices, Community Action Agencies, Federally Qualified Health Centers and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE).

WINTER STORM WARNINGS: WHERE THE HIGHEST SNOW TOTALS ARE LIKELY

DETROIT NEWS — A winter storm warning has been declared for all of southern lower Michigan for Wednesday and Thursday.

Counties under a National Weather Service winter storm warning, duration and expected snowfall:

►Washtenaw, Wayne, Lenawee and Monroe, 6 a.m. Wednesday to 10 p.m. Thursday: 11-15 inches.

►Sanilac, Shiawassee, Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Livingston, Oakland and Macomb, 4 a.m. Wednesday to 7 a.m. Thursday: 9-13 inches.

►Eaton, Ingham, Van Buren, Kalamazoo, Calhoun and Jackson, 2 a.m. Wednesday to 11 p.m. Thursday: 6-10 inches.

► Barry, 2 a.m. Wednesday to 11 p.m. Thursday: 7-10 inches.

►Cass, Berrien, Branch and Hillsdale, 1 a.m. Wednesday to 7 p.m. Thursday: 10-20 inches

In preparation, residents in southeast Michigan were flocking to stores like Aldi in Highland Park on a sunny and unusually warm Tuesday morning to stock up on non-perishables and other food items ahead of the storm.

Ruth Lloyd-Harlin of Highland Park added two cartons of water from her shopping cart to the one she already had in her car as she finished unloading the heaping stack of groceries she came out of the store with.

“I got some food to cook for dinner, and some goodies. But my refrigerator at home is already kind of full,” said Lloyd-Harlin. “I just came and got some necessities.”

She recently retired from her position in the mayor of Highland Park’s office and was looking forward to continue organizing her drawers and donating things she did not need, a head start on her spring cleaning.

Still, the coming storm made her nervous about getting locked in and shoveling snow, though her next door neighbor usually helps and her son was planning on coming over before work Wednesday.

Lloyd-Harlin also forgot to buy salt to help melt the snow, and said she would have to go back to the hardware store to get some before it got too crowded when people left work in the afternoon.

Earlier in the morning, residents stopped by Lowe’s and the Home Depot in Madison Heights to stock up on last-minute snow supplies, including salt, snowblowers, window insulation kits and small space heaters.

Northwest Ohio areas that include Toledo are under a winter storm warning for 10-16 inches.

“Travel could be very difficult to impossible,” the NWS says. “Patchy, blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility.”

The heaviest snow is expected late Wednesday into Thursday, “with the highest amounts edged from the I-94/Ann Arbor to Detroit corridor southward,” the weather service says.

Risks with this storm include brisk winds with low visibility, impassable roads due to high snow and dropping temperatures.

“Plummeting wind chills accompanied by blowing and drifting snow could bring a potentially lethal travel situation with wind chills falling below zero if you become stuck in your vehicle Thursday night,” the weather service says.

MICHIGAN REPORTS 21,242 NEW COVID-19 CASES, 65 DEATHS OVER 3 DAYS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Michigan saw 21,242 new COVID-19 confirmed cases over the past three days, with an average of 7,081 new cases a day, the state health department reported Monday.

That brings Michigan’s total to 1,980,613 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic.

In addition, there were 65 new COVID-19 deaths over the three days, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services data showed.

The state has seen 29,843 deaths in total from COVID-19.

BEAUMONT, SPECTRUM HEALTH ANNOUNCE START OF MERGED HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

DETROIT NEWS — Beaumont Health and Spectrum Health officials said Monday they are planning to start their merged health care system as planned on Tuesday after federal regulators didn’t contest the proposed tie-up.

The Federal Trade Commission had the option to object to the Beaumont-Spectrum combination or launch a full investigation within a specified time frame. The FTC doesn’t comment on proposed mergers unless it files a complaint, and “the agency has not filed a complaint in this matter,” FTC spokeswoman Betsy Lordan said Monday.

John Fox will serve his last day as Beaumont Health president and CEO on Friday. A national search is underway for his replacement. Officials wouldn’t provide details of Fox’s severance agreement, but said it had been reviewed by an outside consultant who found it to be competitive within the industry

The temporarily named BHSH System is expected to have a combined 22 hospitals, 305 outpatient locations and 64,000 employees, according to the health systems. Beaumont has eight hospitals and 33,000 employees in Metro Detroit, while Spectrum dominates the west Michigan market with 14 hospitals and 31,000 workers.

Beaumont Health Board Chair Julie Fream, who is the incoming BHSH System board chair, said at a Monday afternoon press conference that federal law prohibits disclosing information about the FTC review process, including information about the time line or when the merger passed any final hurdles with the federal agency.

“The Beaumont board and the Spectrum Health boards each voted to reaffirm our position to join the organizations together last week,” Fream said.

Contracts with employee unions will remain in force under the merged system, officials said.

Patient portals, which allow patients to log into their health system to check medical records, test results and other information, will remain the same, officials added.

A Monday morning press release said both systems have “provided the applicable regulatory agencies with all requested information and may now proceed to launch their new health system.”

Industry experts have said the merger could lead to higher prices for health consumers.

Asked if there are any plans to use the health systems’ increased market strength to seek increased reimbursements from health insurers or raise prices for consumers, incoming BHSH Systems President and CEO Tina Freese Decker was noncommittal.

“Our focus for health care is to be affordable, but we also need to make sure we’re competitive, and that’s how we look at our pricing,” Freese Decker said. “We’re also very focused on transparency, and ensuring that information is on our website.

Most research finds that such mergers, even if the health systems don’t overlap geographically, give the new larger health system “more market power that they use to raise prices — which mostly falls on employers and their group plans,” said Allan Baumgarten, an independent health care analyst based in Minnesota who follows the Michigan health care market.

But the Beaumont-Spectrum tie-up would help strengthen the new firm in a pandemic-changed health care landscape, experts said, and provide some advantages to customers.

In Monday’s press release, Beaumont Health and Spectrum Health also announced the board of directors and system leadership team for the new combined health system. The BHSH System board of directors includes seven members appointed from Beaumont Health and seven members appointed from Spectrum Health.

Freese Decker, incoming president & CEO of BHSH System, will also serve on the board, as well as an additional board member who will be named later this year.

“As we launch our new health system, we have a bold goal to transform health and are thrilled to unite our two great organizations,” Freese Decker said in a statement. “Together, we will leverage our complementary strengths to innovate and make a positive impact for our communities and their health.

Beaumont in May 2020 ended partnership talks with Akron, Ohio-based Summa Health. Beaumont later entered talks with an Illinois- and Wisconsin-based system, Advocate Aurora Health, but those talks ended in October 2020 after the potential deal was widely contested by a broad coalition of physicians, nurses, hospital staff, community members and lawmakers.

A tie-up with Advocate Aurora Health, based in Milwaukee and Downers Grove, Illinois, would have made the nonprofit Beaumont Health part of a 28-hospital health system across Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan. Critics argued the merger would result in a loss of local control over the health system.

MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL NOW INVOLVED IN LEE CHATFIELD SEX ASSAULT PROBE

BRIDGE MI –The Michigan Attorney General’s Office is getting involved in the investigation into allegations that former Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield sexually assaulted an underage student at the Christian school where he taught before taking office.

A spokesperson for Attorney General Dana Nessel confirmed the office’s involvement in a statement to Bridge Michigan on Monday afternoon.

“The Department is assisting the Michigan State Police as it continues its investigation,” said Lynsey Mukomel. Mukomel declined to comment further, citing an open investigation. The investigation stems from allegations by Chatfield’s sister-in-law, Rebekah Chatfield, who told Bridge and police in December that the former House speaker groomed and then repeatedly sexually assaulted her beginning when he was a teacher and she was a 15 or 16-year-old student at the Northern Michigan Christian Academy, a Burt Lake school founded by Lee Chatfield’s father, Rusty Chatfield.

Lee Chatfield, through his attorney, has denied the assault allegations, instead saying he and Rebekah Chatfield, now 26, had a yearslong consensual affair when they were both adults.

Rebekah Chatfield’s lawyer, Jamie White, welcomed the news of Nessel’s involvement as a “relief,” noting that it would provide a central hub for possible prosecution stemming from allegations of assault over multiple years in multiple jurisdictions.

Rebekah Chatfield told Bridge the assaults began when she was a teen at the school, and continued for more than a decade, after she married Lee’s youngest brother, Aaron, and moved to college out-of-state, and after the pair returned to Michigan when Lee secured Aaron a job in Lansing. She told Bridge it was only in December that she was able to disclose the encounters to others, including her husband, and contact police.

White said Nessel’s involvement also will guard against “potential conflicts of interest” by local officials in northern Michigan, noting that the Emmet County Prosecutor chose not to pursue criminal charges after Lee Chatfield brought a loaded handgun through security at the Pellston Airport in 2018.

“I’ve heard multiple reports and concerns that there could be some lack of fair, objective decision making,” White said. “If I get on a plane with a loaded gun, I’m going to prison for two years, no questions asked.”

Lee Chatfield’s lawyer, in a statement, told Bridge on Monday “it doesn’t matter what prosecutor’s office reviews the case because the facts don’t change.”

“Rebekah Chatfield’s stated goals for 2022 include to become a millionaire, write a book, and host a podcast. She has visions of herself on a stage, and she has even created a hashtag to promote herself and her self-described ‘brand,’” said lawyer Mary Chartier. “We’re confident that any prosecutor who reviews the false allegations will see through them and reach the right result.”

In response, White called Chartier’s statement “inappropriate,” meant to imply that Rebekah Chatfield fabricated her allegations to gain fame or money.

“The idea that someone can’t participate in the capitalist society because they have an ongoing child-abuse allegation is an affront on the entire atmosphere that created this situation to begin with,” he said, adding that Chatfield’s goal in coming forward was partly to inspire other young women in similar situations.

“The idea that we’re going to shame her because she’s trying to move forward with her life is really very troubling,” he said.

White said police investigators’ probe isn’t limited to the assault allegations. Police are also scrutinizing Chatfield’s finances while in office, he said, searching for possible financial misdeeds after reporting by Bridge and other media raised fresh questions about Chatfield’s voracious fundraising and spending.

In an interview with Bridge in December, Aaron Chatfield described his brother as living a lavish lifestyle while in office, including frequent travel and heavy patronage of strip clubs, bars and hotels in and out of state.

Acting as an unofficial driver for Lee while working for the Republican consulting firm Grand River Strategies, Aaron said he personally witnessed his brother in moments of indiscretion and excess.

“He went on more trips than anybody. He was gone all the time,” Aaron Chatfield told Bridge.

Aaron Chatfield is now represented by his own lawyer, Mike Nichols, who told Bridge he sees the most recent legal developments as “a bunch of mud-slinging.”

“I don’t think it does my client any good for me to spend any time on anything else other than client care right now,” Nichols said.

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER | HOSPITALIZATIONS DECLINING FAST; OMICRON WAVE MAY BE SUBSIDING

BRIDGE MI — Michigan’s hospitals continue to discharge far more COVID-19 patients than admit them, with 3,685 now being treated as of Friday, down 342 since Wednesday and nearly 800 in the past week.

It’s one of the continued signs that the surge in cases spurred by the more transmissible omicron variant is subsiding.

The state also reported 26,309 new infections on Friday, or 13,155 for Thursday and Friday. That pushed the seven-day average down over 1,000 daily cases, to 13,301 from 14,335 on Wednesday.

That’s still nearly twice as high as the peak of previous surges but it’s well below the recent high of 17,589 on Jan. 19.

In the past 45 days, during which omicron has emerged and surged, the state has reported over 557,000 confirmed infections — nearly 30 percent of the 1.9 million confirmed cases since March 2020.

Case counts are falling in 64 of the state’s 83 counties, a steep reversal from just two weeks ago, when case counts were rising in 69 counties.

The state also reported 173 additional COVID-19 deaths, including 121 determined after a review of medical and health records.

Testing data shows that 24 percent of the nearly 100,000 most recent tests came back positive, a decline from 28 percent on Wednesday. The positive rate over the past week is 27.1 percent, down from 32.4 percent a week ago.

OAKLAND UNIVERSITY MISTAKENLY TELLS 5,500 STUDENTS THEY WON HIGHEST SCHOLARSHIP

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Oakland University accidentally sent emails to 5,500 of its admitted students Jan. 4 notifying them they were to receive the school’s highest scholarship, the Platinum Presidential Scholar Award.

The award is worth $12,000 a year for four years of undergraduate school.

The mistake was due to “human error,” university spokesman Brian Bierley said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, the students who received the message do not meet the eligibility requirements for this award, but have qualified for varying levels of OU scholarship awards,” Bierley said. “While the emails were sent in error, OU notifies students of scholarship awards through official scholarship award letters sent to students via United States mail.”

Bierley said an “immediate correction update” was sent to all 5,500 admitted students within two hours of the initial mistake.

This is the second time this month a Michigan university has accidentally informed prospective students they won a scholarship when they did not — Central Michigan University mistakenly told 58 prospective students that they had won a full scholarship that includes room and board.

However, CMU officials apologized for the error Wednesday night, and offered the equivalent of a full-tuition scholarship to each of the 58 prospective students affected.

Carnell Poindexter, a senior at West Bloomfield High School, did not get the same offer from Oakland University. On Jan. 4, he received an email indicating he had been awarded the Platinum Presidential Scholar Award.

“I was kind of set on (going to Oakland University),” he said. “I was really excited when I got that first email, I was telling all my friends and stuff that I got a full ride, and then I got other email and it was really embarrassing. I was like, ‘Oh man that was not for me,’ and I had to go tell people I told that it was not true.”

His mom, Gwen Poindexter, said she was so excited and proud when they got the first email, and it would have taken away the stress of paying college tuition.

“It felt like someone pulled the rug from under us,” she said. “We were really excited and thinking, ‘OK, great. We’re all set.’ We didn’t have to worry about college tuition and he could just focus on getting his education.”

It would have been a game-changer and meant “everything” to him and his family if he had actually received the scholarship, Carnell Poindexter said.

Carnell and Gwen Poindexter said they understand that mistakes happen and they realize that the school can’t give 5,500 people a full tuition scholarship, but they wish they had received something to “offset the heartbreak” — even just an email with other scholarships for which Carnell might be eligible.

On Jan. 5, Shane Lewis, director of undergraduate admissions, and Dawn Aubry, vice president for enrollment management, sent an email to apologize for the “unfortunate” mistake and to say school administrators hope recipients will still consider attending Oakland University.

“We know the college application process is an extremely stressful time and we are sorry for the added confusion and disappointment this email has caused,” the email reads. “While we know that this message will not make up for our mistake, we wanted to share our deep regret that this error occurred, and our deep compassion toward all those affected.”

WINTER STORM WATCH: 8-14 INCHES FORECAST FOR SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN THIS WEEK

DETROIT NEWS — Winter storm forecasts that started late last week are becoming clearer, with the National Weather Service putting southeast, central and southwest Michigan under a winter storm watch for significant snow.

“A long duration of light to moderate intensity snowfall (is) expected between Wednesday morning and Thursday evening,” according to the NWS for southeast Michigan. “Snow may become briefly heavy at times. Total snow accumulations of 8 to 14 inches possible.”

The watch includes Sanilac, Shiawassee, Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Livingston, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw, Wayne, Lenawee and Monroe counties in southeast Michigan; Berrien, Cass, Branch and Hillsdale counties in southwest Michigan, with predictions of 6-12 inches of snow, and Clinton, Allegan, Barry, Eaton, Ingham, Van Buren, Kalamazoo, Calhoun and Jackson counties in central Michigan, with predictions of 8-12 inches.

Temperatures early in the week will be relatively mild and the precipitation Tuesday night likely will start as rain. That will change quickly to snow, according to the NWS, and persist for all of Wednesday and for much of Thursday.

“The overall setup really sets the stage for a potentially significant amount of snowfall over roughly a 48 hour period,” the NWS says, adding “at least moderate potential to exceed 8 inches as far north as the I-69 corridor/Sanilac county, with a foot+ certainly in play across southern sections of the watch area.”

After the snow, bitterly cold temperatures are expected.

While all snow is expected in Michigan and in northern Indiana and Ohio, some areas will see a higher potential for freezing rain.

Meteorologists say the exact track of the storm has yet to be determined, but southeast Michigan could see blizzard conditions.

MICHIGAN HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO GIVE OUT FREE KN95 MASKS TO RESIDENTS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The Michigan health department will be giving out 10 million free KN95 masks to residents to help them protect themselves from the coronavirus and the highly transmissible omicron variant.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer made the announcement Thursday, with masks being distributed by community organizations, including state and local health department offices, Area Agency on Aging offices, Community Action Agencies, Federally Qualified Health Centers and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE).

For more information, go to Michigan.gov/MaskUpMichigan.

Some agencies will further distribute masks to local partners, such as homeless shelters, according to the website. Residents are asked to refer to the organizations’ websites or social media sites to find out about mask availability instead of calling.

“We have the tools and we know what works as we face down the omicron variant of COVID-19,” Whitmer said in a news release. “By distributing 10 million highly-effective KN95 masks, we can keep families and communities safe. … Together, we can keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.”

Michigan reported about 13,712 new confirmed coronavirus cases each day Tuesday and Wednesday, according to state data released Wednesday. Hospitalizations are trending down, but there still were 3,859 people — adults and children — hospitalized with confirmed cases of the virus, according to the data. State Health Department Director Elizabeth Hertel said officials are urging residents to protect themselves, their loved ones and their communities.

“Wearing masks are important in helping limit the spread of coronavirus, particularly the easily spread omicron and delta variants. Today’s distribution of KN95 masks will help more Michiganders limit the spread of COVID to save lives and get back to normal sooner,” she said.

The masks are in addition to the 400 million N95 masks that are being given free to adults by the federal government from the National Strategic Stockpile — masks that are or will be available at retailers, such as Meijer, CVS, Walgreens and Kroger. The state said Costco, Rite Aid, Walmart and Sam’s Club also are among the retailers that are to begin free distribution of the N95 masks.

Meijer stores received about 3 million masks, but a store in Roseville had none left Wednesday morning. A CVS store and a Walgreens store, both in Detroit, did not have the free N95 masks yet Thursday.

The federal government also is shipping four free, at-home antigen COVID-19 tests to households that signed up at COVIDtests.gov.

Some of those test kits have already started arriving in mailboxes in Michigan. But a few hiccups have been reported, including people living in apartment buildings having difficulty getting them.

Jeff Zients, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said in a briefing Jan. 21 that “almost every resident in an apartment is able to order a test.” He said the U.S. Postal Service is seeing a “very limited” number of cases where addresses are not registered as multi-unit buildings within its database and it is working to fix that issue or are helping people through the process.

Zients said “we will make sure that those people get tests for free” and said people can fill out a service request on the website or call the hotline on the Postal Service website to get the issue resolved.

For those with questions about eligibility, the online ordering form, shipping, delivery or to file a service request, call the Postal Service help desk at 800-275-8777.

The COVIDtests.gov website has a phone number, 800-232-0233, for those who can’t access the internet to get help from 8 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week, and in more than150 languages.

People with disabilities can place orders by calling 888-677-1199 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday or emailing DIAL@usaginganddisability.org.

Dr. Asha Shajahan, a family medicine doctor with Beaumont Health, said to bring the tests in from the bitter cold and let them sit at room temperature for at least two hours before using them to ensure accuracy.

Dr. Dennis Cunningham, system medical director of infection control and prevention for Henry Ford Health System, said Thursday that at-home tests will work past the expiration date, adding that “it’s safe to say a few months would not make a difference.” He recommends keeping the tests away from direct sunlight or heat. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance on masks Jan. 14, saying loosely woven cloth masks provide the least protection; well-fitting disposable surgical masks and KN95s offer more protection, and well-fitting NIOSH-approved respirators, including N95 masks, offer the highest level of protection.

Masks need to fit closely on the face without any gaps along the edges or around the nose; they need to cover your nose and mouth and be comfortable to wear.

HOUSE FLOATS $185M SPENDING BILL FOR ENTERTAINMENT VENUES, FITNESS CENTERS

DETROIT NEWS — The Michigan House on Thursday voted 96-6 to push through a $184.6 million supplemental spending bill that would benefit convention and visitors bureaus, restaurants and fitness centers forced to shut down during the pandemic.

The supplemental uses federal COVID relief funds to finance a variety of businesses lawmakers argue were hit hardest and stayed closed longest during the pandemic.

“These businesses were prohibited by the government from operating and generating revenue during the pandemic,” said Rep. Thomas Albert, R-Lowell, the bill’s sponsor and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

While the funds largely support businesses, a large chunk of the money would go toward bills passed by the House that would forgive certain licensing fees for occupations stressed or shut down by the pandemic. The bills were passed by the House in June but have yet to pass the Senate.

“This package, and the funding that Rep. Albert’s bill would provide for it, is a chance to right that wrong of asking businesses to pay for the right to operate without actually being given the chance to operate during the 2020 and 2021 shutdown orders,” Rep. Andrew Fink, R-Hillsdale, told the House Appropriations Committee Wednesday.

Several industry groups testified in support of the bill Wednesday, arguing entertainment venues, fitness centers, and convention and visitors bureaus were hardest hit by the pandemic.

Among those testifying was Alyssa Tushman, vice chair for the Michigan Fitness Club Association, who had to close two of her three facilities during the pandemic. The association estimated more than 30% of Michigan gyms and fitness centers closed since the beginning of the pandemic.

“Not only did I lose two (facilities), but I’m being sued by my landlords,” Tushman said Wednesday. “There were no protections in place for commercial tenants while there were for residential tenants. This industry is a mess.”

The bill approved Wednesday would allocate about $30 million to the Michigan Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus to give to individual convention groups, whose budgets largely depend on bed taxes or assessments on hotels — which struggled during the pandemic.

Another $53 million would be distributed to health and fitness industry businesses through the Department of Treasury. The grants would be capped at $250,000 per physical location and equal to the demonstrated financial hardship related to the pandemic.

Another $25 million would benefit “community development financial institutions” to support community revitalization and development. Grants would range from $1 million to $8 million depending on the group’s assets and commitments.

Another $18 million would be given to movie theaters that can show “significant hardship” as a result of COVID-19. Grants would be capped at $15,000 per screen and would need to be used for payroll, rent, mortgage or utilities.

Another $10 million would be awarded to restaurants to aid in the training of servers. The grant would be distributed through the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association.

The bill also allocated $6.5 million to “stages survival grants” for live music, entertainment venues and promoters that experienced “significant financial hardship” because of the pandemic. The grants are capped at $100,000 and must be used to support payroll, rent, mortgages or utility. The fund excludes larger entertainment venues in Detroit.

The supplemental also deposits $42.1 million into the Department of Treasury to pay for fee cuts for certain licensees and businesses under separate House bills that have yet to pass through the Senate. Those proposed cuts include health occupations licensing fees, skilled trades fees, occupational code fees and liquor control commission fees.

WARNING OF POSSIBLE MENINGITIS EXPOSURE ISSUED AFTER ‘POSITIVE’ PERSON ATTENDS FRAT EVENTS AT MICHIGAN, MSU

MLIVE — Health officials have issued an exposure advisory after a person was diagnosed with meningitis days after attending two fraternity-sponsored events at the University of Michigan and Michigan State Universiity.

Washtenaw County Health Department leaders issued the advisory Thursday, Jan. 27 after a confirmed case of meningococcal meningitis was reported to them a day earlier.

Health officials said the person attended an event at the Delta Kappa Epsilon residence at 800 Oxford Road, Ann Arbor, from 10:30 p.m. to midnight on Thursday, Jan. 20.

The person also was in East Lansing on Saturday, Jan. 22 and attended an off-campus ticketed event, hosted by Sigma Beta Rho, at Club Rush, 131 Albert Ave. Health officials did not state an exact time the event occurred.

Any person who attended those events, and during the time the diagnosed person was there, should receive antibiotic treatment to prevent possible disease, according to the health department.

“This is not an outbreak and risk to the larger community remains low, but meningococcal meningitis is a very serious illness,” said Juan Luis Marquez, MD, MPH, medical director with the Washtenaw County Health Department, in a written statement.

“We are working as quickly and collaboratively as possible to provide information and treatment options to anyone with potential and direct exposure to the known case,” he said.

Symptoms of meningococcal meningitis include sudden onset of fever, headache, stiff neck, vomiting, rash or confusion.

Anyone with those symptoms should seek medical help immediately. Health officials say meningitis can be diagnosed and then treated with several antibiotics.

According to the health department, meningitis is spread through contact with an infected person’s oral or nasal secretions, meaning saliva or mucus. Close contacts are those who have been coughed or sneezed on, kissed, shared the same food, eating or drinking utensils or been in a crowded space with poor ventilation with an infected individual.

For University of Michigan students who think they may have been exposed, health officials ask they notify the University Health Service by completing the following online form.

WHITMER: CUT TAXES, BOOST SCHOOLS. MICHIGAN GOP AGREES, BUT DEVIL’S IN DETAILS

BRIDGE MI — Could there be common ground after all between Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Republicans who control the Legislature?

On Wednesday, the Democratic governor used the last State of the State address of her first term to propose tax cuts, investments in mental health initiatives and the biggest school-aid budget in decades.

Despite being at odds with Whitmer over the past three years, Republicans have similar goals for this year. But details may vary significantly — and this is an election-year, which could make progress harder, experts say.

“Thematically, I think there are things that Republicans and Democrats will hear and find common ground,” said David Guenthner, the senior strategist for state affairs of the free market Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Midland.

However, “the details are going to be a bit thorny or a lot thornier to work out,” he said. Hours before Whitmer’s speech, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, outlined priorities for this year that shared similarities to ones by Whitmer, including heavy investment into the state’s mental health system.

But he devoted much of his discussion with reporters to blasting Whitmer as “ineffective” and “tone-deaf” and saying her COVID-19 policies caused “economic turmoil.”

Over the years, though, Whitmer and Republicans have come together to pass major policies, including a 2019 overhaul of the state’s no-fault insurance system that led to $400 per car rebates, as well as $1 billion in state incentives that led to Tuesday’s announcement by General Motors Corp. of $7 billion in electric car investment in Michigan.

“I know at times our nation’s capital feels hopelessly gridlocked, but at our state capitol, Republicans and Democrats have shown we can come together to put Michiganders first,” said Whitmer, who spoke from a Detroit Diesel plant in Redford Township.

For the second straight year, Whitmer’s speech was virtual, a safety precaution due to COVID-19.

Whitmer also used the speech to push for a cap in insulin prices and a $2,500 rebate for electric vehicle sales.

Here are other highlights, including areas where she could find agreement with Republicans:

Agreement No. 1: Cut taxes

Whitmer wants to repeal the “pension tax” — a promise she made while running for governor in 2018. The proposal would do away with former Gov. Rick Snyder’s so-called “retirement tax” that applies a 4.25-percent income tax on pensions depending on when the taxpayer is born.

“If we phase it out over the next few years, we can save half a million households in Michigan an average of $1,000 bucks a year,” Whitmer said Wednesday.

Shirkey, who voted for the pension tax in 2011, told reporters he would only consider the repeal if it affects “all citizens.”

“If what she is proposing will affect all pensioners and all citizens, then I think that’s something that we would be interested (in) looking at,” he said.

Whitmer and Shirkey also agree in principle on plans to increase the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit for low- and moderate-income families. They did not offer details.

More than 738,000 Michiganders received a total of $110.6 million in earned income tax credit during the 2019 tax year, averaging $150 per capita, according to the state Department of Treasury.

Senate Republicans want taxes cut in a different way.

Legislation lowering individual and corporate income tax rates to 3.9 percent advanced Wednesday out of the Senate Finance Committee. The rate is now 4.25 percent for individuals and 6 percent for corporations. The bill — Senate Bill 768 — would also offer a $500 tax credit per child under the age of 19.

A legislative analysis estimates the measure would cost Michigan $1.6 billion in fiscal year 2022 and $2.3 billion per year for the next two fiscal years.

The proposal comes when the state is flush with cash, but much of the revenue is one-time federal stimulus money.

Shirkey said there needs to be more conversations about the bill.

“The worst possible thing to do is to implement a tax cut and then, three years later, we reverse that,” Shirkey said.

Agreement No. 2: Record funding for education

Whitmer and Shirkey both want to see record-high funding in education.

“Soon, I’ll introduce a school aid budget that will mark the biggest state education funding increase in more than 20 years — without raising taxes,” Whitmer pledged Wednesday night.

Michigan ranked 25th in K-12 school spending last year, according to an August 2021 report by the Education Data Initiative. Elementary and secondary schools spent $11,783 per pupil annually.

Both Whitmer and Shirkey said they are committed to policies that keep students in classrooms. Earlier in the pandemic, Whitmer’s administration shut down in-person instruction, but those decisions are now left to school districts.

“In-person learning is critical to social development and mental health,” Whitmer said in her speech. “That’s why we will do everything we can to keep kids in the classroom.”

Educational policies could be crucial in this year’s election, as Republicans nationwide have criticized school closures and mask requirements imposed by Democratic governors.

Agreement No. 3: Invest in mental health

After a Nov. 30 shooting in Oxford High School that killed four students, many lawmakers have talked about the importance of spending on mental health initiatives.

Whitmer proposed a “bold investment” next year to help schools hire over 560 nurses, social workers and counselors. She did not offer specifics.

According to news reports, there are 6,300 licensed school counselors in the state, but only about 2,100 are practicing.

Whitmer also hopes to be able to retain and recruit mental health workers in the state.

Republican lawmakers have expressed intentions to address mental health, but in their own way.

Last year, Shirkey and state Rep. Mary Whiteford, R-Casco Township, introduced legislation that would eliminate the state’s process of contracting with community mental health agencies to provide treatment.

Shirkey suggested the state could tap into the over $7 billion in unspent COVID-19 relief money to invest in mental health services and provider retention and recruitment.

“If this pandemic has not done anything else, it has exacerbated … the need for us upgrading our mental health services,” he said.

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER | OMICRON CASES DOWN IN METRO DETROIT, UP IN MUCH OF MICHIGAN

BRIDGE MI — The omicron variant of COVID-19 is shifting its grip on Michigan, as cases fall in metro Detroit and rise in the southwest, central and northern portions of the state.

Michigan reported 27,423 new infections Wednesday, or 13,712 for each of the last two days. That lowered the average daily count to 14,335 over the past week. Monday’s average was 15,332 daily cases, while it was 17,589 a week ago.

Detroit’s rate is now 99 cases per 100,000 residents over the past week, a drop from 149 per 100,000 a week ago. Counts also are falling in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.

But they are rising in 36 other counties, including Ingham and Saginaw counties and much of the northern Lower Peninsula.

The state also reported 379 additional COVID-19 deaths, 268 of which were determined after a review of medical and health records. Of the total, 327 were in January.

There have now been 1,627 COVID-19 deaths this year, or an average of 62 per day. In December, the state averaged nearly 106 COVID-19 deaths a day.

Hospitals in the state are treating 4,027 confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients, down 225 from Monday and down nearly 1,000 from the Jan. 10 peak of 5,009.

Over the most recent two days of testing data, 28 percent of coronavirus tests came back positive. That’s extremely high, but below Monday’s rate of 29 percent.

CMU TO OFFER FULL-TUITION SCHOLARSHIPS TO STUDENTS WHO WERE MISTAKENLY TOLD THEY WON THEM

DETROIT NEWS — Central Michigan University is upping scholarships for nearly five dozen prospective students after news spread that the school had mistakenly notified them over the weekend that they’d won full-ride scholarships that included room and board, officials confirmed Wednesday.

CMU said 58 prospective students received messages while accessing the university portal informing them that they had won the Centralis Scholars Award, which gives students full tuition, room and board, money toward books and supplies, and a $5,000 “study away award.” Students who receive the scholarship also are able to participate in special honors classes.

But those contacted hadn’t won the prestigious award, the university said in a Wednesday statement. The message, officials said, went out “inadvertently” when university staffers were “testing a new messaging technology over the weekend.”

“CMU sincerely regrets this mistake and understands the disappointment and anger these students and their families must be feeling,” Aaron Mills, university spokesperson, said in the statement. “CMU’s executive director of admissions personally contacted the families of students who were identified as being in the portal during testing on Sunday to apologize for this miscommunication.”

Mills added late Wednesday that the university “will be reaching out to each of the 58 students who saw the congratulatory message regarding the Centralis Scholarship and offering to increase their award amount to the equivalent of a full-tuition scholarship.”

It is not clear how much more money that means for the affected prospective students, but tuition for U.S. residents at CMU is estimated to be about $12,750 a year.

Mills said the university was unable to answer further questions. On the university’s website for the scholarship, the school notes that recipients would be notified on Jan. 21.

The Centralis Scholars Award is considered the premier merit scholarship CMU offers, according to its website. It is only open to students who have a minimum 3.7 GPA and who have already been admitted to the university.

MICHIGAN HOUSE APPROVES HANDS-FREE DRIVING BILLS, BANS SOCIAL MEDIA POSTING AND DRIVING

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The Michigan House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved bills to ban speaking on a cellphone, posting to social media or otherwise using electronic devices that are not hands-free while driving.

All three measures passed with 75-26 margins and come after years of advocacy by those seeking to reduce the potentially deadly consequences of distracted driving.

“These bills together create a law that is enforceable by our police and highway patrol and set the stage for us to change the culture of distracted driving in our state. We’re looking to encourage folks to use hands-free options available to them; for their safety and for the safety of others,” said state Rep, Mari Manoogian, D-Birmingham and a sponsor of one of the bills.

The three-bill package goes beyond cellphones. Currently, texting is banned while driving but there’s no limit on driving and fiddling with your phone for some other purpose. So it can be difficult for law enforcement to discern whether a driver is texting or doing something else.

“It means a driver can still stream Netflix, shop on Amazon, record a TikTok, or take a Zoom call on camera while driving and be compliant with Michigan law. Which, if we’re being honest, makes absolutely no sense to me,” Manoogian said.

For new drivers who haven’t obtained their full driving privileges, the bills ban any use of a cellphone. There also are exceptions for law enforcement, firefighters and others to use their phones, or for any driver to use a phone in the event of an emergency.

A first-time violation could result in a $100 fine or 16 hours of community service. Penalties go up for subsequent infractions, including a possible 90-day license suspension for three violations in a three-year period.

Police would be allowed to pull someone over for the offense, but an alleged violation would not give police the authority to search a vehicle.

Manoogian noted she brought the bill, in part, after advocacy from Steve Kiefer. In 2016, Kiefer’s son Mitchell was killed by a distracted driver.

“I think of it as sort of analogous to drunk driving laws in the 1980s, when stiff penalties and tough enforcement resulted in people not drinking and driving. Today, most young people wouldn’t even think about getting behind the wheel drunk. So we’re hoping that’s the path,” Kiefer told the Free Press on Wednesday before the vote.

The high-ranking executive at GM said since his son’s death, he has dedicated his life to ending distracted driving. Similar laws already are on the books in 24 other states. Kiefer says crashes, deaths and insurance rates all went down once these laws were enforced.

The bills do not prevent most drivers from using their phones in the car. In addition to allowing the use of Bluetooth or some other in-car phone system, the bills do not ban using a phone while a vehicle is parked.

But state Rep. John Reilly, R-Oakland Township, suggested taking away someone’s ability to hold a phone in one hand and drive with the other is akin to removing personal liberty.

“Unfortunately, in our country we have a love affair with safety. Liberty has an element of risk. You can’t have both. So are we conditioning society to think government can fix this by removing liberty? My question would be where does this end?” Reilly said.

That didn’t set well with at least one colleague.

“I get so sick and tired about people talking about liberty,” said Roger Hauck, R-Union Township, noting his mother-in-law was killed by a distracted driver.

“Driving is a privilege…We need to start treating it as a privilege.”

The bills now go to the Senate. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has previously indicadted support, but Kiefer isn’t celebrating yet.

“It’s a small victory. I’m also a bit frustrated, frankly, that something so obvious has taken so long to get this far,” Kiefer said.

“I sit here and think, ‘we’ve been at this for three years. I mean, how many lives could we have saved?’ ”

ACCUSED WHITMER KIDNAP PLOTTERS LOSE BID TO DISMISS CRIMINAL CASE

DETROIT NEWS — A federal judge Tuesday refused to dismiss the indictment against five members of an alleged plot to kidnap and kill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, calling defense claims of entrapment and government overreaching a “heavy burden to carry.”

U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker filed his order less than two months before the five men are scheduled to stand trial on kidnapping conspiracy and weapons of mass destruction charges that could send them to federal prison for up to life.

Accused ringleader Adam Fox, 38, of Potterville and four others needed to show that evidence demonstrates FBI agents and informants induced them to commit crimes. The defendants also needed to show “a patently clear absence” of evidence that they were predisposed to commit the crimes, the judge wrote.

“Defendants fail to carry their burden because the evidence on both issues is decidedly disputed as it almost inevitably is at this stage of the case,” Jonker wrote.

Lawyers for Fox and another accused ringleader, Delaware trucker Barry Croft, 46, could not be reached for comment immediately Tuesday.

A sixth man, Ty Garbin, 26, of Hartland Township, pleaded guilty and is serving a six-year, federal prison sentence.

The judge’s order, six weeks before trial, could prompt additional guilty plea negotiations among prosecutors and lawyers for the five defendants.

“If the defendants were looking for an off ramp, this gives them a green light,” Detroit defense lawyer Bill Swor said. “But this doesn’t mean they can’t raise the same issues in front of a jury. This well could influence the jury.”

According to defense lawyers, FBI agents and federal prosecutors capitalized on discontent with Whitmer’s handling of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, invented a conspiracy and entrapped the five charged in a case that has alleged violent extremism in Michigan.

The original 20-page defense motion, filed Christmas night by all five defense lawyers, asked Jonker to dismiss the conspiracy charge. Doing so would effectively dismantle the government’s case and remaining charges, which are intertwined and based on the conspiracy charge, the lawyers wrote.

The request follows a stream of allegations and developments about the government’s team involved in the case. That included the convictions of former FBI Special Agent Richard Trask, the government’s public face of the investigation who was arrested on a domestic violence charge and later fired and convicted of a misdemeanor; and informant Stephen Robeson, who was dropped by the FBI after being caught illegally possessing a sniper rifle.

Jonker wrote that it is “neither ‘undisputed’ nor ‘patently clear’ that defendants were not predisposed to commit the crimes charged.”

Defendants also need to illustrate government agents induced them to commit crimes in order to win an entrapment defense, the judge wrote.

“… simply setting up a ruse — even an extended one — or running a confidential source, or even proposing a criminal act is not enough,” the judge wrote. “At this pretrial stage, the court concludes the defense has not demonstrated as a matter of law that defendants’ wills were overcome by the actions of the government.”

Defense lawyers have argued government agents initiated the case, knew there was no kidnapping conspiracy and that informants were the “driving force.”

“… informants, of course, not only contacted the defendants face to face but also coaxed, persuaded, cajoled, played on sympathies, cultivated friendships, took advantage of the defendants’ financial conditions, and suggested that the offense they proposed ‘would further a greater good,'” the lawyers wrote in an earlier court filing.

“These defendants had no desire whatsoever to kidnap anyone,” they added.

‘THIS IS THE BIG ONE.’ MICHIGAN CELEBRATES LANDMARK $7B GM INVESTMENT

BRIDGE MI — For once in Lansing, everyone was smiling: Democrats and Republicans, big labor and big business.

They had seven billion reasons to smile.

Michigan spent the last four months accelerating its efforts to land one of the massive automotive manufacturing projects seeking a site in the U.S. By Tuesday, the deal became official: General Motors Company chose Michigan for its largest single investment ever, $7 billion that will be spent in two communities to generate the framework for the company’s future.

The move “will help us make our home state the epicenter of the electric vehicle industry,” GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra said during an announcement in the Senate Hearing Room at the Boji Tower in front of legislators, state officials and GM workers.

It’s accomplishing that goal by building battery production infrastructure just outside of Lansing and adding more EV truck-assembly capacity at its Lake Orion factory, at a scale that forecasts the need between the two sites for up to 4,000 new workers.

And it’s getting help from the state, which approved $666 million in new incentives on Tuesday ahead of the announcement, along with property tax breaks of $158 million.

The battery factory — GM’s third of four planned for Ultium Cells LLS, its alliance with South Korean partner LG Energy Solution — will be built on GM property in Delta Township, west of Lansing, next to its assembly plant there. Costing up to $2.5 billion, the 2.5 million-square-foot battery factory will employ up to 1,700 workers when it opens in 2025.

In Orion Township, about 40 miles north of Detroit, the existing Lake Orion plant will expand by 3 million square feet. The $4 billion effort will allow production of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra EV pickups by the time it opens in 2024, employing about 2,350 new workers.

Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett compared the GM investment to planning efforts in the township that once seemed like it could transform the suburban north Oakland County community.

GM’s plans dwarf what township officials considered in dollars, scale and the potential for hiring.

“This is the big one,” said Barnett. “There will be ripple effects in our community for decades and decades to come.”

Michigan was not GM’s first or second choice for battery plants when Ultium chose Lordstown, Ohio, and Spring Hill, Tennessee. And the state wasn’t Ford’s choice when it turned to Tennessee for its new Blue Oval City, and when it picked Kentucky for battery production earlier this year.

With the GM deal, “we showed everyone that we can compete for transformational projects,” Whitmer said.

Officials at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation told the Michigan Strategic Fund — the public funding arm of the public-private agency — that the financial requests address “the cost disadvantage of locating the project in Michigan when compared to competing sites” located outside of the state, that included “competitive incentive offers.”

The incentive request also was critical for the state to retain jobs as the auto industry shifts to all-electric production. GM, for example, expects to have 30 EVs in its global product lineup by 2025. Establishing the battery plants along with production capacity expansion positions the automaker for more control over the supply chain, which suppressed profits and production as critical components were not available over the last two years.

Labor leaders also cheered the move, with employees “totally elated,” said James Harris, director of United Auto Workers Region 1, representing Lake Orion.

New workers there can expect to earn an average hourly wage of $27, according to the MEDC. New workers in Delta Township will earn an average hourly wage of $22.50.

The MEDC called all of them “pathway jobs,” due to the wages, training capability and benefits.

President Joe Biden noted in a statement that GM’s decision is the latest in over $100 billion of investment this past year in American auto manufacturing to build electric vehicles and batteries. Among the changes are the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which will set up more than 500,000 EV charging stations and create a national charging network as automakers race toward the overall federal goal of 50 percent EV sales by 2030.

GM’s move is a business decision with its battery partner, but the company also seemed to cheer that it has the potential to solidify its future in its home state where its existing workforce has labored through a pandemic while still facing the uncertainties of electrification.

“It’s emotional for me as a Michigander,” said Mark Reuss, GM president. “It’s emotional to see the plants rewarded for all of (their) hard work.”

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER | COVID HOSPITALIZATIONS, CASES DECLINE, INDICATING OMICRON RETREAT

BRIDGE MI — Michigan reported 39,372 new COVID-19 infections Monday, or 13,124 for each of the past three days, pushing the seven-day average to 15,332.

That’s more than 1,800 cases fewer than it was last Friday, while COVID-19 hospitalizations fell as well to 4,252 patients down 225 from Friday and 757 fewer than the Jan. 10 peak of 5,009. The biggest drop was in the six counties of metro Detroit.

Likewise, the percent of coronavirus tests coming back positive fell to 29 percent over the past three days, the first time below 30 percent since it was also 29 percent on Dec. 30.

Metro Detroit continues to see a drop in the infection rate, with Detroit, Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties all experiencing high numbers of cases but far fewer than a week ago. Detroit is now at 105 cases per day per 100,000, down from 149 a week ago and from 223 on Jan. 5.

Cases are still surging, however, in northern Michigan, particularly in Marquette County, which is experiencing 215 cases per day per 100,000, up from 205 last week.

The state reported 36 additional deaths on Monday, 30 of which occurred in January and the rest in December. It’s the fewest reported since 36 were reported Oct. 11.

So far in January, there have been 1,300 COVID-19 deaths; there were 3,245 in December, the third-deadliest month of the pandemic.

FREE N95 MASKS AVAILABLE AT MEIJER STORES

DETROIT FREE PRESS — To help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Meijer stores now have free N95 masks on hand for customers made available through the Biden administration.

Metro Detroit Meijer stores as well as those across the Midwest are participating in the federal free N95 mask program from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Grand Rapids-based chain announced Monday that it is providing free N95 masks to customers who need them. Meijer received about 3 million masks from the program, according to a news release.

The N95 masks will be on a table near the grocery entrance and greeter stand. A Meijer greeter, who will be wearing gloves, will arrange the masks in piles of three for customers to take.

Last week, the Biden administration announced plans to distribute 400 million N95 masks from the National Strategic Stockpile to tens of thousands of local pharmacies and health centers across the country.

Distributing the masks is based on public health officials’ recommendations to upgrade face masks to N95 amid the highly transmissible omicron coronavirus variant. Wearing a mask is a “critical tool to preventing spread of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

OAKLAND CO. DIRECTS $3.2M TOWARD OXFORD SHOOTING PROSECUTION, COUNSELING SERVICES

DETROIT NEWS — The Oakland County Board of Commissioners announced Monday it has appropriated more than $3.2 million to aid in the prosecution of the accused Oxford High School shooter and to supply mental health services for those impacted by the Nov. 30 tragedy.

The funding builds on an initial $5 million reserved by the board immediately following the shooting to support the county’s response. The board resolution approved Thursday provides additional general fund resources, officials noted in a Monday news release.

The board authorized $500,000 to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office toward the prosecution of the case against the accused shooter and his parents. Another $500,000, county officials said, will be directed toward mental health support for students, families, educators and other community members impacted by the tragedy.

“The way we respond to this horrible incident is very important to help not only the residents of Oxford heal, but for all citizens of the county, state and country,” Oakland County Commissioner Michael Spisz, R-Oxford, said in a Monday statement. “We must do our best to make sure we prosecute these evil acts to the fullest extent of the law. This is the time we need more, not less, when it comes to resources.”

The board’s resolution creates positions for two office support clerks, two prosecutor investigators, two paralegals as well as a community liaison, a victim advocate and an assistant prosecutor, all of which will sunset Jan. 31, 2024.

“The urgency for action is now,” added Board Chairman David T. Woodward, D-Royal Oak. “We acted swiftly and proved we are prepared to secure all resources necessary to help the Oxford community, and our entire county, get through this tragedy. Justice will not be delayed, and victims and their families will get the resources they need.”

Ethan Crumbley, a 15-year-old Oxford High School sophomore, is charged with 24 counts, including first-degree murder and terrorism, in connection with the rampage.

Four students were killed and six others and a teacher were wounded.

Crumbley’s parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, are charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter in the incident. Prosecutors said that the Crumbley’s bought their son a handgun for Christmas, and in a meeting with school officials over Ethan’s allegedly disturbing drawings and behavior prior to the shooting, refused to take the teen home, nor did they alert anyone, prosecutors said, to the possibility that he had the weapon in his backpack.

Other funding carved out in Thursday’s resolution include $100,000 to support Oxford organizations and businesses that have provided aid following the shooting and $20,000 for counseling services for members of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.

“We’re very appreciative to the board for recognizing the counseling needs of deputies who went to the high school that day and later on with related incidents,” said Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard. “We are going to continue to assess our mental health needs and other matters going forward. I plan to make sure all first responders — police, fire, whomever — get the counseling or whatever other services they need and deserve.”

Like the prosecutor’s staffing needs, Bouchard said his office is evaluating key positions — from school liaison officers to internet specialists — that are needed to help prevent similar incidents in the future.”

The Board also approved the formation of the Oxford Response Ad Hoc Committee which will continue to monitor the need and release of funds over the coming months.

Woodward will appoint Spisz to lead the committee, the Monday release notes.

“The citizens of Oxford continue to need support with this tragedy, especially when it comes to mental health,” Spisz said. “We at the county want to do our very best to support those in need and these monies can and will help do just that.”

COVID IS HERE TO STAY. BUT COULD OMICRON SHIFT THE PANDEMIC INTO AN ENDEMIC?

MLIVE — There is a sense of cautious optimism within the scientific and medical communities that the more infectious, yet less pathogenic, omicron variant of coronavirus could be what’s needed to move the world out of the pandemic status it’s held for the better part of two years.

Health officials have warned that coronavirus is here to stay at this point. However, there’s hope for a not-too-distant future in which COVID doesn’t flood our hospitals and disrupt our society due to a significant level of immunity.

“I would hope that’s the case, but that would only be the case if we don’t get another variant that eludes the immune response to the prior variant,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, during a Tuesday, Jan. 18, interview on NBC News.

“The answer is we do not know that and I think we have to be openly honest about that,” Fauci said. “I really do think it is an open question as to whether or not omicron will be the live virus vaccination everyone is hoping for because you have such a great deal of variability with new variants emerging.”

Viruses like influenza or those that cause the common cold are endemic, meaning they’re found regularly among the population at a level that’s manageable for the community’s health care system.

At some point, health officials expect coronavirus to join those viruses, but we’re not there yet due to insufficient vaccine uptake and the rapid evolution of the virus into new strains.

“To get to endemic, it has to be fairly mild or that it doesn’t spread as much,” said Dr. Matthew Sims, an infectious disease specialist for Beaumont Health. “The common cold is endemic, everybody gets a cold a year or something like that.”

Each new variant needs a level of competitive advantage over the last in order to spread and take over as the dominant strain.

Doctors say omicron, which has as many as 32 mutations in its genes for the spike protein, spreads more easily than the already-infectious delta strain and has a greater ability to evade prior immunity.

That explains why Michigan is averaging nearly 17,600 new cases per day, more than double the height of the previous surges. The latest variant of concern has been reported in 59 of Michigan’s 83 counties, though sequencing limitations could mean omicron has spread even further than that.

Omicron is also believed to cause less severe illness than the previous variants, though it is still sending patients to the hospital, especially if they have no prior immunity from vaccination or previous infection. Michigan hospitals were treating more than 4,750 COVID patients as of Tuesday, Jan. 18.

“Most experts think this is the beginning of the development of this virus becoming endemic within the population; that the pandemic is getting ready to make a shift from being a worldwide pandemic … to being an endemic virus,” said Dr. Liam Sullivan, an infectious disease specialist at Spectrum Health.

“We’re starting to see a shift to that stage of this infection.”

Sullivan said the conversation around what level of coronavirus we’re willing to live with is beginning to take place locally and nationally. At some point, society will move away from regular case reporting and instead focus solely on hospitalizations and deaths.

“We’re not there quite yet as there’s still value in keeping people aware,” he said. “I think over the next 5-6 months, that will probably become a bigger issue and it’ll become much clearer how we’ll manage this.”

Doctors continue to encourage vaccination, including getting a booster five months after the primary series, as the best means to protect yourself from serious COVID illness. More than 6 million residents have gotten vaccinated, and nearly 2.6 million have gotten a booster.

The state doesn’t have a clear estimate of how many residents have some level of immunity between vaccines and natural immunity. However, officials warn that it’s still not safe to seek out infection as a means of pushing society toward the idea of “herd immunity.”

“We are not going to reach herd immunity during this surge,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Michigan’s acting chief medical executive. “The degree of herd immunity we have, it improves the more people who are immune. So that means, the more people who are vaccinated the safer it is for society, the safer it is for children under the age of five who aren’t eligible for vaccines, the safer it is for those who are immunocompromised.

“This journey to herd immunity, this journey to endemic COVID, it’s much safer if we rely on vaccine-mediated immunity rather than everyone coming down with COVID in January and February of 2022 and putting our healthcare systems at risk.”

Asked if omicron might be the variant that gets us from pandemic to endemic status, Sullivan and Sims agreed it could be a step in that direction. But like Dr. Fauci, they weren’t ready to make any bold predictions.

“COVID has taken people’s predictions and shredded them time and time again, but I think the likelihood that this variant is the one that gets us to being an endemic virus, that sort of gets us out of this emergency state, is probably the case,” Sullivan said.

“Ask me again in March and I might feel a little better about saying that. Who knows how many more curveballs this damn thing is going to throw at us, and it wouldn’t shock me if it does it again.”

To find a vaccine near you, eligible residents can visit Michigan’s COVID-19 vaccine website or go to VaccineFinder.org. Shots are available for individuals 5 years and older through health systems, pharmacies, health departments, physicians offices and other enrolled providers.

OXFORD HIGH STUDENTS TO RETURN TO SCHOOL MONDAY AFTER DEADLY SHOOTING

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Nearly two months after a deadly school shooting left four students dead and seven others wounded, Oxford High School students will return Monday for their first school day at the high school’s campus since the tragedy.

Many students will likely return to campus changed, mentally and some physically, as a result of the Nov. 30 shooting, when a student opened fire in a hallway during the school day. About 1,500 students attend Oxford High, according to state enrollment data.

And they’ll come back to a changed school building. Since December, the campus has undergone multiple renovations to improve the campus after it sustained damage from the shooting.

They will also return to new district-implemented support measures aimed at helping students burdened with the mental toll a shooting takes.

“As a community, we will get through this with love and grace for one another,” Superintendent Tim Throne wrote in a public statement on Jan. 18.

What’s changed?

One of the first changes students are likely to notice: each other’s bags. The Oxford district adopted a clear backpack policy in the wake of the shooting. The backpacks have also been required at the middle school, where high school students have had some in-person classes.

Photos provided by the district of the renovation show large wildcat graphics, the wildcat is the school’s mascot.

Other renovations include adding new paint, wall graphics, ceiling tiles, according to spokesperson Dani Stublensky. Lockers will be adorned with encouraging notes from elementary and middle school students, she wrote.

The school will also have added security.

Law enforcement and personnel from a security firm will be on district campuses as students return.

What are students facing?

The school district is adding therapy dogs to campuses to comfort students as they navigate life after the shooting. Staff members are also now trained in trauma response.

Students also have the opportunity to see mental health providers and multiple professionally trained trauma specialists will remain on campuses, according to Oxford’s website.

The mental supports are all in place to help students cope after the shooting.

According to the National Center for PTSD, 28% of people who have witnessed a mass shooting develop post-traumatic stress disorder. Experts say students need consistency and support after such a tragedy.

The district asked members of the news media to refrain from being on the high school campus Monday as students return. Upon the advice of a trauma specialist, the district is also removing a temporary memorial before students return Monday.

According to Throne, Oxford is planning a permanent memorial to honor the lives of the students who died.

MSU POLICE: BRENDAN SANTO’S BODY ID’D AFTER INVESTIGATOR’S TIP LED TO RECOVERY

DETROIT NEWS — An online petition has been started for more safety measures on Michigan State University’s campus after missing Brendan Santo’s body was found Friday in the Red Cedar River.

A Change.org petition, which has more than 10,200 signatures Sunday night, said there is no fencing along the Red Cedar River and it is “not explorable or walkable by humans or animals” given that it “drops quickly to a steep ravine/river” that is “very dangerous with no danger/warning signs near the opening.”

“MSU needs to put barriers, lighting and signage in place to prevent any further tragedies along the Red Cedar River and the ravine,” the petition said. “Let’s make MSU a safer place in memory of our beloved Brendan Santo.”

Santo’s body was identified by the medical examiner Saturday night, MSU police said, after a private investigator working with Santo’s family alerted them to the body found in the river.

The identification was made based on dental records, said Chris Rozman, an MSU police spokesman, in an email.

The petition went up Saturday on Change.org, the day his body was formally identified.

Police said they had planned to search that area of the river the following week but the tip from private investigator Ryan Robison at about midnight Friday led them to close off the area and begin assembling dive resources within an hour of notification.

The search, which began at first light, resulted in the recovery of a body believed to be that of 18-year-old Santo of Rochester Hills at about 12:30 p.m. Friday in an area of the river near the intersections of Kalamazoo and Clippert streets in Lansing.

Robison has been working with the Santo family and was reviewing underwater video of the area when “he saw something completely submerged in the water at the logjam,” according to the statement from MSU police. Robison told the Santo family, then contacted 911 centers in Ingham and Oakland counties, police said.

A social media post Friday night highlighting Robison’s involvement went viral.

In a statement Saturday, MSU police said it wasn’t their intention to hide Robison’s role in the investigation. The department said it hadn’t named Robison publicly because they weren’t sure if he or the Santo family wanted the information public.

Instead, the department’s press release Friday had said police “worked collaboratively with the Santo family and their supporters” and that their help was “essential” to finding Santo.

“Not only is that statement true, we cannot thank Ryan enough for his relentless efforts,” the department said in a statement. “Ryan shared with responders that morning that he was in awe of the totality of the response on January 21 from divers and rescue teams from multiple departments. We are grateful for the tireless dedication of the Santo family and all of their supporters throughout this investigation.”

Law enforcement had planned to search the area of the river where the body was found the week of Jan. 24, but that timeline was moved up by Robison’s call, MSU police said.

On Friday, Inspector Chris Rozman said the location had been an “area of interest” because there was a “significant log jam.” But authorities needed the proper resources to search the area because of “entanglement hazards and debris.”

MSU arborists on Friday cut a path to the river, where they deployed a boat to search for and eventually retrieve the body. Friday’s search included help from the Michigan State Police Marine Services, Capital Area Dive Team and Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.

The Facebook post noting Robison’s involvement in the search said he had been working on the case for about 15 days and had worked to chop ice and place cameras in the area of the logjam for several days.

The investigation into Santo’s disappearance remains active, but police do not believe Santo intended to harm himself or that there was foul play involved.

Santo was among thousands who went to East Lansing on Oct. 29 ahead of a rivalry football game between Michigan State University and the University of Michigan.

The Grand Valley State University student vanished shortly before the game, and family, friends, volunteers and law enforcement have been searching for him in the 80 days since.

Searches started within a day after Santo left Yakeley Hall, on the northern edge of campus near Michigan Avenue, where police say the teen was last spotted walking away shortly before midnight.

He had driven his truck to campus and planned to stay with friends in the complex of residence halls known as the Brody neighborhood, a nearly 15-minute walk west, his family has said.

Wearing a black baseball cap, black T-shirt, gray sweatpants and white Converse high-tops, Santo wore a gold cross necklace and had an iPhone in hand.

Investigators learned the device had zero power, relatives have said, and was last pinpointed on Beal Street, south of Yakeley Hall.

MSU President Samuel Stanley previously confirmed the security camera at the entrance of Yakeley Hall was not operational on the night Santo was last seen.

In an email Friday to the Spartan community, Stanley and Marlon Lynch, vice president for public safety and chief of police, said they were saddened to share that the body believed to be that of Santo was recovered from the river.

The discovery, they noted, comes after more than two months of “extensive searching” using countless resources and support from nearly every corner of the state and country.

“We continue to believe there was no foul play involved and that Brendan did not intend to harm himself. There also is no threat to the safety and security of our campus,” the email reads.

MICHIGAN CONTACT TRACING SLOWS DOWN: ‘FOLKS NEED TO JUST ASSUME THEY’VE BEEN EXPOSED’

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Coronavirus contact tracing has all but stopped for the vast majority of Michigan residents amid the worst yet pandemic surge.

That means no one is likely to tell you if you were exposed to someone who has tested positive for the virus, unless the person who’s infected picks up the phone to let you know.

“We really wish we could contact everybody, but there always has been a plan that there’s going to come a point where we’re really going to need folks to take on personal responsibility as this shifts from a pandemic to something that’s endemic, something that we’re going to have to live with,” said Nick Derusha, health officer of the Luce, Mackinac, Alger and Schoolcraft District Health Department and president of the Michigan Association for Local Public Health.

“Local public health is not going to be calling every case or calling every contact and folks are going to have to really understand the things that they’re going to need to do in order to protect themselves, protect their families and their communities.”

Instead, local health departments are prioritizing COVID-19 outbreak investigations and contact tracing for people who live in nursing homes or other long-term care facilities, shelters, group homes, prisons and jails and those who attend schools or live in dormitories.

“This redirection of public health resources to a focus on outbreak venues and clusters position limited resources to have the greatest impact,” said Lynn Sutfin, a spokesperson for the state health department.

It’s part of a shift in the strategy for handling the pandemic as thousands of new cases are reported daily, and the capacity to conduct contact tracing shrinks along with the people’s willingness to cooperate.

On Wednesday, the seven-day average of new daily cases broke a pandemic high of 17,589 in Michigan. There simply are not enough local health department workers to conduct contact tracing for each person who’s newly infected.

“In times of high community spread, … in indoor places where there will be people for any extended period of time without masks on — restaurants, bars, really in any crowded public settings — folks need to just assume they’ve been exposed,” Derusha said.

A new report from the state health department shows that of more than 362,000 cases of the virus reported since December, just 4.4% — or about 15,900 infected people — provided the names of close contacts to health officials.

And of those who did, only 26.7% — or roughly 4,250 people — were successfully reached and told that they had been exposed to the virus.

“We continue to experience high numbers of individuals who do not respond when attempts are made by public health to contact them,” Sutfin said.

Those who have been reached haven’t always been kind or helpful, Derusha said. Often, contact tracers are met with anger and frustration. That was especially true during the fall delta variant surge.

“A lot of people that would yell or scream at us simply don’t answer the phone,” anymore, Derusha said. “They don’t pick up. They don’t talk to us. They don’t tell us their contacts. They just ignore us.”

To avoid that but still get the message out, Derusha said, “a lot of local public health departments … have moved to automated systems, where we can send out text messages. Folks can reply to surveys via text, and they can respond that way. So it’s not a phone call every time.”

Now that local health departments have such limited capacity to contact people who’ve been exposed, Derusha said it’s important that Michiganders follow the guidelines to slow the spread of the virus, such as:

Wearing a high-quality mask when indoor, public places
Avoiding large gatherings
Getting vaccinated and boosted when eligible
Getting tested if symptoms appear
Following isolation and quarantine recommendations
Calling close contacts if you test positive to tell them they’ve been exposed.

A close contact exposure is defined as anyone who’s been within 6 feet of an infected person for 15 minutes or more from two days prior to symptom onset or a positive test, according to the state health department.

“It is important that persons that test positive for COVID-19 isolate and let their close contacts know they may have been exposed,” Sutfin said. “If persons have been exposed, they should quarantine or watch for symptoms (depending on vaccination and recent COVID-positive status) and take other recommended steps, even if they don’t receive a call from the health department.”

People can call the state’s COVID-19 hotline at 888-535-6136 to discuss a coronavirus test result or get information on isolation/quarantine or go online to https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus and click on “CONTAIN COVID” at the top of the page.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer asked the state health department Thursday to ship out every coronavirus test kit the state has available to schools and other priority groups such as nursing homes, correctional facilities, first responders and local health departments to try to slow the spread of the virus.

That means 200,000 tests could be distributed immediately, with another 100,000 shipped out later this week.

More than a million free tests will be distributed to Michiganders this month, the state health department reported — the largest monthly allocation to date, and comes as the federal government also pledged to deliver up to four free tests to every household in the country who signs up though https://www.covidtests.gov.

“Antigen and over-the-counter tests allow Michiganders to very quickly determine if they are positive for the virus and take actions to isolate and seek treatment if needed,” said Elizabeth Hertel, director of the state health department, in a statement.

Also Thursday, the state health department issued an epidemic order requiring all Michigan nursing homes offer on-site COVID-19 vaccines to residents who are not up to date.

While it doesn’t mandate that residents must take vaccines, it does require all nursing homes in the state to have on-site vaccinations available within 30 days.

“With the omicron variant rapidly spreading across our state and cases of COVID-19 continuing to remain high, we want to make sure our most vulnerable Michiganders are protected from the virus,” Hertel said.

HOW MANY COVID CASES ARE IN MICHIGAN SCHOOLS? STATE HAS NO IDEA ANYMORE

BRIDGE MI — The onslaught of the omicron variant of COVID-19 is crumbling Michigan’s system for reporting outbreaks in schools, making it difficult for parents to know how widespread the virus is in classrooms.

Some districts have told parents to work under the assumption that there could be COVID present in all schools and classrooms.

Earlier this month, the state advised local health departments they no longer had to do broad contact tracing, which many departments had already abandoned anyway. Without contact tracing to allow districts to identify students and staff to test and quarantine, local health departments are unable to supply data to the state for weekly reports tallying school outbreaks.

Those reports, which health officials say were always an undercount of total COVID cases among students and staff, are now even less accurate.

Elizabeth Hertel, director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, acknowledged the stress on parents.

“With the number of cases and contacts that we have, we just do not have the human resources across the state to do all of that contact tracing,” Hertel told Bridge Michigan on Wednesday.

That worries Nicole Kessler, a parent of a fifth-grader in Birmingham Public Schools in Oakland County. She fears low outbreak numbers will feed “a narrative that there is no spread in the schools,” when, she said she believes, “that’s not the case.”

“As a parent, it (misleadingly low school outbreak data) gives us a false sense of security as to what is actually happening in our schools,” Kessler said. “We don’t know then if the spread is happening in the school environment or from the community.”

This week, COVID cases hit another high, as the state reported an average of 17,589 cases for the past seven days. By comparison, average daily cases had dipped to under 200 last summer.

Local health officials “are doing everything they can” to track COVID, Hertel said.

But nearly two years into the pandemic and as the highly contagious omicron variant races across the state, it’s increasingly up to individuals to help control spread — to self-test, alert close contacts after a positive test and isolate and quarantine when recommended, she and other health officials have said.

Local health departments, too, would like to continue contact tracing, but “what is ideal and what is realistic — that’s where we’re hitting the rub now,” said Norm Hess, director of the Michigan Association of Local Public Health, which represents the state’s 45 local health departments.

“The system is overrun,” agreed Keith Smith, superintendent of Kingsley Area Schools in northwest Michigan.

Can’t keep up

Robert McCann, executive director of the K-12 Alliance of Michigan, a school advocacy organization, said without more staff in schools and local health departments, reporting can’t keep up with the case surge.

“Nearly everybody is an exposure risk at this point,” McCann said. “It’s very complicated to expect schools to be able to (contact trace) now.

Hazel Park superintendent Kruppe said she’s not sure children are hurt by the end of contact tracing in schools.

“Most of what we heard (from students who tested positive) was ‘My grandma had it’ or ‘My little brother had it,” she said. “I think it (COVID spread) is mostly in the community.”

Earlier in the pandemic, before omicron, research found that in-person learning didn’t contribute to the spread of the virus. Since omicron, though, research is evolving.

Children are less likely to suffer serious illness from COVID, but there are now 127 children hospitalized statewide with the virus, the most of the pandemic.

Children can be exposed to COVID just about any time and anywhere, acknowledged Erin Stepek, regional group leader of the Michigan Parents Alliance, which has advocated for universal masking in the state’s schools.

Still, she’s “grateful” that her children’s school district, Wayland Union Schools, in Allegan County, continues to contact trace, even if it doesn’t mandate masks.

“We need to not assume that a sniffy nose is just a sniffy nose,” she said.

Her children are vaccinated and wear masks, while some of their classmates do not, she said. Notifications of positive cases may prompt parents to reconsider their decisions to allow their children to go unmasked or to send them to school when they’re sick.

“More notice is always a good thing. There’s no downside to it,” Stepek said.

GOV. WHITMER PLANS TO SURGE 300,000 COVID TEST KITS TO SCHOOLS, PRIORITY GROUPS

DETROIT NEWS — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced plans Thursday to surge 300,000 COVID-19 test kits to schools, long-term care facilities, jails and homeless shelters.

The governor asked the state Department of Health and Human Services to begin distributing more than 200,000 test kits to schools and other priority groups with another 100,000 kits slated to go out later this week, according to the governor’s office.

Whitmer wants to “get every test kit the state has available out to ensure availability of testing for the state’s most vulnerable residents” amid a spike in infections and hospitalizations tied to the contagious omicron variant, a press release said.

“The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services will deliver hundreds of thousands of tests to Michiganders in schools, nursing homes, correctional facilities and to our first responders and local health departments,” Whitmer said. “I applaud their efforts, and I encourage Michiganders to get their vaccine and booster shots, which remain the best way to keep yourself and your family safe.”

Demand for COVID-19 tests has jumped over the last month as the omicron variant has led to a record numbers of new cases in Michigan. Over the seven-day period ending Wednesday, the state reported 123,123 new infections, up 8% over the total from the previous week.

As of Wednesday, there were 4,567 individuals hospitalized with confirmed cases of the virus, down from 4,696 on Friday, Jan. 17.

The public can locate COVID-19 testing sites through an online search tool.

Last week, Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Michigan’s chief medical executive, citing modeling from academic institutions and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, predicted the state’s current surge will peak between late January and early February. Michiganians face a choice, she said.

“Do we want to work on bringing that peak down or do we just want to let this omicron surge explode?” she asked.

MICHIGAN ADDS 86,009 CASES, 501 DEATHS FROM COVID-19 OVER 5 DAYS

DETROIT NEWS — Michigan on Wednesday added 86,009 COVID-19 cases and 501 deaths from the virus, including cases from Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

The state averaged 17,202 confirmed cases per day over the five days. Of the latest deaths reported, 346 were identified during a delayed records review, according to the state health department. The additions bring the state overall totals to 1,832,716 confirmed cases and 28,980 deaths since March 2020.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday recorded 4,453 adults and 114 pediatric patients are hospitalized with confirmed infections in the state. About 83% of the state’s inpatient hospital beds are occupied.

Adult hospitalizations are nearing records set on Jan. 10 when the inpatient tally of 4,580 adults broke a previous record set on Dec. 13, when the state health department reported 4,518 adults were hospitalized with confirmed virus infections. Earlier this month, the state set a new high mark when it reported more than 20,000 cases per day.

Michigan’s top health officials have described the state’s COVID-19 situation as “critical,” and urged vaccinations and boosters and masking as a fourth surge of the virus has driven up hospitalizations.

About 25% of hospital beds were filled with COVID-19 patients as of Wednesday and there were an average of 2,457 emergency room visits related to COVID-19 per day in the state.

According to the state’s modeling projections, cases are showing a sharp increase compared to last year, hospitalizations are higher than last year, and deaths are similar to last year.

During a press update Wednesday, Henry Ford Health System officials said they’re hopeful in a slight decrease of COVID-19 hospitalizations this week and a slight decrease in staff vacancies. Based on recent data from most Michigan health systems, the state health department found that in 2021, 88% of COVID-19 patients hospitalized were unvaccinated and 85% of COVID-related deaths were occurring in unvaccinated individuals.

Hospital systems are warning of a “breaking point” amid the surge, and federal medical teams are assisting at Beaumont’s Dearborn location, Henry Ford Wyandotte, Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Covenant HealthCare in Saginaw and Mercy Health Muskegon.

The current surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations could send an “already stressed” health care system “over the edge,” Michigan’s top health officials said last week.

“This surge is not like the others,” Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, the state’s chief medical executive, told reporters last week. “This is the highest number of weekly cases that we’ve ever had.”

Omicron variant driving rise in cases

In Michigan, variants of the virus are moving at a high rate, proving more contagious and infecting both unvaccinated and vaccinated residents.

Medical officials are recommending residents wear surgical or KN-95 masks as the omicron variant has been shown to linger on cloth masks.

The state, as of Friday, has confirmed 840 cases of omicron by genetic sequencing at the Michigan Bureau of Laboratories in Lansing. The majority are in southeast Michigan. But experts say that a greater number of people are likely infected because only a small percentage of samples of the virus are sequenced. Roughly 95% of cases of COVID-19 in the country are caused by the omicron variant, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For subscribers: When medical experts think omicron will peak in Michigan

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services issued an advisory in November recommending people wear masks at indoor gatherings regardless of their vaccination status. It remains in effect until further notice.

Michigan’s latest data

Michigan remains at a high transmission rate and the state’s percent of tests returning positive has increased over the last three weeks. Illinois and Michigan have the highest case rates in Midwest; New York City and Rhode Island have the highest case rates in U.S.

About 35% of K-12 school districts have mandatory mask policies in the state covering 55% of students.

There have been 208 cases of a rare inflammatory condition formed in children from the COVID-19 virus where multiple organ systems become inflamed or dysfunctional. Of the cases, 147 – or 70% – were admitted to the intensive care units and there have been five deaths.

About 64.1%, or 6.4 million, residents have received their first doses of a vaccine, as of Monday, and 57% are fully vaccinated. So far, more than 196,000 children ages 5 to 11 in Michigan, or 23%, have received their first dose of the vaccine.

More than 2.5 million vaccine booster doses have been administered in Michigan.

Approximately 2% of those fully vaccinated have been reported with a breakthrough infection, according to the state health department.

The state considered 1,342,025 people recovered from the virus as of Jan. 7.

STUDY SHOWS MICHIGAN’S ECONOMY STILL STRUGGLES TO COMPETE WITH OTHER STATES

BRIDGE MI — Michigan remains in the bottom half of states when it comes to economic growth despite 12 years of gains since the Great Recession, according to a study released Thursday by a nonprofit statewide business advocacy group.

The next five years will be pivotal for Michigan as it tries to improve — and attract jobs, raise education levels and increase personal income, says the top executive of Business Leaders for Michigan.

“We’ve got a lot of headwinds facing us,” CEO Jeff Donofrio told Bridge Michigan.

Among the disruptions, he said, is the automotive industry’s accelerated shift to electric vehicles, which will affect at least 160,000 workers in Michigan. Among them are 46,000 who work directly on the internal combustion engines whose production manufacturers expect to cut by half by 2030.

Labor force participation also is a challenge. Michigan had 191,000 fewer people in the workforce of 4.758 million in November 2021 compared to two years earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. About 59.5 percent of the adults in the state hold a job or are looking for one, compared to 61.9 percent nationwide.

In addition, Donofrio said, at least 100,000 residents are preparing to leave the workforce over the next 10 years due to retirement.

That, combined with pandemic declines in workers due to retirement, child care struggles and other COVID-related issues, should keep policymakers’ attention on labor and workforce development, Donofrio said.

“If we can find ways to remove barriers to work, … (and) get to the average of where the U.S. is with labor force participation, we’d have another 250,000 workers in Michigan’s labor force,” he said. “That’s a significant jump.”

The annual benchmarking report by BLM put Michigan at 29th among the 50 states for economic growth, a ranking that Donofrio called “middle of the pack” after comparing it to its initial position of 49 in 2010. The goal remains to get Michigan into the top 10.

This year’s annual study added four metrics. In addition to traditional business climate measures like GDP, or gross domestic product, BLM added labor force participation, net migration, the number of people in poverty and business creation. Combined, they show how Michigan residents are faring instead of solely measuring the state’s economy.

Ranked from highest to lowest, Michigan’s scores in the data comparison with other states 2022 show:

Business climate perception, 15th
Net talent migration, 19th
Net business creation, 20th
Poverty, 34th
Median household income, 35th
Educational attainment, 35th
GDP per capita, 36th
Labor force participation, 41st.

In the past three years, Michigan has improved in business climate perception, poverty —which changed largely due to federal pandemic stimulus payments — and educational attainment.

But the state lost ground over the same period in GDP per capita, median household income and labor force participation. Michigan’s ranks for talent migration and business creation over three years were flat.

According to this year’s BLM benchmarks, the top 10 states are Utah, Washington, Colorado, Texas, Massachusetts, Virginia, California, Oregon, Florida and Arizona.

“These are the states that give us a window of what Michigan needs to do,” Donofrio said.

Michigan is making strides in perception of its business climate, Donofrio said, in large part to the $1 billion SOAR fund approved by the Legislature in December.

That money will fund incentives for businesses considering expansion into the state, as well pay for site readiness efforts when property owners — either public or private — invest in infrastructure ahead of a contract by a company to build.

The fund also dovetails with one of BLM’s recommendations for the state: Investing in long-term economic development strategies.

In another recent survey, Michigan’s business climate tied for 12th in a ranking from Site Selection magazine. In that survey, workforce skills was named as the most important metric, which is in line with BLM’s second recommendation: that the state focus on developing talent, ranging from improving K-12 education to increasing growth in higher education degrees and credentials.

One program already underway is the MI-Reconnect program, which had 90,000 people ages 25-plus sign up for free community college.

“We actually have a large pool of individuals … who are in jobs that, frankly, are underpaying them,” Donofrio said. “(Some of our needs will be met) if we can move them along a career pathway.”

OXFORD HIGH SCHOOL MEMORIAL TO BE REMOVED AHEAD OF STUDENTS’ RETURN TO CAMPUS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — A memorial created for the victims of the Oxford High School shooting on the school grounds will be removed before the first day students return to the campus on Monday.

Oxford Community Schools superintendent Tim Throne said the memorial will be removed to further students’ “healing process” in the Wednesday announcement.

“The temporary memorial that has been created by our community played a beautiful role in honoring and remembering our lost Wildcats and provided a place for our community to grieve,” Throne said. “As our high school welcomes students back to the building on Monday, trauma specialist Dr. Henry, along with those from other schools that have gone through similar situations, have advised us that the temporary memorial should not be there when our students return to campus.”

Families of the victims will be able to take home any items from the memorial, and anything not kept by the families will be stored for potential future use.

Throne noted the memorial has been professionally 3D scanned.

“We will soon begin to plan for a permanent memorial to honor the beautiful lives that have been lost,” he said. “This will be a long and well thought out process. It will first begin with consulting the families of the victims and discussing their wishes. Then, a committee of students, staff, and parents will be created to begin this planning.”

The memorial will be removed Sunday, so anyone who wants to visit one last time is encouraged to do so through Saturday.

WEBSITE FOR FREE COVID-19 TESTS IS HERE. HOW DOES IT WORK?

ASSOCIATED PRESS VIA DETROIT NEWS — Under criticism after weeks of shortages, President Joe Biden’s administration is working to make COVID-19 rapid test kits more available and accessible to Americans by boosting supply and lowering costs.

A new federal website to request free test kits officially launches Wednesday – but was available to use Tuesday – with the first shipments going out to Americans by the end of the month. In addition, most Americans are now able to get reimbursed for tests that they purchase.

Key details about the new programs:

How you can order free COVID-19 tests

Free tests can be ordered at covidtests.gov or at usps.com/covidtest.

The first tests will ship by the end of January. The White House says “tests will typically ship within 7-12 days of ordering” through the U.S. Postal Service. USPS reports shipping times of 1-3 days for its first-class package service in the continental United States. Shipments to Alaska, Hawaii, Army Post Office (APO), Fleet Post Office (FPO) and Diplomatic Post Office (DPO) addresses will be sent through Priority Mail.

Importantly, given the shipping and process times, Americans will need to request the tests well before they meet federal guidelines for requiring a test.

Does the website work?

The White House emphasized that the website was in “beta testing” when it made tests available for ordering for the first time on Tuesday. At points, more than 750,000 people were accessing the website at the same time, according to public government tracking data, but it was not immediately known how many orders were placed.

There were isolated reports Tuesday afternoon of issues relating to the website’s address verification tool erroneously enforcing the four-per-household cap on apartment buildings and other multi-unit dwellings, but it was not immediately clear how widespread the issue was.

When should I test?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends at-home testing when people experience COVID-19 systems including fever, cough, sore throat, respiratory symptoms and muscle aches; five days after a potential COVID-19 exposure; or as part of test-to-stay protocols in schools and workplaces.

Omicron variant: How it differs from a cold or the flu

How many tests can I order from the website?

The White House says that “to promote broad access,” shipments from covidtests.gov will initially be limited to four rapid tests per residential address, no matter the number of occupants.

Is there another way to get a test kit for free?

Starting on Jan. 15, private insurers have been required to cover the cost of up to eight at-home rapid tests per month per insured person, under a new Biden administration rule.

People have the option of buying tests at a store or online, then seeking reimbursement from their health insurance provider. Insurers are being incentivized to work with pharmacies and retailers to develop plans to cover the cost of the tests with no out-of-pocket cost to customers, but those programs will not be immediately widespread.

Those with public health insurance through Medicare, or without insurance, are being directed to covidtests.gov to order tests or to community health centers in their area offering free testing.

How will I be reimbursed?

The Biden administration says the procedures will differ from insurer to insurer, and it is encouraging Americans to save receipts from rapid test purchases for later reimbursement and to reach out to their insurance providers for information.

Critically, the requirement only covers purchases on or after Jan. 15. Insurers are not expected to retroactively reimburse the cost of tests purchased earlier.

What are other testing options?

The Biden administration is emphasizing that the website is just one tool for Americans to access COVID-19 testing. Millions of free tests are available at participating pharmacy locations, community health centers and Federal Emergency Management Agency-backed sites in some parts of the country experiencing a surge in cases.

Which home test will I get?

That will vary. The federal government has secured more than 420 million tests for distribution through covidtests.gov already, with plans to increase the order to 1 billion tests in the coming weeks. All of the tests supplied will be authorized by the Food and Drug Administration and are capable of detecting the more-transmissible omicron variant of COVID-19, which is the dominant strain in the U.S. While they are packaged differently and may use slightly different procedures, officials said, the test mechanisms of detection and effectiveness are generally the same. All tests will come with detailed instructions.

Why is Biden buying these test kits?

It represents an acknowledgement by the president that the administration needs to do more to increase access to COVID-19 testing, which is an important tool to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

In cases where infected people show symptoms or not, testing is the only way to find out if they have the virus so they can avoid being out and about and potentially spreading disease.

Demand for test kits soared as the holidays neared and people grew eager to test themselves and their families before traveling and as the omicron variant spread rapidly in just a few weeks to become the dominant strain in the U.S.

Biden’s promise of 1 billion test kits is in addition to the administration’s earlier pledge to send 50 million rapid tests to community health centers across the country.

How much will the program cost?

The White House estimates the cost of purchasing and distributing the first 500 million tests at about $4 billion. That will be paid for with money from the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill Biden signed into law in March.

Will the government program make it harder for me to find a test at the drugstore?

White House officials say the covidtests.gov tests are coming from new manufacturing capacity and should not interfere with existing supplies that drugstores, health clinics and state governments are relying on.

MICHIGAN’S DANA NESSEL: I MAY CHARGE FAKE GOP ELECTORS IF FEDS DON’T

BRIDGE MI — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said Tuesday her office has enough evidence to bring charges against 16 Republicans who submitted a certificate falsely claiming Donald Trump had won Michigan’s electors in 2020.

But the first-term Democrat told reporters her office referred the case Thursday to the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Andrew B. Birge because federal officials are “better suited” to prosecute.

“It is our hope that the Department of Justice will pursue this because we think it’s really the best venue for it from a jurisdictional standpoint,” Nessel said. “We think it’s important because it allows for the federal authorities to determine if there … was a multi-state conspiracy.” At the core of the issue is a document signed on Dec. 14, 2020, by Republicans who falsely claimed they were “the duly elected and qualified electors” of Michigan after meeting at the state Capitol that day to perform “the duties enjoined upon us.”

According to documents obtained by Politico, among the GOP signees are Meshawn Maddock, who is now co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party; Kathy Berden, a National Republican Committee member from Michigan; and Stanley Grot, a Shelby Township trustee and former secretary of state candidate. Maddock wasn’t party co-chair when she signed the certificate.

Even though President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris won Michigan by 154,188 votes in 2020, the officials signed affidavits claiming that Trump and then-Vice President Mike Pence carried the state.

The certificate was transmitted by Berden to the president of the U.S. Senate and other officials in an effort to thwart Biden’s victory, Nessel said.

“Obviously, this is part of a much bigger conspiracy” to “overthrow the U.S. government,” Nessel said Thursday on The Rachel Maddow Show.

Fake electors in at least five other states— Arizona, Georgia, New Mexico, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin— also tried to submit false certificates with the same font and language.

Records obtained by DC-based advocacy nonprofit American Oversight, the certificates of the seven states followed a similar template.

A spokesperson for the Michigan Republican Party didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment from Bridge. The Detroit News quoted a party spokesperson as saying Nessel is “playing political games with people’s lives and livelihoods for the sake of scoring political points ahead of an election.”

Grot and Berden didn’t immediately respond to separate requests for comment.

Nessel added her office might still move forward with bringing charges later if the federal government doesn’t prosecute. She mentioned the possibility of charges such as forgery of a public record and election law forgery, which could carry prison sentences of up to 14 years in prison.

FINAL OXFORD SHOOTING SURVIVOR RETURNS HOME TO CONTINUE RECOVERY

DETROIT NEWS — Kylie Ossege, the longest hospitalized victim in the Nov. 30 Oxford High School shooting, has been back home for the past week, her family said.

Ossege’s family provided an update Sunday on her GoFundMe page, which has raised about $139,000 of the $150,000 it seeks to aid in her recovery. Ossege, 17, was shot in the chest.

“After one week at home, we are adjusting,” the Jan. 16 update reads. “Kylie began outpatient physical and occupational therapy. The therapists have welcomed her and have been so kind. We are seeking to establish our new routine.

“Despite the cold,” the page adds, on Saturday Kylie “felt able to make the trip to the farm to see Blaze,” a horse.

“We were so touched that the trees along the drive into the ranch were decorated in Oxford colors, as well as Kylie’s locker,” the update reads. “Blaze was excited to see her. It was so great to spend some time with him! Afterward, she said, “That was amazing, the BEST therapy!”The update contains three pictures. One shows a masked Ossege in the hospital, with medical personnel on either side. Another shows her smiling as she stands in front of the blue and yellow bows at the farm, Oxford High colors. The third shows her smiling alongside Blaze. Ossege’s family reported in early December that she had moved from the intensive care unit at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital-Oakland to a standard room where she was to remain for up to six more weeks.

Ossege is one of seven survivors of the shooting.

Classmates Hana St. Juliana, 14, Tate Myre, 16, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 17, were killed.

Oxford High School sophomore Ethan Crumbley, 15, faces 24 charges in the shooting, including terrorism causing death and premeditated murder. His parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, face four counts each of involuntary manslaughter.

All three are at Oakland County Jail as their cases proceed.

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER | COVID CASES, EXPOSURES CANCEL MICHIGAN HOUSE VOTES THIS WEEK

BRIDGE MI — The Michigan House will not vote this week because of widespread COVID-19 cases and exposure to the virus among staffers and lawmakers, House Speaker Jason Wentworth, R-Farwell, announced Monday.

In a statement, Wentworth said House committees will still meet at the discretion of the chair. The Legislature is due back this week from holiday break.

“Nobody wants to see COVID get in the way of normal business and delay work on issues that are important to Michigan families,” Wentworth said in a statement. “However, we have nothing on the agenda this week that must be done immediately, and the votes can be rescheduled for next week.”

Last week, Michigan saw the highest daily count of COVID-19 cases in a week, with 18,557 new cases a day. Since the omicron variant was detected in the state, the daily count has more than doubled.

Wentworth said the House will follow the “most updated recommendations” moving forward.

A spokesperson for the Senate majority leader told Bridge Michigan the Senate plans to be in session to vote as scheduled.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, meanwhile, did not release its regular COVID case counts and hospitalization updates due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

U-M INVESTIGATING WHETHER SCHLISSEL MISUSED UNIVERSITY FUNDS IN SUPPORT OF RELATIONSHIP

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The University of Michigan is investigating whether former President Mark Schlissel misused university funds in support of his relationship with a female employee, two sources with knowledge of the investigation told the Free Press on Sunday night.

The look into how money was spent is part of an ongoing review of Schlissel and his conduct, first prompted by an anonymous tip that reached the Board of Regents in December. The school’s board fired Schlissel on Saturday night for violating the university’s supervisor relationship policy.

It was unclear what funds the investigators might be examining. The sources requested anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.

New York law firm Jenner & Block is continuing the investigation, U-M spokesman Rick Fitzgerald confirmed to the Free Press. He did not answer questions about the scope of the work.

Schlissel has been unable to be reached for comment by the Free Press.

He made $927,000 a year.

The university posted its contract with the law firm on its website Sunday. It was signed on Dec. 23, although the university began working with the law firm as soon as the university received a tip that Schlissel was involved with a female university employee on Dec. 8.

“After an investigation, we learned that Dr. Schlissel, over a period of years, used his university email account to communicate with that subordinate in a manner inconsistent with the dignity and reputation of the university,” the board said in an announcement of Schlissel’s firing.

The law firm charges the university per hour. The firm’s standard rate was $1,100 in 2021 and $1,250 in 2022, but is giving a 15% discount to the school. No timeline has been given for wrapping up the investigation.

According to emails posted by the university Saturday night in a stated spirit of transparency, Schlissel wrote to the female employee regularly and in familiar tones, including in October 2019 when he emailed about receiving a box of knishes. The woman said in reply that she liked the doughy snack food. Schlissel replied again: Can I “lure you to visit with the promise of a knish?”

The decision to fire him was made behind closed doors Saturday morning, without a public vote. It was effective immediately.

AIRLINES URGE US REGULATORS TO DELAY 5G WIRELESS ROLLOUT

BLOOMBERG NEWS VIA DETROIT NEWS — A trade association representing major U.S. airlines asked Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and the nation’s top communications and aviation regulators to prevent wireless carriers from implementing 5G services close to airports.

Airlines for America warned in a letter Monday that the traveling and shipping public could see “catastrophic disruptions” if the new C-band frequencies were put into service within two miles of where aircraft fly. The association said it was willing to work with the government and carriers to find a mutually agreeable solution.

Wireless carriers including AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. reached an agreement with federal regulators earlier this month to launch the new service on Jan. 19. Airlines are worried the signals could interfere with instruments that measure an aircraft’s altitude.

The Federal Aviation Administration granted approvals Sunday that will allow some jetliners to operate within zones where new 5G wireless services are being used, significantly reducing the potential impact on flight schedules. The decision permits landings during low visibility at as many as 48 of the 88 U.S. airports with equipment for such arrivals, the FAA said.

Two Congressman – Peter DeFazio, chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Rick Larsen, chair of the Subcommittee on Aviation – also Monday urged regulators to delay the implementation.

“We must provide the FAA and aviation industry with more time to thoroughly assess the risks of deployment in order to avoid potentially disastrous disruptions to our national airspace system,” the two Democrats wrote in a letter.

Reuters reported earlier Monday on the letter from Airlines for America, which represents carriers including American Airlines Group Inc. and United Airlines Holdings Inc., as well as cargo operators such as FedEx Corp.

HIGH COURT BLOCKS COVID VACCINE MANDATE FOR BUSINESS, ALLOWS IN HEALTHCARE

BRIDGE MI — The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday blocked the Biden administration’s federal vaccine-or-get-tested mandate for large employers, saying it was an overreach to target workplaces where COVID-19 is not an “occupational hazard.”

If upheld, the mandate would have impacted an estimated two million Michigan workers and 84 million people across the country. Some Michigan business leaders expressed their relief after the decision.

“We strongly support the United States Supreme Court’s decision to block the federal vaccine or test mandate,” said Wendy Block, vice president of government affairs for the Michigan Chamber and spokesperson for the Listen to MI Business Coalition, which had urged Biden to reverse the mandate before it headed into the courts.

“The court fully acknowledged the sweeping and disruptive nature of OSHA’s vaccine mandate and the numerous complexities associated with its implementation,” Block said. “We will continue to encourage vaccines and the necessity of maintaining thoughtful safety protocols in the workplace.”

In a separate ruling, the Supreme Court narrowly backed a Biden vaccinate-or-test rule for health workers at medical facilities that accept Medicare or Medicaid payments.

The large-employers mandate — announced in September by President Joe Biden — drew challenges from across the country as business groups and some workers resisted the order, which was to take effect this past Monday, with enforcement to begin in February.

Biden and health officials had said the mandate was necessary to stem the spread of COVID-19. Over recent weeks, both the state and nation are recording record levels of the omicron-fueled virus, noting that unvaccinated people are most at risk for hospitalization and death.

Employers of 100 or more people were told to mandate COVID-19 vaccines or have the workers undergo weekly medical testing at their own expense, according to rules on the mandate released by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Fines ranging from $13,653 to $136,532 were set for violations.

Challenges filed from across the country said the rules were an overreach for the department that regulates workplace safety, and that the mandate represented executive overreach without the proper approval needed from Congress.

In a 6-3 split decision on the employer mandate, the nation’s highest court agreed. The court’s three liberal justices dissented.

OSHA is empowered “to set workplace safety standards, not broad public health measures,” the Supreme Court majority said in its ruling.

“Although COVID– 19 is a risk that occurs in many workplaces, it is not an occupational hazard in most,” according to the opinion. “COVID–19 can and does spread at home, in schools, during sporting events, and everywhere else that people gather.

That means the risk “is no different from the day-to-day dangers that all face from crime, air pollution, or any number of communicable diseases. Permitting OSHA to regulate the hazards of daily life — simply because most Americans have jobs and face those same risks while on the clock — would significantly expand OSHA’s regulatory authority without clear congressional authorization.”

Among the reasons, it added, were that all types of jobs were treated the same under the OSHA mandate, including those that faced less risk from the virus.

“The regulation … operates as a blunt instrument,” according to the ruling. “It draws no distinctions based on industry or risk of exposure.”

Some Michigan business leaders applauded the move. Many — already in the midst of a labor shortage — had feared the mandate would cause some of their workers who resisted becoming vaccinated against COVID to quit.

Brian Calley, president and CEO of the Small Business Association of Michigan, said he welcomed the decision.

“This is going to be a big help in terms of creating certainty and avoiding the types of workforce challenges we were concerned about,” Calley said Thursday during a Facebook live event.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, had recently called the business mandate “a problem” for Michigan businesses, while fellow Democrat Attorney General Dana Nessel backed the mandate.

In the separate 5-4 ruling allowing the vaccine mandate at hospitals and other healthcare facilities that accept Medicare and Medicaid payments, the court said the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was within its authority to set the requirements, since “vaccination requirements are a common feature of the provision of healthcare in America:”

“(H)ealthcare facilities that wish to participate in Medicare and Medicaid have always been obligated to satisfy a host of conditions that address the safe and effective provision of healthcare,” the court wrote.

The rule applies to staff, contractors and volunteers. It took effect on December 6.

MICHIGAN SET TO RECEIVE $563M IN FEDERAL AID FOR BRIDGE REPAIRS, REPLACEMENTS

DETROIT NEWS — Michigan is set to receive $563.1 million over five years for bridge repairs and replacement under the bipartisan infrastructure package, the White House said.

The funding comes from a bipartisan infrastructure bill that Congress passed last year, with the bridge program now being launched by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The White House said the program, overseen by the Federal Highway Administration, will be the largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the interstate highway system.

It will send $26.5 billion to states over the five years of the law, including $5.3 billion for the current fiscal year or $112.6 million for Michigan this year.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, applauded the funding, calling it a “game-changer” and saying it would “transform how Michiganders get around the state and strengthen the safety of our bridges for future generations.”

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, noted the United States ranks 13th in the world in infrastructure quality, “which is what makes this federal investment essential.”

“The bipartisan infrastructure law will bolster our economy by rebuilding roads and bridges that are in desperate need of repair and create good-paying jobs along the way,” Peters said in a statement.

Congress cleared the bipartisan infrastructure package in November. Under the bill, Michigan was estimated to receive at least $8 billion in federal funding over five years for highway and bridge projects, including $7.3 billion from federal highway programs, according to estimates by the White House based on transportation funding formulas.

The state may also compete for additional funding from the package’s $12.5 billion program for economically significant bridges and roughly $16 billion intended for major projects with economic benefits for communities.

Michigan is expected to receive an additional $1 billion over five years to improve public transit options under the measure.

GOP ATTEMPT TO AWARD MICH. ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES TO TRUMP REFERRED TO FEDS, NESSEL SAYS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a television interview Thursday her office has referred the submission of a false slate of presidential electors from Michigan Republicans for the 2020 presidential election to federal prosecutors.

Nessel made the comments Thursday during an interview with MSBNC’s Rachel Maddow.

As Michigan’s presidential electors convened on Dec. 14, 2020, to cast their votes for Joe Biden, a group of Republicans signed on to their own certificate that attempted to award the state’s 16 Electoral College votes to Donald Trump.

The document, shared with the U.S. House committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol last year, was obtained by POLITICO. Law enforcement denied access to the group of Republicans who tried to deliver their own electoral votes to the Capitol in Lansing that day, incorrectly arguing they were the state’s presidential electors.

Biden won Michigan by more than 154,000 votes. Election audits have affirmed Biden’s victory in the state and courts rejected allegations of widespread fraud as based on conspiracy and conjecture.

Nessel told Maddow that her office has been evaluating charges for almost a year but decided Thursday to refer the matter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan. “We think this is a matter that is best investigated and potentially prosecuted by the feds,” Nessel said.

The signatories of the failed attempt to award Michigan’s Electoral College votes to Trump include Michigan GOP co-chair Meshawn Maddock, national Republican commtiteewoman Kathy Berden and Michigan GOP grassroots vice chair Marian Sheridan, among other pro-Trump activists in the party.

The decision does not preclude possible charges against the Republicans who falsely claimed that they cast Michigan’s Electoral College votes for Trump, Nessel said. And her office might still bring charges, she added. “…under state law, I think clearly you have forgery of a public record, which is a 14- year offense and election law forgery, which is a five year offense,” Nessel said.

“But obviously this is part of a much bigger conspiracy and our hope is that the federal authorities and the Department of Justice and United States Attorney General Merrick Garland will take this in coordination with all the other information they’ve received and make an evaluation as to what charges these individuals might make,” she said.

Federal charges could include forgery of a public record for purpose of defrauding the U.S. or conspiracy to commit an offense to defraud the U.S., Nessel told Maddow.

MICHIGAN HOSPITALS FACE WORST BLOOD SUPPLY SHORTAGE IN A DECADE

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Michigan hospitals are in dire need of blood.

“I’ve been a doctor over 20 years, and this is the worst that I’ve ever seen in terms of the blood supply,” said Dr. Craig Fletcher, who runs the blood bank at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak.

And it’s not just in Michigan — the American Red Cross said Tuesday there is a “national blood crisis.”

This means that doctors are forced to make nearly impossible decisions, limit nonessential procedures and prioritize the most urgent and critical operations.

Hospitals have to keep some blood supply on reserve for when trauma patients show up, Fletcher said, because those surgeries often can’t wait.

Beaumont is one of 85 hospitals around the state that primarily receives blood from Versiti, a blood bank. Beaumont Royal Oak also gets smaller amounts from the American Red Cross and shipped from other states.

“As far as Versiti is concerned, this is the lowest the blood supply has been in a decade for our organization, and for many others, as well,” said Versiti spokesperson Kristin Paltzer. “Blood is needed for cancer patients, for patients that are dealing with sickle cell anemia, for mothers and babies that need transfusions before, during and after childbirth. So there’s a lot of reasons why people would need blood and without it, that can be a really dangerous time.”

The shortage began when the pandemic first hit in March 2020 and lockdown commenced. Since then, blood supply levels have ebbed and flowed but remained low. Pre-pandemic, mobile donation centers visited schools, businesses, and churches for the majority of their collections. That’s harder to do amid the pandemic, Paltzer said.

“(The COVID-19 pandemic) coupled with the recent tragedies throughout the Midwest, and then the loss of appointments during the holiday season because people get busy, they travel, they’re celebrating,” Paltzer said. “People are also getting sick from COVID and they can’t come in and donate, it’s kind of magnified the challenge, and it’s essentially a perfect storm.”

Paltzer said, in order to support all of its Michigan hospitals, it needs about 3,000 donors a week.

At Beaumont Royal Oak’s blood bank, Fletcher said they’re “critically low” on blood supply, especially Type O blood.

“We like to usually keep about a five- to six-day supply on hand, and currently we are in about a one-day supply,” Fletcher said. “So, we’re very low and we’re relying on our suppliers to get us blood on a daily basis to kind of just keep up, we’re just trying to keep up at this point.”

Fletcher urged everyone who can to donate — each donation can save up to three lives.

“Get out and donate, that’s the best thing to help our patients, our cancer patients our surgical patients, our pediatric patients that require blood transfusions, get out there and donate even if you’ve never done it before,” Fletcher said. “The whole process only takes about an hour. I’m a regular blood donor, and it’s a very easy process, a very safe process. … It’s just critical that people get out either Versiti.org or through the American Red Cross, whichever one suits them to get out there. You can really make a difference and save people’s lives through just a donation just a little bit of your time.”

Find a donor center near you:

Versiti: https://donate.michigan.versiti.org/donor/schedules/zip
The American Red Cross: https://www.redcross.org/give-blood.html

MICHIGAN AUDIT TO SHOW ‘NEARLY 30%’ MORE COVID DEATHS TIED TO LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES

DETROIT NEWS — A much-anticipated state investigation will report the number of COVID-19 deaths linked to long-term care facilities in Michigan is “nearly 30%” above what state officials previously tallied, according to two state officials who’ve reviewed the audit.

In a letter revealed Wednesday, Elizabeth Hertel, director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, criticized the findings ahead of their formal release by the Michigan Office of the Auditor General, which are due out Monday. Hertel questioned the methods used by the office to arrive at its conclusions, which have not been reviewed in detail yet by The Detroit News.

State departments almost never issue a rebuttal to a Michigan auditor general report before it’s released. Hertel said almost half of the difference between the state health department’s tracking and the audit’s was attributed to the inclusion of facilities that are not subject to state reporting requirements. The director also said the Auditor General’s Office had included individuals who resided at non-reporting facilities on shared campuses with a facility required to report its COVID-19 deaths.

“I fear that your letter will be misinterpreted to question the work and integrity of long-term care facilities, local health departments, coroners and other frontline workers who we rely on to report data,” Hertel wrote in her Sunday letter to Doug Ringler, Michigan’s auditor general.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Michigan’s health department has tracked 28,228 deaths linked to COVID-19. According to its current state data, 6,309 deaths, or 22% of the state’s total, have been tied to long-term care facilities. While the report itself won’t be revealed until Monday, the early release of Wednesday’s letter by the Department of Health and Human Services was a sign of the attention the findings will likely receive.

Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s handling of nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a key point of disagreement with GOP lawmakers, and legislators have been working to investigate the data at the center of the debate.

House Oversight Chairman Steve Johnson, R-Wayland, confirmed the 30% finding in a Wednesday evening interview.”The 30% number is accurate, and it’s incredibly troubling,” Johnson said of the Auditor General’s finding.

The decision of Whitmer’s administration to care for patients with COVID-19 in long-term care facilities was “disastrous,” Johnson said. GOP lawmakers pushed for wholly separate facilities that Whitmer’s team resisted, questioning the feasibility of the idea.

Skilled nursing facilities, or nursing homes, are one type of long-term care facility in Michigan. There are about 447 of them. Other types of long-term care facilities are adult foster care facilities and homes for the aged. Johnson has said there are many long-term care facilities that didn’t have to report their COVID-19 statistics to the state, including thousands of small adult foster care facilities.

The Auditor General’s report will indicate the state health department tracked the COVID-19 deaths generally accurately under the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

The CDC defines a long-term care facility COVID-19 death as a resident who died from COVID-19-related complications, including deaths in the facilities and at other locations where the resident was transferred.

Hertel’s letter asserted the upcoming Auditor General report included long-term care residents who were hospitalized for a non-COVID-19 reason, such as a fall, and then subsequently acquired COVID-19.

“The data table in section 2 is misleading and appears to suggest that there was a nearly 30% underreporting, when almost half of this difference can be attributed to facilities not subject to reporting requirements,” Hertel’s letter said.

Members of Whitmer’s administration have argued the upcoming report attempts to compare apples to oranges.

Kelly Miller, state relations officer for the Auditor General, declined to respond to Hertel on Wednesday. The office on Wednesday released its findings to Johnson, who requested the report, Miller said. “We will post it to our website on Monday, and we are not releasing any details at this time,” Miller said.

Johnson requested the Office of Auditor General undertake a “comprehensive study of reported and unreported deaths in long-term care facilities” in June following questions over the reliability of the state’s data.

The state Department of Health and Human Services created controversial regional hubs in April 2020 to help care for nursing home residents with COVID-19. The hubs were existing nursing homes that were supposed to have the isolated space, equipment and personnel to help elderly individuals with the virus who were being discharged from hospitals or resided in other facilities that couldn’t properly handle them.

But Republican lawmakers repeatedly called for the creation of entirely separate facilities to care for those with COVID-19 to stem its spread among a vulnerable population. Nearly half of the nursing homes that Michigan initially selected to serve as regional hubs to care for elderly individuals with COVID-19 had below-average quality ratings from the federal government.

In addition, some nursing homes struggled to implement isolation and safety protocols to contain the virus.

MICHIGAN TROOPERS VOW REFORMS AFTER STUDY FINDS RACIAL DISPARITIES IN STOPS

BRIDGE MI — The Michigan State Police’s director vowed immediate reforms Wednesday after a report found that troopers were more likely to stop, search and arrest African-American drivers than whites.

State Police Director Col. Joseph Gasper said all troopers will have body cameras by the end of the year, and the agency will undergo a thorough review of practices to try and end “the clear and consistent evidence that racial and ethnic disparities” occur in traffic stops.

“Michiganders deserve unbiased policing, transparency and accountability from their state police, and that’s what they’re going to get,” Gasper said during a Wednesday media event outlining the problems and the agency’s proposed solutions. Complaints by the American Civil Liberties Union prompted the agency to track the race and ethnicity of drivers. After disparities appeared, the state police hired Michigan State University researchers to analyze 2020 traffic stop data.

That initial review found that 21 percent of all stops in 2020 involved African Americans, who make up less than 14 percent of the state population.

MSU researchers, led by Scott Wolfe, an associate professor in the school of criminal justice, dove deeper into the data for the latest report, comparing stops to census and crash data and analyzing night and day traffic stops.

By all comparisons, African Americans were disproportionately stopped in most regions of the state and were more likely to be searched and arrested, according to the report.

But in some measures, such as comparing stops to the race or ethnicity of those in car crashes — an indicator of who is on the roadways — the disparities are far more narrow.

The disparities also were not uniform: In some areas, like the Thumb, African-Americans drivers are far more likely to be pulled over, but there is almost no such difference in places like the Upper Peninsula, where there are few Black residents or motorists.

Although Hispanics were less likely to be stopped than whites, they were more likely to be searched and arrested, according to the study.

Wolfe’s study did not conclude whether there was any intentional discrimination.

“This report and its findings speak only to the extent of racial or ethnic disparity in MSP’s traffic stops,” Wolfe said Wednesday.

“At the same time, the data do show a meaningful level disparity. That deserves more attention.”

Minorities in Michigan and the country have complained for years that police have targeted people of color for traffic stops. The ACLU had asked the state police to begin tracking racial data in 2017. That data led to the study released Wednesday.

Wolfe’s study also shows that African Americans get searched and arrested at higher rates.

Both white and African Americans get a warning about 73 percent of the time.

But African Americans were searched in 12 percent of the stops, compared to 4 percent for whites, and Blacks were arrested 13 percent of the time, compared to 5 percent for whites.

Hispanic motorists were also more likely to be searched (7 percent of stops) and arrested (10 percent of stops).

The Rev. Wendell Anthony of Detroit, a member of the national board of the NAACP, commended the agency for its transparency — and called it to root out officers who discriminate.

“We know not all state troopers are guilty of these actions but too many of them are,” Anthony said during the press event Wednesday. “And so, we simply say that having responsibility with no accountability is an exercise in futility … and there must be accountability for officers who are guilty of misusing their trust and violating their oath and disregarding the professional ethos of the Michigan State (Police).”

Gasper announced five immediate changes:

Adding body cameras to all 1,600 troopers. He said the department currently has 250 of them.
Hiring an independent consultant to review the agency’s policies and making recommendations on changes to address racial disparities.
Engaging with residents and community leaders statewide about racial problems and solutions.
Creating a “professional development bureau” within the state police to provide additional education for trainees and troopers, particularly about cultural and racial issues.
Providing troopers with data about traffic stops so they are aware of patterns so they “can learn about and adjust their actions.”

“Today, armed with new awareness about our traffic stop activity, we’re taking another step toward transparency for the communities we serve,” he said. “We will fix this together.”

Mark Fancher, an attorney for the ACLU who filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the state police in 2021, applauded the agency’s efforts. But he said it needs to go further and study troopers themselves to find out why the disparities exist.

He said officers may be pulling over certain types of cars because they believe criminals are driving, or because they have to make a certain number of stops in order to get positive performance reviews.

But he said the agency won’t know why the disparities exist unless it “gets into the heads of the troopers and sees what the culture is.”

“We welcome not only their movement in the right direction but also their transparency,” Fancher told Bridge Michigan. “We just encourage them to stay on the path and go all the way to the end of it.”

WORST YET TO COME WITH OMICRON IN MICHIGAN, OFFICIALS WARN

BRIDGE MI — COVID-19 hospitalizations could rise 60 percent in the next few weeks, further pressuring hospitals already at a breaking point amid the omicron wave, the state’s chief medical executive said Tuesday.

Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian said models predict as many as 8,000 COVID-19 patients could be hospitalized by late January or early February, well above the 5,000 now being treated.

“This is a very dangerous time for us and this is not what we want to see with cases exploding the way they are,” she said. The prediction is among the more pessimistic — but not the most pessimistic — of models crafted by teams of researchers from around the country, including Johns Hopkins University, the University of Virginia and the University of Southern California.

While those models are predictions, hospital officials across Michigan are sounding alarms about what’s happening now.

More patients are showing up every day with COVID-19, affecting hospitals’ ability to help all patients — at the same time hundreds of staff members are also contracting COVID-19.

“It’s the sheer number of people infected with omicron that is overwhelming our resources,” Dr. Marschall Runge, dean of the University of Michigan Health System, told reporters Tuesday.

Already, the U-M Health System has canceled 250 surgeries, discontinued accepting transfers of critically ill patients and instituted a two-week pause on visitors.

Since Jan. 1, over 700 U-M Health staffers have tested positive, said Dr. David Miller, president of U-M Health. The system employs 30,000, including 5,220 nurses, to provide care for 1,100 licensed beds.

“This staffing shortage is the most serious we have ever seen,” Runge said.

High case rates likely to climb higher

Though evidence is growing that the omicron variant of COVID-19 is causing less severe illness, the state is experiencing unprecedentedly high case rates.

Before the current surge, the state’s highest rate of cases was about 80 cases per day per 100,000 people.

On Monday it hit 161 cases per 100,000 people. If other states’ experience is a guide, the rate will soon top 200 cases per 100,000; because so far, omicron is concentrated in metro Detroit and only detected in about half of Michigan counties.

Bagdasarian and others said they believe models that forecast Michigan’s current cases will nearly double from 112,500 in the past week.

She and other health care officials continue to urge people to get vaccinated and boosted, to wear quality masks in public indoors and avoid large gatherings.

“When we look at our most pessimistic model, we’re looking at about 200,000 cases per week in Michigan. And in fact, the most pessimistic model does seem to be the most accurate,” she said Tuesday in a briefing with reporters from across the state.

Data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that a quarter of Michigan hospitals have staff shortage. Statewide, 28 percent of all hospital patients are COVID-19 positive, as of Tuesday.

Officials for the state’s largest health system, Beaumont Health, said last week that it was “at a breaking point,” reporting that its numbers of patients with COVID had shot up 40 percent in a single week.

The system asked its doctors to cancel non urgent surgeries, especially those that required overnight stays.

Cancer-treating and other time-sensitive surgeries went ahead as planned, but “if there’s a total knee replacement that can wait, then we’ll wait,” said Dr. Jeffrey Fischgrund, Beaumont’s chief clinical officer.

Not all COVID-19 patients know it

Bagdarasian and others have acknowledged that not every COVID-19 positive patient is in the hospital because of the virus.

Many patients are showing up for surgery or treatment and are testing positive, unaware that they have it. Fischgrund said one of his fellow surgeons at Beaumont last week had four surgeries scheduled for the day to mend broken bones; three of the four patients tested positive for COVID before surgery.

Even if they’re not being treated for COVID illness, a COVID positive patient requires a private room, more staff, and more personal protective equipment, he said. For surgeries, operating rooms must be left empty a full hour before a cleaning crew enters.

U-M’s Miller said 8 percent of patients coming in for other procedures or treatment have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Case rates have jumped the highest among those in their 20s and 30s, also the two age groups with the lowest vaccination rates. Although many people who are fully vaccinated are getting infected by the omicron variant, hospital officials reiterated that the most seriously ill have been the unvaccinated. Of 128 current COVID-19 positive patients in U-M’s hospitals, officials said 38 percent were fully vaccinated. But just 21 percent of the ICU COVID-19 patients were fully vaccinated and 25 percent of those on ventilators.

Omicron may cause a bigger problem for hospitals serving Detroit, which has one of the highest case rates and lowest vaccination rates.

Currently nearly 200 people per day per 100,000 are coming down with COVID-19 in Detroit, where 78 percent of the population is African American.

Statewide, African Americans are now contracting COVID-19 at rates more than double white Michigan residents, reversing a trend that had seen African Americans have a lower rate for over a year. African Americans are now getting infected at a rate of 1,003 per 1 million people per week, compared to 382 per 1 million people for white residents.

Although the estimates are low because the race of 11 percent of the vaccinated are unknown, an estimated 37.6 percent of African Americans are fully vaccinated, compared to 51.6 percent of whites.

OAKLAND COUNTY SHERIFF MICHAEL BOUCHARD TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard announced Tuesday that he tested positive for the coronavirus and will be working remotely.

Bouchard, a Republican who won a sixth term in office in November 2020, is fully vaccinated and has received a booster shot.

He said he is experiencing a headache, congestion, exhaustion and other aches with the virus.

“Even though I choose to be fully vaccinated and received the booster shot, the omicron variant was still able to catch up with me,” he said in a release.

“I had assumed it was not a question of whether it caught up to me given the duties of a first responder, but when. Per our protocols I will be in quarantine, but I will continue to work remotely.”

The virus is in its fourth surge in Michigan, with health officials saying it is fueled by the highly-transmissible omicron variant. The surge is bearing down on the state, driving up cases and hospitalizations and breaking record after record in its wake.

Models suggest the surge could peak in late January or early February.

Health officials are urging residents age 5 and older to get vaccinated against the virus or boosted, to wear better masks — such as KN95s — in indoor settings, to social distance and to wash hands.

On Monday, the state health department confirmed 617 cases of omicron in Michigan through genetic sequencing, including 93 cases in Oakland County. More than half of the cases statewide are in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties and the city of Detroit.

But that is estimated to be only a small fraction of the total number of cases of the virus strain in the state.

In November 2020, Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham said he tested positive for COVID-19 and reported having mild symptoms. A month later, Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon died after a month-long battle with the virus. He was 65. The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said in the release that it has been hit hard by COVID-19, with more than 170 of its 1,400 employees off work because they have the virus or were exposed to it.

Earlier in the pandemic, Bouchard ordered regular testing for employees, regardless of vaccination status, to keep workers and the public protected.

OXFORD STUDENTS RETURN TO CLASS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE MASS SHOOTING

DETROIT NEWS — Under the cover of darkness and single-digit cold, Oxford High School students returned to classes at the district’s middle school on Tuesday.

Both parents and a phalanx of buses dropped off the students who were greeted by what appeared to be school officials. There was a presence, too, of Oakland County sheriff’s deputies on hand to supervise.

Some students wore lettered school jackets inside; another wore a shirt that read, “Everything about us is tough” on the back.

There were two entrances students used to enter the building for the half-day of sessions.

It was the first day back for students after a Nov. 30 shooting at the high school. Four students were killed, and six students and a teacher were injured.

Later Tuesday morning, Denise Aldred-Nahass was waiting to pick up her granddaughter, who is a freshman at Oxford High School. She said she was eager to learn about her spirits.

“I think it was good that they started out at the middle school,” she said. “Get used to school slowly.”

Nahass said her granddaughter didn’t want to stay the whole school day, “so I’m picking her up early. I applaud her for that.”

“I’m sure she was anxious,” Nahass added. “It’s just very sad. It makes us all down. And I just can’t believe it (the shooting) can happen in little Oxford. You don’t think it can happen until it happens in your town.”

Oxford school officials reported an 88% attendance rate for high school students.

“It was absolutely electric in the hallways. It was amazing,” said Jill Lemond, assistant superintendent of student services.

For two weeks, through Jan. 21, Oxford High, Oxford Middle School and Bridges, its alternative high school, will be on “alternative hybrid schedules” at the middle school building, Superintendent Tim Throne has said. High School students will also have half-days at the middle school on Thursday and Jan. 18 and Jan. 20. On those days, middle school students will attend classes remotely, as they did Tuesday.

Renovations to the high school are expected to be completed the week of Jan. 17 and the building is expected to reopen during the week of Jan. 24.

“We hope this slow transition together at OMS will help in the healing process and ease our high school students back in a familiar academic setting,” the district said in a statement about returning to classroom instruction.

On Thursday, Oxford school officials reported an 88% attendance rate for high school students.

“It was absolutely electric in the hallways. It was amazing,” said Jill Lemond, assistant superintendent of student services.

Ethan Crumbley, 15, who was a sophomore at the high school, faces murder and terrorism charges in connection with the incident. His parents, James and Jennifer, each face four charges of involuntary manslaughter in connection to the shootings.

Last week, Ethan Crumbley waived hearings in his case and will proceed to trial. His parents on Friday lost their bid to have bond lowered. They face a preliminary examination next month.

MICHIGAN SHORTENS QUARANTINE, ISOLATION TIME GUIDANCE FOR K-12 SCHOOLS

DETROIT NEWS — The state of Michigan issued new guidance Monday that will shorten quarantine and isolation periods for many students, faculty and staff.

The guidance, issued by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Monday, brings Michigan schools closer in line with recommendations by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which have shortened most isolation and quarantine recommendations from 10 days to five.

Before Monday’s guidance was issued, Michigan schools operated under recommendations that required unvaccinated students exposed to a nearby COVID-positive student to either “test to stay” or quarantine seven to 10 days, depending on the circumstances. People displaying COVID-19 symptoms were required to isolate and test with return dates determined by local health departments.

Monday’s guidance would give shorter timelines for those activities.

“We always advocate for preventative measures that keep our children safe,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive for the state health department. “Children of school age — ages 5 and up — are now eligible to get vaccinated, and children ages 12 and up are eligible to get boosted. In addition to masking and testing, we feel confident that schools can remain as safe as possible for our children.”

The CDC in late December cut isolation restrictions for COVID-positive individuals whose symptoms improved or who showed no symptoms from 10 to five days and made similar decreases to quarantine time. The state said shortly afterward that it would evaluate the federal guidance to determine what changes would be made to Michigan K-12 guidelines.

The new guidance issued Monday by the state allows teachers, students and staff who develop COVID symptoms or test positive for the virus to isolate at home for five days and, if symptoms have improved, to return to school while wearing a well-fitted mask for days six through 10.

The guidance eliminates quarantine for those exposed to a COVID-positive individual if the exposed person had COVID-19 within the last 90 days or if they are up to date on all COVID vaccines. Those individuals should monitor for symptoms and wear a mask to school for 10 days after exposure, according to the state health department.

People exposed to COVID who have not had a recent case or are not fully vaccinated should quarantine for five days and wear a mask for days six through 10. Or those individuals can “test to stay” for days one through six and mask up for the full 10 days.

If at any point during quarantine, an individual develops symptoms that person should test and isolate pending the results of the test. Individuals who do not develop symptoms post-exposure should get tested at least five days after exposure.

Anyone unwilling to wear a mask should quarantine or isolate at home for the full 10 days.

The state’s announcement came as the state set a record for the highest number of adult patients hospitalized with COVID-19 — 4,581 — since the pandemic began.

As of Monday, 108 hospitalized children had confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases.

Michigan on Monday added 44,524 confirmed cases of COVID-19 over three days, a continued influx in confirmed cases believed to be driven by the highly contagious omicron variant.

OUTDOOR TENT SERVES AS WAITING ROOM AT MERCY HEALTH MUSKEGON DURING COVID-19 SURGE

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Mercy Health Muskegon is using a climate-controlled tent outside the west Michigan hospital’s emergency department to serve as a waiting room because of high patient volumes during the coronavirus surge.

The tent outside the building was set up Dec. 4 in case it would be needed and was first put into use Thursday when the hospital was about 99% capacity, Dr. Justin Grill, chief medical officer, said Monday.

He said the nurse-staffed tent will act as a waiting room space so the current emergency department waiting room can be converted into clinical space to care for patients.

“The tent will only be in operation during times of highest volumes, and will not be used overnight,” Grill said. The hospital was at 97% occupancy Monday, he said, with the intensive care unit at 140% capacity. There are 67 patients who are positive with COVID-19, 21 of whom are at ICU status.

“We cannot provide the exact numbers on vaccination status at this time, but we can share that most of our current COVID (positive) inpatients — around 70-80% — are unvaccinated,” he said. “All COVID positive patients currently on ventilators are unvaccinated, with the exception of one who has not had all recommended doses.”

Grill said the hospital also is seeing a lot of non-urgent or non-emergent care in the emergency department, as well as people seeking a COVID-19 test.

He, like other health care officials in Michigan, urge people to call their primary care physician or use urgent care for medical concerns and the emergency department for emergent medical needs during this surge.

Grill said Mercy Health Muskegon received an emergency Certificate of Need on Dec. 7 to add temporary hospital beds in existing space to treat patients.

An emergency department conference room was converted into temporary clinical space, he said. Some private patient rooms were turned into semi-private rooms to accommodate the current volume of inpatients.

Hospital officials throughout Michigan are bracing for an influx of patients at the same time they are dealing with thousands of their own workers off the job because they tested positive for COVID-19 or were exposed to it.

Hospitals also are postponing some elective procedures in this surge, fueled by the highly transmissible omicron variant. On Monday, the state set a new pandemic record for the number of people hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19.

There were 4,674 people, including 94 children, hospitalized with confirmed cases of the virus in Michigan hospitals, according to state health department data. The previous record was 4,566 on Dec. 13.

Beaumont Health said it is treating 857 COVID-19 patients at its eight hospitals, the highest since the pandemic began.

Michigan averaged about 14,841 new cases of coronavirus each of the last three days, according to state data.

WILL OMICRON CHANGE RETURN TO THE OFFICE PLANS FOR MICHIGAN BUSINESSES?

MLIVE — Will Omicron be the final nail in the coffin for a full return to office? Michigan businesses aren’t ready to hammer in that decision but the new variant is front of mind for HR directors crafting 2022 workplace policies.

Offices will once again reassess and adjust in-person work expectations as cases hit record highs across the state after a holiday surge.

In some cases that means bringing back the plexiglass dividers and social distancing spaces, said Amy Bergman, President of Insight Human Resources and board member of The Human Resource Association of Southeast Michigan.

“We’re kind of just going back to where we were a year ago with a lot of those standards,” she said. “For the most part, the organizations that had embraced the remote work hybrid options hadn’t really taken their foot off the gas on that yet.”

The small to mid-size businesses Bergman’s firm consults are still asking the same questions like what to do if an employee is exposed and how long are they out of work for if they test positive. But the Omicron variant has put those concerns into overdrive, she said.

Nationwide, it’s estimated 95.4% of COVID-19 cases from Christmas to New Year’s Day were the Omicron variant, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Michigan, the variant has been detected in at least 19 counties.

Doors won’t close for Plante Moran, a business management consulting firm with 10 Michigan locations, but the variant did prompt human resource managers to “exercise even more caution” with workplace policies, Group Managing Partner for Offices Laura Claeys said.

With offices in four different states, work plans had to remain flexible to fit the situation happening in each location, Claeys said. Since July, the company has been encouraging its 3,500 employees to choose their “workplace for the day” with consideration of what case numbers were in their area. About 30% of the workforce has continued to work in-person, Claeys said.

For the next 30 days, the company is asking employees to reconsider if they need to be in-person as the Omicron variant rapidly spreads. As of now there’s no plans to close offices or go fully remote. Claeys said the company wants to give employees the option to go into work if that’s where they feel most productive.

“We haven’t changed any of our real estate footprint,” she said. “It’s really on a given day saying what makes the most sense for me, to be in-person or be remote?”

The federal vaccine mandate continues to loom over businesses. The vaccinate-or-test policy is set to go into effect on Monday, Jan. 10. The Supreme Court heard arguments on both mandates for businesses and healthcare workers on Friday, Jan. 7.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has stated it will not cite for noncompliance with the testing portion of the mandate until Feb. 9.

Businesses with 100 or more employees have the choice to mandate vaccination for all workers or give a vaccinate-or-test option in which unvaccinated workers must test weekly and wear masks while working in-person.

Both the vaccination status and testing requirement will add onto the workload of HR departments if the mandate goes into effect, Bergman said. Employers are responsible for having all employee vaccination statuses on file as well as keeping track of every weekly test result.

“It’s just this unbelievable amount of work,” she said. “For every activity that you have to monitor and track then you have sometimes hours of research and follow up when something goes awry.”

Bergman said she’s started seeing businesses add HR positions dedicated solely to staying on top of covid policies.

“It’s extremely draining to have your government entities blast out something that you’re all the sudden supposed to scramble and comply with, with no playbook,” she said.

Since the mandate was announced in November court drama has unfurled at different levels of the legal system leaving employers with even more questions on if and when these mandates would be enforced. Throughout the process businesses were encouraged to get a policy in place just in case.

If the vaccinate-or-test policy goes into effect, Plante Moran has decided to front the cost of at-home tests for unvaccinated employees — although the company is not legally obligated to. The mandate specifies that employees must test in the presence of a healthcare provider or employer so the company has set up a telehealth proctor.

At the time the mandate was issued, OSHA determined there were enough tests for this mandate to go into effect. Omicron has dramatically increased the demand for tests and added stress onto employers.

“The accessibility and availability of tests — they’re hard to come by right now,” Claeys said. “And that’s with people who aren’t being mandated to test, so now what?”

Regardless of the SCOTUS decision, the labor shortage continues to weigh on employers as well, Bergman said.

Companies are walking a tight rope, fearful to lose the employees they have or lose out on potential candidates. Bergman said she recently spoke with a job candidate who asked to be taken out of consideration if a company required vaccination.

“There is a huge void of available workers right now, or they’re available but not willing to work, and so there’s a morale crisis within organizations,” she said. “Companies in general are somewhat cautious about creating things that are going to negatively impact the morale of the organization right now. Everyone’s kind of at their tipping point as far as mental health goes.”

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER | LT. GOV. GILCHRIST TESTS POSITIVE; FIFTH FEDERAL TEAM COMING TO MICHIGAN

BRIDGE MI — Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist announced Sunday night he tested positive for COVID-19 after his 2-year-old daughter experienced symptoms.

Gilchrist said he will be isolated and maintain “a virtual work schedule.”

“The Omicron variant of COVID is very, very contagious,” Gilchrist said in a video posted on Twitter. “At this point, I am not showing symptoms and our daughter’s symptoms are improving. We are praying for this to continue to be the case.”

Last week, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced she was going into isolation after her husband tested positive for COVID-19. As of Wednesday, Whitmer had tested negative for the virus in a rapid test and a PCR test.

The Biden administration announced Friday it is sending a fifth medical team to Michigan, the same day statewide hospitalizations of COVID patients reached an all-time high of 4,797.

Deployed to Henry Ford Hospital in Wyandotte starting Monday, the 30-person Disaster Medical Assistance Team will include advanced practice physicians, emergency and intensive care nurses, paramedics, pharmacists and logistics and supply chain personnel.

The federal team will be on site for 14 days, adding to teams sent to Beaumont Hospital in Dearborn, Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Covenant HealthCare in Saginaw and Mercy Health in Muskegon.

Omicron is a less virulent strain of COVID, but it is still packing hospitals. While some patients with the virus are hospitalized for different reasons, they still require additional staff, equipment and space to keep infection from spreading, hospital leaders have said.

“We may not be treating them for COVID, but we have to treat them as if they have COVID,” Dr. Jeffrey Fischgrund, the chief of clinical services for Beaumont Health told Bridge Michigan on Thursday.

That day, Beaumont — the state’s largest health system — announced it is “at a breaking point” because 430 employees were off work with COVID symptoms amid the surge of patients.

Hospitals have asked Michiganders to reconsider using emergency rooms for conditions that are not life threatening.

Michigan reported 40,692 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, or 20,346 cases a day, far surpassing Wednesday’s previous high.

The onslaught of new cases pushed the seven-day average to nearly 15,000 as the state on Friday reported the highly transmissible omicron variant has now been detected in 32 counties and Detroit, up from 23 counties and the city on Wednesday.

Hospitalizations also hit a high Friday, rising to 4,797, just above the previous high of 4,782, reported on Dec. 13. Officials, though, said some of those cases are likely people who came into hospitals for other conditions and were unaware they had COVID-19 until they were tested.

Widespread infections have hit many hospital staff members, forcing many to stay home. More than a quarter of the state’s hospitals, 44 o 164, are reporting critical staffing shortages, the most since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began collecting them.

Case counts continued to soar in metro Detroit, with Detroit (223 cases per 100,000), Macomb (195), Washtenaw (191), suburban Wayne (187) and Oakland (183) all reporting the highest rates yet of the pandemic.

The statewide rate is 150 cases per 100,000 per day. A week ago, it was 108 cases per day per 100,000.

The state reported another 259 COVID-19 deaths, including 138 that occurred late last year; 100 of the new deaths have occurred in January.

The state’s positive test rate continued to rise as well, with 34.7 percent of the past two days’ tests coming back positive. More than 425,000 tests have been taken in the last week, a huge surge. It’s the most tests since more than 446,400 tests were reported in the week ending Nov. 26, 2020.

DETROIT TO TORONTO BY TRAIN PLAN GETS BOOST WITH AMTRAK AGREEMENT

DETROIT FREE PRESS — A mega freight railroad merger appears to put a Detroit-to-Toronto passenger rail connection closer to reality.

Amtrak, which provides much of the passenger rail service in the United States, said it has gotten a commitment of cooperation for its own expansion plans from Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which has a $25 billion acquisition deal with Kansas City Southern.

Amtrak said its plans include adding passenger rail service through the Detroit River Tunnel connecting Detroit and the cities of Windsor and Toronto in Ontario through VIA Rail Canada. Connecting Toronto via Detroit with Chicago and its many connections could go a long way toward improving service for U.S. rail passengers, who currently deal with a rail network that leaves many cities without direct connections.

Amtrak was one of the beneficiaries of last year’s big infrastructure package pushed by the Biden administration, which directed $66 billion toward passenger rail.

It wasn’t immediately clear how quickly a rail connection between Detroit and Toronto could be established. If it happens, it wouldn’t be the only good news for rail passengers in Detroit being envisioned. The Michigan Department of Transportation is looking to build a new Amtrak and bus station in Detroit’s New Center area, adding a $10 million federal grant to offset the estimated $57 million cost.

The railroad tie-up, which still needs approval from the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, would create a rail network connecting the U.S, Canada and Mexico. The Wall Street Journal noted in March that “if approved by regulators, the deal would unite the two smallest of the seven major North American freight carriers, linking factories and ports in Mexico, farms and plants in the Midwestern U.S. and Canada’s ocean ports and energy resources.”

Amtrak has agreed to support the railroad merger before the Surface Transportation Board, calling Canadian Pacific an excellent host railroad for passenger rail service. Amtrak noted that Canadian Pacific “consistently” receives an “A” grade on Amtrak’s annual host railroad report card, “recognizing its industry-leading on-time performance record.” Passenger and freight rail often share the same tracks, and that is frequently blamed for many of the service delays experienced by Amtrak passengers.

“We welcome CP’s commitment to our efforts with states and others to expand Amtrak service and are pleased to have reached an agreement formalizing CP’s support of Amtrak expansion in the Midwest and the South,” Amtrak President Stephen Gardner said in a news release. “Given CP’s consistent record as an Amtrak host, we support CP’s proposal to expand its network. This is exactly what Congress and the Administration are seeking: Amtrak and the freight railroads working together to benefit freight customers, Amtrak passengers, our state/regional partners and the general public.”

Amtrak’s Midwest expansion plans, which Canadian Pacific will cooperate on, also include increased frequency between Chicago and Milwaukee and extending service from Milwaukee to St. Paul, Minnesota, “to create a second round-trip on the Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago corridor.”

The agreement could also help Amtrak connect New Orleans to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and allow it to “study the potential for Amtrak service between Meridian, Mississippi, and Dallas.”

Keith Creel, Canadian Pacific president and CEO, said in the release that the deal with Kansas City Southern would have no adverse effect on intercity passenger rail service and that the railroad is “pleased to continue to support Amtrak and its infrastructure projects to provide capacity needed to accommodate additional service.”

WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) reported earlier on the Amtrak agreement.

LACK OF BUS OPERATORS FORCES SMART TO CUT TRIPS, CHANGE SCHEDULES

DETROIT NEWS — As many as a quarter of SMART bus service has been canceled or delayed on a daily basis, the transit agency said, as the spread of COVID-19 means bus operators aren’t available.

The agency has had to cut trips and make changes to existing schedules as a result, it said in a news release.

SMART, like many workplaces, has had to limit its operations because of a lack of workers, the agency said. It estimates it is down 80 bus operators, meaning it can only operate at 75% of its pre-pandemic levels.

“By scaling back service levels, riders will be assured of more reliable service to get to work or to other important destinations,” the agency said in its release.

SMART is asking people to stay home if they’re sick or have cold- or flu-like symptoms. Masks are required for the duration of any trips, as required by the Federal Transit Administration.

The agency is asking riders to check their trip information on its transit app to confirm arrivals in real time. By changing the existing schedules, the agency said, it is working to create “more reliable service” for those trying to get places.

In the meantime, it asks people to be patient with operators and with each other, and, if necessary, to call Customer Care at (866) 962-5515 with new extended hours from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

‘WE ARE REALLY AT A BREAKING POINT,’ BEAUMONT HEALTH DOCTOR SAYS OF COVID-19 SURGE

DETROIT FREE PRESS — More than 3,000 Michigan health care workers are off the job because they tested positive for coronavirus or were exposed to it, forcing hospitals to postpone some elective procedures as they brace for an influx of more patients in a COVID-19 surge fueled by the highly transmissible omicron variant.

Strained workers, who have been on the front lines treating patients for nearly two years, are exhausted, but their work is far from over as the surge pushes on, driving up cases and hospitalizations, including among children.

“We have an obligation to take care of the COVID patients,” said Dr. Jeffrey Fischgrund, Beaumont Health’s chief of clinical services. But the health system also must be able to take care of people who’ve been injured in car accidents, those who’ve had heart attacks and other illnesses.

“We’ve really asked our physicians to postpone, if safe, any procedures that can be postponed. … We’re trying to take care of the community, but we’re also trying to take care of our staff. … We know our 33,000 staffers are working as hard as they’ve ever worked.

“We are really at a breaking point. … We are really at a point where it’s the worst it’s ever been and … we’re afraid it’s going to get even worse next week. So we’re trying to be proactive. We’re cutting back on things that we don’t have to do today, but we still want to take care of our patients.”

On Thursday, Beaumont Health said more than 430 employees are out with coronavirus symptoms.

By postponing the less urgent procedures and tests, Beaumont can shift more staff to caring for COVID-19 patients along with those with cancer, traumatic injuries and other acute medical issues.

Other Michigan hospitals also are struggling.

Spectrum Health had 766 of its 31,000 employees test positive for the virus the week of Dec. 29 through Wednesday, said Chad Tuttle, Spectrum Health West Michigan’s senior vice president for hospital and post-acute operations. He said many employees have volunteered to take extra shifts for stricken colleagues.

Trinity Health Michigan, which has eight hospitals and 22,000 employees, reported more than 900 medical workers were in isolation or quarantine as of Wednesday after contracting the virus or being exposed to it.

And the Henry Ford Health System has 989 employees — about 3% of its roughly 30,000-person workforce — in COVID-19 quarantine or isolation as of Thursday morning, said Bob Riney, COO and president of health care operations for the Detroit-based hospital system. “When you start to get into numbers where it’s, 3%, 4%, 5% of your workforce, you have to make some decisions about services,” Riney told the Free Press. That means postponing surgical procedures and longer waits in emergency departments.

Beaumont Health officials said Thursday the health system is caring for more than 750 COVID-19 patients in its eight hospitals, of which about 65% are not vaccinated. There has been a 40% increase in the number of COVID-19 patients being treated at the health system during the past week, they said.

Thirty-six children under age 18 are among the COVID-19 patients, said Dr. Nick Gilpin, the health system’s medial director of infection prevention and epidemiology.

On Tuesday, Henry Ford Health System officials said there were 480 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 systemwide, including one child under 17 years old who was not vaccinated. That was a 25% increase from the previous week.

“We’re dealing with just intense, widespread community transmission right now,” Gilpin said. “When we look at mathematical modeling, and data that we have from sequencing, we know that the omicron variant is really taking a strong foothold in the Midwest.

“Last estimates that I saw from the CDC put omicron at around 93% of all of the COVID cases that we’re seeing.”

Coronavirus vaccines are working to prevent COVID-19 from progressing to more serious or fatal consequences in most people, Gilpin said. But more Michiganders need to get a booster dose to provide greater protection from the omicron variant.

About 8% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Beaumont’s hospitals have received a booster shot, he said.

“When you look at the ICUs and the more critically ill patients, the proportion of vaccinated patients with COVID is lower,” Gilpin said. “It’s about 20% to 25%, which goes along with what we understand about this omicron variant — that it is more contagious, but it’s causing less severe disease overall, particularly among the vaccinated.”

In Michigan, 60.5% of residents age 5 and older are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had two doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccine or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A federal team of doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists continues to help workers care for patients at Beaumont Hospital, Dearborn, one of four federal teams dispatched to Michigan to help hospitals that are struggling with stretched-thin staffing.

Other federal teams were sent to Mercy Health Muskegon, Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids and Covenant HealthCare in Saginaw. The team at the Beaumont Hospital, Dearborn site was to leave Jan. 2, but will spend an additional 30 days assisting.

With the help of the federal strike team, Beaumont, Dearborn was able to “open additional beds in critical care, and our patients and staff have truly benefited from the expertise the DOD team has brought to our hospital,” said Tom Lanni, chief operating officer of the Dearborn hospital.

This month, the federal team will have more presence in the emergency center, which is experiencing a large volume of COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients.

“For the health care system to keep functioning, we must have the community’s support,” Beaumont Health CEO John Fox said in a statement, urging people to get vaccinated, boosted, wear a mask, practice social distancing, limit gatherings, and stay home when sick.

“We all need to work together on the critical preventive steps to control this new phase of the pandemic.”

COVID TREATMENT PILLS IN MICHIGAN. BUT ONLY A FEW WILL GET THEM, FOR NOW.

BRIDGE MI — Two antiviral pills meant to help people with COVID ward off severe infection made their way to Michigan this week.

But a severely limited supply and narrow eligibility criteria mean that getting them anytime soon won’t be easy, even as Michigan is seeing record volumes of new COVID cases.

“Unfortunately, there will be people that cannot receive medication because it’s just not available to them yet,” said Dr. Gregory Gafni-Pappas, president of the Michigan College of Emergency Physicians, told Bridge Michigan.

The Food and Drug administration authorized the two drugs in the waning days of 2021 — Paxlovid on Dec. 22 and molnupiravir, also known also by its brand name, Lagevrio, on Dec. 23. The Paxlovid pill — approved for people age 12 or older with mild to moderate COVID — was particularly welcome because early research showed its effectiveness against the new omicron variant, which is rapidly coursing through Michigan.

Manufacturers began shipping supplies of the pills to the states through a tightly rationed federal allocation process, with the first courses arriving in Michigan over the past week.

As of Monday, the state had been allocated just 1,600 courses of Paxlovid, which manufacturer Pfizer reported is 89 percent effective against hospitalizations. It also received 7,480 courses of molnupiraver, which has a far lower, 30-percent effectiveness rate, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Most of the antiviral pills have been distributed to 10 Meijer pharmacies in southeast and east Michigan, regions hardest hit by the omicron-fueled COVID surge.

A handful of federally-qualified health centers — which serve mostly low-income and underinsured residents — will receive allocations directly from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said Anne Scott, operations officer for the Michigan Primary Care Association, which represents those clinics.

The Biden administration announced on Dec. 22 — the same day that Paxlovid was authorized — that it had pre-purchased 10 million courses. But the drug is complex to make, and that meant just 250,000 courses would be available in January, according to the White House.

Even though the federal government has reportedly since doubled its order, it’s unclear how many courses are targeted for Michigan and when they will arrive. The next shipment is expected Jan. 10, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Both antiviral drugs are prioritized for immunocompromised patients, those 65 and older who aren’t “maximally vaccinated,” and other risk groups. The pills are most effective when given within days after an infected person first shows symptoms.

The strategy prioritizes “the most vulnerable,” but also is expected to help ease Michigan’s already-strained hospitals, said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, the state’s top medical officer.

“Our goal is to prevent healthcare from collapsing,” she said. “We’re trying to use those drugs in a very strategic way — to take care of the most vulnerable, the most in need, and to prevent the most number of severe cases and deaths,” she told Bridge Michigan Thursday.

The drugs also are restricted by limits set by the FDA and by how they interact with other drugs. Paxlovid is authorized for those 12 and older; molnupiraver is authorized only for people 18 and older.

With record volumes of new COVID cases in Michigan and more than 4,500 people hospitalized as of Wednesday with confirmed or suspected COVID, doctors are having difficult and sometimes lengthy conversations with sick patients who don’t meet criteria for the pills, said Gafni-Pappas, who also is associate medical director of emergency medicine at St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea and rounds at St. Joseph’s in Ann Arbor.

Compounding the frustration is that Michigan also has a limited supply of monoclonal antibodies — the other COVID treatment given to high-risk patients to stave off more serious illness. Two of the three antibody treatments that proved effective against the delta variant aren’t effective against omicron, making the monoclonal antibodies option even more limited.

“I do feel bad about it,” Gaffi-Pappas said of conversations with patients about the limited supply of monoclonal antibody treatments. “But I also understand … As soon as that patient leaves who is likely going to recover from COVID, the next patient I have is an older person with a lot of comorbidities.”

Doctors must also be vigilant to ensure patients aren’t on medications that don’t interact well with antiviral pills, said Dr. Srikar Reddy, president of the Michigan Academy of Family Physicians. Molnupiravir, for instance, may cause fetal harm if used by pregnant women, according to the FDA.

Priority guidelines that include the unvaccinated — who are at greater risk to become hospitalized or die from COVID — have also met backlash from some health leaders. Dr. Matthew K. Wynia, director of the Center for Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Colorado, told the New York Times that giving unvaccinated patients first crack at antiviral pills feels “like you are rewarding intransigence.”

Still, the antiviral pills are another tool to curbing the steep surge now sweeping Michigan and the globe.

“Things are changing fast,” Reddy said of the pandemic and the skyrocketing case rates in Michigan. “Something is better than nothing. This is an added benefit.”

OXFORD ADDS SAFETY MEASURES, RENOVATES HIGH SCHOOL AHEAD OF REOPENING

DETROIT NEWS — Enhanced security measures and a district-based psychiatrist are among the changes families of the Oxford Community Schools should expect when high schoolers return for in-person classes this month for the first time following a Nov. 30 shooting rampage.

School officials noted during a virtual town hall Thursday that future beefed-up security measures could include ammunition-sensitive dogs at schools and random sweeps in parking lots and on school buses.

The planned changes and others under review come in response to the most deadly school shooting in the country since 2018. Oxford High School sophomore Ethan Crumbley is accused of opening fire inside the high school, killing four students and wounding six others and a teacher.

Residents, parents, and others were invited Thursday to ask questions and participate in a poll regarding their concerns ahead of the gradual return to classes next week for high school students at a different building before they return to the high school on the week of Jan. 24.

Officials touched on extensive physical renovations at the high school, including new carpeting and “calming” colors and textures that are expected to be completed by Jan. 17. Until then, high school students will renew their studies at the district’s middle school and attend remote classes by computer. High school seniors will be provided with first-semester grading options of pass-fail; grades they would have received, or an option to improve their grade.

Officials also noted extensive damage occurred along a hallway in the high school, requiring work in more than 25 classrooms.

The district is planning to host three open house opportunities for Oxford High School students and families to visit the renovated high school building together before Jan. 24.

For two weeks, Jan. 10 through Jan. 21, Oxford High, Oxford Middle School and Bridges, its alternative high school, will be on “alternative hybrid schedules” at the middle school building, Oxford Community Schools Superintendent Tim Throne wrote in a letter to families this week.

Throne and other school leaders made it clear Thursday that the emotional and physical safety of students remained their top priority.

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and Oxford Village police have committed to increasing a public safety presence at the school, officials said.

Among mental health resources in place, the school district plan to have a psychiatrist on-site at the middle school to meet with students and also travel to other schools.

Still to be addressed is what other types of security enhancements are needed. While clear backpacks are now required for middle and high school students, some parents on Thursday argued that it’s not sufficient to keep a weapon from being smuggled into the school and indicated more needs to be done for school safety.

“Why are metal detectors an issue?” asked one parent, Rebecca Drisco. “It’s perhaps the only way to ensure a weapon isn’t brought into school.”

Jill Lemond, assistant superintendent of student services, said Thursday the expense of metal detectors was not a consideration but rather how they are implemented at 54 entrances at the school.

Parents also inquired whether findings of an internal school investigation would be available to the public before students return to school.

Lemond said that a “blue-ribbon” group will investigate all concerns, including security procedures at the school and “what we can do better.”

“The results will be communicated and we will share whatever we can,” she noted.

The high school has been closed since the incident in which Hana St. Juliana, 14; Tate Myre, 16; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; and Justin Shilling, 17, were killed.

Nearly 400 callers participated in a number of questions Thursday including how satisfied they were with the district’s handling of the circumstances to date. Of those polled, 61% said they were very satisfied; 31% were somewhat satisfied, and 8% said they were not satisfied.

When asked of their knowledge of available mental health resources at the school, 60% of responders said they were aware; 33% said they were somewhat aware and 7% said they were not aware.

Crumbley, 15, has been charged with various crimes including first-degree murder and terrorism. He is jailed without bond and has a probable cause hearing on Friday in Rochester Hills District Court.

MICHIGAN KIDS AGES 12 TO 15 NOW POISED TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR COVID BOOSTERS

BRIDGE MI — The vaccine advisory board for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday recommended COVID boosters for children 12- to 15 years old.

The recommendation will be reviewed by CDC director Rochelle Walensky. If she approves, the decision will make boosters available for the first time for young teens as schools struggle to stay open against skyrocketing COVID cases.

The boosters would be given at least five months after the second dose of the two-dose series, the panel recommended.

Boosters for this age group are likely welcome news for many Michigan families, said Dr. Lynn Smitherman, a Detroit-based pediatrician: “I had a couple of parents text me over the weekend with ‘Hey, I hear the boosters are coming out for the kids.”

But for others, boosters may be a tough sell, as parents are overwhelmed with information — much of it constantly-changing, she said.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 13-1 Wednesday in favor of extending boosters to children as young as 12. Until now, only those 16 and older have been eligible for boosters, except for children considered immunocompromised.

It was the third change in booster recommendations by the CDC in as many days, and one of several recommendations that have changed in recent weeks.

The CDC this week also shortened the recommended time between initial doses and boosters for anyone who received the Pfizer vaccine. Under the new recommendation, Pfizer vaccine recipients now may get a Pfizer or Moderna booster 5 months after completing the second dose of their two-dose primary series; it had been six months. (The recommendations for people who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or Moderna vaccines remain unchanged.)

The CDC this week also shortened the wait for additional doses for 5- to 11-year-olds who are immunocompromised. Those children now may receive another dose 28 days after their second shot from Pfizer — the only vaccine authorized and recommended for children 5 to 11 years old. That change reflects similar recommendations for adults who are immunocompromised.

In Detroit, Smitherman said a desire to return to sports and the frustration with online learning and uncertainty are driving much of the interest in vaccines and, in some cases, boosters for school-age children.

In Michigan, about 45 percent of children 12- to 15-year-old are vaccinated, according to state data.

But Smitherman noted that many parents and others are finding it difficult to keep up with rapidly evolving guidelines.

“People are getting kind of tired of information that’s constantly changing. It has them confused (and wondering) why are things changing so fast?” Smitherman said. “It feeds into the underlying mistrust.”

As of Monday, fewer than 2.4 million doses have been distributed in Michigan as “additional” or “booster” doses across all eligible groups, according to state data. “Additional doses” are those given to immunocompromised people who may not be able to mount the same level of immunity from a vaccine as healthier individuals, while “boosters” do what the name implies — they boost a typical immune response in most other people.

Boosters have been an easier sell to older residents. Michiganders 50 and older make up 38.2 percent of the state’s population but 69.7 percent of the people who have received boosters.

Dr. Ijeoma Nnodim Opara, another Detroit pediatrician, said she too sees an “uphill climb” in convincing families.

“I appreciate the CDC’s guidelines, but I’m concerned about the implementation,” she said.

“More coordinated, culturally appropriate messaging” can help convince some parents to seek COVID vaccines and boosters for their children, but rates likely won’t significantly improve until schools mandate them along with other vaccines — much like New Orleans has done, she said.

DUGGAN RESTARTS HUNTINGTON PLACE DRIVE-THRU TO BOOST DETROIT’S COVID-19 TESTING

DETROIT NEWS — Mayor Mike Duggan ramped up efforts Wednesday for residents to get tested for COVID-19 amid a surge of omicron variant cases, including reactivating the city’s largest drive-thru center.

In the first press conference of the new year, Duggan was joined by Chief Public Health Officer Denise Fair Razo and Dr. Robert Dunn, the city’s acting medical director, at Detroit Public Safety Headquarters. The city officials expressed concern as Southeast Michigan’s proportion of positive COVID-19 tests has soared to 33.3% over the last three weeks.

“Across Southeast Michigan, one out of three people who go in to get tested come back positive,” Duggan said. “After six months, you were seeing the effectiveness of the vaccine wearing out and…began breakthrough cases from those who had not gotten a booster, but cases tended to be mild with a small chance of hospitalizations. … My thought was that by January, we’d be talking about COVID in the rearview mirror.”

While the earlier delta variant remains prevalent in Michigan, it is now diminishing as the omicron variant is believed to be more transmissible.

In response, the city has opened two rapid testing centers for residents to get same-day results. The Joseph Walker Williams Center, located at 8431 Rosa Parks Blvd., is open with PCR testing from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Tests are being administered indoors this week but the center will be converted to a drive-thru next week.

Duggan said the Huntington Place convention center is being reactivated as a drive-thru testing center providing antigen tests from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The city expects to operate with 1,000 appointments daily between the two sites.

The soonest appointments available on Wednesday afternoon were on Friday at both centers.

The Detroit Health Department has supplied 41 nursing homes and 10 homeless shelters with 8,000 rapid tests. The city is also operating 12 vaccine/booster centers, Duggan said.

Residents must show they work or live in the city to schedule a test, vaccine or booster. They can make appointments by calling (313) 230-0505.

The city has an ample supply of tests, despite a national shortage, Duggan said.

“We have a supply of 4,500 tests weekly,” Duggan said. “We’re good and if we need to get to 1,200 or 1,400 a day, our problem isn’t the number of tests. Our problem is getting the staff out to do it.”

Over the last seven days, 36% of tests are returning positive in the city, compared to 30% of tests returning positive in the state.

Since March 2020, the city has tallied 96,201 confirmed cases, resulting in 2,747 deaths.

About 81% of Detroit’s hospital inpatient beds are occupied, and 17%, or 469, hold COVID-19 patients.

Those who test positive and have symptoms should isolate until 24 hours after the symptoms are gone and get a second COVID test to confirm, Dunn said.

“We are really encouraging people to get a test to confirm they are no longer contagious,” Dunn said. “We have testing resources available and that is absolutely the safest method. If you test positive and have no symptoms, which can happen 25% of the time, people need to isolate for five days … and get a second test to confirm you’re not contagious after the five days.”

Omicron is evading the cloth masks, said Fair Razo, who is encouraging residents to wear KN95 or surgical masks for protection.

“We know that cloth masks worked for a while, but they don’t work any longer, and we want you to stay protected,” she said. “The cloth masks absorb moisture too quickly, which lessens the protection against omicron, which we know is three times as contagious.”

The state, as of Tuesday, has confirmed 289 cases of omicron by genetic sequencing at the Michigan Bureau of Laboratories in Lansing. But experts say a greater number of people are likely infected because only a small percentage of samples of the virus are sequenced. As of Tuesday, roughly 95% of cases of COVID-19 in the country are caused by the omicron variant, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

About 63.5%, or 6.3 million, residents have received their first doses of a vaccine, as of Monday. So far, more than 172,000 children ages 5 to 11 in Michigan, or 21%, have received their first dose of the vaccine.

Detroit lags that number, as less than 45% of the city’s population has received one dose of vaccine.

“My job is to give Detroiters options. There is no place in the country where it is easier to get a test or a vaccine,” Duggan said when asked about lagging vaccinations. “This arrogant ‘I don’t need a vaccine’ thing changes when you’re gasping for breath on a ventilator, but all I can do is make vaccines easy and available.”

The mayor said he thinks residents who have gotten their booster and are following protocols can live a reasonably normal life.

“I don’t see a need for any kind of shutdown,” Duggan said, adding the situation could change in the next two weeks.

LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST MICHIGAN REDISTRICTING COMMISSION ALLEGES MAPS UNFAIR TO BLACK VOTERS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Almost three days after a press briefing announcing a lawsuit against Michigan’s redistricting commission, a complaint was filed late Wednesday night alleging that the new congressional and state legislative districts would diminish Black Detroiters’ political power in violation of federal voting rights requirements.

During the Monday morning press conference during, Nabih Ayad, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said the lawsuit would be filed in the Michigan Supreme Court that same day.

Ayad told the Free Press that additional plaintiffs signed on to the complaint after the press briefing, delaying the initial timeline. While earlier draft complaints shared with the Free Press named more than 20 plaintiffs, the final complaint lists only five.

They include the Detroit Caucus — made up of state lawmakers who represent the city in the Legislature — as well as the Romulus City Council, Carol Weaver who serves as a member of the 14th Congressional District executive board, former state Rep. Wendell Byrd, D-Detroit, and Wayne County resident Darryl Woods. The complaint includes the signature of former state Rep. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo, D-Detroit, “on behalf of the Detroit Caucus.” She is the former chair of the group. Gay-Dagnogo recently announced a congressional bid in one of the new Detroit-based districts.

The lawsuit asks the state’s high court to order the commission to redraw its maps.

The legal challenge argues that the commission’s decision to eliminate majority-Black districts in the new U.S. House and state Senate maps and reduce the number of those districts in the new state House map violates the Voting Rights Act, the federal law that prohibits racially discriminatory voting districts that deny minority voters an opportunity to elect their preferred candidates.

The commission’s voting rights attorney Bruce Adelson told the commission that the law does not require drawing majority-minority districts, where the share of nonwhite voters is above 50%. He told the commissioners by spreading out Black voters across more districts, their maps could expand opportunities for Black-preferred candidates to win, especially in the state House.

But the lawsuit counters that Black-preferred candidates would struggle to win in the new districts. The new lines “sets-back the Black population of Michigan generations” and “almost completely politically silence” Black voters, the complaint states.

It alleges that in reducing the number of majority-Black districts, the commission diluted the voting strength of Black voters and violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

A previous allegation in earlier draft complaints shared with the Free Press that the commission also violated Section 5 of the law was removed from the final filing. A 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision essentially nullified that part of the law, and Michigan was not previously subject to its requirements. Earlier drafts also misstated the number of majority-Black districts in the commission’s maps.

The new maps dramatically change the racial composition of districts for Detroit lawmakers facing reelection.

Some state House lawmakers that currently represent districts home to a voting age population that is more than 90% Black were drawn into districts are still majority-Black, but contain far fewer Black voters, according to data from Dave’s Redistricting — an online mapping tool — and a Bridge Michigan analysis that identified where the homes of legislators fall in the new lines.

Adelson has said that many of the Detroit state House districts in place today unnecessarily concentrate Black voters, limiting their ability to influence elections in surrounding districts.

Other Detroit lawmakers who currently represent majority-Black districts were drawn into districts where Black voters no longer constitute the majority.

While some saw the share of white voters expand in their new districts, Reps. Tyrone Carter, D-Detroit, and Cynthia Johnson, D-Detroit, were drawn into a district where the share of white voters shrunk along with the share of Black voters. That district consolidated Hispanic voters previously split up in an effort to secure better representation for that community.

The lawsuit appears poised to create tensions among Democrats who have celebrated the maps as their best shot to win majorities and those who argue Black voters were short-changed in the process.

“I hope that my colleagues on the Democratic side of the aisle are not being blinded by the fact that they have the opportunity to win the House to where they’re going to allow the disenfranchisement of Black people,” said Rep. Tenisha Yancey, D-Harper Woods, the chair of the Detroit Caucus.

It’s possible to draw fair maps that contain majority-Black districts, Yancey said.

The Michigan Democratic Party did not answer Free Press questions asking whether Lavora Barnes, the party’s chair, supports the legal challenge and agrees with the allegation that the new maps would illegally disenfranchise Black voters.

“I do not want to see the diversity of Michigan’s lawmakers diminished,” Barnes said in a statement. “The (Michigan Democratic Party) is committed to fighting to ensure fair representation for all Michiganders including giving Black and Brown voters the ability to elect their candidate of choice in a general election and in a primary.”

FLU + CORONAVIRUS = FLURONA. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CO-INFECTION EXPERTS ARE WATCHING

DETROIT FREE PRESS — “Flurona.”

The name conjures images of cheap cable horror flicks – think “Sharknado” — but the flu-COVID dual infections are real. More cases are likely. And they’re not nearly as terrifying as flying sharks – especially for people who are vaccinated against one or both.

Texas Children’s Hospital announced this week that tests confirmed a child was infected with influenza A and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The patient was not hospitalized and is recovering at home, the hospital said. No other details were given.

“This is one confirmed case and, of course, we’ll be working with our colleagues across the country to see if there are more cases and whether we will see a distinct pattern in these cases,” Dr. Jim Versalovic, pathologist-in-chief and COVID-19 command center co-leader at the hospital, told reporters Monday.

The announcement comes a few days after Israel reported its first confirmed “flurona” case in an unvaccinated pregnant woman at the Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, the Times of Israel reports.

Health experts expect to see more “flurona” amid rapidly rising flu and coronavirus cases, the latter being driven by the highly contagious omicron variant. And this isn’t the first time health care providers have seen co-infections of the flu and COVID-19, as well as other viruses.

Texas Children’s Hospital was also the first children’s hospital in the U.S. to report a co-infection of COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, in the summer. Versalovic said dozens of children with co-infections required hospitalization.

But there’s no specific treatment or vaccine for RSV, so experts speculate children with “flurona” may experience better outcomes.

“I expect to see plenty of co-infections (of flu and COVID) going forward, but I don’t see anything that suggests it makes COVID infections worse,” said Dr. Frank Esper, a physician at the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Center for Pediatric Infectious Diseases. “Those are two viral pathogens that we actually have medicines for.”

In addition to life-saving vaccines to prevent severe illness, he said, health care providers are prepared to treat the infections simultaneously with Tamiflu and remdesivir.

Immunocompromised people are vulnerable to these infections, but co-infections are more likely to occur in young children, experts say, as their immune system is still unfamiliar with many of these common viruses.

“Hands down, the No. 1 predisposition for having more than one virus at the same time is your age, and it’s really children under 5,” Esper said. “They all have virus running rampant and swap them like trading cards.”

Cold viruses make up the most commonly seen co-infection cases, Esper said, whereas co-infections with influenza are observed less frequently.

“There are certain pathogens that don’t like to dance with anyone, and influenza is one of them,” he said. “When the body gets infected (with the flu virus), it really starts flooding the whole system with a lot of immune components that prevent viral infection,” making it harder for other pathogens to enter the body and cause illness.

Co-infections involving the flu may be rarer than other viruses, but health experts still expect to see rising cases of “flurona” as the U.S. approaches peak flu activity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only about 43% of children six months to 17 years have been vaccinated for the flu as of Dec. 4.

Texas Children’s Hospital said it has diagnosed more than 90 flu cases since Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, weekly COVID-19 cases continue to double due to the omicron variant.

“During the weekend, we shattered prior records that were established during the delta surge in August,” Versalovic said. “Just in a span of two to three weeks, we saw the tremendous impact of omicron overtaking delta.”

It’s still unclear if “flurona” causes more severe disease, but health experts don’t want to take any chances. They urge Americans to get vaccinated against both viruses as soon as possible.

The flu vaccine is available to children over 6 months, and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is available to children age 5 and older.

“Influenza vaccination is the best preventive measure against getting infected and preventing some of the serious influenza associated complications,” said Dr. Gregg Sylvester, chief medical officer at Seqirus, an influenza vaccine manufacturer based in North Carolina. “A flu vaccine is the best way to protect yourself and those around you from the virus.”

WHITMER’S HUSBAND TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID; GOVERNOR ISOLATING PENDING TEST RESULTS

DETROIT NEWS — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test after her husband, first gentleman Marc Mallory, earlier Tuesday tested positive for the virus.

Whitmer’s office said Mallory tested positive for the virus “after feeling under the weather.” Whitmer tested negative for the virus after taking a rapid test but is awaiting the results of a PCR.

“Like so many families around the country, the governor and her husband took extra precautions to limit contact with others to stay safe over the holidays as they celebrated Christmas with their immediate family members in Michigan,” said Bobby Leddy, a spokesman for Whitmer. “Thankfully, the entire family is fully vaccinated and boosted, so the governor has not tested positive and is not experiencing symptoms.”

Whitmer is isolating in a separate area of the governor’s Lansing home until her PCR results come back, Leddy said. She also is working to communicate to all those with whom she’s recently come into contact.

Whitmer’s office said she continues to work to increase testing access, encourage vaccination and masks and secure treatments like monoclonal antibodies.

“We wish the first gentleman a speedy recovery and hope he feels better soon,” Leddy said.

In recent days, Whitmer has had no publicly disclosed events. She is scheduled to give the state-of-the-state address in the coming weeks. While no firm date has been announced, the annual address usually occurs in late January.

Mallory’s diagnosis comes roughly a month after Michigan officials identified the first cases of the highly contagious omicron variant and as Michigan continues a surge in new COVID-19 cases.

When asked about the possibility of reinstating public health orders to slow the spread, Whitmer told reporters last month that the state had different tools, such as vaccinations, masking and treatment options, to help mitigate the effects of omicron.

“In the early days, when we didn’t have tools, the goal was not to come into contact with COVID,” Whitmer said. “We know that there’s an increased likelihood that each of us is going to come into contact with COVID at some point. We’re seeing my colleagues test positive who …they’re triple vaccinated, they mask up, wash their hands, they social distance, but that’s the nature of this particular variant.”

On Monday, the state reported a seven-day average of 12,247 new COVID-19 cases per day over five days. The same day, the state health department reported 3,903 adults hospitalized with confirmed cases of the virus in Michigan, a slight uptick from weeks prior but still down from a record high of 4,518 adult hospitalizations on Dec. 13.

UPDATE (1:33 P.M., January 5, 2022) – Governor Whitmer has tested negative for COVID-19.

CAN AT-HOME COVID TESTS BE TRUSTED WITH OMICRON? THERE ARE LIMITS.

BRIDGE MI — Early research indicates rapid antigen COVID tests — the at-home tests relied upon by millions of Michiganders — aren’t as sensitive to detecting the omicron variant as they were to previous versions of COVID-19.

While these tests are still considered useful, it’s a problem that could give some students and workers a false sense of security as they return to classrooms and offices following the holiday break, said Nick Decker, director of laboratory services at Memorial Healthcare in Owosso.

With more people getting tested for COVID and more riding on the outcome, even a small uptick in false negative test results can create big public health problems, he said. “If we’re running a million tests a day,” he said, false results may be “a big number.”

It’s tough to know how many antigen tests are given each day in the state. While they are given in hospitals and clinics, they are also sold at drug stores and markets for people swabbing at home, with most results never reported to the state.

In the middle of the holidays last week, many may have missed the announcement by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that omicron is evading detection in some antigen tests more often than earlier COVID virus variations.

It’s just one more frustration for Michiganders trying to make decisions as COVID case rates rocket ride to unprecedented levels in Michigan, businesses struggle to maintain staff, and schools scramble to make sense of what seem like ever-changing guidelines.

While rising false-negatives are drawing much of the concern, rapid antigen tests may be spitting out false positives, too — a result of user error or, in rare cases, even the common cold caused by a seasonal, less dangerous coronavirus, some lab leaders told Bridge Michigan.

“That’s not super common,” said Robert Tibbitts, associate director of the microbiology lab at Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System

Still, he said, some antigen tests may “cross react with other coronaviruses or any other viruses for that matter,” he said.

A false positive can take students out of class and workers off production lines or out of restaurant kitchens and offices when they’re actually healthy.

Just a few weeks ago, about 10 to 30 staff a day tested positive for COVID at the Grand Rapids-based, 14-hospital Spectrum Health. This week, there are “60 to 90 a day,” said Chad Tuttle, senior vice president of Spectrum Health West Michigan, which represents 11 of the hospitals.

Last week, 615 workers were essentially off work after testing positive, among a workforce of approximately 31,000.

While it underscores the need for reliable testing results, it also exposes reliability issues in the testing, Tuttle said. The health system requires any positive at-home test to be verified by the more reliable lab-based PCR test, he said.

“We have had several team members who have had a positive at-home test that’s turned into a negative PCR test,” he said.

At Sparrow Laboratories in Lansing, administrative director Jon Baker said his staff has heard the same story from the public — at least anecdotally: “They’ll say ‘you know I got this positive test, and then I got a negative PCR test.’”

Certainly, COVID-19 tests have never been perfect, and antigen tests are a cheaper, faster but less reliable test than the gold-stand, PCR test. And there has long been a problem with people testing too early or “panic testing” after an exposure, which leads to false negatives.

A PCR test is more sensitive than antigen tests, but also more expensive — $100 or more each, said Memorial’s Decker. That’s compared to $25 or less for a pack of two at-home antigen tests.

PCR tests are nearly always administered by medical professionals and read in a lab. And when labs receive a heavy crush of tests to evaluate, results of a PCR test may not be available for days.

Meanwhile, millions of free at-home tests are expected to head to Michigan next month under a federal effort announced just before Christmas to limit the omicron-fueled wildfire spread of COVID.

The Michigan distribution will be among 500 million tests that will be passed out free of charge nationwide.

Some lab officials and doctors say the labs that run PCR tests are getting overwhelmed again. On Monday, the state reported totals for 360,905 PCR tests — some 47,000 more tests than it reported just more than two weeks earlier, on Dec. 15.

So results that, in light times, can take just a couple hours, now can take far longer.

“We can run (tests) in big batches…but we don’t have enough staff to do the nasal swabbing for more and more testing,” Henry Ford’s executive vice president and chief clinical officer, Dr. Adnan Munkarah, said during a news conference Tuesday.

And, Tibbetts said, the Henry Ford lab is starting to receive notices that some supplies are on backorder.

Meanwhile, even as some call for more testing, others have pushed back — arguing that testing should be limited to those who are symptomatic.

“I see both sides. The more tests we have, the more we can see the epidemiological picture and what’s taking place and … when this thing’s going to go away. But from the clinical side, there could be too much testing,” Tibbetts said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has changed guidelines on quarantines, and much of that hinges on testing, too.

Doctors and other clinicians, he said, frequently call him for guidance on when to test and which tests to use.

Then there’s the general confusion about reinfections and infections even among those who are vaccinated: “It has been really kind of confusing.”

It can feel a bit like the confusion of the earliest testing efforts in 2020: “This omicron surge has just sent it into another whole level of unknown.”

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER | CASES AT 12,400 PER DAY; SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN EPICENTER OF OMICRON OUTBREAK

BRIDGE MI — Michigan is now reporting a daily average of more than 12,400 new COVID-19 cases, as the omicron variant spreads rapidly through metro Detroit.

The state reported 61,235 new confirmed infections on Monday for the past five days, pushing the seven-day average to 12,442 per day. That’s a 65 percent increase from the 7,533 cases per day a week ago.

Metro Detroit remains the epicenter of infections involving the omicron variant, with 201 of the 289 confirmed cases in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties, including 52 in Detroit.

That is a vast undercount, since the state samples only about 400 cases a week for genetic sequencing to identify variants. Until December the state had been dealing almost solely with the delta variant, considered less transmissible than omicron but more likely to result in severe illness.

The new variant, which has spurred huge surges across the nation and the world, has sent daily case counts in Michigan to their highest levels and has pushed up hospitalizations. Admissions statewide increased 10 percent since last week, as the number of patients rose 399 to 4,339.

Most of that increase occurred in metro Detroit’s six counties which are experiencing the highest rates of new infections.

In Detroit, the city is averaging 229 cases per day per 100,000, far more than the statewide rate of 125 cases per day per 100,000, which is the highest ever.

Suburban Wayne County is at 179 cases per day per 100,000 and Macomb County is at 178. Oakland County is recording an average of 155 cases per day per 100,000.

In northern Michigan, where omicron has largely been undetected, case counts are typically below 50 and even 30 cases per day per 100,000.

The state on Monday also reported an additional 298 deaths. Of those, 24 have occurred this year.

Testing data shows skyrocketing positive rates, with 30 percent of all tests in the past week coming back positive; it was 21 percent a week ago. Community spread is 3 percent.

MICHIGAN REDISTRICTING COMMISSION ADOPTS NEW STATE LEGISLATIVE MAPS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Michigan’s redistricting commission approved new state legislative districts Tuesday that could shape the balance of political power in Lansing for years to come.

For the state Senate, the commission voted for its “Linden” map, with nine commissioners backing the new map. Two Republicans, two Democrats and five independent commissioners voted in favor of the plan. Republican commissioners Rhonda Lange and Erin Wagner and Democratic commissioners Brittni Kellom and Juanita Curry favored different plans.

For the state House, the commission voted for its “Hickory” map, with 11 commissioners supporting the plan. Lange and Wagner preferred different plans.

Commissioners who supported the new maps cited public comments that favored the final redistricting plans compared to the alternative options on the table. But even among the commissioners who backed the new districts, some expressed reservations, voicing particular concerns about the state House maps.

“Are they perfect? No, they’re not perfect,” said independent commissioner Steve Lett during a press conference after the commission adopted new congressional and state legislative districts. But the commission listened to public feedback throughout the process, and the end result reflects that, he said.

“We did the best job we could,” Republican commissioner Cynthia Orton agreed.

The state Senate map gives Democrats their best shot in years to win a majority in the state Legislature’s upper chamber.

It still favors Republicans, according to three out of the four measures of partisan fairness used by the commission based on election results from the past decade. A fourth measure indicates Democratic candidates would have an advantage under the new map.

The state House map similarly chips away at Republican advantage in the current map, but unlike the state Senate map it still favors Republicans, according to all four measures of partisan fairness used by the commission.

Democratic political consultant Joe DiSano said that it could take multiple election cycles to shake up political dynamics in the state.

A delayed redistricting cycle has truncated the timeline for candidates to campaign in the districts they plan to run in.

“The real test of these maps is when everyone knows what the borders are years ahead of time,” DiSano said.

The possibility of litigation might lead to further changes to the maps depending on how a court would weigh a challenge. The commission’s approach to complying with the Voting Rights Act – the federal law that prohibits racially discriminatory districts that deny minority voters an opportunity to elect their preferred candidates – has emerged as a key flashpoint.

Unlike the current map, there is no majority-Black district in the state Senate map adopted by the commission, while the state House map reduces the number of majority-Black districts in place today.

Current and former state lawmakers from Detroit and civil rights leaders are vehemently opposed to how the new district lines reduce the share of Black voters. They argue that the elimination of majority-Black districts disenfranchises Black voters. During a Tuesday press conference, they made a last-ditch effort to persuade the commission to adjust its maps before the final vote. That attempt failed when commissioners voted down a motion Tuesday to go back to the drawing board.

The commission’s voting rights lawyer has argued that the commission’s approach to mapping the city could increase Black voters’ representation by spreading them out across more districts. Commissioners expressed confidence Tuesday night after the votes that their maps can withstand a voting rights lawsuit against the group but noted they encountered some challenges predicting how Black-preferred candidates fare in the new districts based on past election data.

Michigan’s new state Senate map

The 38 state Senate districts adopted by the commission significantly reduce the Republican advantage compared to the GOP-drawn lines signed into law in 2011.

Republicans have held the majority in the chamber since 1984, a status the party maintained even after elections in which Democratic candidates won more votes statewide than Republican candidates.

The state Senate map adopted by the commission brings about major changes to the district lines currently in place. None of the districts in place today pair communities in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties, but the commission’s map would combine parts of the tri-county area that are currently divided. The new map also pairs Bay City, Midland and Saginaw in the same district while the current lines separate the tri-cities into three districts.

But the map creates some new divides of its own. It splits Lansing from East Lansing and divides Democratic stronghold Ann Arbor in half.

The map appears to create 19 solidly Democratic districts, 16 solidly Republican districts, one Republican-leaning district and two toss-up districts, according to election results from the past decade.

Unlike the current map, there is no majority-Black district in the map adopted by the commission. The map includes several districts where the voting age population is at least 40% Black.

Michigan’s new state House map

Republicans have held a majority in the state House for the past decade, maintaining legislative control even when Democratic candidates amassed mores votes across the state than Republican candidates.

The new House map also reduces the number of majority-Black state House districts currently in place, a move that has concerned civil rights advocates in the state who worry the map threatens to diminish Black voters’ representation in Lansing.

The House map includes 17 districts where Black residents make up at least 35% of the voting age population, including 13 where they account for at least 40% of that population and seven where they constitute a majority. The current map in place has 11 majority-Black districts.

The new map appears to create 41 solidly Democratic districts, 46 solidly Republican districts, nine Democratic-leaning districts, two Republican-leaning districts and 12 toss-up districts.

SOME SCHOOLS EXPECTING VIRUS SURGE GO ONLINE, CANCEL CLASSES

THE OAKLAND PRESS — The continued rise in coronavirus cases across Michigan and an expected surge following Christmas and the New Year has extended the holiday break for some students.

Classes that had been scheduled to resume Monday in several districts have been cancelled or moved online.

The Detroit Public Schools Community District shut down school through at least Wednesday. Ann Arbor Public Schools in Washtenaw County will go to remote learning Wednesday through Friday.

Just north of Detroit, Oak Park Public Schools cancelled classes Monday and said learning would be held virtually through the rest of the week, while Southfield Public Schools shifted to online remote learning for the entire week.

The Lansing School District also shifted to virtual learning for the week. Teachers and staff in Lansing still will be required to report to their schools.

In Pontiac, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northwest of Detroit, public school classes will be online until Jan. 18.The moves follow the state’s reporting of more than 25,800 new virus cases and 338 deaths on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Michigan has reported more than 1.5 million confirmed virus cases and more than 26,900 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Last week, Detroit schools Superintendent Nikolai Vitti cited the city’s 36% virus infection rate in the district’s decision to shut down. Teachers, administrators and other employees of the district were being required to get tested for COVID-19 Monday and Tuesday.

“This high rate of infection will inevitably mean that a return to in-person learning on Monday, with nearly 8,000 employees and partners and nearly 50,000 students, will lead to extensive COVID spread placing employees, students, and families at risk, along with excessive staff shortages due to positive and close contact scenarios,” Vitti said on the district’s website.

The district is looking into the possibility of distributing laptops to students this week and expects to announce plans on Wednesday.

“We simply cannot go online districtwide Monday … because all of our students do not have laptops,” he said.

Ann Arbor schools anticipate a return to classrooms on Jan. 10 for students and staff.

“We are using all the tools we have implemented and refined during this past year to maintain the priority of critical in-school learning for our students across … classrooms on as many days as possible, even as we face this current winter surge,” the district said on its webpage.

Health officials have warned that new cases of the highly transmissible omicron variant has the potential to strain hospitals and staff.

In Michigan, the number of hospitalized adults with confirmed infections rose to roughly 3,900 Monday, up more than 240 from five days earlier, according to state health officials.

The figure had been dropping or holding steady for a couple of weeks from a record high of about 4,500 in mid-December.

HERE’S WHAT THE MICHIGAN REDISTRICTING PANEL DISCUSSED IN SECRET

BRIDGE MI — When the state’s redistricting panel met in secret this year, attorneys for the commission pleaded that the group didn’t need to keep current majority-minority districts or create new ones.

In the Oct. 27 closed-door meeting, which lasted about 90 minutes, the commission’s attorneys said reducing the percentage of Black voters in districts that have been predominantly Black would be in compliance with the Voting Rights Act.

“Your unpacking work was significant and never happened in the almost 200-year history of this state,” Bruce Adelson, the commission’s voting rights attorney, said in a recording released late Monday following a lawsuit from Bridge Michigan and other news sites.

He was referring to the commission’s work to reverse “packing” — the hyper-concentration of minorities in districts in order to reduce their political power.

Read the memos

Adelson claimed the commission could increase the clout of people of color — and allow them to elect candidates of their choice — by putting them in districts with minority populations of less than 50 percent.

The recording of the secret meeting, along with seven memos kept in private, were released nine hours after the Michigan Supreme Court ordered the commission to make them public.

The arguments aired during the private meeting — and contents of the memos — are essentially the same as statements made in public by Adelson and other members of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission.

But the commission claimed they were protected by attorney-client privilege and releasing them would make it difficult for the panel to receive unfettered advice from their lawyers in a process fraught with the potential for litigation.

The court disagreed, 4-3, in a suit brought by Bridge, The Detroit News, Detroit Free Press and Michigan Press Association against the panel, which was created by voters in 2018 to draw districts every 10 years and do so in a public, transparent fashion.

The high court said the redistricting panel violated the state Constitution when it met in private.

The panel’s 15 proposed state legislative and congressional maps have received significant pushback from Black voters in southeast Michigan and Flint, who have said the planned districts would disenfranchise them.

Currently, Michigan has 17 state legislative minority-majority districts, but under the proposed districts that number would be reduced to a handful.

Over the last few months, the commission has heard from hundreds of Michigan residents, and advocacy groups such as the union group Michigan AFL-CIO, who have said the maps would hurt Black voters.

The Michigan Department of Civil Rights has also said the draft plans violated the Voting Rights Act.

But Adelson told commissioners that the information from those groups and the commission were “infused with either misinformation or lack of information.”

The panel’s general counsel, Julianne Pastula, agreed during the private meeting.

“You have advocacy people and I respect their passion, I respect their lived experience,” Pastula said. “But what they’re doing is advocating for the commission not to follow the law and it’s our job, as unpopular as it is, to try to keep you on track with the law and advise you as best we can.”

Commissioner Cynthia Orton, a Republican, told the panel many of the people commenting on the majority-minority districts had an “agenda.”

“I think many of the — many, many, many of the comments that we heard, while they were saying that it was a (Voting Rights Act) issue, it’s a partisan issue,” Orton said. “And we need to be able to spot that and weed that out and not fall for that.”

Commission releases seven memos

Besides the recording of the closed-door meeting, the commission also released seven memos the panel had kept private.

Although they advance no new arguments, the memos give more insight into the advice given by the commission’s attorneys regarding a range of issues, including the Voting Rights Act, population deviations, and the renumbering of the new political districts.

One of the memos is a 30-page history of racism and segregation in Michigan.

In another memo, written by Adelson and discussed in the closed-door meeting, the attorney writes that the Voting Rights Act does not require the creation of any majority-minority districts, nor does it require any state to have a certain number of these districts.

“Instead, the Supreme Court states that the VRA only requires that a compact and politically cohesive minority group, for example, Black voters in Detroit, have the opportunity to elect their candidates of choice, NOT that these voters must live in majority Black districts,” Adelson wrote.

The panel is expected to start voting on the adoption of the new state House, state Senate and congressional maps on Dec. 28.

ELECTION OFFICIAL: WHITMER DID NOT BREAK LAW WITH BIG CAMPAIGN CHECKS, CHARTERED FLIGHT

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s campaign did not violate state laws when it accepted contributions that would typically far exceed limits or when it paid for the governor to go on a chartered flight to see her father in Florida, state campaign finance officials ruled Tuesday.

The decisions clear the Whitmer’s campaign of formal wrongdoing on two hot-button political issues and are sure to enflame her GOP opponents.

“As with any complaint, the professional staff with Michigan’s Bureau of Elections conducted a thorough analysis that included a review of all relevant laws, policies and the facts presented, which resulted in the department concluding that there was no legal violation in either instance,” said Jake Rollow, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of State

However, the department determined Whitmer came close to violating state law on the flight. And it suggested the department “would like to revisit the decades-old policy regarding fundraising into a campaign committee during a recall effort.”

The recall campaign cash

Whitmer’s campaign received millions of dollars that would seemingly exceed state limits, but for a provision in state law that allows candidates facing a recall campaign to eschew this particular rule.

Critics argued the recall efforts were all but dormant and accused the governor of violating the spirit of the law. Whitmer’s campaign did not deny receiving donations beyond traditional campaign finance limits, bur rather said the recall efforts were active and therefore allowed for her to raise additional funds.

The department has never really dealt with this issue before, acknowledged Adam Fracassi of the state’s Bureau of Elections. He says that while the department does not feel confident issuing a violation against the Whitmer campaign, it could do so if other candidates decide to take similar action in the future.

“Although, when applying existing precedent, there was not a basis to find a violation with regard to the existing complaint, the recall exception as currently defined does create the potential for abuse by allowing otherwise-excess contributions to be used for what would otherwise amount to campaign advertising,” Fracassi wrote in a letter dismissing the complaint.

“Although the record in this complaint does not show that the (Whitmer) committee actually expended funds for that purpose, a future committee could.”

The Michigan Freedom Fund, a conservative advocacy organization, filed the initial complaint about the recall contributions. In a statement, Executive Director Tori Sachs blasted the state department and accused Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson of inappropriately aiding the governor.

“Gretchen Whitmer made the biggest illegal campaign cash grab in Michigan history and Jocelyn Benson is laundering it for her so the millions in donations over the limit can be used for both of their re-election campaigns next year,” Sachs said.

“Benson is encouraging partisans to file recalls in order to game the system and raise unlimited campaign funds.”

The Florida flight

Earlier this year, Whitmer flew to Florida on a private jet to visit her father. She was widely criticized for the trip, as it came during a time when the state largely discouraged travel due to COVID-19 concerns. Payment for the flight was a chief question: initially, a nonprofit Whitmer controls paid for the flight, chartered with a private Republican donor who was not actually allowed to provide such flights under federal aviation laws.

Then in May, the Whitmer campaign announced that it would cover the costs of the flight. However, days later Whitmer herself reimbursed her campaign for that expense to the tune of more than $20,000, according to campaign finance records.

If she had not, she may have violated state campaign finance law, wrote Fracassi.

“If Governor Whitmer was not an elected official, she still would have traveled to Florida — but presumably not on a chartered flight. Because Governor Whitmer would have incurred the cost of domestic airline ticket even if she did not hold office, the cost of that ticket must be paid by Governor Whitmer personally — and Governor Whitmer bore that cost,” Fracassi wrote in a memo dated Tuesday.

“Had Governor Whitmer not reimbursed the committee for the fair market value of commercial plane tickets, or had done so in response to news coverage or a complaint, there may have been reason to believe that a potential violation of the (state law) had occurred. Further, had Governor Whitmer not promptly reimbursed the committee for the cost of the tickets upon learning of the expenditure, there may have been reason to believe that a potential violation of the (state law) had occurred.”

Coyle said there was a “miscommunication” about payment for the flight but it was resolved.

“This complaint was another attempt by a right-wing dark money group to mislead voters, and we’re glad to see the matter closed,” Coyle said.

“A miscommunication occurred with the flight company about the source of payment, and once we were made aware of the issue, it was immediately corrected and the flight was paid for in compliance with (Federal Aviation Administration) regulations and Michigan campaign finance law.”

Fracassi went on to determine the use of a chartered flight was allowed, due to ongoing concerns for Whitmer’s safety. The governor’s campaign team provided the bureau with more than a dozen media reports of threats to the governor, along with dozens of vile and offensive social media messages directed toward Whitmer.

“In this case, the department finds that Governor Whitmer’s stated concern for her safety and security is a direct result of her status as Governor, and that, particularly given the tenor and intensity of the threats included with Governor Whitmer’s response statement, travel via private chartered flight rather than by commercial airline is a response rationally related to those security concerns,” Fracassi wrote.

PETITION EFFORT AIMS TO PUSH MICHIGAN’S MINIMUM WAGE TO $15 AN HOUR

DETROIT NEWS — Michigan’s minimum wage would increase to $15 an hour by 2027 under a petition initiative submitted to Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s office Tuesday.

The Raise the Wage Michigan Ballot Committee’s proposal would increase minimum wage in $1 increments over five years, starting at $11 in January 2023 and increasing to $15 by 2027.

The initiative also would require automatic adjustments for inflation every year after 2027.

It would end “sub-minimum wage” for tipped workers, for people younger than 20 or for people with disabilities. The sub-minimum wage would be phased out in steps until it reached parity with standard minimum wage Jan. 1, 2028.

“Every time we put this on the ballot in Michigan, every time we collect signatures, this is the most popular issue that exists in the state,” said Saru Jayaraman, One Fair Wage president and co-founder. “Everybody overwhelmingly agrees people deserve to be paid a fair living wage when they work.”

The group said the pandemic and ongoing battles with customers bucking COVID-19 mandates have driven many people away from minimum wage jobs. But a wage increase at the close of the pandemic could lure them back to those positions.

“The combination of having to enforce social distancing and mask rules on the very same customers from whom they had to get tips was the breaking point for thousands of restaurant workers,” Jayaraman said.

The group says it has about half a million dollars in contributions set aside to launch the initiative and is confident it can gather the 340,047 signatures needed to obtain certification.

“We’ve got access to this incredible base of underemployed workers who won’t go back to the industry until they get a livable wage,” Jayaraman said.

In 2018, organizers gathered enough signatures to put a similar minimum wage increase on the ballot. But the Republican-led Legislature instead adopted the proposal before it made it to the ballot and amended it to slow implementation.

The Legislature’s changes resulted in minimum wage increasing from $9.25 to $12.05 per hour by 2030, slowing the initial proposed increase to $12 by 2022. The minimum wage for tipped restaurant workers will rise to $4.58 by 2030 instead of $12 by 2024.

The Legislature’s so-called “adopt and amend” strategy is currently wrapped up in litigation, but attorney Mark Brewer said that regardless of the outcome of adopt and amend, it is unlikely to affect current efforts.

“They would have to get the governor’s signature on the bill to amend it and gut it,” Brewer said. “We do not believe the governor would be party to such a scheme to gut the minimum wage.”

The minimum wage petition joins an increasingly crowded initiative field, now one of seven petition initiatives seeking a place on the 2022 ballot or adoption by the Legislature. Other initiative petitions deal with prohibitions on public health orders, tightened voter ID rules, caps on short-term loan interest, tax-incentivized education scholarship programs, sentencing law changes, and a forensic audit of the 2020 election.

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER | HOSPITALIZATIONS DROP TO 4,105; 13,999 NEW CASES OVER THREE DAYS

BRIDGE MI — Michigan’s hospitals continue to discharge more COVID-19 patients than they are admitting.

The state reported on Monday that 4,105 patients are currently being treated, down 283 from Friday and nearly 700 below the peak hit a week ago of 4,782.

Hospitals in every region of the state are experiencing declines, with the hospitals in metro Detroit’s six counties treating 311 fewer patients than a week ago.

Infections also are down to 13,999 cases on Monday, or 4,666 a day for Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

It’s the first time the daily average has been below 5,000 since it was 3,142 on Nov. 11.

But there were worrisome data points as well: Cases are rising markedly in Detroit.

The city has averaged 85 cases per 100,000 for the past week, up from 69 a week ago. Only two other counties — Gratiot and Ontonagon — also are experiencing increases. The statewide rate is 55 cases per 100,000 per day, down from 62 cases per day per 100,000 a week ago.

Detroit and Gratiot County also have some of the biggest jumps in the percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive. Detroit, which has had one of the lowest rates in the state for months, has seen the rate rise from 8.5 percent to 11.5 percent. In Gratiot County in central Michigan it’s risen from 13.6 percent a week ago to 22.9 percent this past week.

The statewide rate of 16.2 percent over the past week, down from 17 percent a week ago.

The state reported an additional 160 COVID-19 deaths on Monday, and many occurred in November, which now stands as the third worst month from COVID-19 deaths, with 2,375. It is surpassed only by April 2020 (3,945) and December 2020 (3,640).

SUPREME COURT ORDERS REDISTRICTING PANEL TO RELEASE 7 MEMOS, MEETING RECORDING

DETROIT NEWS — The Michigan Supreme Court ruled Monday that Michigan’s Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission violated the state Constitution by meeting in closed session and keeping some legal memos from the public.

In a 4-3 decision, the high court ruled the commission is required to conduct all of its business at open meetings and should have published seven of 10 legal memos that constituted “supporting materials” for map drawing under the Michigan Constitution. The four justice majority ordered recordings of the meeting be released along with the seven legal memos.

The majority opinion, written by Republican-nominated justice David Viviano, was joined by Republican-nominated justices Brian Zahra and Elizabeth Clement and Democratic-nominated justice Richard Bernstein.

The suit was filed by The Detroit News, Bridge Michigan, the Detroit Free Press and the Michigan Press Association earlier this month following an Oct. 27 closed session where commission members discussed two memos titled “Voting Rights Act” and “The History of Discrimination in the State of Michigan and Its Influence on Voting.”

In other circumstances, the communication from the commission’s experts and lawyers might be considered protected by attorney-client privilege were it not for the clear command of the constitution requiring the panel to “conduct all of its business at open meetings,” according to the high court’s ruling.

“Mere anticipation of likely litigation is not enough at this stage of the process to overcome the constitutional mandate that business be conducted in the open,” Viviano wrote. “Indeed, allowing the simple prospect of litigation to shield the commission’s discussions on how to make a map would threaten to swallow the open-meeting requirement altogether.”

News outlets hailed the decision as a win for transparency for all those involved in or observing the process.

The news organizations requested the documents and recordings after an Oct. 27 closed session where the commission discussed confidential legal memos with the titles “Voting Rights Act” and “The History of Discrimination in the State of Michigan and Its Influence on Voting.”

The more than hour-long meeting was held as Detroit area leaders raised concerns about efforts to “unpack” Metro Detroit majority-minority districts — an effort that resulted in smaller concentrations of minority voters and decreased chances that a minority candidate could make it through a primary election or win a general election.

The commission is nearing the end of its map-making process and is currently more than halfway through a 45-day public comment period ahead of a final vote on Dec. 28.

The media outlets filed suit over the release of the memos and recording of the meeting earlier this month, seeking expedited review of the case. The commission also asked for an expedited review since it felt “hamstrung” by the possibility that future legal memos and closed sessions could be made public down the road.

Viviano’s majority opinion argued, based on the titles of the memos, it is “beyond dispute” that the meeting and memos discussed Oct. 27 comprised “business.” The maps themselves and any contributing advice that shapes them are considered “legal products,” whose “content and construction is determined by law,” the justice wrote.

But Viviano noted there were limits to which memos comprised “business” and ultimately concluded three related to litigation did not constitute business.

“…concluding that ‘business’ encompasses all ongoing litigation would result in a radically uneven playing field in court,” Viviano wrote. “The litigants on the other side of the case would enjoy the ability to have confidential communications with their attorneys concerning the litigation, while the Commission would be forced to conduct its planning and strategizing in public.”

Clement dissented in part Monday, agreeing that the remaining three memos were not supporting material but arguing that they should have been released anyway because of “the commission’s obligation to conduct business at open meetings.”

Justices Elizabeth Welch, Bridget McCormack and Megan Cavanagh, all Democratic-nominated justices, dissented from the majority on the argument that the commission was guaranteed representation under the Constitution and attorney-client privilege was part of that guarantee. By deciding otherwise, “the majority put its own views above those of the voters,” who in 2018 approved a constitutional amendment creating the commission, said Welch, who wrote the dissent.

Welch called Monday’s decision a “Trojan horse” that would have unanticipated effects on a commission that has largely conducted its business in public. With Monday’s decision, the majority deprived the commission of attorney-client privilege enjoyed by “every other government entity, every legal entity, every person and indeed every other similar independent redistricting commission,” she wrote.

Welch also argued the decision left the commission with no guidance on how to handle confidential communication once it is sued. “The Constitution guarantees the commission ‘legal representation,’ not legal representation without confidentiality or legal representation-lite,” Welch said.

ST. CLAIR SHORES MIDDLE SCHOOL STAFF MEMBER ARRESTED, ACCUSED OF LEAVING THREATENING NOTE

DETROIT FREE PRESS — A staff member at Jefferson Middle School in St. Clair Shores was placed on administrative leave and arrested Friday after district officials said she placed inappropriate, hand-written notes, including a threat against the school, in teacher work areas.

The suspect, whose name is not being released pending charges, was discovered via school security camera footage, said Lakeview Public Schools Superintendent Karl Paulson, in a letter to families.

“One of the notes appeared to be an attempt at making a false threat in the hope of closing school,” Paulson wrote. “Based on the facts, information and timeline, the team was confident everyone was safe, and there was no need for initiating any lockdown or other safety protocols.”

This threat comes after the Nov. 30 Oxford High School shooting left four dead, seven injured, and a wave of copycat threats in its wake.

Paulson said he is “extremely” disappointed in the staff member.

The school district takes any “potential disruption” seriously, he said, and is cooperating with the police.

Although the investigation is still ongoing, Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido told The Detroit News that he has questions about the staff member’s motives. The arraignment will likely be Monday, he said.

“This doesn’t reflect on all teachers; it’s only one teacher — but don’t we have enough problems in schools right now?” Lucido said.

Lucido told The Detroit News that there’s enough evidence to charge the suspect with several crimes.

“Of course, she’s innocent until proven guilty, and all of this will come out in court. But this doesn’t help with everything that’s been going on recently,” he said. “If you’ve got teachers making threats, how safe do you think the parents are going to think that school is?” The ripple of threats across the state has left students, families and school employees uneasy, but Paulson said they will continue to investigate any and all threats.

“Our schools stay safe when we work together,” he said. “Remember, see something — say something.”

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY, U-M WILL REQUIRE COVID BOOSTER SHOTS

BRIDGE MI — Students, staff and faculty at Michigan State University and the University of Michigan will be required to get COVID-19 booster shots, beginning in January.

Several universities and colleges already require COVID vaccinations for those without approved religious or health-related exemptions. MSU was the first public university in the state to announce booster requirements, followed hours later by U-M.

The U-M booster requirement applies to the Ann Arbor campus, as well as UM-Dearborn and UM-Flint.

The MSU requirement affects about 70,000 people who are employed by the MSU or are enrolled in classes.

According to a letter sent Friday by MSU President Samuel Stanley, students, staff and faculty who have received their two-dose COVID vaccinations more than six months ago, or a one-dose regimen more than two months ago, are eligible for a booster and should arrange to get the jab before classes resume Jan. 10, after the holiday break.

“Those who fail to receive a booster when eligible will be considered noncompliant with MSU’s vaccine directives,” Stanley wrote. “You can find a vaccine booster near you by visiting our Together We Will website.”

MSU required proof of COVID vaccination for the current fall semester. About 91 percent of students are vaccinated, according to data collected by the university, with a similar rate at the University of Michigan. With many universities requiring vaccinations, COVID outbreaks that were common on campuses in the fall of 2020 were almost nonexistent this fall.

By November, MSU had terminated two employees and suspended 16 students for noncompliance with school COVID policies.

Some students, staff and faculty have approved exemptions. Those with current exemptions will continue to have exemptions to the booster requirement.

All students, staff and faculty will continue to be required to wear face coverings while inside campus buildings.

“CDC (The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) data suggests COVID-19 boosters help broaden and strengthen the protection against Omicron and other variants and will be essential for continued in-person learning and operations,” Stanley wrote. “We know our COVID-19 directives are working to mitigate the spread of the virus, and this is an important next step.”

In a separate recent statement about the university’s pandemic response, Stanley said “I know the past 20 months have been difficult for so many of us, and I realize that we all wish this pandemic was behind us. But it’s not, and we will continue to make decisions based on our commitment to health and safety.”

Both universities referenced concerns about the omicron variant in their statements. U-M said the omicron variant “has been detected within the U-M community.”

In-person classes begin in Ann Arbor Jan. 5, and students, staff and faculty have until Feb. 4 to get the additional shot.

There will be heightened testing protocols for U-M students living on campus, and students will be expected to wear masks in common areas of residence halls regardless of vaccination status.

Winter commencement for graduating U-M students will continue as planned Dec. 19, with everyone required to wear masks.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offered guidance Friday that K-12 students who have been exposed to the coronavirus from close contact with someone who has tested positive, but who have not tested positive themselves, can continue in-person learning if they are regularly tested for the virus at school.

That guidance does not immediately impact Michigan schools, which are following recommendations from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Quarantines of K-12 students who’ve had close contact with classmates who’ve tested positive have wreaked havoc in Michigan schools, which are trying to maintain in-person learning this school year.

COVID-19 TESTING FOR SHORT VISITS REINSTATED BY CANADA

DETROIT NEWS — Canadian authorities announced on Sunday that they will be reinstating the COVID-19 negative test requirement for all travelers leaving the country for less than 72 hours in response to the omicron variant.

That means anyone traveling and returning to Canada must have a negative COVID-19 test before entering the country. The rule goes back into effect on Tuesday, officials said.

Authorities had relaxed the rule last month and only required a negative test after more than 72 hours.

“As of December 21, the requirement for pre-arrival testing will be in place again for trips of all durations. It is important to note that this pre-arrival test MUST be taken in a country other than Canada,” the rule stated on the country’s government website.

Canada has begun to limit capacity at restaurants, bars, malls and retailers to 50% and limiting social gatherings inside restaurants to 10 people in an effort to stem the spread of the variant that is rapidly spreading since being detected in November.

MICHIGAN LAWMAKERS CREATE A PATHWAY FOR SCHOOL SUPPORT STAFF TO SUBSTITUTE TEACH

DETROIT FREE PRESS — School bus drivers and cafeteria workers soon could be in front of classrooms instead of behind steering wheels and serving counters.

Lawmakers passed a bill late Tuesday temporarily allowing school support staff to substitute teach even if they don’t have a single college credit.

The Republican-sponsored bill passed on near party lines. It’s unclear if Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, will sign it into law. Her spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.

If she signs, school staff members who want to substitute teach this school year need only a high school diploma or equivalency certificate. That’s a temporary reprieve from the requirement that substitute teachers have an associate degree, 60 college credits, or, in the case of career and technical courses, subject-matter expertise. Substitutes who are not school staff members would still have to meet those requirements.

Districts have long struggled to find enough substitute teachers, but the problem worsened during the pandemic when many teachers retired and those who remain are sometimes forced to quarantine because of coronavirus exposure.

The nationwide problem has forced temporary school closures and prompted pay hikes to attract substitutes. Before the pandemic, substitute teachers in Michigan were typically paid $80 to $85 a day but some districts are now offering much more.

Under the legislation, staff members who earn more than the daily substitute rate would be paid their normal hourly rate. Those who normally earn less than substitutes would receive the higher rate. The state Department of Education opposes the bill.

So do Democrats on the Senate Education and Career Readiness Committee, who expressed concerns that the change would diminish the quality of education and would exacerbate staffing shortages in other areas.

“It’s a staffing shell game. It also has no guarantee that the substitute will be teaching our kids the content that they’re there to learn,” Democratic Sen. Erika Geiss of Taylor said during a floor speech Tuesday evening.

“Staff members who are not educators are wonderful people,” said Geiss, a former teacher. “They are valued, hardworking members of our school communities, but for the most part, especially when we have a situation where a long-term substitute might be needed, they aren’t the ones who should be substitute teaching.”

Whitehall District Schools Superintendent Jerry McDowell said bus drivers could teach in between their morning and afternoon routes. His district serves 2,000 students north of Muskegon.

The Senate voted 23-13. Republicans Ed McBroom of Vulcan and Wayne Schmidt of Traverse City voted no along with most Democrats. Democrats Winnie Brinks of Grand Rapids, Curtis Hertel Jr. of East Lansing, Jeff Irwin of Ann Arbor, and Sylvia Santana of Detroit crossed party lines to vote yes.

The House, which already approved a different version of the bill in July, had to vote again because of a technical change made last week in the Senate Committee on Education and Career Readiness. The House voted 55-48. Jewell Jones of Inkster was the only Democrat joining Republicans in voting yes.

MICHIGAN CONFIRMS MORE OMICRON COVID-19 CASES, COULD BECOME DOMINANT STRAIN BY JANUARY

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The omicron variant is quickly gaining ground in the U.S., health officials warned Wednesday, as two more confirmed cases of the coronavirus strain were identified in Michigan.

Although the strain is now estimated to make up only about 3% of coronavirus cases in the U.S., “early data suggests that omicron is more transmissible than delta, with a doubling time of about two days,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

At that level of growth, omicron could be the dominant strain of the virus in the U.S. before the new year.

“My guess is that omicron will become the dominant variant in early January 2022,” said Dennis Cunningham, Henry Ford Health System’s medical director of infection control and prevention.

The omicron variant is quickly gaining ground in the U.S., health officials warned Wednesday, as two more confirmed cases of the coronavirus strain were identified in Michigan.

At that level of growth, omicron could be the dominant strain of the virus in the U.S. before the new year.

“My guess is that omicron will become the dominant variant in early January 2022,” said Dennis Cunningham, Henry Ford Health System’s medical director of infection control and prevention.

The Genesee County residents initially had tested positive for coronavirus Dec. 1 and Dec. 2. Their test samples underwent genetic sequencing and the county health department was notified they were infected with the omicron variant.

Both cases were associated with domestic travel and neither of the Genesee County residents was hospitalized. Health officials have conducted contact tracing and case investigation.

The rapid spread of the omicron variant, Walensky said, “means that it is vital for everyone to get vaccinated and boosted if they are eligible.

“Given the increase in transmissibility, this also means continuing to be vigilant about masking in public indoor settings in areas of substantial or high community transmission. And as of now, this represents about 90% of all counties in the United States.”

All counties in Michigan already have high rates of transmission, according to the CDC, and the state remains among the worst coronavirus hot spots in the nation with a seven-day case rate of 502.2 per 100,000 people as of Tuesday afternoon.

Michigan hospital leaders are concerned about what a surge in omicron cases could mean as they’re already confronted with record high hospitalizations from COVID-19 and other diseases.

On Wednesday, 4,404 adults and children were hospitalized in Michigan with confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to state health department data. About 86% of the intensive care beds statewide were full and 640 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.

“We are in a crisis. There’s no way around it. There’s no way to sugarcoat it,” said Bob Riney, chief operating officer and president of health care operations for Detroit-based Henry Ford. “On any given day, our emergency departments are either at capacity or close to it, and oftentimes serving as inpatient units because we don’t have any beds available in our standard inpatient units or our ICU.

“There are many sick people coming through the doors, and the majority of them are with COVID. Our worry, of course, is that as we gather for the holidays, and we’re all exhausted of all the protective measures … things could even get worse.”

The state reported 100 new coronavirus deaths Tuesday and Wednesday, and 230 additional deaths identified from a vital records review.

Although some early studies have suggested the omicron variant may lead to less severe illness than earlier strains of the virus, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser to the president, said it’s too soon to draw any conclusions.

About 75% to 80% of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 are unvaccinated across Henry Ford’s hospitals, Munkarah said, and more than 85% of patients in the ICU and on ventilators are unvaccinated.

“This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” he said.

“People who are vaccinated are 30 times … more likely to survive COVID admission than … unvaccinated patients.

“So this means that vaccines will protect you from an infection, but even if you get the breakthrough infection, the outcomes are going to be much, much better and you are going to leave the hospital alive.”

Americans ages 16 and older are eligible for boosters if they got the second dose of a Moderna or Pfizer vaccine at least six months ago or a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two months ago.

Those who are unvaccinated are eight times more likely to be hospitalized from a COVID-19 infection and 14 times more likely to die from the virus compared with someone who’s vaccinated, said Jeff Zients, the White House Coronavirus Response Team coordinator.

“If you’re eligible for a booster shot, it’s critical that you go get a boost today,” he said. “Don’t wait. And please get your kids and yourself fully vaccinated if you haven’t already. It’s safe and effective, free and easy as the best way to protect yourself or loved ones and your communities this holiday season in winter.”

Dr. Jacqueline Pflaum-Carlson, a Henry Ford critical care and emergency medicine physician, said health care workers are losing hope as the pandemic drags on, and the crisis deepens.

“It’s heartbreaking,” she said. “I think the majority of the patients that I’ve talked to you who are sick with COVID who did not get vaccinated have one regret and it’s not getting vaccinated.”

COPYCAT THREATS AFTER OXFORD SCHOOL SHOOTING LEAVE JUVENILES FACING DRASTIC CONSEQUENCES

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Weeks after shots rang through the hallways of Oxford High School, waves of anxiety are still ringing through school districts in metro Detroit and beyond.

Dozens of individuals, mostly juveniles, in the tri-county area have been issued charges in connection with copycat threats of violence toward schools. County prosecutors, seeking to make examples of these incidents as a means to end the madness, have levied charges ranging from threats of terrorism to disturbing the peace.

Children as young as 11 years old, regardless of their intentions, are now facing legal ramifications of their actions.

While the Michigan juvenile system’s philosophy is shaped around rehabilitation rather than punishment, children are still subjected to life-altering consequences that can drastically shape the course of their lives.

The message from authorities boils to four words: This isn’t a joke.

“Parents, please talk to your children,” said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy during a news conference addressing the influx of copycat threats. “Let them know this is serious. Let them know even if they intend it to be a prank, it isn’t a joke.”

In the aftermath of the Oxford shooting that left four students dead, schools have been shaken with monitoring for threats and the subsequent disruption to learning. A Wyandotte student brandished an army knife in a bathroom fight, injuring an upperclassman, and a Southfield student was arrested after getting caught with a semi-automatic pistol in his pocket, to name few of many recent examples.

This introduction into the juvenile system can be devastating for children, said Robyn McCoy, a criminal defense attorney with decades of experience defending and advocating for juveniles.

“When they come into the system, it’s like a cry for help. It’s a cry for attention,” she said.

Thus far, 38 individuals have been charged by Worthy’s office for threats of violence, with two other cases still under review; in Macomb County, it’s reached 30 and Oakland County has issued charges in 17 cases. Juveniles as young as 11 have been hit with charges, and the majority of cases are still in preliminary stages.

Continued media coverage coupled with stress-riddled parents has led law enforcement officials to pursue every threat with equal fervor.

“There have been a ton of copycats, and we’re investigating every one, because we never want to take anything for granted,” said Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, adding that they’ve investigated nearly 140 threats. “We’d rather check out 1,000 nothings than miss one real deal.”

This heightened scrutiny fixed on county officials makes it difficult to predict what consequences family court judges will assign to juveniles, which could include time in juvenile homes and rehabilitation programs.

“As their attorneys, what we’re trying to get across to them in the community is that the consequences are so devastating,” said Lynda McGhee, co-executive director of the Michigan Children’s Law Center. “That if you think this is funny, you’ve got to give this a second thought.”

Investigations of threats could result in recommendations for counseling or warnings, but due to the severity of the charges, McGhee said it may end with juveniles on probation or removed from their homes. Too many factors are at play to accurately predict what may be in store for juveniles.

Prosecutors have emphasized that the intention behind the threats or the ability to act on it, under state law, is not a viable defense.

In Muskegon County, nearly a three-hour, cross-state drive from Oakland County, 19 cases — all involving students, with one charged as an adult — have been pursued involving copycat threats, with five more under review.

“The message that we’ve been sending across the state is that no threat, regardless of whether the intent was a joke or prank, will be taken as such,” said Muskegon County Prosecutor DJ Hilson. “In other words, we are taking these things very seriously.”

Time away from home spent in juvenile centers leaves children jaded, McCoy said. It places a burden on their shoulders, a weight that children shouldn’t have to carry.

“These kids are having to deal with adult problems like worrying about where their next meal is coming from, worrying about where they’re going to live, if they get assaulted and molested, getting pregnant, getting beat up,” she said, listing the realities juveniles face.

Beyond rehabilitation programs and juvenile homes, having a record may pose an obstacle for juveniles even after they become adults, McGhee said. Michigan is one of few states to allow juvenile records to be public, and those records may be revisited if an individual commits an offense as an adult, or even affect their educational, career and housing opportunities.

“It follows you,” McGhee said. “This goes far beyond the school threat itself; it goes beyond getting a day out of class. Everything around (you) would be disrupted, and it’s not worth it.”

Advocates and experts agree that Michigan’s juvenile system is in disrepair. A ProPublica investigation uncovered flaws in the state’s decentralized system that poorly tracked data and lacked county oversight.

However, legislation approved by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer serves as a beacon of hope for juveniles in Michigan. The bills, which have yet to go into effect, aim to seal juvenile court records from public view and create a process to automatically expunge juvenile records for those who stay out of trouble.

Regardless of progress in juvenile justice on a policy level, the goal remains to keep kids out of the system to begin with, said McCoy.

“It starts with the parents, but the reality is, not everybody has parents,” she said. “We need to just give our kids a hug and wrap them because what they’re dealing with is insanity.”

NATIONAL POPULAR VOTE COMPACT WON’T MAKE MICHIGAN 2022 BALLOT

BRIDGE MI — A bipartisan group pushing to elect presidents based on the national popular vote is pulling the plug on plans for a 2022 ballot proposal in Michigan, organizers confirmed Thursday.

The “Yes on National Popular Vote” committee is halting immediate plans for a petition drive but isn’t giving up on the effort altogether.

“We will continue to educate the public, build our coalition, build support and work toward passing the National Popular Vote law in Michigan in 2024,” former state Republican Party Chair Saul Anuzis said in a statement.

“We will remain steadfast in our efforts to bring about this necessary reform that will apply the principle of ‘one person, one vote’ to our presidential elections.”

The group’s proposal sought voter authorization for Michigan to join an interstate compact that would upend — but not technically undo — the Electoral College system that has five times produced a president who got fewer votes than a competitor, most recently Republican Donald Trump in 2016.

The compact would only take effect if enough states pledged their Electoral College votes to ensure election of the candidate who received the most individual votes nationwide.

Fifteen states and Washington D.C. have joined the compact since 2006, and a successful 2022 ballot proposal would have made Michigan the 16th.

Anuzis and former Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer announced plans for the initiative in September.

Legislative Republicans, however, made clear they would fight the initiative, arguing it would encourage presidential candidates to focus on higher-population states and stop campaigning in rural areas.

And the Michigan GOP’s state central committee this month voted to formally oppose the effort.

“The National Popular Vote campaign threatened to take away Michigan’s voice in choosing the leader of the free world, turning it over to liberal elitists and coastal cities in California and New York”, state Republican Party Chair Ron Weiser said Thursday in a statement.

“The road to the White House runs through Michigan and this is the first big victory of many for us coming into the 2022 cycle.”

MICHIGAN IDENTIFIES TWO MORE CASES OF OMICRON VARIANT OF COVID-19

DETROIT NEWS — Michigan’s health department has identified two more cases of the omicron variant of COVID-19 in the state, bringing the total to three cases, officials said Wednesday.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the state had identified two additional omicron cases in Genesee County, said Lynn Sutfin, the health department’s spokeswoman. There were no other details immediately available about the cases.

Michigan’s first case of the omicron variant was detected last Thursday in a fully vaccinated Kent County resident more than a week after the variant was first reported in the United States on Dec. 1.

The west Michigan patient tested positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 3, and genomic sequencing confirmed it was the highly contagious omicron variant and was reported to the state, according to a Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Vaccine records indicate the Kent County adult was fully vaccinated but had not received a booster dose, according to the state health department’s release.

Michigan last week became at least the 22nd state to report the variant. Omicron was named and designated a variant of concern by the World Health Organization on Nov. 26, about two weeks after it was first detected in Botswana and South Africa.

“We are concerned, although not surprised, about the discovery of the omicron variant in Michigan,” Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel said in a statement last week.

“We continue to urge Michiganders ages 5 and up to get vaccinated and continue participating in measures we know slow the spread of the virus by wearing well-fitting masks properly, socially distancing, avoiding crowds, washing their hands often and testing for COVID-19. Vaccines are our best defense against the virus and how we can manage the spread of COVID-19.”

The detection of the new variant in Michigan came as the state is grappling with a spike in COVID-19 cases that’s testing the capacity of hospitals.

The surge in delta variant cases is still the most overwhelming factor that Michigan is facing. But public health experts have worried that the more contagious omicron could cause the state’s current surge in COVID cases to continue as it spreads.

Based on specimens collected last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said omicron accounted for about 3% of genetically-sequenced coronaviruses nationally. Percentages vary by region, with the highest – 13% – in the New York/New Jersey area. But Harvard experts said these are likely underestimates because omicron is moving so fast that surveillance attempts can’t keep up.

Scientists around the world are racing to understand omicron, which has a large number of worrisome mutations in important regions of its genetic structure that could affect how well it spreads from person to person. How quickly the number of cases doubles, known as “doubling time,” can give a preview of what the disease burden could be in a few weeks.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday that early data suggests omicron is more transmissible than delta, with a doubling time of about two days.

In Britain, where omicron cases are doubling every two to three days, the variant is expected to soon replace delta as the dominant strain in the country.

HIGH WINDS TAKE OUT MICHIGAN POWER LINES, JUST DAYS AFTER CREWS FINISHED RESTORING THEM

DETROIT FREE PRESS — High winds are knocking out power lines — again.

As of about 8 a.m., high winds had knocked out power to more than 146,000 Michigan customers. About 139,000 were Consumers Energy’s customers with about 7,000 DTE Energy’s customers.

The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory, calling for gusts up to 50 mph — which are knocking out power lines to tens of thousands of customers — until 4 p.m. Thursday.

The outages, however, are likely to last even longer.

At least, forecasters said Thursday, the weather is warmer than it normally would be, in the upper 50s.

But the outages will add to holiday frustrations, days after crews repaired lines.

Wind gusts up to 60 mph this past weekend took out power to about 200,000 customers.

The Lexus Velodrome, an indoor cycling racetrack, in Midtown Detroit collapsed Monday and its inflatable dome was severely damaged following a power outage and the failure of its backup generator.

Moreover, Michigan’s utilities also faced criticism this summer that it had been too slow to restore electricity, with the state attorney general calling on DTE to credit customers who had to deal with outages after severe weather.

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Consumers Energy began predicting outages as early as Wednesday, warning that gusts could exceed 65 mph, and likely would bring down wires, break poles and create other safety issues.

Restoration from last weekend’s storms was completed Monday afternoon, the company said.

“Personnel are getting sufficient rest while we are restocking our mobile storm units and essential materials,” it added. “The company is making other preparations to quickly respond to any service interruptions.”

DTE said Thursday that it anticipated “outages in Southeast Michigan,” and crews “are ready to act quickly and safely to restore power.” The utility added it would “call in additional support as needed to speed this work.”

It also urged people to stay at least 20 feet from downed lines and assume they are live.

SCAMMERS TARGET DETROIT EVICTION HOTLINE, POSSIBLY HARMING RESIDENTS ALREADY AT RISK

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Scammers have targeted a hotline for Detroiters facing eviction or in need of housing resources, potentially harming residents in already dire situations and exposing serious security flaws in using toll-free hotlines for social service outreach.

For 48 hours, some callers seeking assistance through the 1-800 hotline advertised on a City of Detroit web page were instead routed to scammers attempting to get personal information under the guise of a survey for a chance to win a gift card.

Officials at Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, the hotline’s operator, do not know whether callers turned over personal information or money in the scam.The Detroit eviction hotline has been operated by Wayne Metro since the organization took over its operations from Lakeshore Legal Aid, a not-for-profit civil law firm, in March. The call center receives more than 1,000 calls a day on average.

Upon learning about calls to the hotline being intercepted, Wayne Metro shut down the line and rerouted calls. Call volumes remained consistent during the early November incident with more than 2,700 calls in 48 hours.

“Our purpose and mission is to alleviate the causes and conditions of poverty,” said Louis Piszker, CEO of Wayne Metro. “It’s hard to put into words what people are going through during this pandemic. The pandemic has really ravaged those that are most vulnerable in our community and our response is that our agency has more than tripled in the amount of staffing and resources that we have to make sure that we could support our most vulnerable through this pandemic.”

Attempts to understand how scammers were able to intercept calls are inconclusive. According to Wayne Metro, the hotline’s operator, 800.com, said the calls that were routed to scammers never reached their service, and Verizon — one of the carriers of callers being interrupted — said it was a localized issue, perhaps involving cell towers.

Multiple requests for comment from Verizon and 800.com were not answered.

“Since we are so far removed, and can’t even identify individual affected towers — because they don’t publish any information — it’s very hard to track down, but this is the first time I’ve heard of something like this,” said Victor Ratajczyk, Wayne Metro’s IT director, adding that the organization doesn’t have access to information involving cell towers used in calls to the hotline.

“There’s nothing at all that we could have done to prevent or mitigate it,” Ratajczyk said.

Since the incident, which is the first of its kind since Wayne Metro inherited the hotline, the organization has implemented heightened security measures and protocols.

Piszker described the incident as terrible. “It’s not the spirit of the season. It’s very Ebenezer Scrooge-ish,” he said. “At this time of year, especially with the holidays approaching, people in charitable organizations, we all need to be vigilant to take measures to protect our data and to make sure that people feel safe and comfortable approaching us for services.”

The holiday shopping season is a particularly busy time for scam artists, with consumer protection agencies issuing advisories regarding new scamming methods and tips on avoiding being targets. Those in vulnerable situations can be especially susceptible for scams, said Amy Nofziger, director of fraud victim support for the AARP Fraud Network Support.

“If you are in a situation of perhaps being evicted, unemployed, if you have just recently become a widow or a widower, those are certainly emotional situations that might have you thinking more emotionally than cognitively,” she said. “It has nothing to do with your intelligence, it all has to do with your environment, your emotions, and then the scam that’s pitched to you. So people really need to pay attention to the red flags.”

In Michigan, Attorney General Dana Nessel alerted Michiganders of a new phone scam Monday that employs public official impersonations. The caller identifies himself as a member of the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and says a Venmo payment between $1,500 and $2,000 will prevent the call recipient from being arrested.

In an effort to further warn residents of scams this season, Nessel is hosting 16 Days of Scams to educate Michiganders about how to stay safe. Scam tactics center on concerns of shoppers this season like package protections, in-store rebates and gift cards.

For tips on scam safety, visit the AG Office’s website here. Suspected fraud can be reported with the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Michigan Attorney General Consumer Protection Division.

OXFORD PARENTS PLEAD WITH SCHOOL BOARD TO MAKE SURE THEIR CHILDREN ARE SAFE

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Brian Cooper sat quietly in the middle of Oxford Middle School’s common area, watching and listening to the school board discuss all it was doing in reaction to a shooting that killed four students two weeks earlier at the district’s high school.

Then, about 90 minutes in, it was his turn to talk. The parent of fourth graders, a seventh grader, a ninth grader and 10th grader in Oxford Community Schools urged the school board to be more transparent and to communicate better. He said the community needs to be involved in the response and any plans.

Then, as a light flashed to show his speaking time was up, he added one more piece of advice: “Don’t tell me I have to trust anyone. You have to earn my trust back.”

Cooper was among about 70 parents and community members to attend the meeting. It was the first public school board meeting since the Nov. 30 shooting.

The crowd, distanced out due to COVID-19 protocols, was quiet and somber. The meeting began with the board president reading the names of the four students killed.

Then the room was silent in their memory.

A few minutes before the meeting started, school officials, including Superintendent Tim Throne, faced the media for the first time since the shooting. Throne’s voice was quiet as he began.

“We have been shaken to our core.”

Parents were emotional in their comments to their board, pleading with members to regain the trust of the community. They asked the board to get life back to normal.

“Every day we live in fear, (the shooter) wins,” Anna Sommer, the parent of elementary and middle school students, said. “To live in fear is no way to live. Our children need to get back to their normal routines. That is how we remain Oxford strong.”

Another parent detailed the impact the shooting has had on his children.

Shane Gibson said his daughter asked him the other day as she got ready for school if she was going to die. “My heart absolutely broke,” said Gibson. “My daughter, my son, are going to live with this the rest of their lives.”

He also wondered about the future.

“What are we going to do to make sure there’s not another loss — the loss of their education?”

Several other parents pointed out how the school has cracked down on students not wearing masks, in contrast to what they believe was not acting swiftly enough to stop a troubled teen from killing.

The board didn’t respond to any of the comments.

Earlier in the meeting, the board approved starting a process to hire a third-party firm to review the school’s actions before and after the shooting. They also detailed security plans, including having students carry clear backpacks and not allowing locker use.

Throne did not speak Tuesday night to details of what happened inside the high school that day, but did announce classes won’t reopen as soon as school officials had hoped.

In a meeting earlier Tuesday at the high school, officials decided they likely wouldn’t be able to meet an internal goal of reopening the high school when students are slated to come off the holiday break early in January.

The high school has been closed since the shooting that killed four students and wounded six others and a teacher. School officials had described the scene inside the school as a “war zone.”

“Our main focus, besides sharing in this grieving process, has been on reopening of our schools,” Throne said.

Throne also said the school district has been working to turn over all files and information to police and prosecutors.

He didn’t answer a question about why the teen charged in the shootings, Ethan Crumbley, was permitted to return to class after teachers reported troubling behavior and a meeting was held with his parents.

Tuesday night was also the first time the board had met since the family of 17-year-old Riley Franz filed a lawsuit in federal and state courts against the district, alleging that district officials could have done more to prevent the attack.

Teachers spotted Crumbley viewing images of ammunition on his cellphone and spotted a gruesome drawing depicting gun violence, according to prosecutors.

Counselors spoke to Crumbley the day before and the day of the shootings. School officials have said very little publicly about the rationale behind returning him to class. His parents resisted taking him away from school the day of the shootings, prosecutors said.

Throne has said that Crumbley did not have a disciplinary record and counselors did not believe he posed a risk to himself or others when they released him.

WIND WARNINGS ACROSS MICHIGAN FOR WEDNESDAY NIGHT, ALONG WITH RECORD WARMTH

DETROIT NEWS — High wind and storm warnings go into effect Wednesday night for west Michigan, as a system builds across the state.

Record high temperatures are possible late Wednesday and early Thursday, before they take a plunge in a return to normal.

“We expect some gusts over 60 mph late tonight, mostly along Lake Michigan, but with some isolated gusts that strong possible inland on Thursday morning,” the National Weather Service says. “Impacts are expected to be similar to the last wind event with numerous power outages, but this time concentrated further north, from Muskegon to Big Rapids and north of there.”

Power outages for hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents from a storm system Friday night and Saturday for some lasted nearly three days.

A high wind warning will be in effect for Benzie, Grand Traverse, Manistee Mason, Lake, Leelanau, Osceola, Clare, Oceana, Newaygo, Mecosta, Muskegon, Ottawa and Wexford counties in west and northern Michigan, including the cities of Ludington, Baldwin, Reed City, Clare, Hart, Fremont, Big Rapids, Muskegon, Grand Haven, Traverse City and Jenison, from 7 p.m. Wednesday until 4 p.m. Thursday.

Southwest winds 25-35 mph with gusts up to 60 mph are expected.

A similar warning is in effect for northern and eastern areas starting at 10 p.m. Wednesday until 4 p.m. Thursday. Those areas include the cities of Petoskey, Cheboygan, Rogers City, Mancelona, Gaylord, Atlanta, Alpena, Kalkaska, Grayling, Mio, Harrisville, Lake City, Houghton Lake, Paradise, Sault Ste. Marie, Brimley, Kinross, Sugar Island, Detour Village, Goetzville, Drummond Island, St. Ignace, Brevort, Les Cheneaux Islands, Mackinac Island, St. James and Charlevoix.

A storm warning is in effect from 7 p.m. Wednesday through 10 a.m. Thursday all along the state’s Lake Michigan coastline, with southwest winds 25 to 35 knots and gusts up to 55 knots and waves 10 to 15 feet possible, according to the weather service.

A gale warning is in effect from Wednesday night through Thursday for Lake Huron and Saginaw Bay and for Lake St Clair and for the Michigan waters of Lake Erie from the Detroit River to North Cape. Maximum winds are expected around 8 a.m. Thursday with the largest waves, up to 4 feet, expected around 9 a.m., the weather service says.

For southeast Michigan, a wind advisory is in effect from 10 p.m. Wednesday until 4 p.m. Thursday with southwest winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 50 mph expected for areas including the cities of Midland, Bay City, Bad Axe, Saginaw, Caro, Sandusky, Owosso, Flint, Lapeer, Port Huron, Howell, Pontiac, Warren, Ann Arbor, Detroit, Adrian and Monroe.

A window of warmth will accompany the wind until the front passes.

The weather service says southeast Michigan will be “noticeably warmer Wednesday afternoon as highs climb into the mid-upper 50s or about 20 degrees above climatological normals.” Those temperatures will persist into early Thursday, when the high could approach 60 degrees.

Normal temperatures for the Detroit-Flint-Saginaw area for mid-December are around 35 degrees. A record high of 61 for Detroit on Dec. 15 was set in 1933, and of 60 degrees in both Flint and Saginaw in 1971. Records for Dec. 16 were set in 1984 for all three cities: 65 in Detroit, 62 in Flint and 60 in Saginaw.

Similar records hold for west Michigan.

With temperatures plunging during the day Thursday and a return to more typical December weather on Friday, the weather service says the forecast hints “at an opportunity for some late-day accumulating snow north of Metro Detroit, and into the overnight hours.” Light accumulations also are possible later Saturday in west Michigan.

ON EVE OF COURT CASE, MICHIGAN REDISTRICTING PANEL SAYS IT HAS RIGHT TO SECRECY

BRIDGE MI — Attorneys for Michigan’s redistricting panel argued in a court filing Monday that the group has a right to keep legal advice private because it falls under attorney-client privilege.

Attorneys for the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission argued in a state Supreme Court brief that releasing documents discussed in private “would negatively impact” the commission’s ability to receive legal advice.

“More plainly stated, the ability of the commission’s legal team to provide full, frank, and candid legal advice, consistent with their ethical obligations, is under direct threat, as is the commission’s right to receive that advice,” the filing said.

The filing was in response to a lawsuit filed last week by Bridge Michigan, The Detroit News, Detroit Free Press and Michigan Press Association over the release of two memos used by the commission to draw legislative and congressional maps.

Oral arguments before the Michigan Supreme Court are scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The memos, titled “Voting Rights Act” and “The History of Discrimination in the State of Michigan and its Influence on Voting,” were used by the commission to help draw proposed districts, at least one commissioner acknowledged recently.

For much of the fall, issues about minority representation have dominated debate among the commission, which must abide by the federal Voting Rights Act, which guarantees minorities can elect candidates of their choosing.

The commission’s voting rights attorney and other experts hired by the panel have suggested the panel decreases the number of minority-majority districts in southeast Michigan, prompting a backlash from African-American voters and leaders.

The 13-member commission is expected to approve the maps at month’s end. The districts last 10 years and set boundaries for the state House and Senate and Michigan’s congressional delegation.

The commission was created in 2018 after 61 percent of Michigan voters supported a constitutional amendment that was meant to create a more fair and transparent process.

Until this year, the party in power in the Michigan Legislature drew the maps in secret, and created some of the most gerrymandered districts in the country.

The lawsuit by Bridge and other news outlets claim the redistricting commission is violating the Michigan Constitution, which states that all of the commission’s business shall be made public.

The constitution also states the panel “shall publish the proposed redistricting plans and any data and supporting materials used to develop the plans.”

But attorneys for the commission said that the constitutional requirement that all business shall be conducted in public “does not abrogate the commission’s ability to invoke the attorney-client privilege or prevent the commission from receiving confidential legal advice during the map-making process.”

The attorneys also claimed the commission needs to be able to communicate confidentially with its lawyers in order to fulfill its constitutional mandate.

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER | 16,143 CASES, 160 DEATHS; CASES, ILLNESSES MAY BE STABILIZING

BRIDGE MI — Michigan reported 16,143 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, or 5,381 over each of the past three days.

That lowered the daily average over the past seven days to 6,187 cases from 6,251 on Friday and 7,284 a week ago.

Statewide, case rates are declining in all but six of Michigan’s 83 counties.

Even so, case rates have ebbed and flowed a few times in the past month amid Michigan’s fall surge. On Nov. 24, the daily average rose to 7,427 on Nov. 24 before falling to 5,980 on Dec. 1, then spiking to 7,366 on Dec. 6.

The rate of hospitalizations also appears to be slowing, as Michigan added 21 COVID-19 patients since Friday to 4,782. For much of the past month, the state was adding more than 300 patients a week.

The percent of positive tests, meanwhile, fell to 16.7 percent over the past week from 19.5 percent a week ago. Michigan also reported 160 deaths from the virus on Monday.

MORE THAN 10K SIGN PETITION PUSHING FOR OAKLAND COUNTY SCHOOLS TO GO VIRTUAL AMID INCREASE IN THREATS

CBS DETROIT — A petition started by a group of Oakland County students is calling for an end to in-person learning and a switch to virtual learning for the rest of the semester due to an increase in copycat school threats.

The petition on Change.org has garnered more than 10,000 signatures as of Monday evening in wake of the deadly shooting at Oxford High School.

Students cite the increasing threats that have already canceled classes at several schools over the last few weeks and the toll it’s taking on their mental health.

The petition also calls for district administrators to release “detailed and concrete plans or keeping students safe in district buildings prior to the return to in-person school.”

Days following the Nov. 30 shooting that killed four students and injured six others and a teacher, multiple schools in Michigan have closed down due to the flood of threats.

On Monday, West Bloomfield students were sent home from school after a threatening social media post led to a heavy presence of police officers patrolling the schools.

The district announced the closure of the schools in an email, in which they said they could not “confirm or deny the credibility of the threat.”

Last week, the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park was on lockdown as authorities investigate a “potential threat.”

Wayne County officials say more than 20 students have been charged in connection with school threats or bringing a weapon to school. Officials in Oakland and Macomb counties have also arrested students — from elementary to high school — in relation to threats.

“Much has been written about these types of cases lately yet still these serious events continue to happen,” Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said last week. “Quelling school threats is going to take the work of all of us. It is also going to take facing head on the access our children have for guns and their fascination with them.”

Meanwhile, students at Oxford High School stepped back into the building Monday for the first time since the shooting. Oxford Community Schools district is allowing the students to pick up their belongings this week that were left when the shooting happened.

Students in kindergarten through eighth grade returned to the classroom Friday.

The school district announced a “soft reopening” to return students and staff back to school following the shooting.

School officials said extra security and therapy dogs will be on-site through the end of the fall semester.

Oxford High School will remain closed until at least January.

WEST BLOOMFIELD SCHOOLS GO VIRTUAL AFTER THREAT; SUSPECT APPREHENDED

DETROIT NEWS — West Bloomfield Schools will move to online learning through Friday following a Monday morning social media threat against the district, school officials said in an email to parents.

The suspect behind the threat was apprehended by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department in conjunction with the West Bloomfield Police Department, West Bloomfield Schools Superintendent Gerald Hill said in an email.

The district had contacted West Bloomfield police Monday morning when it was alerted of the social media threat. Some students were already in school while others were on their way, Hill said.

The police department in a morning post to its Facebook page noted detectives were actively investigating the threat and that the department had assigned extra patrols to West Bloomfield Schools “in an abundance of caution.”

Parents and families of students were notified before 9 a.m. that the district was on lockdown due to threats, and they received notification around 9:45 a.m. to pick up students from school.

Teachers will be in contact with parents with further directions, Hill said, adding that the students would be engaged in synchronous learning for the remainder of the week.

“This means that students will be online, learning with their teachers all day, every day,” said Hill. “Students will follow their normal school day, zooming into each of their classes.”

Parents of children who do not have a computer at home can pick up a device between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, at ACS, located at 6810 Commerce Rd. in West Bloomfield. They can call (248) 865-6489 upon arrival. Extracurricular activities and after-school activities will still take place for the remainder of the week, Hill added.

Along with the West Bloomfield School district anonymous chat tool, the following resources are available for children or parents who need support:

Common Ground for community members in crisis. Call or text “Hello” to 1 (800) 231-1127 to talk with a crisis counselor.
Oakland County Crisis/Suicide Line. 1-800-231-1127
OK2SAY. Students are encouraged to talk to a trusted adult if they see or hear something that doesn’t seem right. They can also report information anonymously using OK2SAY. Call 855-565-2729; text 652729; or email OK2SAY@mi.gov. For emergencies, dial 911.

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER | MICHIGAN PASSES 25,000 COVID-19 DEATHS

BRIDGE MI — More than 25,000 people have now died of COVID-19 in Michigan since the pandemic began. With 235 deaths reported Friday, the state’s confirmed COVID death toll stands at 25,080.

As the year closes, the death count for 2021 is approaching the first year of the pandemic. There are now 12,039 COVID-19 deaths in 2021, compared to 13,033 in 2020 (though the virus didn’t hit Michigan until March, 2020).

The latest surge of cases has proven to be the most deadly this year, with over 4,700 people dying since Sept. 1. Just over 4,000 died during the late winter-spring surge.

Nationally, Michigan ranks No. 10 in total COVID-19 deaths, both confirmed and suspected, with 26,914. It ranks 16th in the number of deaths per 100,000 people. The state has the 10th most people among states.

The death toll is likely to rise, with the state reporting Friday that 4,761 patients are being treated in Michigan hospitals for confirmed or suspected COVID-19, extending the peak COVID-19 hospital census that has the state asking the federal government for 200 more ventilators to treat patients.

There was some hopeful news Friday. COVID case counts were down again, with the state reporting 11,783 new cases, or 5,892 a day. That puts the seven-day rate at 6,251 daily cases, a significant drop from the 7,167 case average a week ago.

And the state reported that 15.6 percent of new coronavirus tests came back positive, the lowest since it was 14.7 percent on Nov. 5. T

DETROIT NEWS — Consumers Energy and DTE crews are making progress in restoring power in Michigan, but more than 200,000 customers remain without power Saturday evening after wind gusts of 60 mph or more tore through the state.

Severe weather started hitting West Michigan and the lakeshore Saturday morning and swept through mid-Michigan Saturday afternoon, felling trees, limbs and power lines.

At 4 p.m. 244,055 Michigan customers were without power but by 6:30 p.m. that number had been lowered to 212,599.

Consumers Energy reported 2,303 customers without power at 12:45 a.m., and DTE reported 85,117.

Dave Guerney, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in White Lake Township, said a high wind warning is in effect until 8 p.m. tonight due to a cold front moving in and causing wind gusts.

Gusts of 60 mph and higher were reported in several locations Saturday.

Temperatures will continue to fall throughout the day, dropping to about 40 degrees by early evening, Guerney.

At 12:45 a.m. Sunday DTE said it had 247 crews in the field and Consumers Energy said it had 255 crews working to restore power.

“Our crews in the field are seeing significant damage with trees snapped and lines down across our service territory,” Melissa Gleespen, Consumers Energy’s Officer in Charge for the storm event, said in a press release. “We thank customers for their patience as we wait for the winds to die down so crews can safely restore power.”

The strong winds made access to pole tops and power lines dangerous from bucket trucks, Consumers Energy said. A majority of affected customers are expected to be restored by the end of the day Monday.

DTE said severe wind gusts of up to 65 mph caused extensive damage, including 700 downed wires, broken poles and tree-related damage.

DTE crews are assessing damage and working to provide restoration estimates, which will be available on the DTE Energy Outage Map throughout the day.

In Dearborn, high winds toppled a huge tree in the 7300 block of Coleman Street. The trees’ roots lifted up the sidewalk, and the trunk and limbs blocked the street but somehow missed neighboring houses.

In Pontiac, which had wind gusts of 53 mph, the awning over the Phoenix Center was ripped to shreds. Pontiac Mayor Deirdre Waterman said traffic in the area was rerouted as a precaution.

Waterman said the damage shows the need for the city to make needed improvements to the Phoenix Center, which was built in the 1980s.

“This brings to our mind again that we have to do the repairs and the refurbishing of the Phoenix Center like we planned to do all along. This of course is unfortunate and unexpected but right now we just want to alert people to the safety measures,” Waterman said.

The city of Warren pushed back its Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, which was scheduled to start at 5 p.m. Saturday, to 4:20 p.m. Sunday due to numerous power outages.

Traffic lights were out in many areas, including at the Lincoln and 11 Mile intersections along Woodward Avenue in Royal Oak.

DTE customers should report outages or down power lines online at outage.dteenergy.com or with the DTE Energy Mobile app, or by calling 800-477-4747.

Consumers Energy customers can report an outage and check the status of an outage by visiting www.ConsumersEnergy.com/OutageCenter.

Customers can also sign up to get outage alerts and restoration times sent to a phone, email or text message, Text ‘REG’ to 232273 or visit www.ConsumersEnergy.com/alerts.

MDOT WANTS TO TRANSFORM DETROIT’S ‘CRAMPED’ AMTRAK STATION INTO $57M HUB WITH RETAIL, MORE

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Rail passengers traveling into and out of Detroit via Amtrak could see a new train station rise in the city’s New Center area in coming years.

The Biden administration has announced a $10 million grant — money not connected to the recently passed $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill — to help fund the Michigan Department of Transportation’s longtime goal of building a new train station. The aim is a station that would not only provide a more fitting gateway to the Motor City for rail passengers but one that would also bring other modes of transportation, including buses operated by Greyhound and Indian Trails, taxi and ride-hailing services such as Lyft and Uber, as well as bike-sharing, into a centralized hub just west of Woodward Avenue.

The Detroit New Center Intermodal Facility would be built at the current train station location on Baltimore Street and add a new, enclosed intercity bus station to replace the one about 3 miles away on Howard Street near the Lodge Freeway. Access to more transportation options is considered key for the New Center neighborhood, where, according to MDOT, one in three households does not have access to a car.

The federal grant money will not pay for the whole project, so the state will still need to provide the rest of the approximately $57 million total estimated price tag, with gas tax revenue and registration fees a possible source.

“We’re hoping our (almost) $60 million will be the seed money for a lot of other stuff,” said Jim Schultz, the project manager for MDOT.

Schultz described his hope the development would also include restaurants and shops, even a model railroad exhibit. He said the state has talked with the Detroit Historical Museum about the possibility of opening an annex there.

He has been eyeing transit-related developments in other cities that go beyond just functional buildings.

“We just need to dream. There’s other places building fantastic architecture. That’s what we need to do,” Schultz said, noting that the state is open to partnering with local officials on design.

Currently, Schultz said the goal is to have a request for proposal to build the center issued in 2023 with an opening date in 2025.

Rail advocates say it’ll be well worth the investment and is a much-needed upgrade.

“The (train) station is pretty cramped. The platform is real narrow,” said John Guidinger, chair of the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers, who noted the current Detroit station platform, which MDOT would like to widen from 5 to 12 feet, can’t currently accommodate baggage carts. “The whole thing needs to be re-laid out … to make it more user-friendly. This is the start of that.”

Current platform limits also force the trains to stop twice, so all passengers can board or exit, according to MDOT, adding time to each trip for a service that is already challenged with delays, often caused by the way freight and passenger rail must share track.

The station has an elevator, but it’s too slow to move passengers efficiently from the 1,696-square-foot waiting room on the main floor to the upper-level platform for boarding, so most have to haul their luggage up a stairwell to catch a train or down after they arrive at the station. Neither the current train nor bus stations comply with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, according to MDOT.

“Customer amenities are limited to seats, a ticket window and a bathroom. The nearest food option is a White Castle store across busy Woodward Avenue. Passengers board out in the open, exposed to Michigan’s weather. The platform narrows at key junctures, a hazard for everyone, but particularly those who use wheelchairs,” according to a description of the train station from MDOT’s grant paperwork.

For comparison of what Detroit lacks, one only needs to look to Dearborn. That’s where the $28.2 million John D. Dingell Transit Center, farther west on the same route, opened in 2014. The 16,000-square-foot center dwarfs Detroit’s station at 3,500 square feet. Nearby dining options to the Dearborn site include a Tim Hortons and Ford’s Garage.

The difference in scale might not be surprising. The Detroit train station was never meant to be permanent.

“The current Detroit Amtrak rail station was built as a temporary facility in 1992 and opened for service on May 5, 1994; 30 years later, this facility meets neither customer expectations nor operational requirements,” MDOT spokesman Michael Frezell said.

The station is on Amtrak’s 15-stop Wolverine route, which connects Pontiac to Chicago via cities including Troy, Dearborn, Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo. According to MDOT, the three-decade-old train station served more than 72,000 passengers in 2019; Greyhound averaged more than 39,000 passengers that year from the Howard Street station, which MDOT bought in 1989.

The pitch for the new station doesn’t just rest with boosting amenities for rail passengers, however. Space for mixed-use development, including retail, would be envisioned in an area with access to QLINE stops, local DDOT and SMART bus service, and more parking close to key institutions including the Detroit Institute of Arts, TechTown and Wayne State University.

MDOT would also sell off the almost 30-year-old Greyhound station on Howard Street — the department pegs the value of the property at $3.3 million — and move those buses to an enclosed 12-berth building on the opposite side of the railroad tracks, connecting the train and bus stations by tunnel. MDOT had previously planned to relocate buses from Howard Street to the existing Amtrak station but abandoned that effort in 2019 when it determined the available space was insufficient. Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist described the connections that a true intermodal station, one that connects multiple modes of transportation, could mean for the city.

“This is going to be a hub for innovation when it comes to better connecting our communities and our people. I can’t wait to see the connections and relationships that are built because we have this center of excellence, frankly, here in the heart of the city. I’m excited about what that means and what the professionals and innovators are going to be able to deliver for transit users and for people who are doing business in that part of the city,” Gilchrist said in a recent interview for an MDOT podcast.

In an interview with Fox 2 Detroit (WJBK-TV), Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the United States would “always” be a car country, but “you shouldn’t have to take 2 tons of metal with you anywhere that you need to go.”

Funding the Detroit project means more options for travelers, he said.

“This means you could take a bus and then a train and connect directly, which means that from any number of destinations really around Michigan that serve Detroit by bus, that’s just a two-seat ride — one on the bus and then one on the train to get to just about anywhere else in the country. That helps people get to where they need to be. It creates options and alternatives, and that’s good for economic growth, too,” he said.

INTERFAITH COMMUNITY LEADERS REACH OUT TO MOSQUE AFTER VANDALISM

THE OAKLAND PRESS — Interfaith communities across southeast Michigan expressed their sympathies following vandalism to a Rochester Hills mosque.

A window in the front doors of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’s Mosque, located at 1730 West Auburn Road in Rochester Hills, was shattered after evening prayers around 9:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 8.

Muhammad Ahmad, director of outreach at Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Michigan, said broken glass was found inside and outside the mosque.

The Oakland County Sheriff’s department is investigating. Deputies said surveillance video showed a male near the mosque around the time of the incident. A similar incident occurred that same evening at a nearby Walgreen’s. It is unknown whether the incidents are related.

“Our community is a very peaceful community,” Ahmad said Monday. “We have a relationship with all of our interfaith leaders, as well as our community leaders. We have not seen an incident like this in the past 20 years, since we’ve been here in this community.”

Ahmad said the evening prayer was the last of five that day. His 8-year-old son was among children and adults present when the window was broken. When the night concluded, everyone left through a side door.

It wasn’t until members showed up around 5:15 a.m. Saturday that the damage was realized.

“It’s kind of a bit rattling that we were still there when the incident happened,” he said.

On Monday, Oct. 11, the mosque’s members extended an open invitation for the suspect to meet with the community and its members. Ahmad said the group wants to talk, and that doors remain always open for Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

“We believe in forgiveness,” he said. “We don’t want revenge or to harbor any negative feelings.”

Bryan Barnett, mayor of Rochester Hills, said the incident seemed isolated.

“We have a great relationship with the folks there and want to make sure they feel safe and secure and are an important part of our community,” he said.

Messages of resilience

Messages of support have poured in from neighboring communities.

Lynne Muth, Faith in Justice chair of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Royal Oak, said she read the news with sadness.

“You and your leadership and members work hard to build bridges in southeast Michigan,” Muth wrote to Ahmad. “I want to share my sadness and prayers of hope that love and goodness will conquer hate. May you feel the love and hope from others at this time.”

Patty Rehfus, board president of the Congregation Shir Tikvah in Troy, said she was grateful nobody was injured and that her congregation stands in solidarity.

Carol Cooper, of Central Woodward Christian Church in Troy, said she is praying that the Muslim community will not live in fear and that they feel the prayers and support.

“I hope that whoever did this will not be able to rest until they come forward and confess and that the police may find clues so that justice can be served,” Cooper said.

NO CLASSES AT WALLED LAKE CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL WEDNESDAY AFTER FALSE REPORT OF SHOTS FIRED

WDIV-TV (DETROIT) — Walled Lake Central High School is closed for the day on Wednesday after going into lockdown Tuesday over a false report of shots fired.

District Superintendent Kenneth Gutman announced Tuesday that the high school in Commerce Township would be closed Wednesday, Dec. 8, “to allow our students, staff, and their families time to process today’s events.” The announcement came after law enforcement cleared the scene at the high school following a 911 report of shots fired Tuesday morning.

According to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, a 911 call was made at 8:31 a.m. Tuesday of shots fired at the school. Following several searches, police said they found that no shots were fired, there were no injuries and there was no threat. School was still dismissed early on Tuesday.

“… at no time were any students or staff in any danger, and those within the building did an exemplary job of putting their training into motion,” Gutman wrote Tuesday. “Following the sweep of the building and subsequent dismissal, students were reunited with their families. Please accept my sincere appreciation for everyone involved with this process.”

The school will resume in-person classes on Thursday, Dec. 9. Officials say social and emotional support services will be available to students in need.

Police said Tuesday that they were investigating the source of the 911 call. No update on the investigation has been provided yet.

BLOODY DRAWINGS, A CRY FOR HELP AND OXFORD’S CHOICE BEFORE SCHOOL SHOOTING

BRIDGE MI — In the eyes of Oxford Community Schools, it was a judgment call.

Fifteen-year-old Ethan Crumbley had been scrolling online for ammunition at school, drew a disturbing picture of a gun, a bullet and someone bleeding, and wrote that his “thoughts won’t stop, help me,” and “the world is dead.”

But the teen also had no history of disciplinary issues at school and appeared “calm” when he met with school counselors, according to a letter released Saturday by the Oxford superintendent.

When Crumbley’s parents, who had been called to the school for an emergency meeting, refused to take their son home, counselors made a decision, apparently on their own: they sent the sophomore back to class.

Hours later, three students — Hana St. Juliana, 14, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Tate Myre, 16 — were dead and eight injured in a shooting spree. One of those injured, Justin Shilling, 17, died the next day.

That meeting and its tragic aftermath illustrate the push-pull faced by school officials, who must weigh potential security threats facing students and staff against a concerted trend in public education to be more thoughtful about when to remove students from school grounds.

Education and law-enforcement experts interviewed by Bridge Michigan say Oxford High officials had the legal right to remove Crumbley from the school based on the graphic violence in the note found by one teacher and his online search for ammunition noticed by another. But the district’s discipline policy also emphasizes that administrators are to consider expulsion or suspension as a last resort.

While Oxford’s code of conduct allows officials to search student property and make “snap suspensions” to remove students when necessary, experts and former school leaders differed on whether Oxford had enough evidence at the time to credibly suspect that Crumbley posed a danger worthy of removal from school.

Crumbley is accused in the deadliest school shooting spree in the U.S. since 2018. He and his parents have been charged with felonies; the teen with murder, and the parents with involuntary manslaughter for, among other things, failing to notify officials their son had a gun.

The school’s actions in the days and hours leading to the rampage raised questions about school officials’ judgment in returning him to class, rather than searching his backpack or locker, calling police or sending him home.

Oxford Community Schools said over the weekend that it would seek a third-party investigation of the school’s handling of the case, saying “our community and our families deserve a full, transparent accounting of what occurred.”

Attorney General Dana Nessel said the district rejected her offer to have her office lead that investigation. Tuesday, Nessel said her office may do so anyway and will review the school’s policies, evidence and take other actions before deciding whether to launch a full investigation. Nessel told reporters she hasn’t “seen information that points to culpability on the part of anyone in the school district, but that’s not to say that doesn’t exist.”

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, who has been critical of the school’s threat response, said she has not ruled out charges.

In hindsight, the school’s correct course of action is obvious. But with the information the school had at the time — there is no evidence school officials knew Crumbley had a gun — the district is asking the public to extend it the benefit of the doubt.

“While we understand this decision has caused anger, confusion and prompted understandable questioning, the counselors made a judgment based on their professional training and clinical experience, and did not have all the facts we now know,” Oxford Superintendent Tim Throne wrote in a letter to families Saturday.

Throne defended Oxford’s decision to leave Ethan Crumbley in school after counselors met with the teen and his parents. Throne said Crumbley was “calm,” and that counselors had no reason to believe the 15-year-old might harm others “based on his behavior.”

The letter went on to say that, “despite media reports, whether or not the gun was in his backpack has not been confirmed by law enforcement to our knowledge nor by our investigation at this time.”

The school’s judgment has invited criticism.

McDonald has said repeatedly Crumbley should never have been allowed to return to class.

“We all should be looking at the events that led up to that horrific event,” McDonald told Good Morning America Monday. “And in this case, a lot could have been done different. I mean, at that meeting he was allowed to go back to (class). We know that he either had that weapon with him or someplace where he could have stored it in the school, but he had it in the school.”

Some school safety experts agree.

“The school, in my opinion, had the right and probably the obligation to remove him from school,” said Amy Klinger, director of programs for The Educator’s School Safety Network, a national nonprofit that provides schools with safety training and resources.

Schools have broad leeway to search student property if they have a reasonable suspicion their backpack or other belongings contain drugs or weapons.

One day before the shooting, a teacher caught Crumbley looking at images of ammunition on his phone. He was brought to the school office for a meeting. According to Throne’s letter, Crumbley told school officials “he and his mother recently went to the shooting range and that shooting sports are a family hobby.”

Authorities say they would later discover that the mother, Jennifer Crumbley, wrote on her social media account days before the shooting the handgun was an early Christmas gift to 15-year-old Ethan.

But aside from the dueling statements of the prosecutor and superintendent, details remain scarce on what was said in Crumbley’s meetings with school officials, or why officials decided he should be allowed to return to class, his backpack and school locker apparently un-inspected.

A trend away from suspensions

Like many school districts, Oxford has increasingly moved away from discipline that takes students out of the classroom. The district’s code of conduct cites “exclusionary discipline’s negative impact” on students, and says it will “reserve exclusion for only the most serious offenses.”

The district did not implement these changes in a vacuum. Studies indicate that, in most instances, removing students from classroom instruction for disciplinary reasons does little to change the objectionable behavior and can have a long term negative impact on the student’s academic and social success.

Expulsions and suspensions have declined across Michigan schools in recent years, after laws passed in 2016 encouraged schools to move from so-called “zero tolerance” discipline policies to restorative justice, a tenet of which is to keep students in classrooms and reduce the disparate rate of suspension and expulsions meted out to more vulnerable student groups, including homeless students, Black students, and members of other marginalized groups.

Statewide, expulsions and suspensions declined 18 percent from the 2015-16 school year to 2018-19, the most recent school year uninterrupted by the pandemic. Oxford Community Schools, a district with about 5,500 students, reported no expulsions or suspensions in 2018-19, according to state data.

Many school leaders consider the movement away from zero-tolerance expulsion policies as good for students.

“If you were in a small rural community and you inadvertently left your hunting rifle in your car, you were expelled,” Scott Menzel, former superintendent of Washtenaw Intermediate School District, told Bridge Monday. “If you brought a butter knife (to lunch), you were expelled. Context didn’t matter.”

The movement away from expulsion and suspension doesn’t stop a school from taking action in more concerning situations, said Randy Liepa, former superintendent of Wayne Regional Educational Service Agency.

“Schools have the ability to take action if they think it’s necessary,” Liepa said.

But deciding when action is necessary is challenging, especially in cases such as school shootings, which remain exceedingly rare.

In 2018, the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center issued guidelines on preventing school violence, citing factors schools should consider in deciding whether to notify police. While most troubling student behaviors can be handled by school personnel, “those that do warrant law enforcement intervention include threats of violence and planned school attacks.”

Reports of student behaviors “involving weapons, threats of violence, physical violence, or concerns about an individual’s safety should immediately be reported to local law enforcement,” the guidelines say.

And yet, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said his department received no notice of Crumbley’s concerning behavior, which included drawings a teacher allegedly found on his desk the morning of the shootings of a semi-automatic handgun pointing at the words, “The thoughts won’t stop, help me.” A second drawing showed a bullet, with the words, “Blood everywhere.” And a third showed a person who appeared to be shot twice and bleeding.

The Secret Service guide also notes “key themes” schools should look for in analyzing potential threats, including “evidence of desperation, hopelessness, or suicidal thoughts and gestures.”

Crumbley’s morning note said: “My life is useless” and “The world is dead.”

But by the time he and his parents were called in to meet with counselors later that morning, Crumbley had scratched out some of the images and words, and told school officials the drawings were intended for a video game he was designing, school and law enforcement officials have said.

Further complicating counselors’ decision making process: they would have been sending Crumbley home to an empty house after his parents refused to take him home, according to Throne’s letter.

In March, a new Secret Service analysis of U.S. school shootings revealed that many of them featured circumstances similar to the Oxford shooting: A boy with easy access to firearms at home, who exhibited mental health problems and gave some warning before commencing an attack.

Nearly all shooters shared their intentions beforehand, and nearly a third conducted research. Crumbley allegedly did both — scrawling disturbing messages and images on his school worksheet and searching for bullets online.

After the tragedy, investigators also discovered videos on Crumbley’s phone, recorded the night before the attack, in which he vowed to shoot up the school the next day, Lt. Tim Willis of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said at the suspect’s arraignment Wednesday. A journal recovered from his backpack contained similar threats, Willis said, and Crumbley had posted photos of the gun and a target on social media. There is no evidence indicating school officials knew beforehand of the videos or the journal.

The Secret Service recommended immediate intervention if a student shows an interest in violence or hate-filled topics. But its analysis also acknowledges the limitations of simply sending students home.

“Simply removing a student from school, without appropriate supports, may not necessarily remove the risk of harm they pose to themselves or others,” the analysis noted.

Preventing the next shooting

In the days after the Oxford tragedy, Michigan school safety officials say they have mailed resources to school administrators across the state to help them better evaluate potential threats and take preventative measures.

School safety experts contacted by Bridge said perhaps the most effective measure would be greater use of school threat assessment teams.

The teams, typically made up of school administrators, counselors, school resource officers or local police and possibly others, are tasked with determining how to respond when a student poses a possible threat. They work to “connect the dots,” said Klinger of the The Educator’s School Safety Network, to see whether the behavior that triggered an assessment represents an isolated incident, or portends a dangerous threat.

The U.S. Department of Education sees threat assessments as a more reliable and objective measure of potential violence.

But despite their widespread embrace by school safety experts, Klinger said threat assessment teams are “tragically, not very common.”

“The thing that actually saves the most lives is the thing that is in least demand,” she said of the team approach, in part because it requires lots of training and resources that cash-strapped schools typically lack.

For its part, the Secret Service acknowledges schools are rightly concerned with making sure discipline isn’t levied disproportionate against particular groups of students. But it said “the best data available demonstrate that this is not the case with threat assessment programs, which are based on an understanding and addressing student behavior, rather than on profiles or types of students.”

Kelly, the Northville attorney, warned that schools looking to ramp up security after the Oxford shootings run the risk of taking it too far, violating students’ rights in the process. On Monday morning, he said, a client came to him for help. His son had just been removed from school for asking whether the building has metal detectors.

“They’re overreacting,” Kelly said of schools. “Because nobody wants to be in the position that Oxford was in.”

GOV. WHITMER SAYS PRESIDENT BIDEN’S COVID-19 VACCINE MANDATE A ‘PROBLEM,’ REPORT SAYS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, in her strongest public remarks to date about President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for employers, said Monday that the requirement is “a problem” for her and state government, according to a published report.

The Daily News in Greenville reported Whitmer as telling business leaders in Montcalm County that she had the same concerns as some of them that the mandate, if enforced, could lead to workers, including those in state government, walking off the job.

“We’re an employer too, the state of Michigan is,” Whitmer was reported as saying. “I know if that mandate happens, we’re going to lose state employees. That’s why I haven’t proposed a mandate at the state level. Some states have. We have not, we’re waiting to see what happens in court.”

“But we have a lot of the same concerns that you just voiced and it’s going to be a problem for all of us,” Whitmer added.

The governor made the remarks in response to a comment from the head of a home health care provider during a meeting with business leaders in Howard City, about 35 miles north of Grand Rapids.

Whitmer has generally been mum on the vaccine mandate, the rules for which were issued early last month by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). It calls for private companies with 100 or more employees to require workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or wear masks and undergo regular testing.

Michigan is one of more than two dozen states that despite having set up its own workplace safety rules is required to have state and local government workers meet standards as rigorous as those put in place by OSHA, meaning the mandate applies.

A federal appeals court has at least temporarily halted enforcement of the mandate, however.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Whitmer has been a key ally of Biden’s but in recent months she has been circumspect in terms of venturing any opinion about the mandate. On Tuesday, her press office said she shares the concerns of businesses and that they and the state will work through any mandate if required to do so.

“Our top priority remains slowing the spread of COVID-19 so that businesses can keep their doors open, schools can keep students in the classrooms and the state can continue our strong economic progress,” said a statement from her office. “While the federal government’s vaccine rule is currently halted, Governor Whitmer continues to urge Michiganders to receive one of the safe and effective vaccines because this is the best way for Michiganders to protect themselves and keep our economy growing.”

Whitmer has refused so far to attempt to issue any statewide masking or vaccine mandate, though earlier in the pandemic her office took several steps to try to slow the spread of the virus through stay-home orders. Last month, the state Legislature filed legal briefs in support of efforts to block the Biden mandate.

BREAKTHROUGH COVID DEATHS, ILLNESSES MOUNT, AS BOOSTERS LAG IN MICHIGAN

BRIDGE MI — Six months after most vaccinations, a quarter of all COVID deaths and hospitalizations are breakthrough cases. Most severe cases, though, are among the unvaccinated.

Earlier this year, the fully vaccinated accounted for 10 percent to 15 percent of all cases, hospitalizations and deaths. In the past month, they account for 24 percent of deaths and 28 percent of hospitalizations.

Experts say that’s partly because the delta variant is more virulent than the traditional COVID-19 strain and because, records indicate, at least 2.5 million Michigan fully vaccinated residents have yet to receive a booster shot.

New research shows the vaccines’ effectiveness decreases after six months, prompting widespread calls for booster shots. Other research indicates the vaccines may be less effective against the delta strain of the virus.

“Should you freak out? No,” said Dr. Vikas Parekh, associate chief medical officer at the University of Michigan’s hospital system.

“Should you consider getting a booster? Yes.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed boosters Oct. 21 for everyone 65 and older and those 18 and older who have underlying health conditions or work in long-term care facilities or in high risk settings. Less than a month later, that eligibility was expanded to everyone 18 and older who had been fully vaccinated for at least six months.

But so far in Michigan, 1.6 million people of the more than 4.2 million who were fully vaccinated six months ago have received boosters. Many of the fully vaccinated who have contracted COVID-19 also are not eligible for the booster yet as well and officials across the state are nervous.

“We are concerned with our booster uptake by our seniors and those that are immune compromised,” said Eric Pessell, health officer for the Calhoun County

Pessell said they are urging residents — especially those 65 and older — to get the boosters and have arranged a mass clinic in Battle Creek for Tuesday.

Michigan is now enduring among the highest infection rates in the country, and hospitalizations are the highest they’ve been at any point of the pandemic.

With a higher percentage of breakthrough cases among the current surge, officials acknowledge there’s a public perception disconnect about the effectiveness of vaccines.

“I certainly have seen people misinterpret this as vaccines (are not) effective,” said Dr. Sarah Lyon-Callo, the state’s top epidemiologist with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

In fact, the opposite is true, she said.

“The vaccines still make a big difference in terms of community spread and the risk of severe outcomes for individuals.”

The overwhelming amount of research backs up the contention, and vaccinations were credited with dramatically reducing nursing-home deaths among residents who were among the first to get the vaccines.

Fewer ventilators

Despite the rise in breakthrough cases, new data from the Michigan Health and Hospitals Association and other sources show that COVID patients who are fully vaccinated are less likely to be in intensive care or on a ventilator.

Although 76 percent of all COVID-19 patients are unvaccinated, they make up 87 percent of those in intensive care units statewide and 88 percent of those on ventilators, who are the most seriously ill.

National data show the unvaccinated, meanwhile, have between a six and 21 times greater risk of death.

The most recent national data indicates 8 of every 100,000 unvaccinated people ages 50 to 64 were dying from COVID-19 in mid-October, compared to 0.4 deaths per 100,000 for the vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For those over 80, the rate is 38.3 deaths per 100,000 for the unvaccinated compared to 6.5 deaths per 100,000 for the vaccinated.

This year, 11,454 people have died of COVID in Michigan.

Of those, the state has researched vaccination status of 8,574: 1,170 were fully vaccinated and the vast majority of those deaths, 1,004, were people 65 and older.

Cases spike among elderly

Beaumont Health Dr. Matthew Sims said almost all of the COVID patients he sees who are vaccinated are elderly, have compromised immune systems or serious lung ailments.

“I haven’t seen any healthy 40-year-olds get a breakthrough case,” Sims, who leads the system’s infectious diseases research.

Officials from the Henry Ford Health System said Friday that of the vaccinated who were hospitalized, 1 percent were not elderly or suffering from other health ailments. Of the unvaccinated, 11 percent had no so-called “comorbidities,” said Dr. Adnan Munkarah, executive vice president and chief clinical officer for the metro Detroit-based health system.

Parekh and Sims said they were seeing similar breakdowns among the vaccinated and unvaccinated at the U-M medical centers and at Beaumont.

At Beaumont, Sims said that of the 12 COVID-19 patients he saw recently three were fully vaccinated — and two of them did not receive a booster.

Without vaccines, many more people would be in Michigan’s hospitals, which are now at their peak since the pandemic began, he said.

“It works. It very clearly works,” he said.

AG: SCHOOL DISTRICT DECLINED OFFER TO REVIEW OXFORD SHOOTING

DETROIT NEWS — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said Monday night that school officials have rejected her offer to review the shooting at Oxford High School last week that left four students dead and injured seven other people.

Nessel, the state’s top law enforcement official, communicated her offer to the Oxford Community School District via email Saturday after Superintendent Tim Throne requested a third-party review of the incident and the events leading up to it.

“I am extremely disappointed that the school district chose to decline my offer to devote the full resources of the Department of Attorney General to review the events leading up to and on November 30th,” she said in a statement. “This tragedy demands a united effort from all of us who serve the Oxford community.”

Oxford Community Schools spokeswoman Danielle Stublensky did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday night.

Throne has worked to address rumors surrounding the shooting Tuesday, which happened hours after the 15-year-old suspect, Ethan Crumbley, met with his parents and school counselors. During the meeting, they discussed a drawing a teacher found on the teen’s desk that reportedly included a bullet and the words “blood everywhere.”

In a letter to the community on Saturday, the superintendent said counselors found the youth “calm” and didn’t believe he would harm others. The parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, were asked to take their son home but “flatly refused,” he said.

School officials had wanted him removed until undergoing counseling. Throne has said Crumbley had not been disciplined before the attack.

The teen remained in school after the meeting with a semi-automatic gun presumably inside his backpack, prosecutors allege.

The superintendent wrote in his letter Saturday that the district wants a third party to investigate the events before the shooting “so we leave no stone unturned, including any and all interaction the student had with staff and students.”

He added an independent security consultant would review the district’s safety practices and procedures.

Nessel has said a probe by her office could determine criminal intent and civil liability, including whether certain school, district or state policies were violated.

The department has statewide jurisdiction and does not need the district’s voluntary participation to conduct a review, the attorney general has said, although its involvement would help produce a “much more meaningful” investigation.

The offices of the Oakland County prosecutor and sheriff investigate only criminal conduct.

In her statement Monday night, Nessel said her team would “continue to support the ongoing criminal investigation in Oakland County and looks forward to meeting with parents, students and teachers when they are ready to share their thoughts. To that end, we also remain committed to evaluating opportunities for our department to ensure that students in Oxford — and across Michigan — receive the protection they deserve and that guns are kept out of our schools.”

Karen McDonald, the county prosecutor, left open the possibility on Monday that school officials also may face charges.

“In this case, a lot could have been done different,” she said in an interview Monday with George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

The findings of an Oakland County Sheriff’s Office probe would determine whether school officials are charged.

On Saturday, Sheriff Mike Bouchard said school officials were not specifically under investigation.

Ethan Crumbley is being held in the Oakland County Jail without bond. He has been charged with one count of terrorism causing death, four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of assault with intent to murder and 12 counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

The teen was charged as an adult and is facing up to life in prison.

His parents were arrested early Saturday and charged with involuntary manslaughter related to the shooting. They have a combined $1 million bond and have pleaded not guilty.

COFFEE CLEARS THE AIR BETWEEN OAKLAND COUNTY PROSECUTOR AND SHERIFF

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald and Sheriff Michael Bouchard met for coffee Sunday, clearing the air between them after a public dustup over their roles in the Oxford High School shooting case.

“I’ve been on the phone with Mike Bouchard at least five times since this morning,” McDonald told the Free Press on Monday afternoon. “We made a point of sitting down yesterday afternoon to try to open the lines of communication to make sure that we are on the same page.”

McDonald said she was confident the two offices were cooperating on the case and will continue.

“I feel really good about it actually,” she said.

Bouchard wasn’t available Monday afternoon but Undersheriff Michael McCabe said the relationship between the two offices is professional.

“The sheriff and the prosecutor are in regular communication and yesterday they spent time together over coffee,” McCabe said. “They’re working together hand-in-glove on this investigation.” The comity is a switch from Friday when McDonald announced involuntary manslaughter charges against James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of Ethan Crumbley, the defendant in the shooting at the school on Nov. 30.

The Crumbleys were not in custody when the charges were made public and didn’t appear for an afternoon arraignment, despite assurances from their lawyers that they would. That prompted a manhunt that ended early Saturday in the dark of night when the couple was found in an industrial building in Detroit near the Belle Isle bridge.

McCabe blasted McDonald publicly, telling the Free Press: “In my entire 44-year career, I have never, ever seen a prosecutor announce charges in a major case without the suspect being in custody first.”

McDonald told CNN that night that the Crumbleys fleeing “wasn’t on anyone’s radar,” adding it was unfortunate that there was a discussion on national TV “about who is to blame” for the couple’s disappearance.

“I don’t care who is to blame,” she said. “What I really care about is the victims.”

The two offices need to work together on cases every day, not just major ones like the Oxford High shooting.

McDonald said that they do, though there has been a bit of a learning curve.

Bouchard, a Republican and former state senator who once ran for U.S. Senate, has been sheriff since 1999. McDonald, a Democrat, took office in January after giving up a safe seat as a judge to run for prosecutor.

McDonald trounced incumbent Jessica Cooper by an almost 2-1 margin in the Democratic primary last year, before easily beating Republican Lin Goetz in the November general election.

She ran on a platform of transparency and communication and fashioned herself as a more progressive prosecutor.

She brought new scrutiny of the Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies over their use of jailhouse informants in criminal cases. She reexamined the handling of informants, who had sometimes had a dubious history. Ultimately, Juwan Deering, who had been convicted of murder and arson in a fire that killed five children, was released and charges dropped after he spent 15 years in prison in a Sheriff’s Office case that relied heavily on informants with questionable credibility. She put a new policy in place that all use of informants must be with her approval.

“Keep in mind that Jessica Cooper was in office for 12 years and that this is a new relationship,” she said. “I’m not just a new prosecutor, but I’m a different kind of prosecutor.”

McDonald said that about 20% of her office’s cases come from the Sheriff’s Office, with the rest coming from local police departments. She said she’s established a Law Enforcement Advisory Council and meets regularly with police chiefs from across the county.

She is a different prosecutor, but she said she’s confident that police across the county recognize her commitment to public safety.

“It’s unfortunate that there was a public perception, even for a small period of time, that we were at odds,” she said. “We just have to be on the same page and we have to work together to try to bring justice to these victims, and also to help support the people in both of our offices and in this community.”

ARTIST WHO SHELTERED CRUMBLEYS ‘HADN’T HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT CHARGES,’ ATTORNEY SAYS

DETROIT NEWS — An attorney for the artist linked to an Oxford Township couple whose son is charged in the shooting deaths of classmates said Sunday his client was only trying to provide a place for friends who said they had received death threats.

Clarence Dass described Andrzej Sikora, a 65-year-old artist and Polish immigrant, as having no knowledge that his friends had been charged with a crime or were the subject of a manhunt last week.

“They knew he had a studio in Detroit and they wanted to put some distance between themselves and Oxford because of death threats,” Dass said. “They called and asked if they could stay with him for a while, and he met them at his studio Friday afternoon. When he left to go home about 5 p.m. he told them to lock up with they left … He had no idea they planned to spend the night there.”

The couple failed to appear for their arraignment Friday on involuntary manslaughter charges related to the shooting allegedly by their son on Nov. 30 and dropped out of sight, leading to a multi-agency manhunt for them.

“He hadn’t heard anything about charges or press conferences or really anything about what was going on until the next day,” Dass said. “When he did hear about it Saturday morning, he immediately called Detroit police, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and my law firm.”

James and Jennifer Crumbley were arrested at the warehouse studio in the 1100 block of Bellevue early Saturday by Detroit police, who had been tipped by the building’s owner that there was a vehicle matching the description of one being sought inside his fenced parking lot.

Dass said he was arranging an interview this week with detectives to discuss his client’s relationship to the incident. A release Sunday night by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the interview will take place Monday afternoon.

“He is offering his full cooperation,” Dass said. “There is no way he was obstructing justice or harboring fugitives. He was just temporarily giving them a place where they felt safe and could figure out what they were going to do next.”

Dass said Sikora and the Crumbleys had met on a ski trip several years ago and Jennifer Crumbley had provided marketing services for his art work.

Ethan Crumbley, 15, is being held in the Oakland County Jail without bond and faces charges of terrorism causing death, four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of assault with intent to murder and 12 counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

WAYNE PROSECUTOR CHARGES 7 JUVENILES WITH SCHOOL THREATS

ASSOCIATED PRES — Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has charged seven juveniles in separate incidents recently for making threats against schools or having a weapon in school.

The charges, issued Thursday and Friday, follow a school shooting at Oxford High School earlier in the week which left left four students dead and six other students and a teacher wounded.

“There is a stranglehold on Southeastern Michigan now,” Worthy said in a news release. “School threats naturally put everyone on edge.

Those charged include a 14-year-old male student at Parcells Middle School in Grosse Pointe Woods, who was charged with a false report or threat of terrorism. Also, a 13-year-old male student at Fisher Magnet Upper Academy in Detroit, was charged with possession of a weapon in a school weapon free zone. He was given bond of $5,000 cash with 10% down and was due in court Dec. 13.

“Thankfully, these matters were all thwarted and no one was harmed,” Worthy said.

MICHIGAN HOURLY MINIMUM WAGE WILL RISE 22 CENTS TO $9.87

DETROIT NEWS via ASSOCIATED PRESS — Michigan’s minimum wage will rise by 22 cents to $9.87 an hour on Jan. 1.

State law requires annual increases in the wage until it reaches $12.05 in a decade. The 22-cent raise was supposed to occur in 2021 but was automatically delayed because of high unemployment early in the coronavirus pandemic.

The state announced this past week that the minimum wage for 16- and 17-year-olds will increase by 19 cents to $8.39 an hour. Employees who make tips will earn a base wage of $3.75 per hour, 8 cents more.

Employers must pay any shortfall if the gratuities plus the minimum wage do not equal or exceed the standard minimum wage.

SLEW OF COPYCAT THREATS ACROSS METRO REGION TROUBLE ADMINISTRATORS, PARENTS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Waves of chaos continued to descend upon metro Detroit on Thursday, two days after the rampage at Oxford High School that left four students dead and seven others injured.

With copycat threats circulating on social media, districts in Oakland County and beyond canceled classes out of caution for students’ safety. Law enforcement leaders continued to emphasize the severity with which they will pursue all reports of threats.

But behind the goose chase of threats and social media rumors of a “hit week” are parents who are walking a fine line of ensuring their children’s security without affecting their kids’ mental and emotional health.

“I felt like I was going to throw up,” said Jill Dillon, 51, of Canton, recalling dropping off her 14-year-old son to school Wednesday morning. “It was nauseating, thinking that I’m supposed to be taking him someplace safe, and is he really going to be safe?”

It’s a mix of emotions to process, Dillion said. The thoughts never stop racing through her mind, she said, but pause at the reasoning: Statistically, the chances of a school shooting happening at Canton High School — where her son attends — are low, but not impossible.

“When something happens this close to home, it brings it closer to your heart and makes you really wonder, how safe are we?”

Reining in these worries, Dillon said she instead focuses on conversations with her son, Aidan, and practical advice, like staying alert of his surroundings and following his teachers’ instructions, imparted through active shooter drills.

“It’s not necessarily about location, or what the school is or isn’t doing — it’s about an individual or individuals,” she said. “It’s unrealistic to think it can’t happen in your community because it certainly can.”

Administrators nationwide — even globally — have been stretched thin for nearly two years, between keeping students healthy during a pandemic and devastating staffing shortages, and now Michigan educators are having to face guiding students through another crisis. Not to mention the long-term, lasting impact all this has on students, Webber said.

“We’re already seeing behavioral struggles with kids because of the trauma of the pandemic, and now we have this,” he said. “The fall of 2021 has been, hands-down, the most difficult four to five months of my educational career,” Webber said, adding that he has taught in prisons and in Africa.

A flood of threats across the region was far-reaching, with some being suspicious posts online, others tangible. On Thursday, a 17-year-old Southfield student with a semi-automatic pistol was arrested and a bomb threat was made at South Lake High School, prompting a police investigation.

“If you’re making threats, we’re going to find you,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said during a news conference Thursday, specifically called to address the estimated hundreds of copycat threats reported. “It is ridiculous you’re inflaming the fears and passion of parents, teachers, and the community in the midst of a real tragedy.”

Bouchard said the pursuit of threats has exhausted his office’s resources but will continue nonetheless. He said he has enlisted the assistance of the FBI and Secret Service to tackle threats. This week has been the most challenging for FBI Detroit Special Agent Tim Waters, who has worked in the community for 21 years, he said during Thursday’s conference.

In Macomb County, Prosecutor Peter Lucido echoed Bouchard’s sentiments in a promise to prosecute threats to the fullest extent.

“Anyone thinking of issuing such a threat should know that as Macomb County Prosecutor, I have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to issuing terroristic threats against our schools, and if you do so you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Lucido said in a statement issued Thursday.

Despite the influx of threats, prosecutors encouraged residents to direct reports of threats to their offices, not to post on social media.

It’s the confusion of what’s real and what’s not that’s scariest for 14-year-old David Roden, a freshman at Northville High School, which stayed open Thursday.

“Everyone was on edge. It’s just kind of weird, being close to the situation,” he said, “because it’s never been close to home, but this one’s closer than they’ve (school shooting) ever been.”

His social media sphere is flooded with rumors of more shootings, Snapchat screenshots, and blurry Instagram stories, promising that Tuesday’s horror was just the beginning. But teachers are having open conversations in his classes, helping him and his classmates to parse the confirmed facts from the fake.

David’s mom, Jodie, said she used to worry about her kids reaching school safely with her daughter, 16-year-old Emily, behind the wheel.

“It’s sad that you’re nervous sending them off to school and hoping that the person sitting next to them isn’t the person that could, you know, do something to them,” she said, laughing nervously.

OXFORD SCHOOL CHIEF: DISCIPLINE NOT NEEDED FOR [SHOOTER] BEFORE SHOOTING

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS VIA THE OAKLAND PRESS — A teenager accused of killing four students at an Oakland County high school was called to the office before the shooting but “no discipline was warranted,” the superintendent said Thursday in his first extended remarks since the tragedy.

Tim Throne, leader of Oxford Community Schools, said Oxford High School looks like a “war zone” and won’t be ready for weeks. But he repeatedly credited students and staff for how they responded to the violence Tuesday.

“To say that I am still in shock and numb is probably an understatement. These events that have occurred will not define us,” Throne, grim-faced and speaking slowly, said in a 12-minute video.

“I want you to know that there’s been a lot of talk about the student who was apprehended, that he was called up to the office and all that kind of stuff. No discipline was warranted,” Throne said. “There are no discipline records at the high school. Yes this student did have contact with our front office, and, yes, his parents were on campus Nov. 30.”

Throne said he couldn’t immediately release additional details.

Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard has said Crumbley’s classroom behavior was a concern on the day of the shooting.

In his remarks, the superintendent said he was asking the sheriff’s office to publicly release school video from Tuesday.

“I want you to be as proud of your sons and daughters as I am,” Throne said.

Earlier Thursday, a prosecutor repeated her criticism of Crumbley’s parents, saying their actions went “far beyond negligence” and that a charging decision would come by Friday.

“The parents were the only individuals in the position to know the access to weapons,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said. The gun “seems to have been just freely available to that individual.”

Four students were killed and seven more people were injured. Three were in hospitals in stable condition.

The semi-automatic gun was purchased legally by Crumbley’s father last week, on Black Friday, according to investigators.

Parents in the U.S. are rarely charged in school shootings involving their children, even as most minors get guns from a parent or relative’s house, according to experts.

There’s no Michigan law that requires gun owners keep weapons locked away from children. McDonald, however, suggested there’s more to build a case on.

“All I can say at this point is those actions on mom and dad’s behalf go far beyond negligence,” she told WJR-AM. “We obviously are prosecuting the shooter to the fullest extent. … There are other individuals who should be held accountable.”

Later at a news conference, McDonald said she hoped to have an announcement “in the next 24 hours.” She had firmly signaled that Crumbley’s parents were under scrutiny when she filed charges against their son Wednesday.

Jennifer and James Crumbley did not return a message left by The Associated Press.

The sheriff disclosed Wednesday that the parents met with school officials about their son’s classroom behavior, just a few hours before the shooting.

Crumbley stayed in school Tuesday and a couple of hours later emerged from a bathroom with a gun, firing at students in the hallway, police said.

“Should there have been different decisions made?” McDonald said when asked about keeping the teen in school. “Probably they will come to that conclusion. … I have not seen anything that would make me think that there’s criminal culpability. It’s a terrible, terrible tragedy.”

William Swor, a defense lawyer who is not involved in the case, said charging the parents would require a “very fact-intensive investigation.”

“What did they know and when did they know it?” Swor said. “What advance information did they have about all these things? Did they know anything about his attitude, things of that nature. You’re talking about a very heavy burden to bring on the parents.”

Just over half of U.S. states have child access prevention laws related to guns, but they vary widely. Gun control advocates say the laws are often not enforced and the penalties are weak.

“Our laws haven’t really adapted to the reality of school shootings and the closest we have are these child access prevention laws,” said Kris Brown, president of the Brady gun control advocacy group.

In 2000, a Flint-area man pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to two years in prison. A 6-year-old boy who was living with him had found a gun in a shoebox and killed a classmate at school.

In 2020, the mother of an Indiana teen was placed on probation for failing to remove guns from her home after her mentally ill son threatened to kill students. He fired shots inside his school in 2018. No one was injured but the boy killed himself.

In Texas, the parents of a student who was accused of killing 10 people at a school in 2018 have been sued over his access to guns.

Meanwhile, dozens of schools in southeastern Michigan canceled classes Thursday due to concerns about threatening messages on social media following the Oxford shooting. Others planned to join them and close on Friday.

“We know from research and experience that learning is nearly impossible when students and staff do not feel safe,” Grosse Pointe Superintendent Jon Dean told families.

Bouchard said no threats in Oakland County were found to be credible. Just to the north in Genesee County, a Flint teenager was charged with making a false threat when she recorded a video while riding a school bus and posted it online.

“If you’re making threats, we’re going to find you,” Bouchard said. “It is ridiculous you’re inflaming the fears of parents, teachers in the community in the midst of a real tragedy.”

‘IT’S THE WAY WE COME TOGETHER’; OXFORD FINDS UNITY AFTER TRAGEDY

DETROIT NEWS — A little girl in a pink fleece arrived at the memorial to four dead children Thursday afternoon just as a woman in a pink parka was easing out of her car.

The little girl laid flowers at the sign at the entrance to the Oxford High School parking lot, and then she drew her hands back inside her sleeves so they flapped wildly as she jumped up and down in excitement over being part of something she didn’t understand.

The woman laid a bouquet atop some of the others, lingered only for a minute and then walked away, wiping her eyes with the heel of her hand. She understood too well what had happened, even if no one understands why.

A 15-year-old sophomore named Ethan Crumbley stands accused of shooting 10 students and a teacher Tuesday at just about the same time the two mourners in pink were paying their respects. He is locked away at the Oakland County Jail in Pontiac, alone, accused of killing four fellow students.

In Oxford, there was a sense Thursday that everyone was united.

“We can’t be judged by one goofball,” said Amanda McFarland, searching for a word and finding one far more playful than what she really meant. “It’s the way we come together afterward.”

McFarland, 35, owns Valor Salon in the city’s small downtown. She graduated from Oxford High in 2004, when it was housed in what’s now the middle school, and she’s the mother of third-, fifth- and seventh-graders in the district.

“I love the small-town feel,” she said. She loves being surrounded by people who’ve known her since she was born and loves knowing that people were expecting her salon team to do a crazy dance even wilder than the last one on Saturday in the annual Christmas parade.

Maybe next year. The parade and the Friday night Soup and Sweets Stroll through downtown have been canceled, replaced by a 6:30 p.m. Friday prayer vigil half a block from her shop.

The light poles along the strip already bore wide ribbons Thursday in blue and gold, the colors of the Oxford High School Wildcats. Placards had sprouted in yards: “Thank You Teachers & First Responders. #OxfordStrong.”

At the Meijer store where bewildered students reunited with frantic parents Tuesday afternoon in the hours after the shooting, the parking lot was crowded. Along one aisle, three cars in a five-space span bore stickers asking motorists to be patient with their student drivers.

Inside, a teenage boy with a small bouquet in one hand was using the other to punch buttons on an ATM.

“Dude,” his friend said. “You need to borrow money?”

The friend was carrying flowers of his own. They were headed to the school, where two Oakland County deputies in separate SUVs watched clusters of kids stand quietly near the sign along Oxford Road that had become a shrine.

Flowers. Stuffed animals. Balloons. Candles. A gold angel in a snow globe. Tears.

Dan Hooker, 59, of Livonia stood with them in a fluorescent yellow vest marked, “Chaplain.”

The kids generally weren’t saying much. Neither was he.

“It’s mostly, ‘How are you holding up?'” Hooker said. “Most of them have very few words.”

Hooker, a retired General Motors power train engineer, is a volunteer with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team. He’s been to hurricanes, fires and floods, but this was his first mass shooting.

Across 24 years as an Oakland County deputy, Lee Van Camp has become more accustomed to violence. Thursday, he experienced something new.

A man with two small children approached his black and gold SUV and introduced the kids. Their mother, the dad explained, works at the school. The kids thanked him and presented him with a sack lunch.

“How amazing is that?” Van Camp asked.

As darkness set in, about 200 people attended a candlelight vigil in neighboring Lake Orion honoring those who died and were wounded at Oxford High School.

Lake Orion High School students Hadley Socha, Lilla Bonner and Layla Thompson, all 15, lit candles at the event in Children’s Park. The two high schools are separated by about seven miles.

“It’s very tragic and traumatizing towards all the other people, not just those in Oxford but towards the whole community,” Socha said of Tuesday’s shooting.

Added Thompson: “School should be a safe place to learn. You shouldn’t be scared to go,” she said.

As the vigil was beginning, the U.S. House of Representatives took a break from their partisan deliberations to hold a moment of silence for the victims at Oxford High School.

U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, the Holly Democrat whose district represents Oxford, requested the moment of silence as she was surrounded by Michigan and other colleagues.

“Mr. Speaker, this has been one of the darkest and most painful weeks our state of Michigan has had in recent memory,” Slotkin said on the House floor. “We stand here, the Michigan delegation of Democrats and Republicans along with other honorary Michiganders, to ask Congress to recognize that pain and to ask members here to see your own children in the pictures of those who were lost in yet another school shooting.

“In less than five minutes, the small town of Oxford, Michigan, was changed forever when a gunman opened fire on his fellow high school students. In that momentary flash, four innocent teenagers, students with their entire lives ahead of them, were taken from us in yet another senseless act of violence.”

earlier in the day, the mundane counted as a victory. McFarland’s salon was bustling.

“I don’t think things will ever be the same,” she said. “Hopefully, we can grow from it.”

Only time will tell, McFarland said, and the wounds are too fresh to know what it will be.

15-YEAR-OLD OXFORD SUSPECT COULD FACE TERRORISM, FIRST-DEGREE MURDER CHARGES: WHAT THAT MEANS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald is seeking numerous charges against 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley, the suspect in Tuesday’s rampage at Oxford High School that left four students dead.

If convicted, Crumbley could spend the rest of his life behind bars without the possibility of parole.

Charges include four counts of first-degree murder, terrorism, and firearm possession charges, McDonald announced Wednesday afternoon. McDonald is seeking to charge Crumbley as an adult and may pursue charges against his parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley.

Crumbley, a sophomore at Oxford, is accused of killing four people — Hana St. Juliana, 14, Tate Myre, 16, and Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 17 — and injuring seven others Tuesday.

Here are the charges McDonald is seeking against Crumbley:

One count of terrorism causing death
Four counts of first-degree murder
Seven counts of assault with intent to murder
12 counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony

Crumbley was arraigned in district court in Rochester Hills Wednesday afternoon, he joined via video from Oakland County’s Children’s Village, a juvenile center. The charges

The investigation thus far has pointed investigators to believe Crumbley’s actions were not impulsive, contributing to McDonald’s desire to charge the teen as an adult, she said. Further, under Michigan law, some crimes are so severe that they require the suspect to be automatically treated as an adult — foremost, first-degree murder.

“Charging this person as an adult is necessary to achieve justice and protect the public,” McDonald said Wednesday, hours before Crumbley was arraigned. “I’m committed to seeking justice for the victims of the Oxford High School shooting and all Oakland County kids who face violence.”

The terrorism charge, McDonald said, is in relation to the horrors inflicted upon the rest of the school’s community who weren’t direct victims but still faced trauma.

“What about all the children who ran screaming, hiding under desks? What about all the children at home who can’t eat and can’t sleep and can’t imagine a world where they could ever step foot back in that school?” McDonald said.

SCHOOL DISTRICTS CLOSE TODAY DUE TO THREATS

THE OAKLAND PRESS — Thousands of students are staying home today as districts have closed out of “an abundance of caution” following a wave of threats shared on social media.

The threats follow the Tuesday afternoon shooting at Oxford High School, where four students were killed and seven other people injured. A 15-year-old male sophomore has been charged —as an adult — with first-degree murder and terrorism along with other charges.

Closed are schools in Rochester, Southfield, Lake Orion, Troy, Bloomfield Hills, Auburn Hills, Clarkston, Huron Valley, Warren, and Holly.

Oxford Community Schools had already announced its buildings would be closed all week.

“Nothing is more important than the well-being of our school community, and we are committed to doing all we can to keep students and staff safe,” Rochester Community Schools announced on their Facebook page.

“There have been rumors circulating on social media indicating that other high schools may be at risk of experiencing a tragedy similar to the one that occurred recently at Oxford High School. At Rochester Community Schools, we take all threats very seriously. All rumors continue to be thoroughly investigated by our local law enforcement. Although there appear to be no credible threats at this time, we are pausing in-person and virtual learning for the day out of an abundance of caution.

“We appreciate families encouraging their students to continue talking with a trusted adult if they see or hear something that doesn’t seem right. Families can contact a school administrator or use the Talk to Us feature on the RCS website. Information can also be reported anonymously using OK2Say at (855) 565-2729.”

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said such threats will be investigated and charges will be levied even if the threat is not credible.

“If you make a threat, we’re gonna seek charges,” Bouchard said. “That’s how it broadens this whole anxiety and depression that many parents and students are feeling, and it’s incredibly disturbing.”

In Southfield, the district attributed its closure to threats along with a “significant number of student absences.” In the city, police said a student brought a gun into a school building.

Holly Area School and Clarkston Community Schools are closed Thursday and will be closed Friday as well.

“The Holly Police Department and Holly Schools administration have been receiving and jointly investigating numerous reports of threats on various social media platforms that ‘someone is going to shoot up Holly Schools,’” Holly police said on Facebook. “We have received dozens of screen shots of Holly School students sharing various screen shots of a report that ‘someone heard someone say’….. We have spoken to numerous students who have shared these posts; however, no one can identify the original source of the threat.

“Parents: Please assist us by advising students to stop posting and sharing these messages.

“We are asking any parent or student who has information that would identify the person(s) who are making or verbalizing threats to contact the Holly Police Department by calling (248) 858-4911.

“Making threats to shoot up a school is a crime. Sharing and posting unknown threats is extremely traumatizing to a community already traumatized by a very real tragedy.”

In Clarkston, the district reported “dozens of indirect threats reported to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office throughout the county this evening.”

“At this time, none of the threats investigated have been deemed credible. However, the volume of indirect threats in the county makes it impossible for law enforcement to investigate each threat thoroughly,” Clarkston schools said. “The safety of our students and staff is our top priority, and at this time, we cannot take the risk. We will continue to work with the OCSO and keep you informed.”

In Bloomfield Hills and Bloomfield Township, students are home on Thursday.

“The safety and security of our students is our top priority. We are in constant contact with Bloomfield Township Police who take every report or rumor seriously,” Pat Watson, superintendent of Bloomfield Hills schools, said. “We will follow up with you tomorrow with any updated information.

“Please take care of yourselves and one another.”

MICHIGAN ADDS 16,530 CASES, 358 DEATHS FROM COVID-19 OVER TWO DAYS

DETROIT NEWS — Michigan added 16,530 cases and 358 deaths from COVID-19 on Wednesday, including cases from Tuesday.

The additions bring the state’s totals to 1,318,123 confirmed cases and 24,090 deaths from the virus since the pandemic began in March 2020.

The state averaged 8,265 cases over the two days. Of the latest deaths reported, 160 were identified during a vital records review, state health officials noted.

Michigan hit a new record of adult hospitalizations from the virus Monday, and 80% of all hospital inpatient beds are full.

Michigan broke the weekly record of new cases Nov. 13-19, setting a seven-day total of 53,575 — a new high not seen through the entirety of the coronavirus pandemic.

Last week, the state has added 34,011 cases and 363 deaths from the virus from Nov. 20 through Wednesday. Then, 25,329 cases and 137 deaths from Thursday through Monday.

Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services issued an advisory earlier in November recommending people wear masks at indoor gatherings regardless of their vaccination status. It will remain in effect until further notice.

The state also encouraged businesses to impose policies to ensure that all people entering, including employees, wear masks and advised individuals who are not fully vaccinated or who are immunocompromised to avoid large crowds or gatherings.

More than a year ago on Nov. 15, 2020, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced her administration’s “pause to save lives,” bringing wide-ranging restrictions limiting gatherings at high schools, colleges and restaurants to combat what she described as the “worst moment” yet in the COVID-19 pandemic. Those restrictions ended in June.

But the uptick in cases and deaths has not resulted in any new mandates at the state level. Whitmer officials have preferred to encourage local and county officials to issue public health orders such as mask mandates.

Michigan’s latest data

Michigan remains at a high transmission rate and the state’s percent of tests returning positive has increased from last week. Michigan reported the second-most cases in the country over the last seven days.

Last week, 18.9% of Michigan’s COVID-19 tests were positive, a jump from 17.4% last week.

The Michigan Health and Hospital Association sounded the alarm last week over near-record hospitalizations.

As of Monday, 4,181 adults and 48 children are hospitalized with positive cases. Another 205 adults and 139 children are hospitalized with suspected cases.

John Karasinski, a spokesman of the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, has said the growth is concerning as hospitals have experienced a 40% increase in daily emergency department patients since October 2020. Overall bed occupancy in Michigan hospitals is 10% higher than what Michigan experienced in the fall surge when the state peaked Dec. 1, 2020, with 4,283 COVID-19 hospitalizations, he said.

About 23% of hospital beds are filled with COVID-19 patients, up from 13.9% the week prior. There has been an average of 2,430 emergency room visits related to COVID-19 every day in the state.

Nine hospitals are 100% full, according to the latest state data. They include Beaumont in Wayne, ProMedica CV Hickman in Adrian, Spectrum Health’s Hospitals in Grand Rapids, Hastings, Reed City, Freemont, St. Joseph Mercy in Ann Arbor, Livingston and Sturgis Hospital. Another 20 hospitals are above 90% full.

About 71% of residents aged 16 and older have received their first doses of a vaccine. When including children ages 5 and older, 61% have received first shots in the state.

Roll out of the vaccine for 5- to 11-year-olds is occurring after Pfizer’s vaccine for children was approved by the FDA and more than 840,000 children of that age are in Michigan. So far, more than 106,000 children, or 13%, have received their first dose in Michigan.

More than 1.2 million booster doses of the vaccine have been administered in Michigan. Of those, more than 35% of 65-74-year-olds have received a booster; 20% of 50-64-year-olds and 75 and older; 9% of 40-49; and 8% of 30-39-year-olds. The majority of boosters administered have been concentrated in southeast Michigan. Oakland County has the most boosters administered, according to state tracking data.

Case rates among children are higher in counties where school districts do not have mask policies, according to the state health department.

In Michigan, over 50% of children hospitalized for the virus have no reported underlying conditions.

Outbreaks have led to an increase in multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. MIS-C is a condition in children where multiple organ systems become inflamed or dysfunctional. There are 183 cases in the state, and the majority, or 71%, are in the ICU. There have been five deaths.

3 KILLED, 8 INJURED IN OXFORD HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING — EVERYTHING WE KNOW SO FAR

WDIV TV — Three students were killed and eight other people were injured in a shooting at Oxford High School on Tuesday, officials said.

Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe said a 15-year-old sophomore student is the suspected shooter. The shooting happened at 12:51 p.m. in an area of the school where many history classes take place.

More than 100 calls were made to police during the shooting. McCabe said the suspect was in custody within five minutes of officials receiving the first 911 call.

Investigators recovered a semi-automatic handgun and found multiple spent shell cases. It is believed the suspect fired between 15-20 rounds.

All schools in the Oxford Community Schools district, including OELC, will be closed for the remainder of the week, officials announced.

911 received more than 100 calls

Officials said the first call to 911 was made around 12:51 p.m. Tuesday (Nov. 30). Within five minutes of that first 911 call, the suspected shooter was in custody.

More than 100 calls were made to police during the shooting. A handgun was recovered at the scene and police believe between 15-20 rounds were fired.

The suspect is being held at Pontiac Children’s Village and is being lodged as a juvenile. McCabe said the prosecutor’s office could charge him as an adult if it decided to.

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said the suspect had a loaded pistol when he was arrested. The suspect was not injured.

“I believe they (responding officers) literally saved lives,” Bouchard said.

Bouchard said the weapon the suspect used had been purchased on Nov. 26 by the boy’s father. The gun had three magazines with 15 rounds each. Two of those magazines have been recovered by police and Bouchard believes the third will be found at the scene.

Bouchard said they believe 12 rounds were fired. That information is based on casings observed on the ground. The scene is being processed and will continue to be processed throughout the night.

“We will release as much information as we can, as soon as we can, that won’t jeopardize any prosecution,” Bouchard said.

The identities of the victims have been released to the public by officials.

14 year old Hana St. Juliana

16 year old Tate Myre

17 year old Madisyn Baldwin

Injured:

14-year-old boy who suffered jaw and head wounds.
14-year-old girl in critical condition with chest and neck gunshot wounds. She is on a ventilator after surgery.
15-year-old boy in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head.
15-year-old boy in stable condition with a gunshot wound to the left leg.
17-year-old boy who is in stable condition with a gunshot wound to the neck.
17-year-old boy with gunshot wound to his hip.
17-year-old girl in critical condition with a gunshot wound to her chest.
47-year-old teacher who has been discharged from the hospital with a grazing wound to their shoulder.

The victims were transported to several different hospitals in the area including McLaren Lapeer, McLaren Oakland and St. Joe’s in Pontiac.

How the school district is responding

All Oxford Community Schools are closed for the rest of the week.

The district’s crisis team is working to implement a response plan to support those in the school community. Officials said more details on the response will be sent as they become available.

Helpline volunteers from Common Ground have made a 24/7 resource and crisis helpline available to those impacted by the shooting. The number to call or text is 1-800-231-1127.

COMMUNITY GATHERS TO PRAY FOR PEACE IN WAKE OF OXFORD HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Hundreds of people, shell shocked and in tears from the deadly shooting rampage at Oxford High School that left three dead and eight more injured, showed up at three different prayer services Tuesday night, looking for comfort and meaning amid the devastation.

They spanned the ages — students in Oxford varsity jackets and sweatshirts in blue and gold, the school’s colors; parents with worry etched on their faces; community members who never thought anything like this could happen in their little enclave in northern Oakland County.

“This is the thing you read about on the news, that happens in other places,” said Kim Kozel, 51, of Lake Orion, one of about 300 people who attended a prayer vigil at Kensington Church in Lake Orion. She’d spent much of the afternoon worried about her son, an employee of the school district’s IT department who travels between schools during the day, only to learn that he was on lockdown at the middle school during the shooting. “I don’t think I’ve processed it yet,” Kozel said, rattled. “It’s been a lot.”

“Just about all of Oxford hurts,” Pastor Jesse Holt told a crowd of more than 200, at LakePoint Community Church in Oxford Township. When seating ran out, dozens stood for the service. Several held onto each other for comfort. Then, sharing a common flame, they lit candles each had been given. And they wept.

It’s impossible to know how every student, every teacher, every parent will be affected by the shooting, which police say was carried out by a 15-year-old student armed with a semiautomatic handgun. But later in the service, Holt asked students who were at the school Tuesday— including Ashley Bales, a senior at Oxford, who, along with other students, escaped the school’s locker rooms and ran down a slippery hill toward a nearby Meijer store — to stand.

“Father,” Holt said, “I pray that you would bless (these students) in what they do. I pray for the next coming days that if there is anxiety, there are nightmares, there are difficulties that come from it, that you will give them peace as I have prayed.” The message was similar at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Lake Orion. “Our whole community, our whole family of faith has been affected,” said the Rev. John Carlin. “We’re offering up this Mass for the repose of their souls, for the comfort of those who are wounded and for the family members.

“This Mass is offered especially for them as a Mass of peace, and asking the Lord to give us his peace.”

Carlin said he heard about the shooting Tuesday afternoon during a penance service. “The Lord was calling me, saying I’m really supposed to be with my people right now,” Carlin said, adding that the St. Joseph parish school went into lockdown upon getting word of the shooting at Oxford High School. “Something told me, that as a priest, as a father of a community, I’m supposed to be there for them. I wasn’t even sure what I was supposed to do.”

He said he drove to the Meijer store, to which the students and staff from the high school were evacuated, praying along the way.

“I am asking the Lord. I’m just in prayer with the Lord, asking, ‘What am I supposed to do?’ … I don’t have superpowers. I can’t fix everything that’s going on. What kind of peace am I supposed to bring to anybody, let alone to my heart?” Carlin said.

And that, he said, is when he realized the answer was to comfort them with faith and trust in the Lord in the darkest of times.

“Every time we experience a loss of friends or loved ones or something that we don’t understand, the Lord wants not only to walk with us through that darkness but to let us know that he is there, and he’s not going anywhere and he never will,” Carlin said.

WHAT PARENTS NEED TO KNOW, AND HOW THEY CAN HELP AFTER SHOOTINGS LIKE OXFORD HIGH SCHOOL

DETROIT FREE PRESS — It is essential, after a school shooting, that parents and other adults control their emotions around their children to restore a feeling of calm and safety and limit anxiety, according to medical experts interviewed by the Free Press.

“In general, children, especially younger ones, do not have a good ability of threat detection or appraising the level of the danger. The most important thing is to control our own fear or negative emotions around kids — all kids,” said Dr. Arash Javanbakht, a psychiatrist and director of the Stress, Trauma and Anxiety Research clinic at Wayne State University. “Parents must show they’re in control. For parents to create an atmosphere of safety is very important.”

Watching the news, which may include graphic video, should be avoided at home when children are in the vicinity as it can fuel anxiety, he and other psychiatrists said. Repeated exposure, especially for younger children, might lead to them believing the events are recurring. “Do not deny kids’ fears or thoughts or questions. Be open to the kids. Listen to them, see what are their concerns and address those concerns. Remind them they are safe at home, and that there are many adults including parents, teachers and police, working every day to keep them safe,” said Javanbakht, an expert on psychiatry surrounding shootings.

Basic facts can calm fears and alleviate a sense of chaos, and create a sense of control, medical experts said.

Children of all ages may respond to trauma in different ways. They may feel anxious when separating from caregivers, find it hard to concentrate, have nightmares or not want to sleep alone. These are issues that may need professional attention. ‘No right or wrong way’

Dr. Zakia Alavi, an associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Human Development at Michigan State University who is board certified in child and adolescent psychiatry, said she had been talking with parents all afternoon Tuesday about how to handle the Oxford High School shooting situation as events unfolded.

“The first thing to know is, there is no right or wrong way to address this. Any talk is better than no talk in terms of allowing children to express themselves and their concerns,” Alavi said.

She suggested organizing advice into three major categories:

Providing reassurance regarding safety.
Regulating parents’ expression of angst or fear.
Being proactive — things you can do rather than just worry.

Preteens and younger children generally see events as related to them, because of them or for them, Alavi said. Teenagers generally want to know how events will affect them and what could have been done differently.

Parents must be aware of their own anxiety and regulate that emotion in front of children because it goes a long way toward a feeling that everything will be OK, Alavi said.

“We want kids to feel the adults in their lives can keep them safe. There is nothing more terrifying for kids than thinking that their family is not in control,” she said. “Also, limit the consumption of social media and TV. Repeated coverage can be re-traumatizing.”

Symptoms of trauma

After traumatic events, parents may notice changes in the behavior of students at home.

“They may feel a wide range of feelings and that’s normal. They may find themselves struggling now and in the days to come with intense feelings — fear, depression, anxiety, anger,” said Dr. Peter Langman, a psychologist based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and author of “Warning Signs: Identifying School Shooters Before they Strike.”

“An incident like this has a big impact on us as people,” he said. “For some, they may seem more agitated, irritated, may act out more. They may show more of a temper or have trouble sleeping. Kids may be more quiet or withdrawn. You may see crying or an unwillingness to even go back to school or participate in normal activities. Or they may seek more support.”

Symptoms of anxiety may present as loss of appetite or increased appetite, in addition to sleep disruption.

Children should be encouraged to talk with anyone who provides a feeling of safety, whether it’s adults at home, teachers, coaches, counselors — connection is essential.

“You cannot always see the attack coming, especially when you talk about juvenile school shooters,” said Langman, who is also a researcher with the National Threat Assessment Center of the U.S. Secret Service.

“What’s so heartbreaking in studying these cases over the years is how many people knew something and didn’t take action,” he said. “It’s so important that people know there are typically warning signs and if they’re reported, authorities can intervene effectively. You can prevent these incidents. I encourage students, faculty, parents and anyone who comes across a warning sign to take action and report it to the school.”

Early news reports confirmed that some students who attended Oxford High School did, in fact, stay home on Tuesday because they felt uneasy. Parents interviewed by the news media confirmed concerns about rumors involving potential violence.

‘Little kids concerned’

Stephanie Hartwell, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Wayne State, is a medical sociologist who has researched gun violence. On Tuesday, her daughter texted news of the shooting to her.

“My kids were 8 and 5 when the Sandy Hook school shooting happened. And that was first graders. I was completely traumatized. It changes your perception of how safe the world is. So you start to question everything,” Hartwell said.

Michigan: 25,329 new COVID-19 cases, 137 more virus deaths over past five days

THE OAKLAND PRESS — Michigan public health officials reported Monday 25,329 new COVID-19 cases over a five-day period, Thursday-Monday, and 137 additional virus deaths over the past five days.

That case total brought the state’s total confirmed number to 1,301,593 and deaths to 23,732 since the onset of the pandemic. Of the 137 deaths announced Monday, 57 were identified during a vital records review. Normally, the Monday COVID-19 data only includes Saturday-Monday. But due to the Thursday Thanksgiving holiday, numbers were not released Friday, resulting in the five days worth of data Monday.

According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), those totals represent testing data collected Thursday-Monday. MDHHS publishes new case, death, and vaccination numbers every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with new outbreak-related data published every Monday.

Locally, since Thursday, Macomb County has reported 2,829 new cases and 15 additional deaths. In Oakland County, there were 3,125 new cases and seven additional deaths. In Wayne County, there were 3,181 new cases and nine additional deaths.

The state’s vaccination coverage rate for residents 16 and older is 70.9%, up 0.1% since Wednesday, with more than 5.74 million residents receiving at least one dose. The vaccination coverage rate for residents 5 and older is at 60.7%, up 0.4% since Wednesday. Michigan’s number of hospitalized adults with confirmed COVID-19 cases reached a new pandemic high Monday, nearly 4,200, as the state continued to confront surging infections.

The total of 4,181 surpassed the previous record of 4,158, which was set seven months ago during the state’s third wave.

Only Minnesota had a higher seven-day case rate than Michigan as of Sunday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

State health officials are urging people to get vaccinated and to wear masks in public settings to limit the spread of the coronavirus amid the fourth surge. The federal government has deployed military medical staffers to help Michigan hospitals cope.

MICHIGAN SCHOOLS STRUGGLE WITH REMOTE DAYS

BRIDGE MI w/CHALKBEAT DETROIT — Detroit Superintendent Nikolai Vitti spent much of the last year preaching the importance of in-person learning for students’ emotional well-being.

But getting students back in the classroom was only the first step in what is proving to be a long, uphill battle to help students recover from the emotional and academic effects of the pandemic.

Detroit Public Schools Community District is going remote for three days in December and closed schools for an extra two days before Thanksgiving.

The closures help show that students and educators are under duress as COVID outbreaks and staff shortages pile on top of nearly two years of virtual learning, quarantines, masking battles and COVID fears.

Those disruptions, compounded by growing staff shortages, mean “this year is harder for kids and educators than last year,” said Kevin Polston, superintendent of Kentwood Public Schools, who led a council appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to develop Michigan’s educational comeback. “We knew it would be a multiyear process of recovery.”

School closures this fall make clear that efforts to rebuild relationships with students and reestablish academic routines will be a long-term project for Michigan schools. Outside of Detroit, districts such as Southfield, Eastpointe, and Ann Arbor have gone remote for days at a time in response to staffing shortages and outbreaks. The Grand Rapids district cancelled classes on two Fridays in December, calling them COVID wellness days.

Dozens of districts across Michigan canceled school through the Thanksgiving week in response to spiking outbreaks, including in Grand Haven, Muskegon, and Ypsilanti.

Although Vitti said he strongly favors in-person instruction, he argued that Detroit’s three remote learning days in December are necessary given the mental health challenges teachers and students face.

“The online Fridays will give students a break from mask wearing, the stress of COVID, the anxiety of returning to school with peers and adults they have not seen or known in two years,” Vitti said. “It’s not a long term solution but it provides a much needed break from all of the newness and challenges of returning to school.”

Schools across the country have reported an uptick in disruptive student behavior and social-emotional challenges, seen by many as a reflection of the acute stressors the pandemic has placed on children.

Changes to school schedules add additional stress on working families — one Detroit parent said the Thanksgiving closures could cost her a job.

Even though closures can be “impossibly difficult” for families, they may be necessary given the pressures on teachers related to student mental health and staff shortages, said Elizabeth Koschmann, a researcher at the University of Michigan who leads TRAILS, a mental health program for schools.

For teachers, that crisis has meant ballooning responsibilities amid shortages of classroom aides and substitute teachers. At the same time, many students need more support than ever as they readjust to learning in classrooms.

On social media in conversation with Chalkbeat, teachers spoke about the challenges of more teachers calling out sick, and re-teaching lessons to students who had been in quarantine.

“As I communicate with teachers, most of them say the burnout rate this year is much higher” than last year, said Carrie Russell, a Detroit high school teacher. “I’m hearing horror stories of teachers who are covering every single prep, who had to give up classroom spaces.” The school year has brought an “extraordinary load” for educators, Russell added, as they navigate COVID safety protocols and contact tracing responsibilities.

“Because you’re back in the building, you’re being asked to do more, because you have fewer subs, and teachers are having to be quarantined. And when other teachers are out the burden becomes higher for you,” she said.

Returning to the classroom has been challenging for many students, adding to the pressure and workload for educators. Russell believes the remote instruction days could better support educators adjusting to the increased workload.

The increasing number of school outbreaks is adding to the challenges teachers and school administrators face. After reporting roughly 10 new cases linked to outbreaks every week through September and October, the district saw 128 new cases last week.

As Detroit leaders move to give students and teachers a break, they are considering whether to pour more federal COVID funds into hiring staff, such as guidance counselors and social workers, who will directly support students. The district has already planned to invest $34 million to address the mental health needs of students, families, and staff.

“We don’t have an indefinite amount of time to try to support students through this,” said Detroit school district board member Sonya Mays in a recent finance committee meeting.

“At some point, if we don’t make the biggest, most impactful investment in social-emotional wellbeing” … students “are not going to hit the achievement levels that they otherwise could have.”

“If the choice is putting more money in schools, or doing as much as you can to support students and teachers, quite frankly, to get through this moment, we really have to have an honest conversation about that.”

The remote instruction days have also been described as a time to thoroughly clean school buildings — something many parents and teachers have called for. The federal Centers for Disease Control recommends cleaning in facilities, however the agency makes it clear that the risk of infection from touching surfaces is low.

Even under pressure from staffing shortages, there are steps schools can take now to support students emotionally and pave the way for academic recovery, said Melissa Schlinger, vice president at Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, a consulting company that helps schools improve student mental health.

“We need to get back into routines and connect with each other,” she said. “Give teachers and staff members permission to focus on rebuilding relationships and not be so stressed out about learning loss. If we don’t address these social emotional pieces first, it will be a lot harder to get kids to lean into the academic rigor.”

But supporting students isn’t easy, and existing staff are already stretched thin.

“I’m trying my hardest to keep track of who is supposed to be where and provide education to all my students both in person and virtual,” said Marnina Falk, a Detroit district teacher who spoke during November’s school board meeting about her challenges tracing close contacts in her classroom.

“Doing that on top of everything else on my plate is becoming impossible.”

LAWMAKER: PPO VIOLATES FREE SPEECH, SEPARATION OF POWERS, LEGISLATIVE PRIVILEGE

DETROIT NEWS — A Harrison Township lawmaker accused of sending threatening texts to another legislator has asked a judge to dismiss a personal protection order, arguing his statements were protected by freedom of speech, legislative privilege and separation of powers.

Ingham County Circuit Judge Lisa McCormick is expected to hold a hearing on Rep. Steve Marino’s request to dismiss the PPO this week, about two and a half months after Rep. Mari Manoogian, D-Birmingham, was granted the order.

Marino, 32, who had a prior romantic relationship with Manoogian, 29, that ended in 2019, has not been to session since the PPO was issued in mid-September. Though the order bars him from being in the same room with Manoogian, Republican House leadership and Manoogian agreed to an arrangement that allowed Marino to attend with a security escort.

House Speaker Jason Wentworth, R-Farwell, had removed Marino from his committee assignments after Manoogian showed him texts Marino had sent her.

In the texts, Marino said he would make it his “life mission to destroy” Manoogian, said he hoped Manoogian’s “car explodes on the way in” and warned her to “hide on the House floor.” The texts also discussed business related to the House Commerce and Tourism Committee, on which they both served, according to records.

Michigan State Police investigated the texts — including about 300 additional pages supplied by Marino’s lawyer — and forwarded their report to Ingham County Prosecutor Carol Siemon, whose office declined criminal charges in late October.

Marino’s lawyer, Mike Rataj, has maintained the texts were taken out of context and argued in his filing requesting the dismissal of the PPO that Marino’s statements were “far removed from any potential violence” and were protected by his rights to freedom of speech and expression.

The texts were “certainly discourteous on both their parts” over the years, the motion said, but didn’t meet the standard needed to show the commissioning “of an unlawful act of violence.”

“Calling someone names, however crude, does not translate into imminent lawless action, and Mr. Marino’s intent was not to induce anybody, including himself, to violate the law,” the motion said.

Rataj also invoked Michigan’s constitutional protection of lawmakers’ speech during legislative session, committee hearings or work groups — a legislative privilege known as the “speech or debate clause” in the state and federal constitutions. Because Manoogian and Marino at times discussed House and committee issues in their texts, those communications should be protected from “civil arrest and civil process,” the motion said.

“These communications are protected by the legislative privilege and cannot be used to entwine Mr. Marino in a civil action where he is required to defend himself,” the motion said.

Lastly, Rataj argued that the state’s separation of powers prevents the judicial branch from restricting actions in the legislative branch.

“While Mr. Marino has no interest in communicating with the petitioner, this court does not have authority to restrict the work-related communications of a legislator and infringe on the Legislature,” the motion said.

Rataj also submitted to the court copies of polygraph tests administered to Marino by three different companies over a two-week period in October in which the lawmaker said he never forced Manoogian into hugs.

Manoogian told McCormick in September, while requesting the PPO, that Marino had hugged her against her will despite knowing she didn’t like hugs.

Polygraphs are not generally admissible in Michigan in criminal proceedings, but can be used during other aspects of an investigation and in some court hearings.

85% OF MICHIGAN INPATIENT AND ICU BEDS ARE FULL, SOME PATIENTS TURNED AWAY

BRIDGE MI – More than 85 percent of Michigan intensive care unit (ICU) beds and hospital inpatient beds are full, a dangerous and potentially deadly level of overcrowding as the state’s health system is strained by a fourth surge of COVID-19 cases.

At least eight hospitals are 100 percent full, according to the latest state data. west Michigan’s largest system, Spectrum Health, reached a system-record number of patients in both its hospitals and ICUs, as statewide hospitalization levels continue to climb.

Dr. Darryl Elmouchi, Spectrum’s president, stood at his computer Friday afternoon in his Grand Rapids office, next to a row of windows looking out on a cold, gray day. Normally, Spectrum would take up to 50 transfer patients each day from smaller hospitals or rural emergency rooms, he said. But now, it can’t.

“We’ll get phone calls saying we’re the 15th hospital they’ve called, and can we please help? And very often right now, the answer is no,” he said. “Because we have to take care of those people in front of us before we can take care of people that are coming from a distance. And that’s really heartbreaking, and it’s hard.”

St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor and St. Joseph Mercy Livingston Hospital are both 100 percent full, a spokesperson confirmed Friday.

“St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor and St. Joseph Mercy Livingston have been managing day-to-day ICU operations either at capacity or above standard capacity throughout much of November,” Dr. David Vandenberg, chief medical officer at the two hospitals, said in a statement. “While patient safety remains our No. 1 priority, the unrelenting volume of COVID-19 patients with advanced illness makes managing their care very difficult on our medical teams.”

Hospitals say they’re also being hit by waves of non-COVID patients whose conditions have worsened after months of delayed care during the pandemic. Emergency room waits are getting longer, ambulances are overwhelmed by demand, and patients are being sent greater distances to find a hospital that can take them.

“You could be at a hospital in the U.P. and not have someone to accept you at a bigger, more capable health system right now because of this,” said Elmouchi of Spectrum. “You can get in a car accident, you can have a heart attack, and you don’t get the care that you otherwise would have at the right time. Things can be delayed or changed as a result of this. Every health system, every hospital, every doctor across the state is trying to do their best for everybody. But it’s hard to do that when you’re stretched in capacity.”

Across the state, more than 4,000 adults and 58 children are hospitalized for confirmed or suspected COVID cases. And as of Wednesday, the most recent state data available, 2,651 of the state’s 3,114 ICU beds were occupied.

Overcrowding at these levels isn’t just inconvenient. It can kill people. Once hospitals hit 75 percent ICU capacity, more patients are likely to die for medically-preventable reasons, according to a CDC study published last week in “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly.”

Examining a year of hospital records ending in July of this year, researchers predicted that once the nation’s ICU beds were at 75 percent capacity, an estimated additional 12,000 excess deaths would occur two weeks later. And “as hospitals exceed 100 percent ICU bed capacity, 80,000 excess deaths would be expected 2 weeks later,” the authors said.

Those national models are hard to drill down to a state level: Neither the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services nor the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, an industry group, tracks deaths linked to hospital overcrowding.

“MDHHS does not have a model for excess deaths, but we work with facilities to monitor morgue capacity and have mobile resources to support additional morgue capacity if needed and requested,” spokesperson Bob Wheaton said Friday via email.

Asked if any health systems have adopted crisis standards of care (an emergency mode to help health care workers determine who gets life-saving care when resources are scarce), Wheaton said while they “aren’t aware of any facilities in full crisis standards of care…several have reported being between contingency and crisis.”

On Nov. 9, Munson Healthcare announced it was moving to “Pandemic Level Red Status” for the first time in the organization’s history. That means it will prioritize “pandemic-related care…above all other issues,” including pausing some services and assessing “non-urgent surgeries on a case-by-case basis to shift staff and resources to where they are needed most.”

Some Michigan ER patients are being “placed in hallways or conference rooms,” while hospitals divert others away “because there is no physical room or medical staff available to accept more patients,” the Michigan Health and Hospital Association said in a letter from chief medical officers across the state earlier this week.

“…Just as hospitals and the staff working inside are and have been working at capacity, our emergency medical services (EMS) are also stressed and overworked. There may be times when capacity in the system is not adequate to accommodate the usual response and speed of transport, especially for out-of-area transfers.”

As previously reported, the U.S. Department of Defense has agreed to a request from Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s administration for federal medical teams to assist Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids and Beaumont Hospital in Dearborn.

Meanwhile, health leaders continue to plead with the public: please, get vaccinated and follow basic safety protocols such as wearing masks and social distancing.

“Every day folks say, ‘Well, but you know, people with vaccines can still get COVID,’” Elmouchi said. “They can. But our data, as recently as two days ago, shows that 91 percent of those that are hospitalized…in our 14 hospitals are… unvaccinated. And so the key to this in my mind is not, ‘we’re never going to get rid of [COVID].’ But if we can minimize it and make it much less of a severe illness, we’ll do better.”

It would be one thing if COVID cases and hospitalizations showed signs of leveling off, Elmouchi said. But the trend lines keep rising, with the state poised to break a record number of COVID inpatients.

“The COVID numbers day by day just keep creeping up,” he said. “And at this point, there’s not an end in sight to that.”

CANADA, AUSTRALIA REPORT CASES OF OMICRON; FAUCI SAYS NEW VARIANT MIGHT ‘EVADE IMMUNE PROTECTION’: COVID-19 UPDATES

ASSOCIATED PRESS via DETROIT FREE PRESS — The omicron mutation of the coronavirus “strongly suggests” it is easily transmitted and might elude immunity protections gained by previous infections and even vaccination, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned Sunday.

“It’s not necessarily that that’s going to happen, but it’s a strong indication that we really need to be prepared for that,” Fauci said on “Meet the Press,” adding that omicron ” just kind of exploded” in South Africa.

Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, lauded the efforts of South African public health officials, who he said were completely transparent from the beginning. U.S officials were getting real-time information last week and continue to receive updates, he said.

Francis Collins, director of the National Institute of Health, told Fox News Sunday that it will take two or three weeks to tell whether antibodies from vaccines or previous infections will be effective against omicron.

“We expect that most likely the current vaccines will be sufficient to provide protection,” Collins said. “And especially the boosters will give that additional layer of protection.”

Collins and Fauci both said the troubling emergence of omicron is yet another reason for Americans to get vaccinated and obtain booster shots.

“Whether or not we’re headed into a bleak or bleaker winter is really going to depend upon what we do,” Fauci said. “So this is a clarion call as far as I’m concerned of saying let’s put aside all of these differences that we have and say, ‘if you’re not vaccinated, get vaccinated. If you’re fully vaccinated, get boosted, and get the children vaccinated also.’ We now have time.”

WHO lobbies against flight bans targeting South Africa

The World Health Organization on Sunday urged countries around the world not to impose flight bans on southern African nations because of concerns over the new omicron variant. WHO’s regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, called on countries to follow science and international health regulations. The U.S. plans to ban travel from South Africa and seven other southern African countries starting Monday.

“Travel restrictions may play a role in slightly reducing the spread of COVID-19 but place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods,” Moeti said in a statement. “If restrictions are implemented, they should not be unnecessarily invasive or intrusive and should be scientifically based.”

Too soon to know details of omicron variant, WHO says

Dr. Angelique Coetzee, a private practitioner and chair of South African Medical Association, was one of the first doctors in South Africa to detect the new omicron variant. She told Reuters that the symptoms were “very mild” and could be treated at home. However, initial reported infections were among university students – younger individuals who tend to have relatively mild symptoms, according to the World Health Organization.

“There is currently no information to suggest that symptoms associated with omicron are different from those from other variants,” WHO said in a statement released Sunday. It could take weeks to determine whether there is any difference, WHO said.

Preliminary research did show that people who have previously had COVID-19 could become reinfected more easily with omicron compared to other variants of concern, the statement said. – Michelle Shen

Canada, Australia report cases of omicron variant

Two cases of the Omicron variant were detected in Canada after travelers returned from Nigeria, the Ontario government said Sunday.

The Netherlands confirmed 13 cases of the new omicron variant of the coronavirus on Sunday and Australia found two as the countries half a world apart became the latest to detect it in travelers arriving from southern Africa.

Israel barred entry to foreigners and Morocco said it would suspend all incoming air travel for two weeks starting Monday – the most drastic of a growing raft of travel curbs being imposed by nations around the world as they scramble to slow the variant’s spread.

“Restrictions on the country’s borders is not an easy step, but it’s a temporary and necessary step,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said.

The French Ministry of Health announced eight possible cases of the Omicron variant on Sunday.

Confirmed or suspected cases of the new variant have already emerged in several other European countries, in Israel and in Hong Kong, days after it was identified by researchers in South Africa.

New York declares state of emergency amid surge, new variant

Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency in New York amid a surge in COVID-19 cases and the looming threat of the omicron variant. The move by Hochul comes as hospitals are again warning of being overrun with COVID-19 patients and as the state’s positivity hit 3.8% on Thursday, the highest since mid-April. In some regions, the rates were even higher: nearly 10% in western New York and almost 9% in the Finger Lakes.

Hochul said the omicron variant that has stoked fears of a new spread across the globe has yet to be found in New York, or anywhere in the U.S., but warned it is likely to arrive. By declaring a state of emergency, the state Department of Health will be allowed to limit nonessential, nonurgent procedures for hospitals or systems “with limited capacity to protect access to critical health care services.”

FIREFIGHTERS, ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATES PUSH FOR SAFER FOAM

CAPITOL NEWS SERVICE via DETROIT NEWS — Michigan has disposed of more than 50,000 gallons of potentially harmful firefighting foam since 2019.

Firefighters and environmental advocates say that isn’t enough.

The foam targeted for removal contains PFAS, an abbreviation for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a group of manufactured chemicals used since the 1950s, but that scientists now link to harmful effects on people and the environment. Because of this, Michigan is working to limit their use.

Exposure to modern fires means higher cancer risks, said Rep. Jeff Yaroch, R-Richmond. Consistent exposure to PFAS foam increases that risk.

“When I was a firefighter, we weren’t aware this foam was that bad for us,” Yaroch said. “Now that we know, we need to take action.”

Michigan is one of the leading states on PFAS issues, especially as it relates to firefighting foams, Yaroch said.

The foam is no longer allowed for training or calibration of equipment, Yaroch said. But it’s still needed to put out what are known as class B fires, the kind that involve substances like gasoline, oil and jet fuel.

The state assists with disposal and encourages purchases of safer foams.

The free collection and education programs have cut down unnecessary usage, said Scott Dean, the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s communication adviser.

But disposal still has substantial costs for many communities, said Wixom’s fire chief Jeff Roberts, president of the Michigan Association of Fire Chiefs.

“Sure, they took it away free of charge,” Roberts said. “But you lose the investment, and foam is not cheap to begin with.”

Also, some fires still require it, he said. This includes airport fires where, previously, hazardous Teflon-based foam was used.

The fire service is searching for alternatives, Yaroch said. Dow Chemical in Midland is researching alternatives.

Meanwhile, firefighters report the use of PFAS foams to a Michigan pollution hotline.

“We use the reports to make sure cleanup is done,” Dean said, “and that the site is documented as a potential contaminated site.”

Alternatives already exist, said former Oscoda Township Supervisor Aaron Weed. The Oscoda Fire Department changed manufacturers when its previous supplier was vague about ingredients.

“We found one that is very readily committed to being PFAS-free,” Weed said. “So we switched to make sure we were on the safe side.”

Other departments may be less aware of these alternatives, he said. Or they may be too busy to address these issues.

Other groups encourage the military and Federal Aviation Administration to switch to PFAS-free options.

A study by the Environmental Working Group found PFAS-free foams are commonly used to fight class B fires at airports, chemical companies and military installations across the globe. The group says there is no reason to delay the switch.

Michigan is moving in the right direction, Weed said. It may seem it has more PFAS than other states, but that is because of the large amount of testing done here.

PFAS issues are important in Oscoda due to the now-decommissioned Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Weed said. After the local fire department switched foams, the Air Force continued using the PFAS-based supply.

Weed believes that is because the Air Force wants to use its stockpile and avoid the costs of replacement.

Given the involvement of the Air Force and Oscoda’s smaller population, Weed feels the issue is often overlooked.

“We seem to kind of get treated like we’re just some people in the woods,” he said. “We don’t have to worry about them, that’s a federal problem.”

But all Michigan residents should be concerned, Weed said. Once it hits a body of water, PFAS can quickly spread across the Great Lakes and even contaminate municipal systems.

Moving to new foam options is important, Yaroch said. “This is better for our firefighters and it’s better for the environment.”

PFAS in firefighting foams will be discussed at the Great Lakes Virtual PFAS Summit Dec. 6-10.

The summit will be on the virtual conference platform Whova and hosted by the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. For information, visit the EGLE website.

AMID SURGING COVID-19, DETROIT CASINOS REINSTALL MASK MANDATES

DETROIT NEWS — If you want to gamble, Detroit’s three casinos would prefer you do it with your cash, not your health.

MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino Hotel and Greektown Casino have reinstalled mask mandates, effective at noon Tuesday, after the state last week issued a recommendation, but not a mandate, for everyone over the age of 2 to be masked up indoors amid a surge of COVID-19 cases.

MGM Grand Detroit and MotorCity Casino Hotel made announcements on their websites and via emails to customers. An operator at Greektown Casino said it, too, is bringing back the mask mandate, and a spokesperson confirmed the decision.

“MGM Grand Detroit remains committed to the health and safety of our guests and employees,” David Tsai, Midwest group president for MGM Resorts International, said in a letter to casino guests Monday night. “To prepare for your visit, please wear a face mask at all times unless you are actively eating or drinking.

“As we approach the holidays, we hope you stay well and wish you a healthy and happy holiday season. I look forward to welcoming you back safely on your next visit.”

The three casinos are requiring the masks regardless of vaccination status.

All casinos provide masks to customers who don’t have one.

“Face masks must be worn by customers, associates, and other visitors,” MotorCity said in a statement.

The mask mandates for the casinos include hotel guests who are in public spaces. At MotorCity, masks will not be required for customers attending banquets or events at the Sound Board theater.

Detroit mayor Mike Duggan applauded the moves, which were voluntary.

“What private companies are doing makes great sense,” he said Tuesday. “If I were running a casino, I’d do the same thing.”

Detroit’s three casinos shut down for several months, starting in March 2020, amid the early wave of COVID-19, missing out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits. They reopened in December, with strict health measures in place, including mask mandates and no more smoking indoors. Mask mandates were lifted in June, and most customers haven’t worn them since. The smoking ban has remained.

The three downtown casinos reported $114.1 million in revenues for October, with the state taking in $9 million in taxes and the city of Detroit $13.8 million. In the same period, Michigan’s online gaming and sports betting operators reported $134 million in gross receipts, with nearly $21 million in taxes going to the state and nearly $6 million going to the city of Detroit. Online gaming in Michigan was legalized in January.

REDISTRICTING MAY OUST HALF OF INCUMBENTS IN MICHIGAN, ANALYSIS FINDS

BRIDGE MI — In the state House, Flint is represented by Democrats Cynthia Neeley and John Cherry, even though they live less than 3 miles apart within the city.

But starting next year, they would be consolidated into the same district, according to all four maps under consideration by the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission.

The Rev. Alfred L. Harris of Flint called those proposals a “disgrace,” and he worries that Flint, a city that’s 54 percent Black, could be without a Black representative in the state House. Neeley is African American.

“I mean, that’s just going backwards,” Harris told Bridge Michigan.

Similar changes could come next year throughout Michigan, as up to half of all seats in the state House and Senate next year could have new representatives because of redistricting and term limits, according to a Bridge Michigan analysis.

Legislative districts are redrawn every 10 years after the completion of the U.S. Census. This is the first year an independent panel — rather than politicians — is drawing the districts, and it’s clear the group’s 13 members didn’t take incumbency into consideration.

The commission is weighing 15 maps total, and the public can comment on them until Dec. 28, when the panel is expected to adopt districts for the state Legislature and Michigan’s delegation to the U.S. House.

Bridge Michigan analyzed the commission’s maps, compared them to current addresses of lawmakers, and found there are up to three dozen proposed state House and Senate and U.S. House districts without an incumbent when the maps take effect in 2022.

Similarly, the commission has created as many as 11 districts where state lawmakers would have to move or face off against each other. In Saginaw County, for instance, Reps. Rodney Wakeman, R-Saginaw Township, and Amos O’Neal, D-Saginaw, would live in the same district in three of the four proposed maps. They live less than 5 miles from each other.

The proposed changes are far more sweeping than previous rounds of redistricting, which were controlled by the party in power in Lansing and resulted in some of the most Republican gerrymandered districts in the nation.

Much of that process was behind closed doors — but ultimately had to be approved during an open vote of the Legislature, and the districts had to abide by a framework established by the courts.

Some of those old rules, such as drawing lines that keep county boundaries intact, no longer apply with the citizens panel.

Nor does the commission have to worry about wooing incumbents to vote for the new districts.

New maps, many new faces

Unless dozens of legislators intend to move, any of the 15 proposed maps could lead to an influx in inexperienced lawmakers in the Legislature.

Bridge’s analysis found that no fewer of 55 seats in the 110-district House will have new representatives in 2022 (24 because of term limits), compared to 18 who didn’t seek re-election in 2012.

In the 38-seat Senate, at least 17 districts will get new senators (six because of term limits) under the new maps, compared to 10 in 2014, the first election after the last redistricting.

“When you have a lot of new people that come in, there tends to be a lot of sort of ideological fervor and not a lot of expertise about how to accomplish stuff,” Adrian Hemond, a Democratic strategist, told Bridge Michigan.

The new maps would appear to increase Democrats’ chance of flipping the state House or Senate, based on vote tallies from the 2020 and 2016 election. The congressional delegation, which is now 7-7, also may have a slight advantage for Democrats.

This is a significant change: Republicans have had the majority in the Legislature for years, despite sometimes getting fewer overall votes than Democrats in some elections.

Already, lawmakers have said they will move because of redistricting, including Dingell and fellow Democratic U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Holly — even though U.S. House members are not required to live in their districts.

State lawmakers are required to do so, however, and [Sen. Rosemary] Bayer said she may move to an open district just northwest of her home in Beverly Hills in Oakland County rather than face fellow Democrats Bullock and McMorrow.

“Part of our major goal has to be — and I can’t decide if it’s No. 1 or No. 2 — but making sure that we win enough seats in Michigan, flip the Senate,” Bayer said. “So, none of us want to run against each other.”

Open seats

A big roster change in Lansing could create challenges, said Meghan Reckling, a GOP strategist who also serves as chair of the Livingston County Republican Party.

In a city already marked by gridlock, next year’s Legislature may have to allocate billions of dollars in infrastructure through COVID-19 relief funds or consider whether to tighten election laws.

“When we have such a large turnover, and you have a lot of legislators in both caucuses that don’t know the legislative process, that puts a lot of power in the hands of staff and the people who have been in Lansing significantly longer than the legislators themselves,” Reckling said.

Bernie Porn, a longtime Michigan pollster who worked with Democrats in the 1980s and 1990s redistricting cycles, told Bridge new people could mean the candidates have to work harder to get votes.

Porn said eliminating partisanship was one of the reasons why voters approved the 2018 constitutional amendment that created the independent commission.

“The only way to get around (partisanship) is to have as many competitive districts where candidates have to try and appeal to both their own party and independent voters in order to win,” Porn said.

Regardless of incumbency or new faces, all of the proposed maps are already creating conversations among lawmakers regarding fundraising.

It’s clear that the next election cycle could be one of the most expensive ones in the state. Primaries, Reckling said, are the ones to watch closely.

“Under almost all of the maps, that majority is genuinely going to be in play,” Reckling said.

“So you’re going to see both caucuses swinging for the fences to try to gain majority control over the Michigan House … You have many sitting members that are raising money and they’re going to spend a lot of money to come out of this.”

DETROIT CITY COUNCIL OKS NEW TRANSIT CENTER AT OLD STATE FAIRGROUNDS SITE

DETROIT NEWS — Plans to preserve historic structures for a new transit center at the former Michigan State Fairgrounds site will move forward in the city.

Detroit City Council on Tuesday approved the new $18.6 million price tag for the future transit center, which includes plans for an outdoor park and renovated historic structures to replace the current bus hub on Woodward Avenue south of 8 Mile.

The initial $7 million plan was to raze existing historic structures for a new transit center that would complement the Rosa Parks station but preservationists urged officials to save them. Developers plan to restore the Dairy Cattle Building to serve as the main access for drivers and passengers. The 1924 Coliseum will be demolished but the facade will remain as an entry point, COO Hakim Berry said at a news conference earlier this month.

“We’re trying to retain that as an anchor to the what we call right now ‘Coliseum Park.’ It could be called something else in the future. But it creates that outdoor space on this kind of desert place where nothing else is happening,” Berry said.

More than 10 callers either raised concerns about demolishing the Coliseum or supported the new plan during City Council’s public comment session, including Councilmembers-elect Angela Calloway and Latisha Johnson. Calloway urged councilmembers not to move forward with a vote and to instead explore outside funding to preserve the Coliseum.

“The Coliseum is a historical and cultural gem,” Calloway said.

Johnson, who is replacing former Councilman Andre Spivey, said she is concerned about the environment.

“In District 4, we are actively dealing with environmental issues surrounding Stellantis. It’s important to make sure that when we bring industry to our communities that we do right by the residential community,” Johnson said.

Officials were divided on the project. Councilmember Raquel Castañeda-López, who attempted to send it back to the public health and safety committee, said she was against the proposal since the beginning because of air quality and noise concerns, and urged council to table the proposal until the new term beginning in January to deliberate.

“I know firsthand the impact of having 200-plus additional trucks go through a specific area,” Castañeda-López said. “The other piece missing is the protection around noise pollution … we have residents that have experienced hearing loss because of the amount of noise pollution in areas that have a high concentration of trucks.”

President Pro-Tem Mary Sheffield, who said she “wholeheartedly” supports investing in Detroit’s transit, also opposed the project to allow more negotiations to address environmental concerns and save the Coliseum.

“We are also assuming more debt to pay for the transit center when infrastructure funding is expected from the federal government,” Sheffield said in a text message to the Free Press. “There needs to be more of an effort to save the Coliseum Building and support the community ask … delaying a month will not derail the process in my opinion.”

Castañeda-López and Sheffield were the only two to vote against it.

However, Councilman Scott Benson was against tabling the plan and said the city held community engagements to collect feedback for the project.

“I just shudder to think about spending another winter on East State Fair and Woodward at the current transit terminal,” Benson said.

Others in the public comment session such as Christopher Johnson urged councilmembers to pass the amended resolution.

“Across the country, these transit centers not only revitalize the neighborhoods but it also increases the tax revenue that comes in for cities. It also has helped with commercial buildings as far as revenue,” Johnson said.

Another caller associated with the State Fair neighborhood association also pushed for the project, adding that there is no use for the Coliseum.

“I think Coliseum park as an opportunity for transit riders to have access to food trucks and an open space, along with Amazon employees … is a great idea,” the caller said.

The project is expected to be completed in the 2022 winter season, Berry added. Operational costs have yet to be determined. Other plans include small retail or pop-up businesses in the Dairy Cattle building.

DDOT bus driver Fernando Smith, who runs a route from Woodward and Larned to the old State Fairgrounds site, said at a site walk-through earlier this month that he is looking forward to the new facility providing as much as a lounge and bathroom for drivers.

“Now you can come in, sit down, rest yourself a minute and get your thoughts together before you go back out and roll down the road and start picking up other passengers,” Smith said. “With this facility, you have the passengers and the drivers out of the weather. That’s important.”

MICHIGAN: 17,008 NEW COVID-19 CASES, 83 ADDITIONAL VIRUS DEATHS OVER PAST THREE DAYS

THE OAKLAND PRESS — Michigan public health officials reported Monday 17,008 new COVID-19 cases over a three-day period, Saturday-Monday, and 83 additional virus deaths over the past three days.

The three-day case total brought the state’s total confirmed cases to 1,259,261 and deaths to 23,315 since the onset of the pandemic. Of the 83 deaths announced Monday, 32 of them were identified during a vital records review.

According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), those totals represent testing data collected Saturday, Sunday and Monday. MDHHS publishes new case, death, and vaccination numbers every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with new outbreak-related data published every Monday.

Locally, since Friday, Macomb County has reported 1,808 new cases and three additional deaths. In Oakland County, there were 1,986 new cases and two additional deaths. In Wayne County, there were 1,836 new cases and three additional deaths.

The state’s vaccination coverage rate for residents 16 and older is 70.8%, up 0.4% since Friday, with more than 5.73 million residents receiving at least one dose. The vaccination coverage rate for residents 5 and older remains at 60.3%.

Faced with spiking COVID-19 infections, Michigan health officials said Friday that they will issue a public health advisory recommending that everyone over age 2 wear a mask at indoor gatherings regardless of their vaccination status.

They also said businesses should implement policies ensuring that customers and employees are masked. They stopped short of requiring face coverings, keeping with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s shift away from such mandates earlier this year as vaccines became available.

The officials pleaded with people to get the vaccine, a flu shot and, if eligible, a coronavirus booster dose as the state finds itself dealing with a fourth surge in cases since the pandemic started. The step came before the holiday season when families in the state with the country’s highest per-capita weekly infection rate will gather indoors to celebrate.

The case average for Saturday-Monday was 5,669 per day.

According to the Associated Press, more Michigan schools are shutting down for the entire week of Thanksgiving, giving staff and families an opportunity to recover from illness, including COVID-19. The decisions come as the state on Friday continued to post the worst new case rate in the United States, according to federal health statistics.

In northern Michigan, Kingsley, Elk Rapids and Kalkaska schools added Monday and Tuesday to the holiday break.

GOV. WHITMER SAYS ‘ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE’ AHEAD AMID MICHIGAN’S COVID SURGE

DETROIT NEWS — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Monday she expects her health department to release “additional guidance” directed at the state’s ongoing COVID-19 surge in the near future.

During her first public appearance in Michigan in more than a week, Whitmer said an unidentified hospital leader she spoke with Monday was “not encouraging mandates” but was urging public education about vaccinations.

The number of adults hospitalized with COVID-19 in the state hit a seven-month high at 3,699 Monday, and last week, the percentage of tests for the virus bringing positive results reached the highest weekly rate in more than a year. Michigan continues to lead the nation in new cases per population.

“If you’re congregating with a bunch of people indoors, it’s wise to make sure everyone is vaccinated,” Whitmer said. “And if they’re not, encourage them to do that.

“Take this opportunity to tell your loved ones how much you love them and how much you want to spend Christmas with them. It’s time to get vaccinated.”

The governor said she anticipates the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services will release more guidance as the state gets closer to the upcoming holidays. Thanksgiving is Thursday.

On Friday, Whitmer’s health department issued a public health advisory, recommending people wear masks at indoor gatherings regardless of their vaccination status. The recommendation also encouraged establishments to implement policies to ensure that all people entering, including employees, wear masks.

Michigan’s COVID-19 metrics have rapidly deteriorated over the last three weeks. On Monday, the Michigan Health & Hospital Association released a statement, describing the situation as “alarming.”

The state is approaching “the highest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Michigan since the pandemic began,” according to the statement, made on behalf of chief medical officers of Michigan’s community hospitals.

“We cannot wait any longer for Michigan to correct course; we need your help now to end this surge and ensure our hospitals can care for everyone who needs it,” the medical officers added.

Last year, during a similar surge, Whitmer’s administration used its executive powers to suspend in-person high school and college classes, and halt indoor dining at restaurants through health department epidemic orders.

This month, however, Whitmer and her health department have relied on recommendations and public calls for vaccinations. Elizabeth Hertel, director of the Department of Health and Human Services, has also declined to impose a statewide mask mandate for K-12 schools.

“A year ago, we did not have access to vaccines,” Whitmer said Monday. “We do now. They are easy to get. They are incredibly effective, and they are free of charge.”

The governor said she’s “imploring” school districts and parents to ensure their children are wearing masks.

Whitmer took questions from reporters Monday afternoon after a press conference announcing 100 new jobs and a $1 million expansion of Crest Marine in Owosso Township.

Last week, she was in Arizona and California as Michigan became the top state in the country for new COVID-19 cases per population. In California, she met with the Semiconductor Industry Association Board of Directors to discuss ongoing efforts to increase domestic chip production and attend the association’s annual event.

POISED FOR ‘DRINKSGIVING,’ MICHIGAN BARS FRET COVID WILL DAMPEN PARTY

BRIDGE MI — Calling the night before Thanksgiving “the biggest bar night of the year” isn’t just hype, said Kyle Edwards, tap room and production manager at Grand Armory Brewing in Grand Haven.

The annual event — informally known as Drinksgiving — is bigger than the craft brewery’s Halloween parties, and it’s bigger than New Year’s Eve. The night draws more customers than any other event Edwards can recall in the popular spot in the Lake Michigan vacation town.

This year, exclusive beers will be on tap, and a DJ will bring vinyl to entertain patrons. “We’re hoping to be busy,” Edwards said.

But the reality may be differ from the shoulder-to-shoulder evening in 2019. Many regulars, who tend to be aged 35 and up, are still staying home during the pandemic. And while people may be hungry to get back to normal, the state’s bars aren’t assured of that Wednesday.

“It’s been pretty hit or miss this year,” Edwards said.

Bars across Michigan depend on Thanksgiving Eve for a boost in sales as patrons celebrate with friends ahead of family gatherings over the four-day weekend.

But this year — as Michigan leads the nation with infection rates and COVID once again overwhelms its exhausted health care workforce and at times packs its emergency rooms — health officials are begging people to once more play it smart, mask up, and even stay home.

That some folks may pack bars and restaurants this week is mind-boggling to those in public health who have spent the better part of 20 months asking Michiganders to stay safe.

Their mantra hasn’t much changed.

“I have two words for you,” said Steve Kelso, spokesperson for the Kent County Health Department. “Get vaccinated.” Beyond that, he and others said: Mask up. Keep your distance. Stay away from others when sick.

“The script hasn’t changed, and it’s pretty simple,” Kelso said. “People are acting like this is over. Take a trip to our data dashboard, and I can assure you it’s not.”

The state’s hospitals, meanwhile, are running at “contingency levels of care,” meaning delays in patient care and staffing shortages are more routine than unusual, said chief medical officers from hospitals across the state — representing large, small, rural and urban hospitals — in a letter issued Monday by the Michigan Health and Hospitals Association.

“If we have a new flood of exposures and COVID cases in the next week, two weeks, the question is: How do we manage them?” said

Non-urgent medical procedures are being cancelled, and patients are facing waits for care and even, at times, for EMS responders.

More worrisome perhaps: The state’s hospitals were caring for 3,963 people with confirmed or suspected COVID — a level approaching the all-time high of 4,422 during the spring surge.

A year ago as Thanksgiving approached, Michigan bars and restaurants were ordered to close to indoor service as part of a three-week “pause,” effective November 18, as weeks of escalating COVID-19 cases prompted fears of any gathering ahead of the holiday. Hospital leaders begged residents to cancel routine plans, warning that the “healthcare system can capsize.”

This year, Michigan faces escalating cases ahead of the year-end holidays once again, with one big difference: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration has declined to mandate statewide closures as it did last year, noting among other factors the broad availability of vaccines and boosters.

So far, as a fourth COVID wave ripples across Michigan, bars and restaurants continue as they have since reopening early this year: They’re making their own decisions about operating in a pandemic, even as health officials urge caution.

Scott Ellis, executive director of the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association, told Bridge Michigan on Monday the state’s bars and restaurants consider the lack of restrictions good for their industry, and point to the low number of outbreaks tied to them as evidence that it’s working. While most drink businesses don’t require servers to be vaccinated, Ellis said, they do encourage it.

Ellis said many of his members — which are mostly independent owner-operators — are not yet back to pre-pandemic sales levels, especially places that don’t also offer extensive food menus.

AS COVID RISES, CDC APPROVES BOOSTERS FOR ALL ADULTS, MICHIGAN URGES MASKS

BRIDGE MI — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Friday approved COVID boosters for all adults, days before millions of Americans are expected to travel for gatherings leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday.

A CDC expert advisory panel Friday unanimously endorsed broad adult eligibility for either the Pfizer or Moderna boosters once six months have elapsed since recipients finished the two-dose vaccines. Final approval came Friday evening, when CDC director Rochelle Walensky signed off on the recommendations to provide increased protection against the deadly virus.

Meanwhile, as COVID-19 cases surge across Michigan, the state Department of Health and Human Services issued an advisory Friday urging residents to wear masks as they gather for the holidays or head toward holiday shopping and other business, even if they’re vaccinated. The recommendation essentially formalizes the agency’s long standing advice, but unlike far stricter state policies a year ago, carries no mandate.

The federal actions Friday open up boosters to millions more Americans age 18 or older, including those otherwise healthy. Already, people who were immunocompromised, 65 and older, living in long-term care settings or otherwise at higher risk were eligible to receive third doses or COVID boosters.

These higher-risk groups were also eligible for a booster of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The CDC has not yet signed off on making the J and J boosters broadly available to adults. But last month, the CDC endorsed a mix-and-match approach to boosters, allowing those who initially were vaccinated with J & J to seek a Moderna or Pfizer booster.

In Michigan, more than 1.2 million doses of the vaccines already have been administered as “additional doses” for immunocompromised people or as boosters for others, according to state data.

“Booster shots have demonstrated the ability to safely increase people’s protection against infection and severe outcomes and are an important public health tool to strengthen our defenses against the virus as we enter the winter holidays,” Walensky said in a statement.

According to data compiled by the CDC in September, all three U.S.-approved COVID vaccines help prevent hospitalizations. The Moderna vaccine was shown to be 93 percent effective against hospitalizations from March 11 to August 15 compared to the Pfizer vaccine (88 percent) and the J & J vaccine (71 percent).

It remains to be seen how much broad booster availability will help tamp down infections in Michigan, which currently has one of the highest infection rates in the nation. Roughly 40 percent of Michigan residents haven’t received a single dose.

“The fact is, we are not going to boost our way out of this pandemic,” said Dr. Russell Faust, medical director at the Oakland County Health Division.

“It’s great that people are getting boosters because it will keep them safe. It decreases the likelihood of them getting infected with COVID-19, and even if they do have a breakthrough infection, it will (be more likely to) keep them out of the hospital and keep them alive. That’s all good. I fully support that,” he said. “But the fact is, we need to get everybody vaccinated.”

There’s not enough data yet to definitely say how quickly protection wanes from initial vaccines, nor precisely how much boosters will protect long-term or how often they’ll be needed.

But their safety seems clear, said Dr. Srikar Reddy, president of the Michigan Academy of Family Physicians. He and his sons had COVID in December. They were moderate cases, but he doesn’t want to tempt fate.

“What I do know is that, when I look at the risks and benefits, there’s not a whole lot of risk with getting the booster,” Reddy said.

Masks and flu shots

In Lansing Friday, the health department recommended that anyone 2 years old and older wear a face mask at indoor gatherings regardless of their vaccination status. Businesses should require masks of customers and employees, MDHHS leaders said during a morning news conference, though the state declined to mandate such actions.

It’s another move to help “curb” the steep upward curve of COVID, said Elizabeth Hertel, MDHHS director.

The state stopped short of requiring masks as it has for most of the past year, essentially formalizing existing advice and leaving it up to individual choice. That masking, experts have said, nearly zeroed out the spread of last year’s flu and respiratory viruses.

“We’ve all been armed with the information that we think we need to have in order to keep people safe,” said Hertel, the MDHHS director.

“So at this point, we feel that it is most prudent to make sure that people are aware of how serious this COVID surge is right now and give them the ability, the information to take steps to protect themselves and others,” she said.

Whether the advice will change anyone’s practices is unclear.

The state’s mask recommendation is “valid” in that masks prevent spread — and that’s especially true in schools, for example, said Reddy, president of the family doctor’s group.

But whether fully vaccinated family members should mask when they gather around the Thanksgiving table — that’s a different risk calculus than a family with a mix of unvaccinated members and those at higher risk, said Reddy.

“The fact of the matter is, if you have multiple vaccinated individuals, they understand their exposure. It’s really a family decision,” he said.

Others see a reality that’s even more blunt and grim.

Those who refuse masks and vaccines “can’t be convinced regardless of how much information you get them, how many facts you present to them…They are dead set in their beliefs,” said Faust of Oakland County.

The Whitmer administration also stepped up its call for masks and for flu shots, as the state begins to see what some experts say could be a rough flu season ahead.

HOW DO MICHIGAN ROADS RANK IN US? LIBERTARIAN THINK TANK CRUNCHES THE NUMBERS

DETROIT NEWS — Michigan’s road conditions deteriorated as highways improved nationwide, according to a new report by the Reason Foundation.

The state ranked 34th nationally in highway performance and cost effectiveness in 2021, dropping 10 spots in the libertarian think tank’s Annual Highway Report compared to the 2020 report, and landing in the bottom 10 states in several measured categories.

The report released Thursday looked at highway data from 2019 and congestion data from 2020, and grades state roads in 13 categories. Those include pavement condition, traffic congestion, bridge structures, traffic fatalities and spending per mile.

Michigan was one of only four states, including New Mexico, Ohio and South Carolina, to decline in the rankings by 10 spots or more in the same time period, compared with the 2020 report, which looked at 2018 and 2019.

There were 1,219 bridges and more than 7,300 miles of highway in poor condition in Michigan, according to an August report released by the White House.

Since 2011, commute times have increased by 4.6% in the state and individual drivers paid an average of $644 a year in costs related to driving on damaged roads.

The report came days after President Joe Biden signed into law the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which will include around $7.8 billion in funding for highway and bridge repairs over five years in Michigan.

This is in addition to the $3.5 billion of bonds that the Michigan Department of Transportation was authorized to issue over four years for the repair and rehabilitation of 122 major highways, per the self-described “Fix the Damn Roads” governor, Gretchen Whitmer’s request.

The fiscal year 2019 budget was set by the Legislature under the Snyder administration.

“Our pavement is deteriorating more quickly than we can maintain it with current funding levels,” said Diane Cross, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Transport, on Sunday. “The governor’s $3.5 billion Rebuilding Michigan plan, now complemented by the federal IIJA, will slow the decline but everyone agrees that long term, we need more and sustainable investment.”

The Governor’s Office said Whitmer is working on the roads and acknowledged more work was needed to “make up for the prior decades of disinvestment” and working with the Legislature and federal government for more funding.

“After decades of disinvestment in the state’s aging infrastructure, Michigan has made a strong shift toward focusing on the type of investments that we need to rebuild roads and bridges across the state,” said Bobby Leddy, press secretary for Whitmer.

“Since taking office, Governor Whitmer has fixed more than 9,000 miles of roads and secured additional funding to fix 100 bridges in serious or critical condition without raising taxes. And the governor’s Rebuilding Michigan plan is creating tens of thousands of good-paying jobs to fix our state’s roads and bridges with the right mix and material to ensure the repairs last longer.”

Michigan’s best rankings in the Reason Foundation’s report were in the rural fatality and overall fatality rates on highways, 7th and 14th respectively.

On the other end of the findings, the state’s worst rankings were in urban Interstate pavement condition and congestion, with commuters spending 42.07 hours a year in rush hour traffic. Drivers in only four other states in the country spend more than 40 hours in traffic, according to the report; New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Illinois.

“Despite not having a metro area that ranks in the top 10 for population, Michigan has the fifth worst traffic congestion in the country,” said Baruch Feigenbaum, lead author of the report and senior managing director of transportation policy at Reason Foundation.

Compared to nearby states, the report found that Michigan’s overall highway performance is worse than Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania, but better than Illinois.

“Michigan is one of the few states that could benefit from spending slightly more on its highway system to improve the overall condition,” continued Feigenbaum.

Michigan spends around $92,500 per mile of state-controlled road.

The country’s most cost-effective highway systems, according to the report, were North Dakota, Virginia, Missouri, Kentucky and North Carolina, while the worst combination of highway performance and cost effectiveness was found in New Jersey, Rhode Island, Alaska, Hawaii, and New York.

THE LAST KMART IN MICHIGAN HAS SHUTTERED ITS DOORS, ENDING THE DYNASTY’S REIGN

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The last Kmart in Michigan closed Sunday, putting an official end to a longtime Michigan staple.

Located in Marshall, a suburb of Battle Creek with a population just over 7,000, at 15861 Michigan Ave., it has been the last Kmart in Michigan since 2020.

It was the only national big-box retailer in the immediate area, likely what allowed it to stay in business until now.

“You can go in and buy a birthday present if you need to, without going out of town,” said Brenda Hoyt, Marshall resident, in a previous Free Press article. “Clothes, toys, projects for the kids for school — you can get it here.”

Marshall city manager Tom Tarkiewicz said he’s particularly concerned about how residents without cars will get their shopping done.

From Sebastian Kresge’s first five-and-dime store in 1899 to now, the store has gone from a dynasty to bankruptcy.

Here’s a look at Kmart’s tumultuous history:

Kresge roots

Sebastian Spering Kresge opened the first S.S. Kresge store on Woodward Avenue in Detroit in 1899, where everything was sold for five or 10 cents.

By 1912, he owned 85 stores, according to the Detroit Historical Society. The low prices enabled the Kresge brand to grow even as the country faced hardships, including the Great Depression.

The first official Kmart store opened in 1962 in Garden City by then-S.S. Kresge president Harry Cunningham.

Kresge died four years later in 1966, but the Kmart brand lived on.

Bankruptcy

Every empire must fall, and Kmart is no different.

Although it amassed more and more stores throughout the 1990s, company leaders also invested in purchasing other chains, all of which went out of business, Detroit News reported.

Competitors, including Target and Walmart, started surpassing it in sales.

In 2000, the company closed 72 stores.

Just 2 years later, the company’s finances steeply declined and Kmart filed for bankruptcy on Jan. 22, 2002. After filing for Chapter 11 in bankruptcy court, the company, led by then-president Julian Day, emerged in 2003 with an approved plan.

Sears merger

In 2004, still struggling, Kmart bought Sears to form Sears Holdings Corporation. It was an $11 billion sale meant to reinvigorate both companies.

But it didn’t work, the competition of other stores and the rise of the internet proved to be too big of a hurdle to jump.

In 2018, Sears Holdings Corporation filed for bankruptcy, something Kmart was all too familiar with.

In 2004, the company announced it was purchasing Sears for $11 billion; it moved its headquarters from Troy to Hoffman Estates, Illinois, in 2006.

The end of an era

According to CNN, by the end of 2021, there will only be six stores left across the continental U.S.

The original Kmart in Garden city closed its doors in 2017, marking the beginning of the end.

And now, four years later, the last one in its home state is closed.

MICHIGAN DOLED OUT $3.9 BILLION IN IMPROPER UNEMPLOYMENT PAYMENTS, AUDIT SAYS

BRIDGE MI — Michigan paid out at least $3.9 billion in improper unemployment payments and most of the money likely won’t be recouped, a blockbuster state audit has found.

The Thursday report, published by the Office of the Auditor General, is the latest in a months-long debacle that has resulted in the resignation of two Unemployment Insurance Agency directors over their handling of payments during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The state’s unemployment system was overwhelmed in the early days of the pandemic, paying $39 billion to 3.5 million residents. “Based on the limited data analysis we have been able to perform, it appears UIA improperly paid $3.9 billion to claimants now classified as ineligible,” the report said.

The money, which went to about 347,000 workers who are now deemed ineligible, will “likely not” be recouped, the audit found.

“The improper payments were UIA’s fault and not that of the claimants,” the report said.

The agency faced backlash this summer after using an old set of criteria for unemployment qualification, and warning over 648,000 claimants they may need to repay the benefits over the state’s mistake.

The state ended up granting claimants overpayment waivers.

The unusually harsh report by the Office of the Auditor General concluded that the state waited months to fix the problem

In June 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor told the UIA of “urgent” and “critical” issues related to the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) certification.

UIA did not follow through changing the criteria until this March, despite suggesting it would do so in September 2020 and October 2020.

In a response to the audit, the state acknowledged “some errors were made” and said it was challenged and its “capacity (was) tested.”

“UIA had to implement multiple new federal programs based on a hastily drafted law that allowed claimants to self-attest to their own eligibility, contend with historic levels of claims filed, and defend against new highly sophisticated criminal efforts to commit fraud — all while transitioning its entire workforce to remote work,” the agency responded.

UIA Director Julia Dale said in a statement the agency “is implementing program controls and processes based on the OAG’s audit and will continue to refine those processes as the agency moves forward with its priorities.”

Dale was appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Oct. 25. She’s the third UIA director in 11 months, following Steve Gray and interim director Liza Estlund Olson. Gray was hailed as a reformed and appointed by Whitmer to fix longstanding issues within the agency.

The embattled department has been at the center of controversy in Lansing. Republican lawmakers have held hearings, and proposed fixes to improve customer service at the agency.

“This was a state mistake with their criteria, not a mistake made by claimants,” Rep. Steve Johnson, R-Wayland, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement. “Worse yet, UIA continued down a path they were told was incorrect.”

Johnson said he hopes the agency can improve its system and his committee will continue to work with Dale to find solutions.

HOLIDAY TRAVEL WILL INCREASE BUT GROUPS DIFFER ON HOW MUCH

THE OAKLAND PRESS — AAA forecasts a strong rebound in holiday travel this Thanksgiving, with the Auto Club Group predicting 53.4 million Americans will hit the road and skies for the holiday, up 13% from 2020 and within 5% of pre-pandemic levels for the 2019 holiday

But another survey conducted for the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) isn’t nearly as optimistic.

According to the American Automotive Association, the gap for holiday travelers is slightly wider in Michigan, as total travel figures are about 7% below pre-pandemic levels. AAA predicts nearly 1.6 million Michigan residents will travel for Thanksgiving, a 14% rebound from the total number of travelers during the 2020 holiday.

“It’s beginning to look more like a normal holiday travel season, compared to what we saw last year,” said Debbie Haas, vice president of Travel for AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Now that U.S. borders are open, vaccinations are readily available, and new health and safety guidelines are in place, travel is once again high on the list for Americans who are ready to reunite with their loved ones for the holidays.”

AAA expects 6.4 million more Americans to be traveling this Thanksgiving, including 202,900 more Michiganders, than last year. That means travelers should prepare for the roads and airports to be noticeably more crowded than last year’s holiday. AAA predicts road travel to increase by 8%. Yet the most notable improvement for this year’s holiday is domestic air travel, which has almost completely recovered from its dramatic drop-off during the pandemic and is up 80% from last year.

“The re-opening of the U.S. borders to international travelers means airports will be even busier than we’ve recently seen, so travelers must plan for longer lines and extra time for TSA checks,” Haas added. “With flight delays and cancellations becoming a problem recently, air travelers are encouraged to consider travel insurance. If your flight is canceled, there are various policies that would help offset unexpected expenses like a hotel, transportation, and food. You may also receive compensation for lost luggage, or if your flight is delayed for as little as 3 hours.”

But this data runs contrary to information obtained in a survey by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA). While rising vaccination rates against COVID-19 have increased travelers’ comfort levels, most Americans are still opting to stay home this holiday season, according to the AHLA survey.

The survey found that 29% of Americans are likely to travel for Thanksgiving and 33% will do so for Christmas — an increase from 21% and 24%, respectively, compared to 2020. Those who do plan to travel over the holidays expect to drive, but rising gas prices may dampen those plans. The survey of 2,200 adults was conducted Oct. 30 – Nov. 1, by Morning Consult on behalf of AHLA.

Gas prices surged in October and are likely to remain elevated through the holiday season. The average price for gasoline in Michigan was $3.37 per gallon on Thursday, Nov. 18. Thanksgiving gas prices haven’t been that high since 2012, according to AAA. The state average was $1.96 per gallon during last year’s holiday (Nov. 26), and $2.48 on Thanksgiving Day in 2019 (Nov. 28).

Results of the AHLA survey indicate just one in three Americans plan to travel for Christmas (33% likely to travel, 59% unlikely), and even fewer plan to travel for Thanksgiving (29% likely, 61% unlikely). About 68% of Thanksgiving travelers plan to stay with family or friends, while 22% plan to stay in a hotel.

“While vaccines have helped travelers feel more comfortable, rising gas prices and continued concerns about the pandemic are making many Americans hesitant to travel during the holidays. Despite a slight expected uptick in holiday travel this year, hotels will continue to face economic fallout from the pandemic, underscoring the need for targeted federal relief, such as the Save Hotel Jobs Act, to support the industry and its workforce until travel fully returns,” American Hotel & Lodging Association President and CEO Chip Rogers said.

Again, AAA is much more optimistic. Of the 1.6 million Michigan residents expected to travel for Thanksgiving, AAA of Michigan expects 1.4 to travel by vehicle, 147,400 to travel by air, and about 31,900 travel by bus, train, or cruise.

“After such an unusual holiday travel year in 2020, it appears that higher gas prices will not be enough to deter Michigan residents from returning to the road for the holidays,” said Adrienne Woodland, AAA spokesperson. “Unfortunately, it appears these high gas prices will hang around through the holidays. So it’s likely that travelers will budget more for gasoline and less on things like shopping, lodging, and dining out.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released its recommendations for holiday gatherings and related travel, saying that the best way to minimize COVID-19 risk is to get vaccinated if eligible. AAA urges anyone considering gathering or traveling for Thanksgiving to consult CDC guidance before finalizing holiday plans.

BUSCH’S MARKET TO CLOSE ON THANKSGIVING TO GIVE WORKERS ‘DAY OF REST’

DETROIT NEWS — Busch’s Fresh Food Market plans to close its 16 Metro Detroit stores on Thanksgiving so workers can spend the holiday with their families, officials announced Wednesday.

“Our associates have worked very hard all through the pandemic to take care of our guests and deserve a day at home with their family and friends,” Todd Robinson, Vice President of Marketing said in a statement.

“We are thankful for all of their efforts and hope they enjoy a day of rest and relaxation. They’ve certainly earned a day off and we encourage our guests to let our associates know they are appreciated.”

Busch’s has locations in Ann Arbor, Clinton, Canton Township, Dexter, Farmington Hills, Livonia, Novi, Pinckney, Plymouth-Northville, Rochester Hills, Saline, South Lyon, Tecumseh, West Bloomfield Township and Brighton.

Other retailers have announced plans to close on Thanksgiving next week. They include Best Buy, Target and Walmart.

MICHIGAN REPORTS 14,561 NEW COVID-19 CASES, 242 DEATHS OVER 2 DAYS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The Michigan health department reported 14,561 new coronavirus cases over a two-day period on Wednesday, an average of 7,280.5 per day, bringing Michigan to 1,224,273 confirmed cases since the beginning of the pandemic.

Another 242 coronavirus-related deaths have also been reported Wednesday, 177 of which were identified in a regular vital records review. This increases the state’s COVID-19 death toll to 23,104.

Of 57,165 confirmatory tests reported by the health department Tuesday, 9,596 yielded positive results for a positivity rate of 16.79%

Data from the health department includes 163,665 probable cases and 1,580 probable deaths, for a total of 1,387,938 cases and 24,684 deaths.

MICHIGAN DRUG OVERDOSE DEATHS SPIKE 19% TO NEW RECORD. HERE’S WHAT’S DRIVING THE DEATHS.

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Between April 2020 and April 2021, more people than ever died of drug overdoses in Michigan and across the nation, according to new preliminary data released Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More than 2,900 people in Michigan died of drug overdoses, a 19% increase over the 12 months from April 2019 to April 2020, the data show. Nationally, more than 100,000 people died, an increase of 28.5% over the same time frame.

The common denominator in most deaths: the synthetic opioid fentanyl, which is linked to more deaths than any other drug.

The numbers, while dire, were not unexpected by people who work in addiction and recovery services. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t something that I found particularly surprising, given the impact that opioids have on people’s lives,” said Erika Alexander, an Oakland Family Services administrator who has counseled children and adults with drug addiction.

Why is this happening?

We explain.

Why are so many people dying of overdoses?

Fentanyl. The illicit synthetic opioid is responsible for more overdose deaths than anything else. In the U.S. synthetic opioids — primarily fentanyl — were involved in 64,178 of the 100,306 deaths, according to the provisional data. And in Michigan, the data show synthetic opioids — again, primarily fentanyl — are responsible for nearly three quarters of the 2,952 deaths. Fentanyl is up to 100 times stronger than morphine and up to 50 times stronger than heroin. It has infiltrated the nation’s drug supply, making drugs more potent than ever.

Why are people using fentanyl if it’s so deadly?

In some cases, people may use fentanyl unwittingly. It’s cut into heroin and pressed into counterfeit pills. In July 2020, three young people died in an Auburn Hills hotel room after taking counterfeit pills that contained fentanyl. Earlier this fall, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration issued a national alert about the sharp uptick in counterfeit pills containing lethal doses of fentanyl. The DEA says fentanyl is also showing up in cocaine and methamphetamine.

But other drug users seek out fentanyl, or dope that’s laced with it, because they are searching for a better high. Experts say fentanyl provides an intense yet short-lived high — providing it doesn’t kill the user first.

What about the pandemic? Is that contributing to all these drug overdose deaths?

Yes. Though they were trending down in Michigan, pre-pandemic drug overdoses deaths were already on the rise nationally. Then the pandemic hit and they really skyrocketed, even in Michigan. The stress of the pandemic — the isolation, the fear, the heartbreak of losing loved ones and the financial uncertainty — led some people, new users and those who relapsed, to drugs, which are superpotent now, as a way to escape.

At the same time, 12-step meetings stopped meeting in person; people in recovery tend to find in-person meetings more helpful. Treatment facilities closed to patients or limited the number they could accept into their programs. “The number one thing that we know that helps people recover is community connections,” said Susan Styf, chief executive officer of CARE of Southeastern Michigan, which provides drug counseling and treatment services. But, she added, “people have been isolated.”

What can we do about this?

One of the easiest things to do is to carry Narcan (generic: naloxone), which reverses most opioid overdoses. Community organizations such as CARE provide curbside training and Narcan pickup at Recovery United Community Center, 32577 Garfield Road. Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mon., Tue. and Thu.; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wed; and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fri. For more info, call 586-552-1120 or the go to www.careofsem.com/recovery-community-center. Other agencies also provide Narcan, including the Alliance of Coalitions for Healthy Communities, Families Against Narcotics and many county health departments, including the Wayne County Health Department.

Are other drugs emerging as threats?

Yes. Methamphetamine has been linked to a growing number of deaths. Nationally, it’s the second most deadly drug, according to the CDC. In Michigan, it’s third behind fentanyl and cocaine.

‘LABOR SHORTAGES ARE NOT GOING AWAY’ IN MICHIGAN. IS AUTOMATION THE ANSWER?

BRIDGE MI — Michigan employers got a sign this month that the labor shortage that has left many scrambling to fill positions — and raise wages to attract workers — is improving, just in time for holiday hiring.

Still more hires are expected over the next few months, based on the last two months’ of national jobs data, which shows some workers slowly choosing to return to work.

However, global economists warn the competition for workers, particularly lower-wage hourly positions, is no longer a pandemic or a local issue. Instead, it’s forecast to last for years. “Overall, labor shortages are not going away,” said Gad Levanson, senior economist with The Conference Board, a nonprofit business research group, during a global economic forecast presentation on Nov. 3.

Michigan already has been worried about that. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s MI New Economy initiative identified the worker shortage as one of the state’s biggest economic challenges, along with too-many low-wage jobs.

Keith Lambert sees the effects in greater Lansing, where he is vice president of business attraction at the Lansing Economic Area Partnership economic development group. He is trying to bring new jobs to Eaton, Clinton and Ingham Counties, while assisting local employers to grow.

However, that effort is taking place while the state’s workforce of 4.73 million has 190,000 fewer workers than in February 2020. Businesses from restaurants and retail to manufacturing and distribution companies are “struggling to find people to work for them,” Lambert said.

And it raises concerns for the state as Michigan tries to lure large-scale development projects to add higher-paying jobs.

“If and when we’re to land (them), there’s going to be more pressure, more intensity about … how to make projects like that successful and have the talent to connect to those jobs,” Lambert told Bridge Michigan.

The workforce shrunk nationwide during the pandemic, as older workers opted for early retirement and younger workers became more selective about jobs, Levanson said.

Nationwide, nearly 30 million Baby Boomers left the workforce in the third quarter of 2020, while surveys since then show as many as 75 percent of older workers plan to retire early.

In 2000, the median age of a worker in the United States was 39. By 2020, the median age climbed to 42. And by 2030, the median age will be on the verge of 43.

The situation is acute in Michigan: The median age is 50 in 21 of 83 counties, the most counties of any state in the nation that is over the threshold. Overall, Michigan is the 12th oldest state in the nation.

Other challenges for Michigan include:

Michigan’s labor force participation has trailed the nation since December 2001.
Deaths in the state are expected to begin to outpace births starting in 2030.
Population growth fell to the second-slowest rate in the nation, according to the U.S. Census. With 10,077,331 residents, Michigan is now the 10th most populous state, down from its eighth in 2010, passed by Georgia and North Carolina.

In a labor force with fewer workers, boosting educational attainment and technological skills offer a chance to grow through innovation and efficiency gains, said Dana M. Peterson, chief economist of the Conference Board.

She noted that the labor force is also dwindling in Japan, western Europe, Australia and China — even as competition intensifies competition from India and sub-Saharan Africa.

State officials already are focusing on “upskilling” the existing workforce.

“One of the main concerns we continue to hear from business leaders and employers of all shapes and sizes is that there aren’t enough workers with the skills they need to fill critical vacancies,” Susan Corbin, director of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, told Bridge, pointing to the $722 million budget recommendation to increase funding for post-secondary work skills education.

To remain competitive, Michigan small manufacturers should invest in Industry 4.0 automation and increasing flexibility for their workers, said Tom Kelly, CEO of Automation Alley. The nonprofit, based in Oakland County, advocates for more technology in manufacturing.

“Manufacturing has always had a worker deficit,” Kelly told Bridge. “That worker deficit got exacerbated by COVID and is going to continue to get worse. So you have no choice but to automate.”

Instead, Kelly said, “they’re using the same playbook that they’ve always used.”

And the risk to them, as they try to hire unskilled workers at low rates, is that “those people that you need to do these jobs aren’t coming back.”

Kelly said he’s trying to convince many small- to mid-size manufacturers to turn to robotics.

Prices have dropped and may cost tens of thousands less than hiring a full-time worker. With a robot, another worker may be able to accomplish the equivalent of two jobs — and the manufacturer will be able to maintain or increase production, and likely pay their workers more because of the additional skills needed to work in the higher-tech setting.

Beyond investing in equipment, Kelly said, employers need to recognize that they’re competing for workers with technology — in the form of apps like Lyft and Shipt. Creating flexible work could offer paybacks in a more stable labor force, he said, even if 40 part-timers do the work of 10 full-time employees.

“For the low-skilled worker, their attitudes have changed,” Kelly said. “Technology has taught them that they can jump in and out of the workforce whenever they want.

“Management needs to be thinking differently about how they solve the problem.”

Among employers embracing that concept for workers is delivery giant Amazon, Kelly noted, with the “Amazon Anytime” app-based shifts. The company employs 21,000 in Michigan, said spokesperson Jessica Pawl.

Amazon is offering sign-on bonuses of $3,000 in some Michigan locations to stay ahead of the competition for workers. Starting pay nationwide averages $18.

“Amazon is hiring people left and right,” said Lambert, the Lansing economic development director.

And more jobs are coming — including to a new 1 million-square-foot fulfillment center that will open in 2022 in Delta Township, a 20-minute drive from Charlotte.

But even today’s staffing won’t be all Amazon needs — or the end to the regional hiring competition.

Lambert said the company then will need 500 more people to work. “So we expect the pressure to continue to be there.”

Economists are closely watching how pay increases play out. In the third quarter they set a 20-year record in the U.S., prompting concerns that inflation — which is also due to supply shortages, in addition to labor — will prompt an interest rate hike to cool the economy.

Ongoing rapid wage growth into 2022, economist Levanson said, is “the more concerning problem.”

Even so, the national economy should increase 2 percent annually through 2031, despite lingering questions about the labor market and inflation, said Peterson from the Conference Board.

MICHIGAN LEADS THE NATION IN NEW COVID CASES, ACCORDING TO CDC DATA

DETROIT NEWS — Michigan again leads the country in new COVID-19 cases per population over the last seven days, according to tracking data Tuesday from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The state has reported a seven-day new case rate of 504 per 100,000 residents, the highest number nationally, the CDC found. Minnesota followed in second at 490. The figures are another setback in the state’s 20-month fight against the virus and came amid spikes in new infections that are testing the capacity of Michigan’s hospitals.

Michigan last led the nation in new cases per population in the spring during a surge that peaked in April. It remains unclear how long the latest surge will last and how it will affect health care workers who’ve been dealing with the pandemic since March 2020.

During a Tuesday press conference, nine days before the Thanksgiving holiday, Henry Ford Health System officials described the trends in COVID-19 as “very alarming.”

“We are gravely concerned,” said Dr. Adnan Munkarah, the chief clinical officer for the Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System. “We were hoping that we would be in a better situation this Thanksgiving than we were last year, especially with the availability of the vaccines.

“We’ve been watching with trepidation and worry the number of COVID cases climb and rise throughout our community and around the state.”

Munkarah urged those planning to gather for Thanksgiving next week to get vaccinated.

“Vaccine status continues to be the most important and paramount in keeping all of us safe,” he said. “So for those of you who are gathering with family, we hope that all of you have been vaccinated because this provides significant safety and protection for all of you.”

Michigan reported 3,040 adults hospitalized with the virus on Monday, the largest number since late April and a 19% increase over the tally seven days ago.

Across Henry Ford’s five hospitals, there were 289 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 on Monday. Of them, 69% were not fully vaccinated, according to the health system. Among the 61 people in intensive care units with COVID-19, 80% were not fully vaccinated.

The individuals who have been vaccinated and are hospitalized with the virus tend to be older and have more underlying conditions than those who are unvaccinated, Munkarah said.

Statewide, COVID-19 hospitalizations and the percentage of tests bringing positive results have been slowly trending upward for months. But over the last two weeks, they’ve jumped more quickly.

Last week, 16.4% of Michigan’s COVID-19 tests came back positive, the second-highest weekly rate since June 2020, according to data by the state Department of Health and Human Services. The highest rate was during the first full week of April at 16.5%.

The highest weekly total of the surge in November and December 2020 was 14.2%.

The percentage, which experts say provides some insight on the level of community transmission in the area and whether enough testing is happening, has generally been trending upward since June.

Likewise, at Spectrum Health West Michigan, Dr. Darryl Elmouchi said the number of COVID-19 inpatients had been slowly increasing since the summer. Then, over the last two weeks, there was a “dramatic shift” upward.

As of last week, 85% of the patients with COVID-19 weren’t vaccinated, Elmouchi said.

“If you are younger and healthier and you’re unvaccinated, you have a significant risk of being hospitalized, being in our ICU, being on a ventilator or even dying of COVID-19,” the Spectrum Health West Michigan president said. “If you’re vaccinated, there’s no vaccine that’s perfect, you are very well protected. And It’s only a small number of older, sicker people who end up in our hospitals.”

Bob Riney, Henry Ford’s chief operating officer, tied the current trends to the percentage of Michigan residents who aren’t fully vaccinated — about 46% of those age 5 and older — and transmission at schools where masking discipline and social distancing have decreased compared with last year.

“We’re all human beings,” Riney said. “We slowly let our guard down. We don’t want to wear masks. They’re inconvenient. We want our old lives back so much.”

Michigan experienced a spike in COVID-19 infections last year at this time as well.

On Nov. 15, 2020 — a year ago Monday — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced restrictions on dining at restaurants and in-person high school and college classes to try to combat it. That surge peaked in early December.

It’s unclear whether the current jump in cases will follow a similar pattern. Whitmer’s spokesman Bobby Leddy gave no indication this week that the governor’s administration will use its emergency powers to intervene.

“We continue to encourage Michiganders to get vaccinated as this is the best way to keep people safe and ensure that businesses and schools can safely operate,” Leddy said Monday about Whitmer’s response to the surging COVID-19 numbers.

“The vast majority of Michiganders have done the right thing to protect themselves and their families by getting vaccinated, wearing a mask in indoor gatherings, getting tested and quarantining after exposure, or staying home if feeling unwell.

“For those who aren’t vaccinated, it’s even more important to take these scientifically proven precautions to reduce the risk of catching the virus and minimize possible symptoms in the event of exposure. We all have the tools at our disposal to slow the spread and keep ourselves safe.”

A coalition named the Michigan Parents Alliance for Safe Schools repeated its calls for statewide mask requirements and consistent quarantine practices in schools.

“The connection between overwhelmed hospitals and schools without mask requirements is clear. It’s long past time for policymakers to require everyone to do their part — even those who have been fooled by anti-science rhetoric — by requiring universal masks in schools,” said Emily Mellits, a Macomb County parent, in a Tuesday statement from the organization.

Munkarah, the Henry Ford doctor, said people should get vaccinated if they’re attending Thanksgiving gatherings and open windows at their homes so air can circulate at the events.

“By all means, if you are not feeling well, if you are running a fever or are short of breath or tired and suspect that you might have either the flu or COVID, please stay at home,” he said.

MICHIGAN SCHOOLS ARE CLOSING BECAUSE OF STAFF SHORTAGES. GET USED TO IT.

BRIDGE MI — In Southfield Public Schools north of Detroit, students are in classrooms just four days a week through at least until January.

In nearby Novi, kids have to find their own way to school on Fridays because buses aren’t running those days.

At rural Allegan County Hopkins Public Schools, south of Grand Rapids, classes were canceled for two days last week, while at huge Ann Arbor Public Schools, one or more buildings have been closed six times since fall classes began. Schools across Michigan are closing or going remote for days at a time, often with little notice. And while COVID-19 infections continue to play a role in those closures, the primary problem appears to be the same one plaguing corner coffee shops and factory floors across the state: a shortage of workers.

Some districts don’t have enough bus drivers to get students to schools. Others can’t find enough teachers and substitute teachers to lead classrooms.

Bridge Michigan spoke to school leaders about staffing shortages. None was optimistic about finding a quick solution to a crisis that had been brewing for years.

“It’s like you’re hanging by a string, and the string is losing strands,” said Adam Zemke, president of Launch Michigan, a school advocacy group. “COVID was the breaking point.”

Here’s what several had to say about the factors at play:

Are school closings increasing?

The official count of closures won’t be known until the end of the school year when districts submit reports to the Michigan Department of Education. But there’s a consensus among school leaders that closures have skyrocketed.

As of Nov. 12, the Michigan Association of School Administrators had an unofficial tally of 21 school districts that have closed at least one building since September due to staff shortages. Most closures are for a few days. Southfield is an exception, and isn’t technically a closure. In early November, it switched to a four-day in-person schedule, with students learning from home on Fridays. The change was made in response to staff shortages.

According to Fox 2 Detroit television station, an email to Southfield parents said “stressors on families and educators includ(ing) labor shortages, increased seasonal illnesses, and food supply chain disruptions” had created “a less than optimal learning environment.”

Those closings don’t include the thousands of students — sometimes a whole classroom or building at a time — that have had to stay home because of coronavirus outbreaks.

Why is this a problem now?

School leaders who spoke to Bridge point to long-term, systemic issues. Teachers retired at a higher rate during the pandemic, while fewer college students are graduating with education degrees (a problem years before COVID hit), creating teacher shortages, particularly in some specialties such as special education.

“The combination of early retirements, low teacher prep program enrollment and high burnout among educators choosing to leave the profession have created a perfect storm for school staffing,” said Doug Pratt, director of public affairs for the Michigan Education Association, the state’s largest teacher union.

But that doesn’t explain why staff shortages are so much worse this fall than in recent years.

That reason has less to do with Michigan’s long-term teacher shortage, than with the lower-paid workers that keep schools operating. It’s a problem familiar to a lot of Michigan businesses.

There are 190,000 fewer people in the labor force in Michigan than in February 2020, before the pandemic struck the state.

That means those still in the labor force have a lot more options, and substitute teachers, bus drivers and school cafeteria workers haven’t typically made a lot of money. Before the pandemic, substitute teachers, for example, earned around $100 a day in many districts, and paraprofessionals – also known as classroom aides – earned as little as $13 an hour.

“We’ve been dealing with an educator shortage for years, but the pandemic has definitely made matters worse,” Pratt said. “Without adequate subs, it doesn’t take much of an outbreak of COVID or any other illness to make it impossible to safely staff a school building. Bus drivers, paraprofessionals, food service workers – we’re seeing shortages in all areas of education employment.”

With some fast food restaurants now offering pay of $15 an hour, school jobs had less appeal.

What do we do now? Are there any short-term answers?

The only quick fix to staffing shortages is for school districts to open up their checkbooks, and some are doing it.

Mona Shores Public Schools, south of Muskegon, is offering a $2,500 signing bonus for new bus drivers and a $500 finders fee for district employees who recommend a new driver. In Oakland County, Huron Valley Schools is offering a $600 signing bonus for new bus drivers.

But even financial incentive programs have drawbacks – school officials say big signing bonuses in one school district sometimes lure workers from neighboring schools, just shuffling staff shortages across district lines.

Lansing Public Schools took a different approach. Short of drivers for about 30 bus routes, the district offered families unlimited public bus passes or a monthly $25 gas card to help get kids to school.

Bonuses and gas cards are one-time expenses, and districts can dip into federal COVID money to pay for them, said Peter Spadafore of the Michigan Association of Superintendents and Administrators. Raising salaries significantly, though, is problematic, because COVID money won’t last forever.

This fall, the Lamphere Schools district in Madison Heights scrambled to raise its paraprofessional wages from $13.68 an hour to $18.70, for positions that only require a high school diploma, in essence competing with Subway and McDonald’s for workers.

There’s a limit to how much schools can compete on wages, said SBAM’s Fowler. Business owners “are raising (wages) to compete for labor,” he said. “That’s a tool we (in the private sector) have, we can raise prices to compete with pay and benefits. Those are not tools our schools can use,” because schools can’t “raise prices” for their services like a restaurant can.

MEA’s Pratt and Spadafore of the superintendent and administrator association didn’t offer any easy solutions. “This problem has been long in coming and there isn’t a single quick fix,” Pratt said.

“The pandemic has exposed the crisis in staffing we knew was there,” Spadafore said. “We need to find ways to entice people into education.”

COVID-19 VACCINES FOR AGES 5-11 MAY ALSO HELP PREVENT MIS-C

THE OAKLAND PRESS — For children ages 5 and up, not only does a COVID-19 vaccine provide protection against the virus, but it could save lives and serious complications from multisystem inflammatory syndrome which is known as MIS-C.

“This MIS has also been shown in adults post-COVID, but we actually have not seen it in adults, as far as I’m aware, after the vaccine,’’ said Dr. Joseph Fakhoury, Pediatric Hospitalist, Bronson Pediatric Medicine Hospital Specialists; Chair, Immunization Task Force, Michigan Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He was one of three doctors who spoke at a recent virtual town hall sponsored by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Fakhoury said they have also not seen MIS-C in adolescents who have been vaccinated, which gives them reassurance that the same will happen for the 5-11 age group.

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children is a condition where different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes or gastrointestinal organs, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The CDC said it does not yet know what causes MIS-C. However, it is known that many children with MIS-C had the virus that causes COVID-19, or had been around someone with COVID-19. MIS-C can be serious, even deadly, but most children who were diagnosed with this condition have gotten better with medical care.’’

In the United States since the start of the pandemic, 48 children have died from MIS-C while 5,526 have met the case definition, according to the CDC. In Michigan there have been between 150 and199 MIS-C cases.

“To break it down, it’s where multiple organs inside the child start to fail. And that’s from the virus not the vaccine. COVID-19 can cause multiple organs inside a child to fail. I’ve taken care of children in the hospital who have MIS-C. This is a real thing. It’s frightening as those organs start to fail and they’re having difficulty breathing, their lungs are shutting down, other organs are shutting down, we have to put them on ventilators. It’s no joke,’’ said Dr. Farhan Bhatti, Chief Executive Officer, Care Free Medical – Lansing; Michigan state lead, Committee to Protect Healthcare. He was on the same virtual town hall event.

“Yes, kids are more likely to survive than adults, but that is not the only metric that we follow. We also follow long-term complications of COVID-19 and some of those kids are going to be scarred for a very long time with respect to their ability to breathe, with even their cognition. It is a really serious syndrome,’’ Bhatti added.

The median age of patients with MIS-C is 9 years. Half of children with MIS-C were between the ages of 5 and 13 years, according to the CDC. About 98% of patients had a positive test result for SARS CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The remaining 2% of patients had contact with someone with COVID-19. Sixty percent of reported patients were male while 60% of the reported patients with race/ethnicity information available occurred in children who are Hispanic/Latino (1,467 patients) or Black, Non-Hispanic (1,666 patients).

Contact your child’s doctor, nurse, or clinic right away if your child is showing symptoms of MIS-C: Ongoing fever plus more than one of the following: stomach pain, bloodshot eyes, diarrhea, dizziness or lightheadedness (signs of low blood pressure), skin rash or vomiting. Not all children will have all the same symptoms.

The doctors agreed that even if children have had COVID-19 they should still be vaccinated.

“The people with the most robust immunity out there were infected with COVID and then followed it up with the vaccine,’’ Bhatti said.

He said most individuals who have been infected with COVID don’t have to wait to get the vaccine. The exceptions are those who received monoclonal antibody treatments and children who were sick or hospitalized with MIS-C. It’s recommended they wait 90 days to get the shot.

The next MDHHS virtual Town Hall on vaccines for ages 5-11 will be at noon on Thursday, Nov. 18. Go to Facebook.com/MichiganHHS.

COVID-19 HOSPITALIZATIONS IN MICHIGAN REACH SEVEN-MONTH HIGH

DETROIT NEWS — COVID-19 hospitalizations in Michigan hit a seven-month high Monday with more than 3,000 people ailing from the virus and a surge of cases having added 21,034 cases and 95 deaths from the virus over the last three days.

In the last seven days, only one state reported more cases than Michigan based on the latest state data. Michigan ranks eighth for the highest positive case rate by population nationally.

The state also reached its goal of getting 70% of residents age 16 and older with at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, two months later than initially expected.

Michigan’s hospitalizations have increased nearly 20% for two straight weeks. Should it continue on the trajectory, Michigan could have 4,000 patients hospitalized within the next two weeks, data shows.

As of Monday, 3,040 adults and 41 children are hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19, and another 159 people are hospitalized with suspected cases, according to state data. At least 698 adults are in the ICU and 381 are on ventilators.

The state’s record for most adult hospitalizations with confirmed cases of the virus occurred on April 19 with 4,158 inpatients.

John Karasinski, a spokesman of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association, said the growth is concerning with hospitals experiencing a 40% increase in daily emergency department patients since October 2020. Overall bed occupancy in Michigan hospitals is 10% higher than what Michigan experienced in the fall surge when the state peaked Dec. 1, 2020, with 4,283 COVID-19 hospitalizations, he said.

“The sharp rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations continues to stress an already strained health care system,” Karasinski said. “The Grand Rapids region has now surpassed their spring peak while hospitalizations in the Traverse City region are at an all-time high. This dramatic rise in cases and resulting hospitalizations is a reminder of the importance of getting vaccinated and receiving a booster dose, if eligible, as the growth is driven largely by unvaccinated patients.” About 11.6% of hospital beds are filled with COVID-19 patients, up from 10.5% the week prior. There has been an average of 2,141 emergency room visits related to COVID-19 every day in the state.

As of Monday, nine hospitals were at full bed occupancy, up from the eight hospitals from a week earlier. Those hospitals included Detroit Receiving Hospital, Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Mid-Michigan Medical Center-Gratiot, Munising Memorial Hospital, ProMedica Coldwater Regional Hospital, Sparrow Eaton in Charlotte, Spectrum Health Kelsey Hospital, St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea and St. Joseph Mercy Livingston Hospital.

Hospitals need the public’s help and encourage residents to get themselves, their children and others not only vaccinated against COVID-19 but also influenza, Karasinski said.

The public should expect longer wait times at the emergency room because of high patient numbers and staffing shortages, he said, while encouraging positive test individuals to consider receiving monoclonal antibody treatments, “which are statistically proven to decrease the risk of hospitalization.”

The majority of patients hospitalized from the virus are unvaccinated, the state health department has said.

The hospitalization development came as the latest figures from the state Department of Health and Human Services pushed the overall totals to 1,209,712 confirmed cases and 22,862 deaths since the virus was first detected in the state in March 2020.

The state averaged 7,011 cases per day over the three days. Of the latest deaths reported, 27 were identified during a vital records review, state health officials noted.

Cases are not expected to slow down for six weeks or longer, according to a University of Washington projection.

Last week, the state added 31,072 cases and 293 deaths from the virus, an increase from the week prior when the state added 29,171 cases and 292 deaths from the virus. In the last week of September, the state added 23,801 cases and 244 deaths.

The weekly record of 50,892 cases was set Nov. 15-21, 2020. The second-highest weekly total was 47,316 Nov. 22-28, 2020.

On Nov. 15, 2020, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced her administration’s “pause to save lives,” bringing wide-ranging restrictions limiting gatherings at high schools, colleges and restaurants to combat what she described as the “worst moment” yet in the COVID-19 pandemic. Those restrictions were ended in June.

Michigan remains at a high transmission rate and the state’s percent of tests returning positive has increased from last week.

Statewide positivity increased to 14.1% from 11.6% the week prior, according to data from Tuesday.

However, the state was doing significantly more testing last year at this time than it is today.

Last week, the state reported about 280,000 confirmatory tests. During the week of Nov. 15-21, 2020, the state reported 473,000 tests.

Cases were rising more quickly last year leading to a surge; however, this year has tracked a slow increase over time, state data indicate.

The proportion of kids getting sick with COVID-19 in the state also is increasing. In Michigan; over 50% of children hospitalized have no reported underlying conditions.

Outbreaks have steadily been increasing in Michigan during the past few weeks.

But the number of new COVID-19 outbreaks at Michigan K-12 schools dropped to 87 clusters, a decrease from last week’s numbers, representing 521 new cases statewide, state health data showed Monday.

The largest outbreak was at Baraga High School in the Upper Peninsula with 37 cases of students and staff. Two mid-Michigan schools in Elsie had large outbreaks — Knight Elementary had 23 cases of students and staff, and Ovid Elsie Middle School had 20 cases of students and staff.

Kent County had the most schools, 11, with outbreaks, while Clinton County had six schools.

Last week the state reported 104 schools with new outbreaks and 666 new cases at K-12 schools. No new college or university outbreaks were reported.

FLU RIPS THROUGH UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN CAMPUS, BRINGING CDC TO ANN ARBOR

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Influenza is sweeping the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus, with 528 cases diagnosed at the University Health Service since Oct. 6.

The outbreak is so sudden and large — 313 cases were identified the week of Nov. 8 alone and 37% of flu tests that week were positive — that it has drawn the attention of federal health leaders.

A team of investigators from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be on campus this week, trying to learn more about the spread of the virus and the effectiveness of this year’s flu vaccine.

Among those who’ve contracted flu at U-M this fall, 77% didn’t get a flu vaccine. The cases were identified as influenza A (H3N2), said Lindsey Mortenson, UHS medical director and acting executive director.

“While we often start to see some flu activity now, the size of this outbreak is unusual,” said Juan Luis Marquez, medical director at the Washtenaw County Health Department. “We’re grateful for the additional support of the CDC and our ongoing partnership with the university as we look more closely at the situation.”

The work will be led by the local health department, and will include the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the university and a team from the CDC.

When a public health authority requests assistance from the CDC for an urgent public health problem, such as disease outbreaks, unexplained illnesses and natural or human-caused disasters, an Epi-Aid team is tapped to provide short-term assistance.

In Ann Arbor, the team will evaluate flu vaccine uptake and vaccine effectiveness and risk factors for spread by collecting samples from patients at University Health Service, providing data analysis, and conducting questionnaires.

Health leaders are concerned about the timing of the increase in cases in Ann Arbor, as many students plan to travel soon for Thanksgiving break. They are calling on as many people as possible to get flu vaccines.

“We strongly recommend anyone not yet vaccinated against seasonal flu to do so,” Marquez said. “And anyone at higher risk of severe flu complications should talk to their doctor about prescription antiviral medications at the first sign of flu symptoms.”

Fewer Michiganders have taken flu vaccines this year compared with the same time in 2020. As of Nov. 6, the state health department reported 2.01 million flu shots have been administered so far statewide, covering about 20% of the population. Comparatively, 3.14 million doses had been given as of Nov. 6, 2020, covering about 31% of the population.

Washtenaw County has a higher flu vaccination rate this year than the state overall. There, about 31% of residents have gotten flu vaccines this season, according to state data.

People who get flu vaccines help to protect those around them, including people who are more vulnerable to serious flu illness, like infants and young children, older people and those with certain chronic health conditions.

Last year, there was little to no flu activity. This year, health officials are concerned about the possibility of a twin-demic as both coronavirus and flu could surge, driving a massive wave of sickness.

The same tools that work to slow the spread of COVID-19 also work against flu:

Wear a mask in indoor public spaces and in outdoor crowded places
Get vaccinated
Stay home when sick
Wash your hands often
Cover cough and sneezes

Flu vaccines are widely available at doctor’s offices and drugstores. In addition, the Washtenaw County Health Department offers flu vaccination at the same time as COVID-19 vaccination.

A Kroger Health Vaccine Clinic also will offer 600 shots 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Tuesday at 1310 North University Court Building. To register, go to: https://form.jotform.com/213157094423048.

Other local options and local flu activity can be found at www.washtenaw.org/flu or by using the flu vaccine locator.

POPULAR VOTE PETITION COULD APPEAR ON MICHIGAN BALLOT NEXT YEAR

BRIDGE MI — Michigan voters next year could decide whether the state should eventually award its Electoral College votes to the presidential candidate who receives the most votes nationwide.

On Monday, the Michigan Board of Canvassers approved the petition language of the bipartisan “Yes on National Popular Vote” campaign. If the group collects 340,047 valid voter signatures within 180 days, the proposal would go on the 2022 ballot.

The main backers of the petition are Mark Brewer, former chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, and Saul Anuzis, the former chair of the Michigan Republican Party. “We want to make sure that every voter in every election is politically relevant every time,” Anuzis told Bridge Michigan on Monday after the vote.

Presidential candidates need at least 270 of 538 votes from the Electoral College, which is composed of delegates from all 50 states. Five times in history, the system has elected a president who got fewer votes overall than their competitor, including Donald Trump in 2016 who received 3 million fewer votes than Democrat Hillary Clinton.

The ballot measure would ask Michigan, which has 15 electoral votes, to become the 16th state to join an interstate compact that would take effect if more states pledge to award delegates based on the popular vote.

Backers of the Electoral College system say it ensures candidates pay attention to the needs of all states, rather than simply population centers.

Michigan has received outsized attention in recent campaigns as a swing state, and Anuzis said he wants to ensure remains.

“Today, the only states that matter are battleground states. So, for all practical purposes, what happens is we elect the president of the battleground states of America, versus the president of the United States of America,” Anuzis said.

Anuzis said the group expects to start circulating the petition sometime in December.

The compact, called the National Popular Vote, was created in 2006 by University of Michigan alum John Koza. The group has heavily lobbied in Michigan, at times inviting lawmakers to trips to Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

In 2018, Michigan GOP lawmakers introduced legislation to decide U.S. presidential contests by a national popular vote. Many Republicans supported the bill, including current House Speaker Jason Wentworth, R-Farwell.

Wentworth now opposes the plan. Gideon D’Assandro, Wentworth’s spokesperson, told Bridge Michigan that Wentworth “has learned more about it in the years since then.”

Most of the Republican lawmakers in the Michigan Legislature, including Senate Majority Speaker Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, signed a letter last month opposing the national popular vote.

“It is imperative that the candidate who receives Michigan’s electoral votes is determined by Michiganders — and not by voters in other parts of the country,” the letter, signed by 47 lawmakers, said.

“This proposal would give big cities on the East and West Coast veto power over voters in Michigan … It’s a disastrous idea, and one that should remain on the scrapheap of American history.”

Other critics have argued it will take away Michigan’s political clout.

Tom England, executive director of anti-compact group Save Our States, told Bridge Michigan the popular vote system would eliminate the checks and balances created by the Electoral College.

“With the National Popular Vote compact, states either accept other states results or they just reject other states results,” England said. “And you could have the Secretary of State of Michigan deciding whether to accept results from California or whether to accept results from Texas.”

MICHIGAN REPORTS 15,878 NEW COVID-19 CASES, 83 DEATHS SINCE WEDNESDAY

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The Michigan health department on Friday reported 15,878 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 83 new deaths over a two-day period.

That’s an average of 7,939 new cases per day. However, some of the new confirmed cases include lab results from a processing delay Wednesday.

Of the 83 deaths, 43 were identified during a vital records review, which the department conducts three times a week.

Michigan now has a total of 1,188,678 confirmed cases and 22,767 confirmed deaths since March 2020, when the pandemic began.

Michigan had a test positivity rate of 16.31% Thursday, reporting that 9,170 of 56,208 diagnostic test results were positive.

The state has a fatality rate of 1.9% among known cases, according to data from the state health department.

Michigan also reports 158,190 probable COVID-19 cases and 1,514 probable deaths. The probable cases combined with confirmed cases make up a total of 1,346,868 cases and 24,308 deaths.

METRO DETROIT HOMELESS SERVICE PROVIDERS GEAR UP FOR ANOTHER WINTER IN THE PANDEMIC

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Homeless shelters in metro Detroit are bracing for another winter — when there’s typically a spike in need as the temperature drops and people seek to escape the harsh elements.

This time, however, there’s another factor to consider: the end of the federal eviction moratorium. There’s also the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, forcing providers to once again open up new sites and space out beds to accommodate social distancing.

Homeless service providers are seeing a steady uptick in need for their services and expect those numbers to climb as it gets colder. It’s unclear if the lifting of the federal eviction moratorium — which had been in place for roughly a year and lifted in August — is playing a role in that increase. While the moratorium’s end is a cause for concern and something providers are monitoring, especially as eviction cases make it through the courts, they say federal rent aid dollars are working to relieve the pressure off of an already overburdened shelter system.

Still, some shelters are bracing for an influx and expect to fill beds quickly.

The Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries opened up two new shelters last week — one for women and children and another quarantine site — to accommodate the surge of people they expect to see.

“I’m very concerned because we really don’t know how quickly people are going to be evicted,” said Chad Audi, president and CEO of Detroit Rescue Mission Missionaries, adding that he expects the shelters to be full this week.

Over at the Macomb County Rotating Emergency Shelter, officials say they’ve seen an increase in calls since the moratorium lifted.

“The desperation level is just different,” said MCREST shelter manager Heather VanDenburg. “Obviously when someone is in a homeless situation, they’re desperate anyway. We’re used to that, but this is just a different level. They’re in tears — almost to the point of can’t talk, can’t figure out what the next step is. They call multiple shelters.”

MCREST is able to accommodate 70 people and is at capacity.

Meanwhile, the Pope Francis Center is stationed at the TCF Center for another winter to accommodate more people at a time of high need.

Last winter, the Pope Francis Center saw about 200 people a day, provided more than 100,000 meals, 6,000 showers, 2,500 loads of laundry and that was “while the moratorium was still in place,” said Father Tim McCabe, executive director of the day shelter providing food and support services.

“A lot of people live right on the razor’s edge, and one catastrophic event, an illness, a family illness, a parent gets sick, childcare, anything like that puts a strain on their ability to cover their bills and people end up homeless. For so many people in the city of Detroit, they have no safety net,” McCabe said.

Rent aid continues

Still, the full effect of the eviction moratorium’s end hasn’t yet materialized and federal pandemic relief dollars to help pay off months of back rent and utilities are working to keep people housed, several housing providers said.

Delphia Simmons, chief impact officer of the Coalition On Temporary Shelter in Detroit, said it’ll take a while for eviction cases to get through court and the cold weather is a major driver of the expected surge.

COTS has been at capacity for months, she said.

“I would say that there’s not a day that goes by that we don’t get someone calling that we can’t accommodate,” Simmons said. “There’s not a day that goes by that that doesn’t happen.”

The United Way for Southeastern Michigan 2-1-1 helpline has seen a slight increase in calls for housing help — rent assistance, shelter, warming centers — in the last two or three months.

“Many people didn’t call because they were assured that they could stay in their homes. But once (the moratorium) lifted, then the phone calls began to increase,” said Tamara Bolden, senior director of 21-1 operations. Housing is among the top three reasons people call the helpline.

Who is left out?

But help isn’t getting to everyone who is eligible and in need.

Outlier Media last month reported that although MSHDA allows people who have become homeless because of the pandemic to get federal rent aid dollars, fewer than 100 people got access to that relief through local agencies. Multiple people who use the news organization’s text messaging information service called those agencies and were turned down for assistance, while others were told there was no available help.

Although there is a deluge of federal rent aid dollars, not everyone may be aware of the help, said Eric Hufnagel, executive director of the Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness, who is also mayor of the city of St. John.

Advocates in Detroit have even taken a door-to-door outreach approach in an effort to reach Detroiters on the brink of eviction who may not know about ways to get help.

Heading into another winter pandemic, providers across the state are juggling a web of concerns, Hufnagel explained, including: the end of supplemental unemployment dollars, people who don’t know about rent aid dollars, difficulties finding a rental unit, limited space in shelters and the ongoing health crisis.

“The whole system is really under stress at this point,” he said.

US JOURNALIST DANNY FENSTER FREED FROM MYANMAR JAIL WITH EX-DIPLOMAT’S AID

ASSOCIATED PRESS — American journalist Danny Fenster, who was recently sentenced to 11 years of hard labor after spending nearly six months in jail in military-ruled Myanmar, was freed and on his way home Monday, a former U.S. diplomat who helped negotiate the release said.

Fenster, the managing editor of the online magazine Frontier Myanmar, was convicted Friday of spreading false or inflammatory information, contacting illegal organizations and violating visa regulations. His sentence was the harshest yet among the seven journalists known to have been convicted since the military ousted the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in February.

“This is the day that you hope will come when you do this work,” Bill Richardson, a former governor of New Mexico and past ambassador to the U.N., said in a statement emailed by his office. “We are so grateful that Danny will finally be able to reconnect with his loved ones, who have been advocating for him all this time, against immense odds.”

Fenster was handed over to Richardson in Myanmar and will return to the U.S. via Qatar over the next day and a half, according to the statement. He has been in detention since he was taken into custody at Yangon International Airport on May 24 as he was headed to the Detroit area in the United States to see his family.

“We are overjoyed that Danny has been released and is on his way home — we cannot wait to hold him in our arms,” his family said in a statement. “We are tremendously grateful to all the people who have helped secure his release, especially Ambassador Richardson, as well as our friends and the public who have expressed their support and stood by our sides as we endured these long and difficult months.”

It was never exactly clear what Fenster was alleged to have done, but much the prosecution’s case appeared to hinge on proving that he was employed by another online news site that was ordered closed this year during a crackdown on the media following the military’s seizure of power. Fenster used to work for the site but left that job last year.

According to the United Nations, at least 126 journalists, media officials or publishers have been detained by the military since the takeover and 47 remain in custody, though not all of them have been charged.

Of the seven journalists known to have been convicted, six are Myanmar nationals and four were released in a mass amnesty in October.

“We welcome the release of American journalist Daniel Fenster from prison in Burma, where he was wrongfully detained for almost six months,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement, using an old name for the Southeast Asian country. “We are glad that Danny will soon be reunited with his family as we continue to call for the release of others who remain unjustly imprisoned in Burma.”

Frontier Myanmar Editor-in-Chief Thomas Kean echoed those sentiments.

“Danny is one of many journalists in Myanmar who have been unjustly arrested simply for doing their job since the February coup,” he said.
Richardson said he discussed Fenster’s release during a recent visit to Myanmar when he held face-to-face negotiations with Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the country’s ruler.

In an interview with The Associated Press after his most recent visit to Myanmar, Richardson said his talks there had focused on facilitating humanitarian assistance to the country, particularly the provision of COVID-19 vaccines. That mission also resulted in the release from jail of Aye Moe, a young woman who used to work for Richardson’s center on women’s empowerment issues.

At the time, Richardson said his staff had been in touch with Fenster’s family, and when asked by the AP if there was hope for Danny Fenster’s release, he replied: “There’s always hope. Don’t ask any more.”

Shawn Crispin, Southeast Asia representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said Fenster “never should have been jailed or sentenced on bogus charges in the first place.”

“Myanmar’s military regime must stop using journalists as pawns in their cynical games and release all the other reporters still languishing behind bars on spurious charges,” Crispin added.

During Fenster’s trial, prosecution witnesses testified that they were informed by a letter from the Information Ministry that its records showed that Fenster continued to be employed this year by the online news site Myanmar Now — one of dozens of outlets ordered shut in a press crackdown.

Both his former and current employers issued public statements that Fenster had left Myanmar Now last year, and his lawyer said defense testimony, as well as income tax receipts, established that he works for Frontier Myanmar. But without a government official’s testimony to that effect, the judge only took into account the letter from the Information Ministry.

BEAUMONT WARNS FOURTH SURGE OF VIRUS COULD LAST FOR MONTHS

DETROIT NEWS — Beaumont Health has 400 COVID-19 patients admitted at its eight hospitals and the medical system’s top epidemiologist said Thursday that officials there are considering this Beaumont’s fourth surge of the virus and warning it could last for months.

Dr. Nick Gilpin, Beaumont Health’s director of infection prevention and epidemiology, said transmission rates in the tricounty region are about double what’s being seen across the country and Metro Detroit “is once again becoming a hotspot.”

Gilpin noted that the positivity rate, or percentage of tests coming back positive, reached a very low point over the summer, but began to creep up in August — and it has continued to rise since then.

“I have a feeling we’re going to be living in this world probably for the next couple of months and possibly even through the winter,” he added during a Thursday morning briefing. “Because I don’t see anything out there that’s going to stop this in a meaningful way unless people radically change their behavior and start getting vaccinated and masking up.

“This is going to be a tough one,” Gilpin said. “This one is shaping up to be a little bit more of a marathon than a sprint.”

Beaumont’s update on its COVID-19 admissions comes as Michigan on Wednesday reached a six-month high in hospitalizations for the virus. Projections suggest the uptick won’t level off for at least six weeks.

Last year’s fall surge of COVID-19 cases represented the high point so far during the pandemic, with the state peaking a year ago in November. Wednesday’s hospitalizations reached more than 2,600 people statewide ailing from the virus — nearly identical to one year ago. Michigan’s infections have been trending upward for months.

So far this week, the state has added 15,194 and 210 deaths from the virus. The latest figures push the overall totals to 1,172,800 confirmed cases and 22,684 deaths since the virus was first detected in the state in March 2020.

In Traverse City, the Munson Healthcare system activated protocols on Tuesday for its Pandemic Response Level Red for the first time in the organization’s history. The highest alert level on a five-color scale, the status gives officials flexibility to delay non-COVID services or surgeries on a case-to-case basis to shift staffing and resources toward caring for COVID-19 patients.

The seven-hospital health system had 92 COVID-19 patients as of Wednesday, with 49 in Traverse City, 15 in Cadillac, one patient in Charlevoix, 14 in Grayling and five at Munson’s hospital in Manistee.

Gilpin said Thursday that it’s impossible to know the exact cause of the latest surge, but he believes it’s being driven by unvaccinated people in the community.

Generally, about 65% to 70% of patients admitted to Beaumont hospitals with COVID-19 on any given day are unvaccinated, Gilpin said, compared with about 30% to 35% who have had their shots. Of Wednesday’s admissions, around 260 were unvaccinated with about 115 breakthrough cases in vaccinated people, he noted.

The majority of breakthrough cases in vaccinated individuals, he said, are occurring either in people who are immunocompromised or elderly, rendering the vaccines less effective. Other cases, Gilpin said, have emerged in people who were vaccinated early on in the pandemic and the shots’ effectiveness is wearing off.

“This wave is predominantly driven by unvaccinated individuals,” said Gilpin, adding Michigan’s now-cooler temperatures make it easier for the virus to replicate, and drive people indoors where there’s more opportunity for transmission.

“We’re also seeing more relaxed attitudes toward masking, more and more large gatherings take place, and we know that those are the conditions that are going to make for more transmission,” he said.

“Much of that is because there is still a significant proportion of that population that is yet to be vaccinated,” he said, noting that the Pfizer vaccine was only recently FDA-approved for 5- to 11-year-olds, and there is significant vaccine hesitancy among parents.

About 69.8% of Michiganians 16 years and older have received at least one dose of vaccine. About 54.4% are completely vaccinated, according to the state health department’s website.

Since Michigan began vaccinating children 5-11 on Monday, 1.7% or 14,100 children as of Wednesday had received first doses, state data shows and 42.5% of children ages 12-15 had received one dose.

Gilpin said the largest increases right now are among school-aged kids, followed by outbreaks in long-term care facilities. Most new case outbreaks, he said, across Michigan are in schools. There were 15 pediatric cases among the 400 COVID-19 inpatients at Beaumont Hospitals on Thursday, according to the health system.

“Kids might not get very sick from COVID, but they can still catch COVID, they can spread COVID to others, to their teachers and households, and then it just becomes a way for the virus to propagate more,” he said.

MICHIGAN DRIVERS CAN NOW OPT FOR 2-YEAR VEHICLE REGISTRATION, THANKS TO NEW LEGISLATION

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Michiganders can now renew the registration of their vehicle every two years, instead of one.

Signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Wednesday, House Bill 4117 is an effort to make operations at the Secretary of State branches more efficient. The bill is among multiple pieces of legislation signed by Whitmer Wednesday, including Senate Bill 220 that provides free registration renewal for some agricultural and industrial vehicles.

“Making life easier for Michiganders is one of my top priorities,” said Whitmer in a release. “These changes will build on the many new convenient services offered by the Secretary of State to put Michigan families and small businesses first.”

Effective next October, Michigan drivers can opt to renew vehicle registration for two years at a time, rather than making an annual trip to branch offices to renew.

“The Michigan Department of State has entered a new era of operations and we are providing better and more convenient service than ever before. Our branch offices are open, pandemic operations are finished, and there is abundant availability for office visits across the state,” said Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson in a release.

Michigan once implemented two-year registrations in the early 1980s, but the Department of State reported they were not popular with motorists, according to the nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency.

Drivers will still be able to renew annually. Tabs expire on the owner’s birthday.

The governor last month signed related legislation to ensure they also will be able to buy an optional two-year recreation passport for unlimited access to state parks, recreation areas, boat launches, forest campgrounds and trail parking lots.

For more information on vehicle registration, visit michigan.gov/sos/

MICHIGAN IS SENDING A $1,000 ‘THANK YOU’ TO EARLY EDUCATORS. IS IT ENOUGH?

BRIDGE MI — Many early educators in Michigan will soon receive $1,000 bonuses, a ‘thank you’ to thousands of workers across the state who stuck with challenging, low-paid, and essential jobs through the scariest days of the pandemic.

Child care providers are welcoming the money, which comes from federal COVID aid, even as they say they are struggling mightily to hire for those same jobs.

“I’ve tried everything,” said Beverly Hogan, director of three child care centers in the Detroit area. “They might send a resume, then no call, no show.”

In an effort to attract more staff, Hogan increased entry-level pay in her centers in recent months by $4 an hour, putting it at $13 — far below the Michigan median hourly wage of $19.

Labor shortages in various industries are making headlines as the pandemic reshapes the economy. For the child care sector, a tight labor market only adds to profound problems with turnover and hiring that long predate the pandemic.

“We’ve been sounding the alarm for years now that child care workers are completely underpaid and undervalued,” said Matt Gillard, president of Michigan’s Children, a nonprofit advocacy group. “A $1,000 bonus is not only appropriate but overdue. But it’s not a long-term solution. We fundamentally have to change the program so that we can make this a profession that’s viable.”

The bonuses will be paid to full-time child care workers or administrators currently on payroll at centers or home-based programs. Part-time employees are eligible for $500.

Providers can also apply to receive up to $1,000 for incentive payments for new hires.

A large boost in federal child care spending in response to the pandemic helped most programs remain open despite sharply reduced enrollment and increased costs related to COVID prevention. At least several hundred Michigan child care programs, or 6 percent of the total, closed during the pandemic, fewer than was feared in the spring of 2020.

More financial help is on the way. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced this week that providers can now apply for a share of $350 million in stabilization funds that will go toward bonuses and hiring incentives. Another round of grants is expected to go out in 2022.

The state also used federal funds to increase payments to providers who serve low-income children. And income requirements for the subsidies were raised, meaning more families qualify for support with child care tuition.

But those funding increases are temporary and advocates say larger, structural changes are needed. A major additional influx of federal support for early childhood education is on the agenda in Congress, which is weighing a proposed expansion of the U.S. social safety net that includes child care provisions. But the fate of that legislation is uncertain as Democrats hold a narrow majority.

The economics of the child care industry are largely determined by government funding levels, especially in low-income communities where parents typically can’t afford private care costs that can be on par with University of Michigan tuition.

Providers have used COVID relief funding to increase pay and benefits for their staff, but they often can’t compete with other hourly industries.

“I love my job, but from the outside looking in, who wants to teach?” said Monique Snyder, director of Brainiac’s Clubhouse Child Care Center. “People say, ‘You want me to sit in this classroom with these kids and make $32,000 per year? I could go to Amazon and do that.’”

MICHIGAN REPORTS 6,283 NEW COVID-19 CASES, 163 DEATHS OVER 2 DAYS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The Michigan health department reported 6,283 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday and Wednesday, averaging 3,142 cases a day.

The state reported 163 additional deaths, 88 of which were identified during a vital records review conducted three times a week.

Michigan now has a total of 1,172,800 confirmed cases and 22,684 confirmed deaths.

The two-day average underestimates the number of new referrals since the state’s last update Monday because of a processing delay for lab results, according to the health department. The cause of the issue is currently under investigation.

Michigan had a positivity rate of 16.93% Tuesday, reporting that 7,699 of 45,464 diagnostic test results returned were positive.

On Wednesday, the fatality rate among known cases was 1.9%.

The state also reported 156,289 probable cases and 1,533 probable deaths, making up a cumulative total of 1,329,089 cases and 24,217 deaths.

JUDGE APPROVES $626 MILLION SETTLEMENT IN FLINT WATER CRISIS

BRIDGE MI — A judge has approved a $626.25 million settlement in the Flint water crisis, but has not yet decided how much money goes to residents and how much lawyers keep.

In a Wednesday opinion, U.S. District Court Judge Judith Levy rejected all objections to the settlement of claims against the state and other parties sued by Flint residents for their role in the city’s lead-tainted water crisis.

Calling the settlement “a remarkable achievement,” Levy declined to immediately decide how much money attorneys should get for their work in the case.

After attorney fees are discounted, children are set to receive nearly 80 percent of the settlement, while 18 percent goes to adults who can prove health impacts or property damages. Smaller amounts will go to special education programs and businesses.

More than 50,000 people have signed up to participate in the settlement, but it’s not clear whether all have valid claims. The city’s population was about 100,000 at the time of the crisis, but has since decreased to 81,000.

Payments aren’t likely until next year at the earliest.

Michigan’s state government is the biggest contributor to the agreement, which would resolve only some civil suits tied to the crisis. The state is paying $600 million, while $20 comes from the City of Flint; $5 million from McLaren Regional Medical Center; and $1.25 million from Flint-based engineering firm Rowe Professional Services Co.

That’s lower than the original proposed amount, after Levy last month granted McLaren permission to lower its contribution by $15 million to keep the hospital system from walking away from the agreement.

Claire McClinton, 72-year-old Flint resident who voiced her concerns in front of Levy earlier this year, said the settlement is too small.

Among other concerns, McClinton also objected to the way funds are distributed, with less money available for adults and almost no money available to adults who can’t prove they suffered physical harm. And she’s frustrated that Levy allowed McLaren to shrink its contribution to a quarter of its former size.

“I’m just very, very disappointed,” McClinton said.

She intends to hire a lawyer to pursue her own lawsuit against the state, she said.

Flint’s water crisis began in 2014, when a state-appointed emergency manager approved the city’s switch from Detroit’s water supply to the Flint River, without requiring anti-corrosion chemicals to prevent lead from leaching out pipes.

The water crisis prompted congressional hearings, criminal charges against Michigan’s former governor and other top public officials and a bevy of lawsuits.

Levy acknowledged during hearings this year that she had “a difficult decision” — especially about fees for lawyers, who sought 30 percent of the overall settlement.

She noted in Thursday’s order that she’ll address that question in a separate opinion.

Lawyers contend they deserve that much because they have logged 182,000 hours of work — the equivalent of more than 20 years’ labor — on behalf of Flint residents.

In hearings earlier this year, lawyers say the fees are less than they could collect if they followed the terms of individual agreements they had previously reached with plaintiffs.

In an interview with Bridge Michigan on Wednesday, co-lead counsel Ted Leopold noted that lawyers took on enormous gamble by working on contingency, meaning that if they had lost, Leopold said, they have received virtually no payment.

“That’s the nature of litigation, and that’s the risk we took,” he said.

Leopold called the settlement an important moment of closure for the residents and noted its national significance.

“Something that is forgotten a little bit,” he said, “is how this has had an effect nationally — even now with this new infrastructure bill that’s going to address clean water related issues, lead pipe issues.”

Objectors to the proposed settlement fee argue it’s far too much. Frank Bednarz, an attorney for the Washington D.C.-based Center for Class Action Fairness at the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute, said he hopes Levy will approve about half of what lawyers seek.

Bednarz questioned how much of lawyers’ time was spent serving clients’ interests versus competing with one another for business.

“It’s too much,” he said. “It does make sense that they deserve to be paid for their work, but not at (this amount).”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel lauded the settlement’s approval, though both acknowledged the lingering harm to Flint residents.

“We hope this settlement helps the healing continue as we keep working to make sure that people have access to clean water in Flint and communities all across Michigan,” Whitmer said in a statement.

A settlement is a major milestone, but far from the end of legal wrangling. Lawyers continue to pursue lawsuits against four other parties, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. And criminal proceedings against former Gov. Rick Snyder and other public figures involved in the decision to switch Flint’s drinking water are still ongoing.

McClinton said that as those lawsuits proceed, “we can only hope that the EPA won’t be as irresponsible and as heartless and inhumane as the state of Michigan and these other doggone defendants. That we can get some kind of justice from the EPA.”

Hearings about the settlement have proved contentious, and not just about the lawyer fees.

The deal calls for people to submit medical records, financial documents or other proof they suffered physical harm or financial losses. During hearings, some Flint residents objected that they should be left out of the settlement because they didn’t suffer the worst effects of the poisoning.

Everyone, they argued, endured the psychological trauma of fearing for their health, and continues to endure the stigma of being a resident of a city that’s now internationally known for drinking poisoned water.

DEER EXPERT: EXPECT FEWER HUNTERS IN THE MICHIGAN WOODS THIS YEAR

BRIDGE MI — It seemed like a sign of hope against an otherwise bleak outlook for the future of deer hunting in Michigan.

Last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic pushed people out of offices, movie theaters and restaurants and into the outdoors, hunting participation increased for the first time in years.

Nearly 675,000 people took to their deer blinds in Michigan, an increase of 5.5 percent for a pastime that has endured a quarter-century of declining participation. But despite whispers of a possible renaissance, early statistics from this season indicate last year was an anomaly. Dustin Isenhoff, a Michigan Department of Natural Resources research specialist who tracks hunting participation, helped Bridge Michigan explain what the numbers mean. Highlights from the conversation follow.

Michigan has lost 270,000 hunters since the mid-1990s. Where have they all gone?

They’re aging out of the sport, Isenhoff said. And their kids, who are less likely to live in the rural places where publicly-accessible hunting lands abound, have found other ways to spend their time.

“There’s a culture shift,” Isenhoff said, and a sheer abundance of other options that weren’t available in decades past. That has “chipped away” at the sport’s popularity, particularly among younger generations who are instead picking up activities like mountain biking, snowmobiling and kayaking.

“Every year,” he said, “there’s more competition for your time.” What about last year’s COVID outdoor bump? Why hasn’t that continued for hunting, like it did for other forms of outdoor recreation?

The dynamics are different. Camping, hiking and mountain biking were already on the upswing — the pandemic simply sped up the process. Hunting, on the other hand, has been waning for decades.

Last year’s gains, driven largely by women and younger hunters, represented a shift for a sport that has become increasingly reliant on an aging, mostly male hunter population.

But this year, Isenhoff said, “we’re seeing the most erosion in those age groups that saw the biggest upticks last year.”

You can thank the end of COVID office closures and social distancing.

Many of last year’s new hunters, Isenhoff said, were taking advantage of a sudden abundance of free time. Now, they’re back to spending their days commuting to work, and their weekends participating in other pastimes.

So far, participation is down 8 percent compared to last year, though it’s still ahead of 2019.

If some of those new hunters stick around, will hunting participation stabilize?

Probably not. Long-term, Isenhoff said, he expects participation to keep dwindling, as the diehards who fueled the sport’s 90s heyday age out of the sport.

But he noted that the DNR and hunting groups are deeply invested in efforts to recruit new hunters through youth educational programs, mentorships for new hunters, and partnerships with breweries that feature venison on their menu to entice the locavore crowd.

The agency has also focused heavily in recent years on creating new hunting access opportunities in southern Michigan, closer to where most people live. The new Crystal Waters Game Area in Monroe County is an example.

What does it mean for DNR revenue?

Bad news. The agency gets about 20 percent of its funding from hunters and fishing licenses, using it to pay for conservation officers, habitat protection and fish and game management. Another 19 percent from federal excise taxes on guns and ammo.

“It’s a big deal,” Isenhoff said. “Every less license sale is less potential funding.”

The surprising upside: While hunting is down, Isenhoff said gun and ammo sales are “exploding,” as are the taxes levied on them. In 2019, Michigan received over $20 million from that pot of federal money. That revenue is expected to grow when Michigan receives its next allocation, following a year of record gun sales in Michigan.

That, Isenhoff said, has helped to offset some of the pain of fewer license sales.

“Target shooting definitely has been a bit of a lifeboat,” he said.

But, as Bridge has reported, it’s also created headaches of its own, as gun enthusiasts descend on public lands with semi-automatic rifles, irking neighbors and prompting the DNR to ban target shooting at some state game areas.

So, where will the DNR get money instead?

“That’s a big question,” Isenhoff said, and “there’s really no great silver-bullet answer.”

Michigan U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, is lead sponsor of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, which would create a new influx of $1.4 billion annually toward species recovery, helping to offset the decline in hunting and fishing revenue.

Previous versions of the bill have died in each of the past two congressional sessions, leaving doubt about its hopes of passage this time.

Some states have modest initiatives that allow residents to voluntarily fund conservation, like Idaho’s conservation license-plate program. But those token contributions pale in comparison to the hunter-generated revenue that will need to be offset if participation declines continue.

What does it mean for the rest of us?

More deer getting caught in your car’s headlights…or caught munching on your flowers or vegetable patch.

As Bridge is also reporting, deer are posing problems in the Lower Peninsula as hunting’s decline combines with other human influences, like predator suppression and habitat encroachment, to allow unchecked population growth.

Hoofed herbivores are “one of the winners of human disturbance,” Isenhoff said, and they thrive in corn fields and backyard flower gardens.

Their growth in the parts of Michigan is forcing new coping strategies, from government-sanctioned culls to sterilization and walls around Leelanau County’s cherry orchards. But for now, Michigan’s disappearing hunters still represent the primary means of population control.

“Everything else,” Isenhoff said, “is either incredibly expensive or just not practical.”

GET A COVID VACCINE BOOSTER, DOCTORS SAY, AS DELTA SPREAD RATCHETS UP IN MICHIGAN

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The message should be more urgent in Michigan: If you’re eligible for a COVID-19 booster shot, get one now, said Dr. Anurag Malani, director of infection prevention for the St. Joseph Mercy Health System.

If you haven’t had a dose at all, get vaccinated. And if you’re not wearing a mask in public, indoor places, put one on.

The delta variant of the virus isn’t done with Michigan just yet, Malani said. Cases and hospitalizations are climbing in the state once again — despite falling trends in much of the rest of the country.

“We have not seen a decline in cases. We have not seen a decline in hospitalizations. In fact, actually, this week our numbers are probably the highest they have been in the delta surge,” Malani told the Free Press. “We have about 260 hospitalized patients with COVID across our seven hospitals in Trinity Michigan.

“There should be … stronger communication around the need for boosters.”

COVID-19 hospitalizations rose 20% in just one week in Michigan — from 2,144 on Nov. 1 to 2,580 Monday — putting a crunch on hospitals that also are treating a large number of patients with other medical conditions.

Traverse City-based Munson Healthcare announced Tuesday that it has now exceeded capacity at its nine northern Michigan hospitals for the first time in its 106-year history, and is operating at “Pandemic Response Level Red.”

That means that physician’s offices, labs, outpatient clinics and hospitals will remain open, but non-urgent surgeries and other procedures may have to be delayed, especially if they require an overnight hospital stay, said Munson spokesperson Dianne Michalek. A temporary pause has been placed on sleep disorder services as well.

“The number of patients we are seeing in our hospitals right now are close to those we experienced during the worst of the pandemic last spring,” Christine Nefcy, Munson’s chief medical officer, said in a statement.

“Now, more than ever, we need our communities to band together with us by getting vaccinated, wearing a mask in public, practicing proper hand hygiene, and avoiding large gatherings whenever possible.”

The timing couldn’t be worse. Colder weather is coming, which means more people are moving indoors, where the virus spreads more easily. And the holiday season is approaching — a time when families and friends gather.

That’s another reason, Malani said, for anyone who’s eligible for a booster to get it now: It takes two weeks after the injection to get the added protection from the shot, which would make eating Thanksgiving dinner with friends and extended family a little bit safer.

For people who are elderly or who have underlying health conditions that put them at severe risk for disease, a booster could give them added protection to prevent them from needing hospital care if they develop a breakthrough infection of the virus.

“The vaccines are really quite effective at keeping people out of the hospital,” Malani said. “They’re really effective at preventing severe disease, hospitalization, ICU (intensive care unit) critical illness, death.

“The people that are not getting vaccines, they’re really … hurting their communities,” he said. They put themselves at risk for contracting the virus, and needing hospital care, adding strain to an already overburdened health care system. And they put their friends and family at risk by potentially spreading the disease.

“The case rate, which is how many new infections there are per 100,000 people, it’s going up across the entire state, especially in southeast Michigan,” Cunningham said. “So I do expect the numbers will continue to get worse for a bit.”

Michigan’s case rate is now 342.5 per 100,000 people — more than double the case rate two months ago, when Michigan saw 152.3 new infections per 100,000, according to the CDC.

The seven-day average of the percentage of positive coronavirus tests — another indicator of community spread of the virus — now exceeds 14% statewide, according to state health department data.

Many people don’t realize they’re eligible for a booster. The shots aren’t just for elderly people or those with immune-suppressing conditions, cancer or heart disease.

“The CDC now extended it,” he said. “If you have a BMI (body mass index) of 25 or greater, which is just mildly overweight, … you qualify” as long as it has been at least six months since your second dose of a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or two months after a single dose of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine.

He estimated at least 70% of the adult population would qualify for a booster in Michigan based on the BMI standard and other conditions, such as pregnancy and mood disorders. Smokers qualify, as do people with substance use disorder.

Yet as of Monday, only about 915,000 booster doses had been administered in Michigan. Here’s how the booster distribution breaks down:

21.9% of the 75 and older population have gotten a booster
35% of those ages 65-74 have had a booster
24.3% of people ages 50-64 have had a booster
8.2% of people ages 40-49 have had a booster
6.7% of people ages 30-39 have had a booster
3.6% of people ages 20-29 have had a booster

“Most people think I’m not immunocompromised. I’m not over 65. I’m not in health care. I’m not worried,” Elmouchi said.

Front-line workers are eligible for booster shots, too — even if they don’t have health conditions that would qualify them. That includes first responders, police officers, firefighters, corrections officers, postal workers, health care workers, teachers, along with people who work in grocery stores, public transit, manufacturing and agriculture.

“The message gets very confusing for the average person,” Elmouchi said. “It’s really unfortunate because ultimately, at the end of the day, we all know that everyone who’s eligible for a vaccine would benefit from getting one.

“And then from a booster standpoint, I think it’s very unclear to people how important they are to prevent you from getting sick and missing work or missing … the holidays with your family, and potentially keeping you out of the hospital.”

MSU FIRES STAFF, SUSPENDS STUDENTS WHO REFUSED COVID-19 VACCINE; UM MAY FOLLOW SUIT

DETROIT NEWS — The state’s two largest universities are sanctioning students and staff who refuse to comply with COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

Michigan State University has fired at least two employees and suspended 16 students for refusing to get vaccinated. The University of Michigan could soon follow suit. The school has put “less than 10 staff members” on 30-day, unpaid leave, university spokeswoman Kim Broekhuizen said Tuesday. She wouldn’t be more specific.

UM has also placed academic holds on 422 accounts of students who are not vaccinated. Employees who aren’t vaccinated or don’t receive approval for an exemption by Dec. 8 will be fired, Broekhuizen said, and students with an academic hold cannot register for classes for the next term.

MSU and UM were among the first universities to announce in late July that a COVID- 19 vaccine or an exemption would be required for all students and staff for the fall semester. Both universities set deadlines for compliance at the end of August. MSU and UM’s three campuses were among seven of the 15 public universities to require the vaccine, along with Wayne State and Grand Valley State universities.

At MSU, all students, faculty and staff who have refused to be vaccinated, have not received an exemption or do not have an exemption request pending were referred for appropriate discipline, said MSU spokesman Daniel Olsen. The university allows exemptions for religious and medical reasons. It also offers an online exemption, in which students taking classes solely online attest they will not be present on campus or on any school property. MSU has granted 3,508 exemptions to students, faculty and staff.

The university referred students to the dean of students and employees to their unit’s human resources departments for appropriate discipline, which may include termination.

The university suspended 16 students for the remainder of the semester and others are making their way through the disciplinary process, Olsen said. Students who are suspended from the university, for any reason, do not receive a refund for their on-campus housing or tuition, he added. They also lose credits since they can’t complete their classes.

Olsen also confirmed two employees are no longer with the university but said he could not elaborate on the reasons why. He said he could not immediately provide a total number of employees who have been fired for refusing a vaccine or obtaining an exemption.

Students who were suspended can return to MSU when the spring semester begins in January if they comply with the university’s COVID-19 policies by getting vaccinated or obtaining an approved religious, medical or online exemption, Olsen said. Employees who are fired can reapply for positions, but they also must comply with the mandate by either getting vaccinated or obtaining an exemption.

“COVID-19 vaccines are one of the most powerful and one of the few tools we have to prevent disease, severe illness and death,” said Olsen, adding that more than 90% of MSU students, faculty and staff have self-reported they are fully vaccinated.

The university has “communicated directly with students and employees several times” to remind them of the university’s vaccination mandate, he said.

“At this time, MSU is proceeding under the applicable disciplinary procedures for each individual who has not been vaccinated and does not have an exemption,” Olsen said. “Individuals that are found to be in violation of the vaccination directive will be subject to discipline, including removal from campus and termination of employment or dismissal from the university, for the health and safety of the MSU community.”

At UM, 98% of students have self-reported as being fully vaccinated and 91% of employees report being fully vaccinated, according to the university’s COVID-19 dashboard.

“It’s a very small fraction of our U-M community who are out of compliance with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate,” Broekhuizen said.

Two MSU employees who were fired for declining to get vaccinated within the last week are Kraig Ehm, a video producer, and D’Ann Rohrer, an educator in the MSU Extension, according to a statement by the New Civil Liberties Alliance, a Washington, D.C.-based civil liberties organization.

Ehm, a Laingsburg resident, and Rohrer, who lives in Ludington, on Friday joined a federal lawsuit against MSU filed by NCLA, the organization said in a statement.

The NCLA filed the lawsuit in August on behalf of 37-year-old Jeanna Norris, an MSU supervisory administrative associate and fiscal officer who works remotely. Norris argued she has natural immunity after contracting COVID-19 late last year and her immunologist said vaccination was medically unnecessary.

In late August, Western District of Michigan U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney denied a request for a temporary restraining order against MSU’s mandate from Norris. In October, Maloney also denied the request for a preliminary injunction challenging MSU’s vaccine mandate for employees with naturally acquired immunity to COVID-19.

The NCLA has filed a notice that it will appeal Maloney’s decision to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, said Jenin Younes, NCLA litigation counsel.

“Like Plaintiff Norris, they pose no threat to the MSU community in light of their naturally acquired immunity,” Younes said. “Yet, MSU has chosen to pursue a vindictive path, unsupportable by any science. Thanks to the courageous plaintiffs in this case — along with many other Americans — we will have a chance to challenge this unconstitutional and unscientific approach in a court of law.”

MICHIGAN AVERAGING NEARLY 5,000 NEW COVID-19 CASES PER DAY OVER PAST WEEK

THE OAKLAND PRESS — Michigan public health officials reported Monday 8,911 new COVID-19 cases and 47 additional virus deaths over the past three days.

The three-day case total brought the state’s total confirmed cases and deaths to 1,166,517 and 22,521 deaths since the onset of the pandemic. Over the past week, Michigan has reported over 34,000 new COVID-19 cases, which is second-most among all states according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) behind California (over 44,000 new cases reported in past week).

Of the 47 deaths reported, 21 were identified during a vital records review. Over the past three days, the state has averaged 2,970 cases per day, down from 5,047 cases per day Nov. 4-5, a 41% decrease.

The state’s 7-day COVID-19 average case and testing positivity rates continue to remain high due to the spread of the virus mainly among unvaccinated residents.

MDHHS is reporting that 7-day average case rates are decreasing for all age groups with rates highest among children age 10-19 (410 cases per day per 100,000 population). Last week, all age groups experienced a 13%-23% decrease in their case rates compared to the previous week.

Michigan’s 7-day average case rate is 346 cases per day per 100,000 residents. The state’s 7-day average testing positivity is averaging between 10-15% with over 294,000 COVID-19 diagnostic tests being performed during that time period.

The state remains in the high community transmission category, which is defined by the CDC as averaging at least 100 new cases per day per 100,000 population over a 7-day period.

According to the CDC, Michigan’s 7-day average case rate is 8th highest in the country.

The CDC is also reporting that 66% of all U.S. counties have high community transmission levels. All 83 Michigan counties remain in the CDC’s high community transmission category.

As of Nov. 1, there were an average of 265 hospital admissions per day due to COVID-19. The average daily hospital admission rate (123.8 hospital admissions/million) are highest for those aged 80 and older.

Last week, MDHHS reported that the volume of COVID-19 patients in intensive care had plateaued, the percentage of emergency department visits for COVID-19 was 5.1%, and that the overall number of new COVID-19 hospital admissions had increased slightly compared to the previous week.

Schools

On Monday, MDHHS reported 104 new K-12 school outbreaks and clusters involving 666 cases.

MDHHS recently revised its definition of a school-associated outbreak and a school-associated cluster to promote consistent reporting amongst states.

A school-associated outbreak relies on exposure linkage between cases where there is a confirmed epidemiologically link in the school setting or a school-sanctioned extracurricular activity. A school-associated cluster accounts for cases where a definitive exposure linkage has not been established, but where there is no likely known epidemiologic link to a case outside of the school setting.

Moving forward, MDHHS will report clusters and outbreaks as combined totals every Monday.

Currently, 60% of Michigan’s public school students in over 220 school districts are required to wear face masks indoors under 11 local health department orders including: Kalamazoo, Kent, Ottawa (K-6); Benzie-Leelanau, Health Department Northwest, Oakland, and Wayne (K-12); Marquette (preK-6); and Genesee, Ingham, and Washtenaw (preK-12).

MDHHS is continuing to report that school districts without mask rules are seeing higher case rates and faster case rises than districts with mask rules in place.

MICHIGAN REDISTRICTING COMMISSION DISCUSSES STALEMATE SCENARIO REGARDING ITS MAPS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The deadline for individual members of Michigan’s redistricting commission to submit their own maps passed Monday at 12 p.m. with the commission sticking with rules it previously adopted requiring individual commissioners’ maps to undergo a 45-day public comment period in order to be considered.

Three commissioners submitted their own maps, according to the commission’s communications and outreach director, Edward Woods III.

Rebecca Szetela, the independent chair of the commission, submitted a U.S. House, Michigan Senate and Michigan House map. Rhonda Lange, a Republican commissioner, submitted a U.S. House and state Senate map. And Brittni Kellom, a Democratic commissioner, submitted a state Senate map.

Some commissioners said they opted not to submit any because they would prefer to adopt a map drawn collaboratively by the group.

The commission will consider maps submitted by individual commissioners in the event none of the maps the group spent months drawing together receives the majority vote of the 13-member commission with the support of at least two Democratic, two Republican and two independent members.

The commission recently approved three U.S. House, three Michigan Senate and three Michigan House maps, setting them up for a final vote by the end of the year.

The Michigan Constitution requires those collaborative maps to undergo a 45-day public comment period, but the constitutional language is somewhat ambiguous on whether the public comment requirement applies to the maps submitted by individual members.

The commission’s general counsel, Julianne Pastula, said the process adopted by the commission last week laying out the procedure for submitting and considering maps drawn by individual commissioners was at odds with her own interpretation of the Michigan Constitution.

But during a Monday meeting, Pastula said the group did not need to change its rules based on guidance provided by the commission’s litigation counsel, BakerHostetler, in a confidential memo reviewed by commissioners.

M.C. Rothhorn, the Democratic vice chair of the commission, said he hopes the group will adopt the maps it drew together.

“I think we want more people to trust this process and when they see us working together, that builds trust, so I think that is our greatest hope,” he said.

“I haven’t seen the individual maps — maybe they’re great, but we certainly worked hard as a collaborative group to put forward what we consider to be good maps,” said Steve Lett, an independent commissioner.

Lett put forward a motion during the commission’s Nov. 4 meeting to allow individual commissioners to advance their own maps to a 45-day public comment period without the approval of the commission. The motion passed 9-3. Lett also put forward a motion to confine the maps that could be considered in the event the group fails to adopt one of its own to only those individual commission maps that have undergone a 45-day public comment period. The motion passed 8-4. Lett argued that the state constitution does not allow individual members to put forward a plan that neither the commissioners nor the public has had a chance to vet.

“Nowhere in here does it say you get to put in a new plan totally out of thin air because you can’t decide,” he said.

If the commission does not adopt one of its own maps and considers maps drawn by individual commissioners, each member would rank those plans in order of preference.

A commissioner’s last choice would receive one point and his or her top choice would receive the number of points that equals the total number of plans submitted. The commission would adopt the highest-ranked plan if it meets certain criteria.

If the highest-ranked plan was submitted by a Democratic or Republican commissioner, it must also fall in the top half of ranked plans by at least two commissioners not affiliated with the party of the commissioner who submitted the plan. If the highest-ranked plan was submitted by an independent commissioner, it must also fall in the top half of ranked plans by at least two commissioners affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties.

If no plan meets that requirement, the secretary of state would randomly select a final plan among all of the plans submitted. If two plans are tied for the highest number of points, the secretary of state would break the tie by randomly selecting one of the plans.

The group is planning to hold a vote to adopt one U.S. House, Michigan Senate and Michigan House map in late December.

CONGRESS MANDATES NEW VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY TO STOP DRUNKEN DRIVING

ASSOCIATED PRESS — Congress has created a new requirement for automakers: Find a high-tech way to keep drunken people from driving.

It’s one of the mandates along with a burst of new spending aimed at improving auto safety amid escalating road fatalities in the $1 trillion infrastructure package that President Joe Biden is expected to sign soon.

Under the legislation, monitoring systems to stop intoxicated drivers would roll out in all new vehicles as early as 2026, after the Transportation Department assesses the best form of technology to install in millions of vehicles and automakers are given time to comply.

In all, about $17 billion is allotted to road safety programs, the biggest increase in such funding in decades, according to the Eno Center for Transportation. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Monday that could mean more protected bike paths and greener spaces built into busy roadways.

“It’s monumental,” said Alex Otte, national president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Otte called the package the “single most important legislation” in the group’s history that marks “the beginning of the end of drunk driving.”

“It will virtually eliminate the No. 1 killer on America’s roads,” she said.

Last month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported an estimated 20,160 people died in traffic collisions in the first half of 2021, the highest first-half total since 2006. The agency has pointed to speeding, impaired driving and not wearing seatbelts during the coronavirus pandemic as factors behind the spike.

Each year, around 10,000 people are killed due to alcohol-related crashes in the U.S., making up nearly 30% of all traffic fatalities, according to NHTSA.

Currently, some convicted drunken drivers must use breathalyzer devices attached to an ignition interlock, blowing into a tube and disabling the vehicle if their blood alcohol level is too high. The legislation doesn’t specify the technology, only that it must “passively monitor the performance of a driver of a motor vehicle to accurately identify whether that driver may be impaired.”

The voluminous bill also requires automakers to install rear-seat reminders to alert parents if a child is left inadvertently in the back seat, a mandate that could begin by 2025 after NHTSA completes its rulemaking on the issue. Since 1990, about 1,000 children have died from vehicular heatstroke after the highest total in a single year was 54 in 2018, according to Kidsandcars.org.

Congress, meanwhile, directed the agency to update decades-old safety standards to avert deaths from collapsing front seatbacks and issue a rule requiring automatic emergency braking and lane departure warnings in all passenger vehicles, though no date was set for compliance.

Most automakers had already agreed to make automatic emergency braking standard equipment in most of their models by September of next year, as part of a voluntary plan announced in the final weeks of the Obama administration.

Buttigieg, promoting the legislation’s benefits at a White House briefing, said he had traveled the country in recent months and seen too many roadside memorials for people who had died in preventable traffic deaths.

He pointed to a new $5 billion “Safe Streets & Roads for All” program under his department that will in part promote healthier streets for cyclists and pedestrians. The federal program, which he acknowledged may take several months to set up, would support cities’ campaigns to end traffic fatalities with a “Vision Zero” effort that could build traffic roundabouts to slow cars, carve out new bike paths and widen sidewalks and even reduce some roads to shift commuters toward public transit or other modes of transportation.

The legislation requires at least 15% of a state’s highway safety improvement program funds to address pedestrians, bicyclists and other nonmotorized road users if those groups make up 15% or more of the state’s crash fatalities.

“The best way to allow people to move in ways that are better for congestion and better for climate is to give them alternatives,” Buttigieg said. Describing much of it as a longer-term effort, he said, “this is how we do right by the next generation.”

Still, safety advocates worry that the bipartisan bill missed opportunities to address more forcefully an emerging U.S. crisis of road fatalities and urged the Transportation Department to deliver on immediate solutions.

“Prompt action must be taken on comprehensive, commonsense and confirmed solutions to steer our nation toward zero crash fatalities,” said Cathy Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. “Proven solutions are at hand; it’s time to take action.”

HOW THE $1.2-TRILLION BIDEN INFRASTRUCTURE BILL WILL BE SPENT IN MICHIGAN

BRIDGE MI — More than $10 billion will soon be on the way to help Michigan fix bridges, repave roads, replace lead service lines, fortify against climate change and make other investments, after Congress passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that awaits President Joe Biden’s signature.

Appearing at the White House on Saturday morning, Biden celebrated the bill’s passage with a subtle jab at his predecessor, Donald Trump.

“Finally, infrastructure week,” Biden said in reference to Trump’s 2018 proclamation of “Infrastructure Week” as he tried unsuccessfully to reach an infrastructure deal. The bill, which passed the U.S. House late Friday night 228-to-206, with support from 13 Republicans including Michigan’s Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, and “no” votes from six Democrats, including Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, represents a huge surge of money dedicated to fixing the country’s decrepit infrastructure, including $550 billion in new investments.

Upton lamented that the bill had become a “political football” during recent weeks of intense negotiations, but called the version that ultimately passed “commonsense legislation that will support critical infrastructure projects in MI without raising taxes or increasing the debt.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer hailed the bill’s passage as a “win-win” for Michigan that will create jobs, enable businesses to operate smoothly, and invest in badly-needed upgrades.

“It will create countless good-paying, blue collar jobs, while helping us fix even more roads and bridges across the state,” Whitmer said in a statement Saturday. “I am grateful to Michigan’s congressional delegation for working to get this done.”

Whitmer said she is “ready to work with both parties in the legislature to get shovels in the ground,” a nod to the fact that once the money arrives, Michigan must still decide which projects should receive funding.

If Michigan’s still-unfinished negotiations about how to spend billions in COVID-19 relief dollars are any indication, it may not be a quick process.

Michigan, whose infrastructure received a D+ grade in 2018 from the American Society of Civil Engineers, has endured several high-profile infrastructure failures in recent years, from the Flint and Benton Harbor water crises involving aging lead pipes that have remained in the ground long after U.S. policy acknowledged the dire risks of lead, to the Midland dam failures last year, to the toxic legacy of PFAS contamination, flooding and erosion along its coast, and the pothill-filled “damn roads” that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer campaigned on a promise to fix.

But the bill Biden said he will sign is also far smaller than the $2.25 trillion he had originally sought. Still, it amounts to the country’s largest-ever investment in climate action, public transit and other priorities.

In a statement, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, cheered its passage but added that “just this bill alone is not enough to help families across the country.”

Congress is still negotiating a $1.75-trillion social spending and climate change reconciliation bill, promoted as the Build Back Better act, that’s expected to backfill some of those gaps, though that bill, too, has shrunk from a $3.5 trillion proposal and could shrink even more to gain “yes” votes from moderate Democrats such as Sen. Joe Manchin of Virginia.

In voting no on infrastructure, progressive Tlaib took issue with a decision not to pass the Build Back Better act at the same time. Democrats hope to use that separate bill to backfill many of the measures that were stripped from the infrastructure bill, including big investments in climate preparedness, paid family leave and childcare. Passing one without demanding passage of the other, Tlaib said in a statement, “gives up” the leverage progressive congressional members had to pass both.

“I fear that we are missing our once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in the American people,” Tlaib said.

Here’s what Michigan stands to receive in the infrastructure bill:

Roads and bridges

Michigan’s biggest new funding injection from the bill is for roads and bridges. The bill dedicates $110 billion nationally to the cause, more than $1.5 billion of which could come to Michigan.

Still, it’s far less than the $159 billion in Biden’s original ask.

According to Whitmer’s office, Michigan is set to receive $563 million to repair or replace bridges, and another $7.3 billion for roads.

More than a quarter of Michigan’s bridges are in disrepair. And roughly 42 percent of Michigan’s paved roads funded through the Federal-aid highway program are in poor condition, according to the latest state estimates, as are half of non-federal-aid roads.

Water systems

In total, the infrastructure bill includes $55 billion nationally to remove lead pipes and clean up PFAS. Whitmer’s office said Michigan is slated to receive $1.3 billion for water infrastructure, including lead and PFAS.

Michigan has among the highest per-capita rates of lead service lines in the nation — as many as 500,000 in total. But it has also done far more than any state to identify sources of PFAS after discoveries in recent years of severe contamination in places like Oscoda and Parchment.

So far, more than 11,000 PFAS-contaminated sites have been identified and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy frequently adds to the list.

Public transportation

Michigan is slated to receive $1 billion to improve rail lines and buses, out of a total $39 billion nationally being dedicated to modernizing public transit and $66 billion dedicated to rail. Biden had initially asked for $85 billion for transit and $80 billion for Amtrak alone.

Michigan has 73 public transit services that carry a combined 89 million passengers per year, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation.

Broadband Internet

Michigan could receive $100 million to expand high-speed internet access to nearly 400,000 people, Whitmer’s office said. The lack of rural broadband became a high-profile issue during the pandemic, when Michigan students were shifted to online school. That was a near-impossibility for many students, including those whose families couldn’t afford to pay for internet and residents of rural areas where broadband doesn’t reach.

Money from the infrastructure bill adds to now-flush coffers in Michigan that have been unheard-of for decades. Michigan is still deciding how to spend nearly $6 billion in remaining federal COVID-19 stimulus funds, and local governments, too, have a collective $4.4 billion from the stimulus at their disposal.

APPLICATIONS OPEN TO PAY $1,000 BONUSES TO ELIGIBLE MICHIGAN CHILD CARE WORKERS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Applications opened Monday for a state program intended to pay a $1,000 bonus to each full-time child care professional in Michigan.

The $350-million Child Care Stabilization Grant program was part of a bipartisan state budget agreement.

“Child care is the backbone of a strong economy and childcare professionals and programs go above and beyond every day to care for our kids, helping them learn and grow in a safe environment,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a news release.

“By bringing both parties together, we were able to put Michiganders first and deliver every child care professional a $1,000 bonus in recognition of their incredible sacrifices over the last 18 months, expand low or no-cost care to 105,000 kids, and help providers improve their programs.”

Licensed child care providers are eligible to apply and can get more information at Michigan.gov/childcare. Child care professionals will be awarded bonuses directly from their employer and do not need to apply, the release said.

Laurie Clark-Horton, owner of L.A.C.C. Child Care Academy in Detroit, said she has worked in the field for more than 24 years and the past 18 months have been the most challenging of her career.

“Funding from the Child Care Stabilization Grant will help me thank my hard-working staff and continue providing high-quality care 24 hours a day,” she said.

DETROIT-WINDSOR TUNNEL REOPENS MONDAY TO VACCINATED FOREIGN TRAVELERS

DETROIT NEWS — Whether it’s to visit a favorite mall, with family or to sightsee, vaccinated foreign travelers at the border with Canada on both sides will be able to travel again using the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel starting Monday.

The tunnel reopens at midnight after being closed to the general public March 21, 2020, just after the pandemic began, and for the first time since then, vaccinated Canadians will be able to cross the U.S. border for nonessential purposes. The reopening includes land borders with Canada and Mexico, and means Michigan’s border with Canada is open to those coming to the U.S. by land or ferry for non-essential travel.

Travelers crossing the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico will have to provide proof of vaccination upon request of Customs and Border Protection officers. By January, foreign nationals traveling by land border to the U.S., both essential and non-essential, will be required to be fully vaccinated.

The Canadian border opened to nonessential travel in August as long entry requirements were met.

“It will be great to see our customers again, and we offer our thanks for the patience shown as we continue to navigate through this global pandemic together,” said Neal Belitsky, Detroit-Windsor Tunnel president. “We are happy to announce that we are reopening border travel to the U.S. through the tunnel to vaccinated, nonessential travelers, and we will be working with our partners in the U.S. and Canadian governments to ensure a safe return to service.”

The toll for the tunnel on the Detroit side will remain cashless while toll workers on the Canadian side of the border will accept cash until the end of the year. Then cash will no longer be accepted as a form of payment.

Few are expecting a flood of tourists immediately. Those entering Canada, including Canadians returning from even the briefest of visits on the American side, must show the negative coronavirus molecular test result within 72 hours of arrival. Lawmakers, businesses and residents say the costly requirement, some tests are $200, will deter the day-trippers, shoppers and families for which their economies have yearned.

On Monday, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens and U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins, D-New York, will host a virtual press conference Monday to highlight COVID-19 testing requirements to return across the land border crossing.

At issue are the mandatory PCR tests to return to Canada following a visit to the U.S. Dilkens said the testing requirement for Canadians to return to Canada “is going to be a deal killer for most.”

“Our government has to find a way to find symmetry and harmony with the U.S. so that the rules are the same,” Dilkens said during a radio interview Oct. 28. “If they don’t (end the PCR test), then the reopening of the border won’t be a reopening of the border for most people.” Transit Windsor’s tunnel bus service currently remains suspended. Monday will mark the first time in 19 months that fully vaccinated Canadians will be allowed to cross the U.S. land border for nonessential travel such as tourism or family visits.

Health screenings at the borders may be required by the federal government as well as Canadian government guidelines. Travelers are being encouraged to consult with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security website and Canada’s Public Health Agency for more information.

Before the pandemic, the tunnel served 12,000 daily customers and 4 million annually. The Detroit-Windsor Tunnel is operated by Detroit-based American Roads through a lease with the city of Detroit that began in 1998 and runs through 2040.

John Roach, spokesman for Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said Sunday: “The reopening of the Detroit-Windsor tunnel is another sign that our economies are getting back to normal and gives workers and travelers another option to cross our international border with Canada. The city will continue to do everything it can to operate safely in the COVID environment.”

11 STATES FILE SUIT AGAINST BIDEN’S BUSINESS VACCINE MANDATE

ASSOCIATED PRESS — Attorneys general in 11 states filed suit Friday against President Joe Biden’s administration, challenging a new vaccine requirement for workers at companies with more than 100 employees.

The lawsuit filed in the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals argues that the authority to compel vaccinations rests with the states, not the federal government.

“This mandate is unconstitutional, unlawful, and unwise,” said the court filing by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, one of several Republicans vying for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat next year.

New regulations by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration mandate that companies with more than 100 employees require their workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested for the virus weekly and wear masks on the job. The requirement is to kick in Jan. 4. Failure to comply could result in penalties of nearly $14,000 per violation.

Schmitt said Missouri has 3,443 private employers who could be covered by the vaccine requirement, with nearly 1.3 million employees.

He said he sued “to protect personal freedoms, preserve Missouri businesses, and push back on bureaucratic tyrants who simply want power and control.”

The Biden administration has been encouraging widespread vaccinations as the quickest way out of the pandemic. A White House spokeswoman said Thursday that the mandate was intended to halt the spread of a disease that has claimed more than 750,000 lives in the U.S.

Missouri was joined in the lawsuit by the Republican attorneys general of Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. The office of Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, a Democrat, also joined in the suit, along with several private, nonprofit and religious employers.

The Daily Wire, a conservative media company, filed a challenge in federal court on Thursday. So did companies in Michigan and Ohio represented by a conservative advocacy law firm, as well as two Wisconsin manufacturers represented by a conservative law firm.

MICHIGAN REDISTRICTING COMMISSION RELENTS, CREATES MAJORITY-BLACK MAPS FOR HOUSE

BRIDGE MI — After pushback from African-American leaders over political districts, Michigan’s redistricting panel on Thursday proposed a new state House configuration that creates majority-Black districts in Detroit.

The latest map comes after weeks of back and forth between Detroit-area commissioners and the panel, and after hundreds of concerns regarding the commission’s handling of the Voting Rights Act, the 1965 law designed to allow people of color to elect representatives of their choosing.

Commissioner Brittni Kellom, a Democrat from Detroit, told the 13-member panel the latest changes “make us more responsive to the comments in the community of Detroit.

“One thing that I can stand by is that most, if not all, of the neighborhoods in Detroit are back together.”

Under the proposed maps passed Thursday, called Magnolia, the state would have a handful of legislative districts with a Black voting age population over 50 percent. Most of the districts are in Detroit.

Although that would be significantly less than the state’s current 17 majority-Black state legislative districts, it’s an increase on what the commission has so far proposed.

The Magnolia map creates 56 districts that lean Democratic in the House and 54 that favor Republicans. The chamber is now controlled by Republicans 57-52.

As of Thursday, the commission had approved three maps apiece for the state House, Senate and Congress.

The commission hopes to approve all maps by Friday before starting a 45-day comment period. Final approval is expected by Dec. 30.

Besides the creation of majority-minority districts, the new House map also has different borders for Ann Arbor and Livingston County.

For weeks, the commission has been engulfed in controversy after proposing congressional, state House and state Senate maps that did not create any majority-Black districts.

Over and over, the commission heard from leaders and Detroit residents who said the lack of majority-Black districts would make it too difficult to elect their candidates of choice because districts extend into suburbs.

The commission has followed the advice of Lisa Handley, a partisan fairness consultant, and of Bruce Adelson, a voting rights attorney.

Until recent days, both have recommended the panel create districts in Detroit with a Black population between 40 percent to 45 percent, arguing that anything more could be deemed racial gerrymandering.

But this week, Adelson said the commission could draw districts that have a Black voting age population of up to 55 percent, as long as it’s not meant to dilute their vote and protects communities of interest.

State Rep. Tenisha Yancey, D-Harper Woods, who has advocated for different districts for Black residents, told reporters prior to the vote the Magnolia map was a good first step.

“We want to see as many people of color, and Black people in particular, being represented in our communities as they already are,” Yancey said.

Panel at odds with attorney

The new map emerged after yet another marathon session by commissioners, and another controversy over rules and deadlines for the panel that was created in 2018 to draw the maps that last for 10 years.

Before then, the party in power in Lansing handled redistricting after the decennial census, creating legislative boundaries so skewed that Republicans maintained power in the Legislature despite sometimes getting fewer overall votes than Democrats.

The commission, which was created by a voter-approved constitutional amendment, voted Thursday to amend rules and allow commissioners until noon Monday to create their own redistricting maps.

Until then, many commissioners believed they had until Dec. 30.

The new rules, though, require all maps to undergo a 45-day public comment period — despite language from the state constitution that would suggest otherwise.

The change was led by Commissioner Steve Lett, an independent who is an attorney, and Rebecca Szetela, an independent who serves as chair of the commission.

Lett said not giving individual maps a 45-day public comment period would mean they were introduced “totally out of thin air.”

Szetela told commissioners the panel was not amending the constitution, but just “voting on an interpretation.

“We’re clarifying our interpretation of the statute, or the constitutional amendment,” Szetela said. “We are not rewriting or redefining the constitution, we’re just determining how we are going to interpret it.”

The changes buck the advice of the commission’s general counsel Julianne Pastula, who told members she sees “no language allowing” the change.

After the vote, some commissioners expressed concerns.

“I feel like we do not have the right to interpret the constitution,” said Commissioner Cynthia Orton, a Republican. “I feel like we do not have a right to vote on limiting commissioners.”

Tony Daunt, the executive director of conservative advocacy group FAIR Maps, told Bridge Michigan the constitutional amendment that created the commission left too much room for interpretation.

“What that entire process showed is that the drafting, and the drafters, of this (constitutional) amendment put forward a floppy Rube Goldberg contraption of an amendment,” Daunt said.

“I think a lot of the confusion and certainly the complete lack of objective standards of leaving it up to a bunch of subjective interpreters was on purpose.”

Daunt has unsuccessfully sued the state to overturn the creation of the commission.

This is the latest dispute involving the commission.

Last week, the commission decided to go in a closed session and privately discuss two legal memos regarding the Voting Rights Act and the history of discrimination in Michigan.

Some state lawmakers have asked Attorney General Dana Nessel for a ruling on the legality of the closed session.

This week, commissioners have exchanged sharp words over the districts.

On Monday, Kellom, a Democrat from Detroit, said Commissioner Rhonda Lange’s map was “discriminatory.” Lange disputed that assessment.

Later that day, Kellom said she felt commissioners were being dismissive of her suggestions. As she started to cry, Szetela told her to “just stop.”

The Detroit Caucus in the Michigan Legislature on Thursday called on Lange to apologize.

Both Kellom and Szetela issued a joint statement saying the panel continues to collaborate.

“Let’s not let a moment in time define the outcome of an ongoing process,” the statement said. “So instead, we’re focused on our mission to draw fair maps through public engagement in following the seven ranked redistricting criteria.”

GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER SIGNS ‘TAMPON TAX’ REPEAL

DETROIT NEWS — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill Thursday to repeal taxes on the sale of feminine hygiene products, saying the legislation would make a difference for “every menstruating Michigander.”

The long-sought reform removes the unfair “tampon tax,” which only half the state’s population has to pay, Whitmer contended during an event at the Greater Lansing Food Bank.

“By repealing the tax on menstrual products, we are saving families from paying taxes on up to $4,800 in spending over the course of a lifetime,” Whitmer said. “And this is a bipartisan tax cut.”

The governor signed one of two bills Thursday that will ultimately exempt feminine hygiene products from the 6% sales and use taxes. The legislation will reduce government revenues by about $6.3 million per year, according to a Senate Fiscal Agency analysis. The bill describes “feminine hygiene products” as “tampons, panty liners, menstrual cups, sanitary napkins and other similar” items.

Twenty other states have already removed their “tampon taxes,” Whitmer said.

Thursday was a “historic day,” said Lysne Tait, executive director of Helping Women Period, a nonprofit that supplies menstrual health products to people who are either homeless or low-income.

“The burden of this sales tax on necessary healthcare items promotes period poverty and impacts the amount of money families have to spend on other necessities,” Tait said. “This is a step in the right direction, and I look forward to the day when no one has to worry about affording menstrual products, month after month.”

Sen. Winnie Brinks, D-Grands Rapids, one of the sponsors, labeled the bills “common sense.”

MICHIGAN POISED TO VACCINATE KIDS AGES 5-11 AS SOON AS WEDNESDAY

DETROIT NEWS — Doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for kids ages 5 through 11 have already arrived in Michigan and providers are ready to start giving the shots as early as Wednesday.

The federal Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization for the children’s vaccine on Friday, but health care providers had been waiting for sign-off from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before administering the shots.

That came Tuesday night when U.S. health officials with the CDC gave the final signoff to Pfizer’s kid-size COVID-19 shot. Earlier Tuesday afternoon, a CDC advisory panel voted in favor of giving children in that age group Pfizer’s pediatric COVID-19 shots.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration pre-ordered about 287,700 doses to be ready for the eventual federal approvals, and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Chelsea Wuth said the doses started to arrive on Monday.

“We will be ready (Wednesday) to start vaccinating pending approval,” Wuth said Tuesday ahead of the CDC’s approval. “MDHHS is excited about potential authorization of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11.

“We know COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective and the way out of this pandemic.”

Each dose contains about a third of the amount of vaccine used for adolescents and adults, according to the FDA. Children will need two shots to be fully vaccinated.

The governmental approval was greeted with relief by some parents and trepidation by others. The vaccine was found to be 90.7% effective in clinical trials.

About 3,100 children participated in clinical trials that studied the vaccine’s safety and efficacy in 5- through 11-year-olds, the FDA reported. No serious side effects have been detected so far in ongoing studies.

Whitmer last week ordered the state departments of Health and Human Services and Licensing and Regulatory Affairs to “take all appropriate action” to make the vaccine available to kids as soon as they’re eligible to receive it.

The children’s vaccine will be available at pharmacies, doctors’ offices and local health departments, according to MDHHS.

“With over 4,000 providers in the state, there should be no problem finding a vaccine,” Wuth said. “Our initial supply is expected to last through the end of the year, and we will be able to order more before then from CDC.”

On Tuesday, Meijer grocery stores were already scheduling childvaccinations, and the Oakland County Health Division said it received 14,400 pediatric doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

The county plans to hold its first pediatric COVID-19 vaccination clinics next week, representatives said in a statement. The Health Division is slated to announce clinic locations and times later this week.

Oakland County has about 98,000 residents ages 5-11 years old, according to the release.

“We’re excited having the vaccine available for children. It’s a huge step in ending this pandemic and the best way to keep our kids healthy and in school,” said Oakland County Health Division Medical Director Dr. Russell Faust, a pediatric ear, nose and throat surgeon.

MICHIGAN TO OFFER NON-BINARY DESIGNATION FOR DRIVER LICENSES NEXT WEEK

BRIDGE MI — Michigan residents will soon be able to select a gender-neutral designation on their driver license or state ID cards: an X.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s office will begin offering the nonbinary gender designation beginning Nov. 10, providing a new option for residents who do not identify as a traditional male or female, according to documents obtained by Bridge Michigan.

Benson confirmed the pending change in a statement: “I am proud to support Michiganders across the state who for many years have called on the Department of State to provide a nonbinary sex marker on their ID that matches their lived reality,” she said. “We have been working towards this goal since 2019, when we first removed the barriers for residents to change their sex marker in order to help protect their safety and accurately reflect their identity.”

Twenty other states already allow a gender-neutral sex designation without requiring documentation from a medical provider, according to a Secretary of State memo to law enforcement groups. The U.S. Department of State issued its first nonbinary gender passport last week.

LGBT advocates had urged Benson to offer a nonbinary option for driver licenses, which currently only allow M or F designations. They celebrated the pending change when contacted by Bridge Michigan on Tuesday afternoon.

“There are individuals who do not necessarily identify with part of the gender binary, and those who are gender nonbinary should have the opportunity to have documents that accurately reflect who they are,” said Jay Kaplan, staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigan’s LGBT Project.

“I think this is a terrific thing.”

But law enforcement groups fear their software may not be ready for the new ID designation, and while they have had earlier discussions with Benson’s office, her Monday letter caught many off guard, said Bob Stevenson, executive director of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police.

“We’ve expressed our concerns repeatedly to the secretary of state’s office on issues we’d like to address and resolve, but in spite of that, the policy is going (to change),” he told Bridge Michigan. “We’ll just have to do the best we can.”

The records management systems police use to log crime reports and other data have traditionally been set up with either or fields for male or female individuals, and warrant entries also include specific sex designation, Stevenson said.

Still, police hope they can update systems to coordinate with the new IDs, but doing so will cost money, he told Bridge Michigan.

“It’ll take a while before the ‘X’ licenses get into distribution, and I wouldn’t imagine there will be hundreds of thousands of them immediately, so I think we’ll have time to work through this,” Stevenson said.

Benson, in her Monday letter, wrote she told law enforcement leaders about the possible ID change two years ago and expects “many” have already updated their systems or connected with agencies in other states that have done so.

The change has been a long time coming: In early 2020, Benson confirmed she was contemplating a nonbinary designation for driver license and state ID cards. Earlier attempts had been complicated by state database software that could not readily accommodate the change.

Benson spokesperson Jake Rollow said Tuesday the department overhauled the “core technology behind its driver’s license and ID” systems. The work, completed in March 2021, expanded online transaction options and made the nonbinary gender designation option “feasible” with additional programming.

Residents who wish to change their sex-marker to ‘X’ will be able to do so by visiting any Secretary of State office, Rollow said, encouraging them to schedule an appointment online or by phone.

The change is important for nonbinary, intersex or gender-nonconforming residents who have traditionally been confronted with limited options from government, said Erin Knott, executive director of Equality Michigan.

“This hopefully will mitigate harassment and discrimination and make people that chose to use the X, if you will, to feel as though they’re being treated fairly and with respect,” she said.

THERE’S A SNOWPLOW, SALT TRUCK DRIVER SHORTAGE IN MICHIGAN: WHAT IT MEANS FOR ROADS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — As Michigan residents begin to dust off their heavy coats and prepare for a bone-chilling and especially wet winter, officials say a shortage of snowplow drivers and salt truck drivers is brewing.

While perhaps taken for granted, having plowed roads is incredibly important for the economy, for emergency services and day-to-day life.

“And so it’s a little more critical to get on top of it in a very busy urban area like Detroit or Grand Rapids,” said Mark Geib, administrator of the Transportation Systems Management Operations division at the Michigan Department of Transportation. “It’s not just for the traveling public, but it’s also for emergency services, the ambulances, and police and fire and all that. So, you know, we need to keep the roads clear so people can get around, especially in emergency situations.”

Michigan is expected to get more precipitation and a “wetter-than-average” winter, meaning more snowfall, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Geib said he hasn’t seen a snowplow driver shortage anything like this during his 30 years at MDOT.

The Michigan Department of Transportation contracts out the responsibility for about 75% of the roads to counties and manages the other 25% itself, according to Geib.

Individual counties, like Oakland, Wayne and Macomb, are also struggling to fill their rosters. Leo Ciavatta, Macomb County maintenance superintendent, said they’re missing about 30% of what they need. Wayne County is looking to fill about 50 spots, and Oakland is looking to fill 30, according to WWJ-AM (950). Despite the shortage, Geib said there’s no need to take your shovel to Interstate 75 just yet — the roads will be plowed, one way or another.

If enough drivers aren’t hired and a snowstorm hits, Geib said people from adjacent garages and regions will help out where the storm hit hardest. Sometimes, employees capable of driving snowplows will be pulled from other divisions to help out.

In Macomb County, contractors are on standby as reinforcements if there’s a large snowstorm.

“Safety is our number one priority,” Ciavatta said.

Geib said the shortage is likely due to a competitive job market and the private sector offering bonuses and higher wages, and it can be hard for MDOT to compete because it has pre-set salaries.

He said he hopes that once contractors that operate machines during the summer start to wind down those jobs, they’ll be able to work temporarily during the winter.

“We do offer very good benefits and lead time,” Geib said. “But, of course, the people we hire to do snowplowing, it’s more difficult for them to take lead time because, you know, in the winter, we need them.”

MDOT snowplow wages range from $20-$26 an hour for eight-hour shifts with up to four hours of overtime. In Macomb County, wages start at $17.59 and reach about $22 an hour.

“(Wages) will probably go up over time, especially if this shortage continues,” Geib said. “Because, you know, in the end, we have to have people to do this because winter maintenance is one of the most important things we do to keep the roads safe, keeping them clear, so the economy can keep going.”

Driving a snowplow requires a commercial driver’s license and typically some experience truck driving or operating machinery. You can apply for jobs in metro Detroit and across the state at:

MDOT: https://www.neogov.com/

Oakland: http://www.rcocweb.org/148/Careers

Wayne: https://www.waynecounty.com/departments/phr/job-postings.aspx

Macomb: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/macomb

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER | CASES CLIMBING IN MICHIGAN, AFTER TWO WEEKS OF DECLINES

BRIDGE MI — Michigan reported 9,313 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, or an average of 3,104 for each of the last three days, pushing the seven-day average to 3,600 cases a day, up from 3,400 on Friday.

The state also reported 65 additional COVID-19 deaths.

Cases have increased on Monday and Friday, despite two weeks of decreases statewide and declining case numbers nationwide.

Metro Detroit saw some of the biggest increases, as cases climbed in Detroit, suburban Wayne County and Oakland and Macomb counties.

Macomb reported 1,061 cases over the three days and is averaging 38 cases per 100,000 people per day, up from 31 cases per day per 100,000 a week ago.

The percentage of cases that were positive was 11.6 percent over the most recent three days, putting the weekly rate also at 11.6 percent. The last time the weekly rate was higher was April 27 when it was 11.7 percent.

Hospitalizations also rose over the weekend, with 2,305 patients treated for confirmed or suspected COVID-19, up from 2,247 on Friday.

SPARROW NURSES WITHOUT CONTRACT SAY ‘CRITICALLY LOW’ STAFFING PUTS PATIENTS AT RISK

DETROIT FREE PRESS — In her nine years as a labor and delivery nurse at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Destinee Griffin has called in sick to work just once.

She keeps a box of the cards patients have written her, thanking her for helping to bring their babies into the world. But over the last 20 months, working conditions and patient care have deteriorated so drastically, she said she’s willing to walk off the job if things don’t change.

“It is absolutely a last resort,” Griffin said Thursday. “I honestly hope that leadership and management does not push us (to) that. I am nervous about what would happen if that happens. But if needed? I will. I will strike if I need to.”

As of Oct. 30, Griffin and some 2,200 Sparrow nurses, pharmacists and other health care workers no longer have a contract.

Their union, the Professional Employees Council of Sparrow Hospital-Michigan Nurses Association, PECSH-MNA, has been negotiating with the hospital since the summer.

And while both sides have agreed to federal mediation, union leaders said they still haven’t received a deal that addresses “critically low” staffing levels, said nurse and PECSH President Katie Pontifex. That’s pushing them to hold a Nov. 3 “informational” picket.

“If that doesn’t move them, then we will move forward with a strike authorization vote,” Pontifex said. “And we hope that will move them. But we are willing and ready and prepared to do whatever we need to do to ensure the safety of our community.”

But hospital leaders said they’re doing everything they can, amid rising health care and staffing costs, employee turnover and absences, a cut in insurance payments following Michigan’s auto no-fault reform, and increasing patient volumes.

“I’ve never been in a place where we tried to do as much” for the staff, Alan Vierling, the president of Sparrow Hospital, said Friday. “We’ve addressed issues from assault by patients on staff. We’ve put in rest(ing) rooms and we’ve done massage chairs, and we’ve given bonuses and we’ve given money, and we’ve made resources available.

“And we continue to try. And people are tired. People are tired across the country. … Is Sparrow any different? I don’t know that.”

Staffing crisis, patient risk

Bitter fights over whether hospitals are doing enough to retain and recruit health care workers aren’t unique to Sparrow. The issues here — like hazard pay, longevity bonuses, health insurance costs and wages — are being hashed out across the country, as patient volumes and staffing shortages continue to put enormous pressure on an already burned-out workforce.

But lately, contract fights have reached a new and unsettling pitch, workers in several health systems say. After 20 months of putting their own lives on the line and bearing witness to pandemic-era levels of death and suffering, now they’re watching an exodus of team members leaving the health care field altogether. And they struggle with what they say has, as a result, become an unsafe level of patient care.

On the medical-surgical inpatient floors, it’s now common for each day shift nurse to have anywhere from five to seven patients to care for at a time, Pontifex said.

Shortage driven by multiple factors

These shortages can’t just be blamed on changes in the labor market, Pontifex said.

“They’re not retaining the experienced staff that they already have right now,” she said. “There is actually not a nursing shortage nationwide. There is a shortage of nurses willing to put themselves in harm’s way, by working in an unsafe environment.”

Sparrow could improve retention, she said, by helping workers feel valued: hazard pay, longevity bonuses, retention bonuses and lower health insurance costs. These simply aren’t happening for their union members, Pontifex said.

In their initial offer to the PECSH-MNA, Sparrow offered a 1% cost of living raise for each year of the contract, Pontifex said. As of Friday, Sparrow increased that offer to a 4% raise for all members, and an additional 3% over the following two years of the contract, said hospital spokesperson John Foren.

Combined with an additional 1% raise for workers in certain pay brackets, the health system will spend $15 million in wage increases over the span of the three-year contract, Foren said. Sparrow also has proposed a $1,000 one-time bonus for all full-time workers in the union, as well as $500 for part-timers.

But the raise hikes still wouldn’t cover cost of living increases, Pontifex said, pointing to the 5.9% increase in Social Security for 2022. There’s also a 12% rise in health care costs next year and significantly higher premiums, especially for part-time workers whose family members are on their insurance, she said.

Vierling said health insurance coverage costs are rising for the hospital, and those retention bonuses didn’t come previously because they were heading into new contract negotiations. Plus, he said, generous bonuses were already offered to those willing to pick up additional hours.

“So over a period of eight weeks, they would work one additional shift per week, and two of those would be over weekends,” Vierling said. “And if they did that, we would give them a $10,000 bonus at the end of that time period.”

Sparrow’s Chief Nursing Officer Amy Brown said the hospital system has tried to add more workers.

“We implemented the temporary float pool,” nurses who could be sent to help wherever there were staff shortages, she said.

“The $10,000 opportunity (was available) for part time, per diem, and full time (staff). We also offer bonuses for people to pick up additional shifts. And then we also had multiple times where we had (travel) agency nurses that are working as well.”

Vierling added: “We lost $5.7 million in September, spent on labor costs above what we would have ordinarily spent, because we’re trying.”

Meanwhile, more nurses have been hired, he said, but their orientation period is taking longer than usual because many are fresh out of nursing school — and had to do a portion of that training virtually.

Vierling and Brown say nurses are calling in sick so much that it’s adding to the shortage problem.

“We had 90,000 hours of nurse call-in time in a period of a year,” Vierling said. “That’s 20 nurses calling in 12 hours a day, every day. And so that does play a role.”

But Pontifex said that’s not fair.

“We are being gaslighted every day about how we don’t have a staffing problem, we have a call-in problem. Well, when you tell me that we are 90 nurses down (hospital) wide, and I ask you how many call-ins there are, and they say 20, that’s not call-in problem. That’s an open shift problem. And it’s exacerbated by the fact that you can’t retain your caregivers.”

Sparrow lost $31 million in 2020, Foren said, “and that was after substantial federal relief funds. We’re expect(ing) to post an operating loss for 2021, like a lot of health systems. But that’s some of the bigger context. … We have taken some real financial hits, so we’re also negotiating in that climate.”

PLANET FITNESS DONATES TREADMILLS, STATIONARY BICYCLES TO ALL 38 DETROIT FIREHOUSES

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Planet Fitness is donating and will help install treadmills and stationary bicycles in each of Detroit’s 38 firehouses.

The treadmills and stationary bicycles will be used by firefighters and emergency medical personnel during their shifts and allow them to maintain and improve their cardiovascular health, Detroit Fire Commissioner Eric Jones said.

“The leading cause of death for firefighters is overexertion/sudden cardiac arrest,” Jones said in a statement. “Additionally, the equipment can help the firefighters relieve stress throughout their 24-hour shift especially after returning from a traumatic or tragic scene.”

The equipment is valued at $130,000.

“We’re proud to build on this commitment by helping these first responders who put their lives on the line every day to help others,” said Bryan Rief, chief executive and co-owner of Northville-based PF Michigan Group.

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER | CASES JUMP AGAIN TO 4,039 PER DAY; 122 MORE DEATHS

BRIDGE MI — Michigan reported 8,078 new cases, or 4,039 per day, on Friday, the second increase this week after over a week of declining case counts.

The new cases pushed the seven-day average up to 3,400 a day, an increase from 3,318 on Wednesday. The average case count had fallen from Oct. 15 through Tuesday before rising again.

The state also reported 122 additional COVID-19 deaths, pushing the October total to 996. That is the eighth-highest monthly total during the 20-month pandemic.

In 2021, only January (1,836), April (1,740) and May (1,370) had more COVID-19 deaths.

The rise in cases came as the percentage of positive coronavirus tests rose to 11.8 percent out of more than 87,400 tests, from 11.3 percent on Wednesday. The seven-day rate remained 11.4 percent, the same as it was a week ago.

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 rose to 2,247 patients from 2,225 on Wednesday.

COVID VACCINE FOR KIDS 5 TO 11 CLEARS ANOTHER FEDERAL HURDLE

BRIDGE MI– The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the two-dose Pfizer COVID vaccine for children 5- to 11-years old Friday, setting the stage for youngsters being allowed to take the vaccine perhaps as soon as late next week.

Friday’s announcement came just days after a recommendation by an FDA advisory panel, which concluded that the benefits of protecting young children from the virus outweigh the rare side effects of the vaccine.

The pediatric version of the Pfizer vaccine is more than 90 percent effective for the age group, according to its manufacturer, and would be given in a lower dose than is given to older recipients.

While young children are far less likely to be hospitalized or die from COVID-19, they are not immune. More than 600 pediatric deaths have been reported nationally since the pandemic began. And in Michigan, Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, a serious condition in which a COVID infection inflames organs and tissues, has been reported in 172 people under 20 years old, including 122 who were admitted to a hospital intensive-care unit, according to the latest state data.

Pfizer still must get a green light from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before it can be offered to Michigan families. The CDC advisory board meets Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. The FDA and CDC typically follow the advice of their medical advisors, but they are not bound to do so.

While some parents (and schools) eagerly await the availability of the pediatric vaccine, providers might find it a tough sell for others. About 3 in 10 parents will “definitely not” have their child vaccinated — about twice the number (15 percent) of adults who in December 2020 said they would not be vaccinated themselves, according to an ongoing survey by KFF, a San Francisco-based health policy research organization also known as The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration has preordered more than 278,000 doses of the pediatric Pfizer vaccines, which are given at one-third the adult dose and arrive with smaller needles.

“At this stage of the game and on the logistical front, things are moving pretty smoothly,” said Anne Scott, health centers operations officer for the Michigan Primary Care Association. MPCA represents a network of health centers around the state, primarily serving low-income Michiganders. She said health centers are trying to find ways to make sure staff can set aside time to help anxious parents sort through the information about vaccines.

“We are ready. We have the ability, and we have the supply,” she said of vaccination efforts. “What we’re talking about now is how (ready) will we be available to answer questions.”

SEVERAL COMMUNITIES UNDER BOIL WATER ADVISORY, 2 DISTRICTS CLOSED AFTER WATER MAIN BREAK

WXYZ-TV (DETROIT) — Several metro Detroit communities have issued a boil water advisory and one school district is closed after a massive water main break Sunday along 14 Mile in Farmington Hills.

The communities currently under a boil water advisory are: Novi, Walled Lake and a portion of Commerce Township.

The Novi Consolidated School District and Walled Lake Consolidated School District are also closed Monday due to the water main break.

14 Mile Road continues to be completely closed to traffic between Halsted and Drake Roads due to the water main break.

It sounded like a waterfall and looked like a geyser. A water main break shot up from the ground along 14 Mile in Farmington Hills, breaking through the sidewalk. The gushing water started just after 5:00 p.m. and continued until nearly 9:30 p.m.

“The amount of water is just unbelievable,” said neighbor John Shinske. “The whole street is flooded.”

A neighborhood backs up to this part of 14 mile. The four homes directly in the water’s path were severely damaged. A river of water and debris poured from their backyards into the street, as pieces of one home floated away.

“The sheer force blasted most of the wall of the rear of this house off, entered the home and poured through the home,” said Farmington Hills Fire Chief Jon Unruh.

Outside the damaged homes, thousands of homes across 8 Metro Detroit communities are now impacted. That includes Keego Harbor, Sylvan Lake, West Bloomfield, Farmington Hills, Commerce Township, Novi, Walled Lake and Wixom.

According to the Great Lakes Water Authority, the regional pressure levels never dipped to the point that would require a regional boil advisory, however some communities have issued their own out of an abundance of caution.

Farmington Hills issued a statement saying it was an isolated break and, “The city of Farmington Hills water system is fully functional and operational. There is no system wide boil water advisory at the current time.”

“We just went and bought a lot of water, we’re still probably going to buy more tomorrow,” said West Bloomfield resident Aleena Dabbish.

For these residents, it’s all too familiar. In 2017 near this exact same intersection, the same water main suffered a massive break. It put more than 250,000 people under a boil advisory that lasted days.

“I know that Great Lakes Water Authority has worked on improvements to the systems and hopefully those valves and things they renewed will be beneficial for this break,” Chief Unruh said.

But given that past experience, many residents aren’t expecting to use their water anytime soon. They worry this is only the beginning of a long week ahead.

“Oh yea, probably over a week, that’s a possibility. That’s what happened a while back when they turned off the water for a few days,” Dabbish said. “Just gotta wait and hold on and buy a lot of water I guess.”

What to do if your community is under a boil water advisory:

“Water should be boiled for at least one minute and allowed to cool before consumption. Boiled, bottled or disinfected water should be used for drinking, making ice, washing dishes, brushing teeth, and preparing food until further notice.”

MICHIGAN TO PAY BENTON HARBOR RESIDENTS FOR DISTRIBUTING WATER

DETROIT NEWS — Michigan will begin paying Benton Harbor residents who work at state-supported bottled water distribution sites to “ensure the continued success” of the efforts, according to a Thursday press release.

The announcement from the state Department of Health and Human Services said the individuals will be called “community ambassadors,” will earn $15 per hour and must be approved by the organization they volunteer with.

“Benton Harbor residents have stepped up to help one another as the state provides free bottled water to the city to reduce the risk of exposure to lead in their drinking water,” said Elizabeth Hertel, director of the state health department. “Ensuring that residents are compensated for their time is a priority for the state and will help ensure a sustainable, long-term solution and is the right thing to do.”

Some advocates who have volunteered to pass out water in Benton Harbor, a southwest Michigan city with about 10,000 residents, had been pressing state officials to pay city residents who help.

Elevated lead levels were first detected in Benton Harbor in 2018 during routine testing, according to the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. Much of the city’s water distribution system is about 100 years old. On Sept. 9, a group of organizations filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, asking the EPA to provide an immediate source of safe drinking water in schools and child care facilities in Benton Harbor, along with other actions.

A month later on Oct. 6, the Department of Health and Human Services announced the availability of bottled water was being expanded in Benton Harbor “out of an abundance of caution.” The press release encouraged residents to use bottled water for cooking, drinking, brushing teeth, rinsing foods and mixing powdered infant formula.

On Oct. 14, Whitmer signed an executive directive implementing what her office called an “all-hands-on-deck” approach to the situation in Benton Harbor. The governor set a goal of replacing 100% of the lead service lines in the city within 18 months.

Under the new initiative, individuals who want to serve as “community ambassadors” are recommend to connect with an established distribution site, according to the department of health.

The health department and volunteers have provided more than 100,000 cases of free bottled water at community distribution sites and deliveries to residents who are homebound or lack access to transportation, Thursday’s press release said.

MICHIGAN PARKS LOOK INCREASINGLY LIKELY TO GET BIG COVID FUNDING BOOST

BRIDGE MI — Michigan’s long-suffering parks look increasingly likely to get a big funding boost to help fill pothole-laden roads, update ancient bathrooms and revamp outdated campsites.

Republican lawmakers this week introduced three bills that, taken together, would direct $968 million of Michigan’s $5.8 billion in unspent COVID-19 stimulus dollars to state and local parks.

Two of the bills closely align with a parks funding plan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced earlier this year, a signal that the Democratic governor and Republican-led legislature are in general agreement about using some of Michigan’s stimulus windfall to spiff up Michigan’s popular but poorly maintained parks.

Senate Bill 703, sponsored by Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan, would allocate $250 million to drive down a $264 million maintenance backlog in Michigan’s state parks, and would devote $30 million apiece to the Mackinac State Historic Parks and a new “Northern Michigan tourism and sports fund.”

Senate Bill 704, sponsored by Michael MacDonald, R-Macomb, would devote $150 million for grants to help local parks systems make their own facilities upgrades.

A third bill, sponsored by Sen. John Bumstead, R-Newaygo, would use $508 million to fill the State Park Endowment Fund up to its $800 million cap. That would create new long-term funding for the parks system, which relies upon disbursements from the endowment to buy new land and cover expenses at the land it already owns.

But it’s unclear whether padding a trust fund is an allowable use of federal COVID stimulus dollars, which states are required to spend by the end of 2026.

Clay Summers, executive director of the Michigan Parks & Recreation Association, which represents public parks systems throughout the state, said his organization is seeking more clarity before deciding whether to support the third bill.

Using COVID dollars to create permanent parks funding “certainly makes all the sense in the world from a practical standpoint,” Summers said, “… but we’re not sure of the legality at this point.”

If the endowment fund proposal passes legal muster, McBroom estimated that it could boost the parks system’s annual funding by tens of million dollars.

“It’s going to allow us to not suffer this backlog on infrastructure in the future,” he said.

Spokespeople with Whitmer’s office said they “look forward” to working with the legislature to get money out the door.

“One of our state’s greatest strengths is our pristine natural resources,” Whitmer spokesperson Bobby Leddy said in an email to Bridge Michigan. “That’s why Governor Whitmer and the legislature have put forward very similar proposals to make historic investments in our state and local parks.”

The spending proposals build upon recommendations from a 2012 Michigan State Parks and Outdoor Recreation Blue Ribbon Panel convened under Republican Gov. Rick Snyder.

The proposed funding would represent a major windfall for the state parks system, whose annual operating budget this year is just $80 million, along with $20 million for capital improvement projects.

Taken together, state parks chief Ron Olson said, the funding boosts would be “tremendous” for a system that, while beloved, has long struggled to maintain its assets.

Following decades of worsening conditions at Michigan’s 103 state parks, the state in 2010 created an $11 annual recreation passport visitors can buy to gain year-round access to state parks. That infused the system with new operating cash, helping the system’s budget to grow from about $48 million in fiscal year 2011 to $80 million this year.

But the added passport revenue has not been enough to make a dent in the maintenance backlog that had ballooned over decades, leaving crumbling roads, outdated facilities and unmaintained trails.

Money to address those issues would come at a crucial moment: Michigan’s parks have never been more popular. At state parks alone, visitation is up 30 percent since the pandemic began.

“It’s a legacy-builder,” Olson said of the possible funding boost. “This is a way to create that up-to-date atmosphere so people can enjoy themselves in a clean, safe park.”

The bills have been referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee, where they await a hearing.

HERE’S A HALLOWEEN TREAT FOR METRO DETROIT KIDS: TEMPERATURES NEAR 60, NO MORE RAIN

DETROIT FREE PRESS — It looks like Mother Nature is going to have the last word on whether Halloween trick-or-treating is on Saturday or Sunday.

The forecast for Friday and most of Saturday: A steady downpour.

Sunday the skies should finally clear, with some sun — with highs near 60.

“The rain we’re going to get today is going to be off and on,” National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Considine said Friday morning. “It’s going to be primarily light, with some bouts of moderate rain.”

Expect a total rainfall for metro Detroit of ½ to 1 inch through Saturday. That’s not enough for flooding, but plenty for puddles even on Sunday. It has been an especially wet month.

So make sure your trick-or-treat costume goes with galoshes.

Rain was a big problem for Detroit this summer.

An investigation of summer flooding on behalf of metro Detroit’s regional water system concluded Wednesday that in addition to the weather, electrical problems at a pump station on the city’s east side “played a large role” in swamping basements.

Northville girl’s parents struggled with Halloween costume until engineer helped

Considine said with just a few days to go, the way things are going, some new monthly records may even be set. There’s a good chance Detroit will tie with the second hottest average temperature for October in 1947 at 60.3 degrees.

The hottest October on record was 62.7 degrees in 1963. And Oct. 14, Detroit’s high was 81 degrees.

Depending on how much rain falls before the end of the month, October also could end up being among the 10 wettest on record. The average rainfall for the month is about 2.29 inches. So far, 4.15 inches of rain have fallen, with more to come.

That should bring metro Detroit closer to the wettest October with 7.8 inches in 1954.

“It’s been a wet month,” Considine said. “This rain we’re having here today is going to slowly depart Saturday, and then we are looking at a dry day Sunday. But the ground is certainly going to be wet.”

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

Halloween pandemic precautions

CDC’s precautions include:

Getting vaccinated, if you are eligible.

Avoid crowded, poorly ventilated spaces.

And wear masks if you are in public indoor areas.

METRO DETROIT HEALTH DEPARTMENTS PREPARING PLANS TO VACCINATE KIDS

DETROIT NEWS — Metro Detroit health departments are developing plans to vaccinate young children against COVID-19 as they await emergency authorization for pediatric use of the vaccine from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

If the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and CDC sign off, vaccines could be available in November to Michigan’s 825,000 children between the ages of 5 through 11.

The Oakland County Health Division said Wednesday that it is collaborating with local school districts on how to best rollout the doses and has placed preliminary orders for the vaccine following the CDC’s anticipated approval. Officials in Wayne and Macomb counties said they too are anticipating providing the vaccinations as quickly as possible.

Oakland County said it will release details on pediatric COVID-19 vaccine clinics after the CDC approves it for emergency use in younger children and issues guidelines. More than 276,000 eligible residents in Oakland County remain unvaccinated, officials noted.

“Immunizing residents who remain unvaccinated is vital to limiting the transmission of COVID-19,” Oakland County Health Division Medical Director Dr. Russell Faust said in a statement. “The more residents who get the COVID-19 vaccine, the closer we will be to slowing the pandemic to manageable levels.”

The counties are preparing plans for administering pediatric doses as Michigan on Wednesday reported another 7,867 cases of the virus and 142 deaths over two days and the highest seven-day rolling average of daily cases since May.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday issued an executive directive to state departments and agencies to expedite the ordering and distribution of Pfizer vaccinations for children ages 5 through 11 in Michigan. The state has pre-ordered 287,700 doses of the vaccine to ensure a supply is on hand when approval is granted.

According to the manufacturer, the Pfizer vaccine is more than 90% effective for the younger age group.

An advisory panel of the FDA on Tuesday voted unanimously, with one abstention, that the vaccine’s benefits in preventing COVID-19 for children age 5 through 11 outweigh any potential risks. The FDA is expected to make its own decision within days.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is set to meet next week to consider the FDA’s recommendation.

In Wayne County, health officials have requested additional vaccines to be able to accommodate and administer pediatric vaccines once they are approved, said Tiffini Jackson, a spokeswoman for Wayne County.

“We will continue to work with the schools and providers in Wayne County as a resource and partner,” she said. “We’re in the process of contacting schools to offer on-site vaccination clinics. We will also continue to schedule an in-home vaccination appointment.”

Andrew Cox, health officer of Macomb County’s Health Department, said when new populations are approved by the CDC for COVID-19 vaccines “we have responded by making the vaccine available to those individuals as quickly as possible” and “this will be no different.”

“In anticipation of the authorization for pediatric doses of COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11 years old, we are planning on integrating operations to serve this population into health department vaccination clinics in Clinton Township and Warren,” he said.

“In addition, we will continue our ongoing partnership with our pediatricians and with the Macomb Intermediate School District as well as Macomb County school districts to pursue opportunities to make the vaccine available to this important audience as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

About 73.4% of Oakland County residents ages 12 and up have received at least one vaccine dose. That’s compared with 71% in outer-Wayne and Washtenaw counties, 62.5% in Macomb County and 46.1% in Detroit, where the vaccination rate has lagged. Overall, 63.7% of residents in Michigan have received at least one dose, state data shows.

MICHIGAN REDISTRICTING PANEL, WHICH PLEDGED OPENNESS, MEETS IN SECRET

BRIDGE MI — As opposition builds to proposed legislative maps, the state’s redistricting commission on Wednesday met in private to discuss whether the districts comply with federal law.

Members did so despite wide objections and repeated pledges of openness and transparency, as well a constitutional amendment mandating they “conduct all of its business at open meetings.”

The 13-member commission, created by voters in 2018 after lawmakers drew legislative boundaries for decades behind closed doors, moved on Wednesday to suspend rules and discuss two memos in a closed session: one titled “Voting Rights Act” and another called “The History of Discrimination in the State of Michigan and its Influence on Voting.” The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission instructed reporters to leave the meeting, blocked the room’s door windows with paper, and paused a live stream of the session.

The private discussion followed days of criticism from African-American leaders who questioned if the maps adhere to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which is designed to allow minorities to elect candidates of their choosing.

The redistricting panel, by year’s end, is expected to approve legislative boundaries that will be used for the next decade. Michigan now has 17 majority-minority districts in the state Legislature, and two in the congressional delegation. But most of the commission’s proposed maps only have one district that is over 50 percent majority Black.

“I think that this would allow us to freely discuss attorney-client matters with our lawyers freely and openly, where we all as a group can ask questions,” said Rebecca Szetela, an independent who serves as chair of the commission.

Although the contents of the memos are unknown to the public, Szetela told Bridge Michigan they were a legal opinion.

Eleven out of 13 commissioners voted to meet in closed session to “discuss privileged and confidential memoranda.”

After the meeting, which lasted over an hour, the commission went back into session and quickly adjourned around 5:20 p.m., despite being scheduled to finish at 8 p.m.

The dissenting votes were cast by Republicans Erin Wagner and Rhonda Lange, who told commissioners the issues should be publicly debated.

“If this commission is working in full transparency, in my opinion, let’s be transparent,” Lange said. “I know that’s probably not what most of you want to hear.”

The commission’s move was criticized by both the state Democratic and Republican parties.

Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes said the commission cannot move forward until they address “what was discussed in closed session.”

“We have yet to hear the commission’s debrief on the public hearings,” Barnes said. “Instead of having an open and transparent discussion, the commission retreated behind closed doors.”

The Michigan Republican Party called the private meeting a “new low.”

“Michiganders were sold on a commission that would be transparent and accountable in the creation of fair state and federal districts under the constitution,” said Gustavo Portela, a party spokesperson.

Michigan’s Open Meetings Act allows public bodies to deliberate in private under 11 circumstances, including discussion of personnel matters, collective bargaining negotiations and privileged attorney opinions.

The act allows government boards to discuss pending litigation with attorneys (there is no pending litigation against the commission) as well as “material exempt from discussion or disclosure by state or federal statute,” which generally means written opinions from lawyers.

Julianne Pastula, the commission’s general counsel, told reporters Wednesday evening she believes the commission followed the state’s Open Meetings Act.

When asked by Bridge Michigan if the panel would release all or parts of the memos, she declined.

“The commission holds the privilege on those memorandums and I think that the commission can — it has demonstrated a strong commitment to transparency,” Pastula said. “In the case of today, and discussing having a legal discussion with their attorneys, that is a reasonable way to move forward with that relationship.”

Pastula said the commission took minutes of the closed session, but they would not be made public.

Edward Woods III, the commission’s spokesperson, told Bridge Michigan in a text message that “no business (was) being conducted in closed session.”

He added the commission blocked the doors’ windows because it had received a death threat that delayed the meeting.

Observers say debating a crucial issue such as minority representation in private is troublesome and of questionable legality.

“The public has a right to know what the legal guidance— provided to the commission at taxpayer expenses— is so the public can understand how it will affect the decisions of public officials,” said Steven Liedel, an attorney who worked as legal counsel to former Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

“Unwise decision and terrible precedent for the MICRC, given lack of discussion of these legal issues.”

WHY AN OAKLAND COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL HIRED AN EXPLOSIVE-SNIFFING K-9

DETROIT NEWS — While most of us see the world through our eyes, Lucy — the star member of the explosives-detection K-9 team at Avondale High School — navigates the world through her nose.

The yellow Labrador retriever’s full-time job at the Oakland County high school is to detect guns and munitions brought onto school grounds or inside the school and to look lovable and charming doing it.

On Wednesday, the school’s staff and Lucy’s handler Lisa Zang showed off the retriever’s skills inside the high school’s auxiliary gym. Two sticks of dynamite were hidden inside one of eight metal buckets on a spinning scent wheel.

Zang gave the wheel a spin and asked Lucy to begin her search among the seven empty buckets and one with the hidden munitions.

Lucy moved to each bucket, dunking her head deep inside, giving it a long sniff and moving on until she found her target in the fourth bucket. And then down she sat, her signal to her human that she found the munitions.

“She doesn’t do anything visually, it’s all through her nose,” says Zang, Lucy’s trainer from Rochester Hills-based Elite Detection K9. “It can be pitch black in here and it’s still her nose that does the work.”

Avondale High School is the first school in Michigan to add a full-time explosives-detection K-9 team to its security staff, according to the district and the training company.

Lucy’s workday is divided into three parts: before, during and after school. She stands at the school’s main entrance and exit while its 1,100 students and staff walk by, acting as a warm and fuzzy metal detector and security guard.

If she finds her target, she signals her handler. So far this school year, that hasn’t happened.

Greg Guidice, Elite Detection K9 president and CEO, said the program is intended to reduce school violence by deterring students from bringing weapons to school.

“The reality is it’s a small percentage that a school will experience an active shooter but when it happens it’s tragic,” Guidice said. “Providing a trained dog is a proactive solution to a student wanting to create a nefarious act.”

Lucy is there to detect and warn officials of the invisible threat of hidden firearms or explosives, Guidice says. Lucy is trained in the nine major categories of explosives from black powder in a bullet to dynamite to C-4 to TNT. The company has a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives license to use live explosives during her training which is conducted after school hours. On Wednesday, Ric Hetu, Elite Detection K9 master trainer, spoke to a group of students eating lunch near Lucy’s demonstration for the media.

“What is Lucy looking for when she is searching your backpack?” Hetu asked the students. “Maybe a handgun, some kind of explosive, maybe it’s as simple as a firecracker.”

Once kids are in class, Lucy makes the rounds down hallways, along lockers and sticks her head into locker rooms and bathrooms. She does not need to search every person near her, officials say, because her sense of smell is extremely sensitive.

Lucy is also available for pats and hugs for students who need emotional support during the day. Students know they can reach out and pat Lucy or book an appointment for a longer therapy time.

Having a trained dog at the school keeps students safe so they can focus on learning, says James Schwarz, superintendent of the Avondale School District.

The decision to have a dog on staff at the school stems from a partnership between Elite Detection K9 and the high school which started nearly two years ago, Schwarz said, during which the nonprofit brought puppies it was raising for training to the high school for socialization with students.

Then the company, which is located near the school, started using the high school after school hours to train its dogs on explosives and ammunition. Elite Detection K9 is funded by Leader Dogs for the Blind. It is an independent nonprofit with its own board.

“The idea grew into we would want to have a dog of our own,” Schwarz said. “A preventative, proactive measure that would be an arm of our security as well.”

Schwarz said the high school has not had a past incident of a firearm or ammunition found in school and so far Lucy has not detected any contraband around campus.

“The students know the dog is an expert in sensing explosive material. It acts as a preventative,” Schwarz said. “It provides peace of mind. That is where the community has embraced it.”

The district has a one-year contract for Lucy and pays around $35,000 for her services. The actual cost of training a dog for a year is around $80,000, Guidice said.

Lucy must continue with four hours of training on live ammunition every week which it does at the school.

Superintendents from other Oakland County districts have asked Schwarz about Lucy, the program and its success.

“From our experience, it’s been a win-win,” he said. “From the social-emotional and physical security aspect of it, you can’t replicate it any other way unless you are using metal detectors and wands.”

COULD THE DELTA COVID-19 SURGE BE ON ITS WAY OUT IN MICHIGAN? MAYBE, EXPERTS SAY

delta variant, may be starting to retreat after more than three months of a steady rise in cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

The seven-day average of new daily cases fell to 3,210 on Monday — about 500 new daily cases fewer than at the Oct. 13 peak, when the seven-day average topped out at 3,745 daily cases.

Though the trends are encouraging, it may be too soon to declare it over just yet, said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, the state health department’s newly appointed chief medical officer.

“Time will tell,” Bagdasarian told the Free Press on Tuesday.

That’s because transmission of the virus remains high in every county in the state, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s thresholds.

And even though Michigan has now seen nearly two weeks of steady declines in new daily cases, the percentage of positive tests also remains high — plateauing at a seven-day average of about 11.3% over the last two weeks. Hospitalizations from the virus appear to be leveling off as well.

“With some of these indicators, there can be a delay, and we can see plateaus, and even slight dips, and then a rise again,” said Bagdasarian, an infectious disease epidemiologist.

Joshua Petrie, an assistant research professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health, agreed.

“It’s possible,” he said, that the worst of the delta wave of the virus is behind us in Michigan, but it’s also possible that this is just a lull before colder weather drives people indoors and the coming holidays spur travel and large gatherings, which could ramp up the spread of the virus yet again.

“I think it still warrants a little bit more wait and see. … When you’re at high case levels, even if you are declining, you’re always at risk for a rebound. We could continue declining or begin to bounce back up. It’s a little bit hard to predict.”

The delta variant’s impact on Michigan hasn’t been as severe nor has the curve of new daily cases been as steep as in previous waves of the pandemic.

In March and April, when the alpha variant, also known as the B.1.1.7 strain, swept the state, the rate of infection was nearly twice as high, as were hospitalizations from the virus.

The state’s fourth surge was blunted, Bagdasarian said, by a higher COVID-19 vaccination rate than in previous spikes. About 53.3% of the state’s total population is now fully vaccinated, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Michiganders who have some immunity from previous infections also played a role in slowing the curve of the most recent surge, Petrie said. Since the pandemic began, 1.1 million Michiganders have had confirmed cases of the virus, the state health department reported Monday.

“I think all those sources of immunity helped to protect against what’s going on now with delta,” he said, “but vaccines are the easiest way to get that immunity.”

Petrie isn’t convinced the delta wave will be Michigan’s last coronavirus surge.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s another hopefully smaller surge on the road, particularly because we do still only have about 50% of the population vaccinated,” he said. “So there’s still a lot of susceptible people out there. But hopefully, we do start to get into a phase where it’s kind of more manageable, maybe just seasonal epidemics.”

In the meantime, health officials recommend continuing to wear a mask indoors as well as getting COVID-19 vaccines if you’re eligible, said Chelsea Wuth, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

“With the recent approval of booster doses for all vaccines, continued masking, and Michiganders continuing to get vaccinated — with anticipated authorization for ages 5-11 to receive the Pfizer vaccine — we will continue to do everything we can to help Michiganders prevent the spread of COVID-19 and end this pandemic,” she said.

COVID VACCINE FOR 825,000 MICHIGAN CHILDREN NEARER TO FEDERAL APPROVAL

BRIDGE MI — A federal health advisory panel voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to recommend approval of Pfizer’s COVID vaccine for children 5 to 11, a group that covers roughly 825,000 youngsters in Michigan.

The Food and Drug Administration panel’s guidance could lead federal health authorities to formally approve the two-dose regimen for young children as soon as next week.

With impending emergency approval in mind, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order Tuesday seeking to expedite shipments of the pediatric vaccine to Michigan. “This is an age group that deserves and should have the same opportunity to be vaccinated as every other age,” Dr. Amanda Cohn, chief medical officer of the CDC’s National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases, told the panel at the end of its day-long meeting.

The recommendation, however, didn’t come without heartburn. Several advisors said the decision was particularly difficult, even as 17 of 18 panel members recommended the vaccine’s emergency authorization. (One member abstained.)

There were concerns about whether schools might try to mandate the vaccines, and questions about the extent to which children contribute to COVID’s spread. Tens of millions of children likely have been infected already, which can contribute to herd immunity, said Dr. James Hildreth, CEO of Meharry Medical College in Nashville.

“It just seems to me that in some ways we’re vaccinating children to protect the adults and it should be the other way around,” Hildreth said at the meeting. “Our focus should be to get the adults vaccinated to protect the children, so this is a really tough one for me.”

Still, he added, high-risk children should have access to the vaccine, and he later said he voted in favor of authorizing the vaccine so those higher-risk children could get it.

Others noted the low risk of side effects and that studies on the Pfizer vaccine’s impact on children will continue. Pfizer is the first of three U.S.-approved vaccines to seek federal approval for younger children, though a version by manufacturer Moderna is on its heels.

“I think there are a number of things that are reassuring,” Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said as the committee moved toward a vote.

Pfizer’s vaccine is more than 90 percent effective for this age group, according to the manufacturer. (Its vaccines are already approved for those 12 and older.)

And while children are far less likely to be hospitalized or die from the virus, they are not immune. More than 600 pediatric deaths have been reported nationally, and in Michigan, Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, a serious condition in which a COVID infection inflames organs and tissues, has been reported in 172 children, with 122 of them admitted to the ICU, according to the latest state data.

FDA scientists, in their briefing document to the committee, said the risks associated with a COVID infection outweigh the risk of complications from the vaccine. The two doses are given three weeks apart.

“I know enough to move forward” with the vote, Offit said during the day-long meeting.

The decision Tuesday from the independent advisory group now goes to the FDA for the final say on whether the vaccine will be authorized. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will then decide how it will be used. Its advisory committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.

If both the FDA and CDC sign off, the pediatric Pfizer vaccine could be available to children as soon as later next week.

Efforts to vaccinate the state’s children against COVID, however, will take a different shape than mass vaccines for adults and older children, providers and health officials have told Bridge Michigan. Anxious children may need more privacy than a large vaccine clinic can offer, for example.

The rollout will rely, too, on the efforts of pediatricians’ offices, family doctors and community clinics, where parents can ask questions of doctors with whom they have established and trusted relationships.

COVID vaccine efforts also may offer providers a chance to talk with parents about catching up children on other vaccines that have been widely delayed or neglected during the pandemic, Dr. Jennifer Morse, medical director for District Health Department #10 and the Central Michigan District Health Department, said Tuesday at a news conference for Traverse City-based Munson Healthcare.

It’s unclear what kind of demand there will be for the pediatric vaccines, complicating planning efforts, Morse and others have said. A sizable minority of Michigan residents have declined to take a COVID vaccine despite their general availability across the state.

“The good thing is (that) our nurses give a lot of vaccines to a lot of kids of all ages, and they’re extremely good at it. And so for them, it’s not really anything different than a normal Tuesday,” Morse said.

MICHIGAN HOUSE APPROVES CONTROVERSIAL SHORT-TERM RENTAL PROTECTIONS IN OVERNIGHT SESSION

DETROIT NEWS — House lawmakers approved legislation in a 55-48 vote early Wednesday that would prohibit cities and townships from banning short-term rental housing in an overnight session.

Last-minute changes to the bill do not appear to have wooed opponents of the measure.

The controversial legislation would include short-term rentals as a valid residential use under Michigan’s zoning act, upending zoning changes local communities have made or are considering to limit and regulate short-term rentals by deeming them commercial.

Lawmakers have argued that noise and nuisance rules are enough for communities to bring problematic renters in line.

A House substitute adopted early Wednesday added language that seemed to attempt compromise, allowing local governments to limit the number of short-term rentals with a common owner to no fewer than two and limit overall short-term rental units within the community to no less than 30% of all existing residential units.

The bill also was amended to create a narrow exemption for existing local short-term rental overlay districts implemented by July 11, 2019, to remain in place, a carveout that appears to largely benefit the city of East Lansing.

“The measure approved by the House is a solid compromise that provides both certainty for private property owners across the state and flexibility for local municipalities that deserve to have some control over the planning and zoning of their communities,” said Rep. Sarah Lightner, the Springport Township Republican who sponsored the bill.

Lightner argued the legislation protected the private property rights of Michigan residents who wanted to rent their property while also reining in corporations looking to “scoop up large numbers of homes to rent out, effectively acting as hotels without having to abide by safety standards or pay taxes like hotels.”

The legislation would allow for the continued rental of private residences through such services as Airbnb and VRBO and, in its initial form, it was backed by the Michigan Realtors and the fiscally conservative Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

Numerous local government groups — including the Michigan Townships Association and Michigan Municipal League — urged the Legislature earlier this year to not usurp local control over short-term rentals. Some communities spent months planning and discussing regulations only to have them threatened by the Legislature’s proposal.

Among the opponents of the legislation earlier this year are several Michigan tourist destinations: Frankenmuth, Traverse City, Petoskey, Mackinac Island and Grand Haven.

Wednesday’s changes to the legislation were not enough to satisfy local government opponents who have argued the most egregious part of the legislation is the designation of short term rentals as a residential use.

“Everything that comes after that is secondary into how locals can regulate this,” said the Michigan Municipal Leagues Jennifer Rigterink. “They’re already strapped by what is in” the residential designation.

Compromises that would allow communities to limit short-term rentals to two per common owner have a loose definition of owner, Rigterink said, so that, in theory, a husband, wife and other acquaintances could have two each and still comply with the legislation.

“All you would have to do is tweak the ownership makeup,” she said.

Additionally, the sections capping short-term rentals at no less than 30% use the word “units” while other sections of the bill use the term “dwellings,” potentially setting up the legislation for litigation in the future, Rigterink said.

“Again, in theory that sounds good, but how does a local unit of government enforce that? How does a local unit government regulate that? Local government was not consulted on these changes,” she said.

This session’s focus on the short-term rental issue marks at least the third time since 2017 that the Legislature is advancing bills that would “ban the ban” on short-term rentals.

A separate Senate bill largely similar to its House counterpart moved out of Senate committee earlier this year but has yet to be considered in a full chamber vote.

UNVACCINATED AMERICANS TO FACE TIGHTER COVID TESTING REQUIREMENTS IN NEW US TRAVEL SYSTEM

USA TODAY — The U.S. will roll out a new travel system in two weeks that will open borders up for millions of vaccinated international visitors.

The system launching Nov. 8 will end the U.S. travel ban that has been in place for dozens of countries since the start of the pandemic. It will also make reentry more challenging for unvaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents and establish stringent testing requirements for the rare unvaccinated foreign nationals allowed to visit.

“For anyone traveling to the United States who cannot demonstrate proof of full vaccination, they will have to produce documentation of a negative test within one day of departure,” instead of the current three days, according to the White House.

Fully vaccinated Americans will still have a three-day window for COVID-19 testing with negative results, but if they are not able to show proof of vaccination, they too will be subject to the one-day testing requirement.

“These are strict safety protocols that follow the science of public health to enhance the safety of Americans here at home and the safety of international air travel,” senior administration officials said in a Monday briefing.

With few exceptions, only foreign nationals with vaccinations approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization will be allowed to board planes to visit the U.S.

What are the exceptions?

Senior administration officials stressed that exceptions to vaccine requirements for foreign visitors would be rare, but would be made for children under age 18 and travelers from countries with less than a 10% vaccination rate due to lack of vaccine availability. The White House said that currently affects about 50 countries, but the list is continually changing.

Travelers with some medical conditions, including people who have had severe anaphylactic reactions to the COVID vaccine, will also be exempt from the vaccination requirement.

Children under age 2 will not need to test for COVID-19.

Additionally, travelers who’ve recently recovered from the coronavirus may bypass testing and “instead travel with documentation of recovery from COVID-19 (i.e., your positive COVID-19 viral test result on a sample taken no more than 90 days before the flight’s departure from a foreign country and a letter from a licensed healthcare provider or a public health official stating that you were cleared to travel),” according to the CDC.

Who will be able to enter the US?

Starting Nov. 8, foreign travelers will be able to enter the U.S. by air if they can show proof of full vaccination as well as negative results from a pre-departure coronavirus test taken within three days of boarding a plane into the country.

Airlines will collect personal information from all U.S.-bound travelers for contact tracing. Airlines are required to keep the information on hand for 30 days so health officials can follow up with travelers who may have been exposed to COVID-19.

Masking will be required, but there will be no quarantine mandate. The change will make entering the U.S. possible for travelers from countries currently listed on the U.S. travel ban, which prohibits entry for travelers who have been in any of the regions within the past 14 days. Travel bans took effect in early 2020 and include:

China
India
Iran
Brazil
South Africa
United Kingdom
Republic of Ireland
The European Schengen area: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City

Travelers arriving from countries not included in the ban will face stricter entry requirements come Nov. 8. Right now, the U.S. asks international air passengers only to get tested within three days of their flight to the U.S. and show either the negative test result or proof of recovery from COVID-19 before boarding.

What about Mexico and Canada?

New travel rules will also take effect for foreign nationals arriving by land or passenger ferry from Mexico and Canada.

Starting Nov. 8, fully vaccinated foreign nationals can cross the land borders for nonessential reasons such as tourism or visiting friends and family.

Entry rules along the border will change again in early January, with all travelers – including those traveling for essential purposes – required to show proof of full vaccination.

These rules are for travelers. There are different requirements for immigrants. According to the CDC, “People applying to enter the United States as immigrants (with exceptions) are required to have a medical examination that includes a COVID-19 vaccination requirement before they are issued an immigrant visa.”

THOUSANDS OF MICHIGAN FIRMS FACE DEC. 8 COVID VACCINE MANDATE DEADLINE

BRIDGE MI — About 3,200 Michigan-based workers at Steelcase Inc. learned last week that they must prove by Dec. 8 that they have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19.

That’s because the Grand Rapids furniture maker, which employs 4,800 total workers in the United States, is a federal contractor that supplies government offices. The workers now face a choice: Get vaccinated, seek an exemption or risk suspension or firings.

Workers in thousands of Michigan businesses are expected to confront the same choices and deadline, as the national mandate for federal contractors will affect “every county in Michigan,” said Sue Tellier, owner of JetCo Federal Supply in Grand Rapids and second vice chair of the Small Business Association of Michigan’s board of directors.

The mandate is one of several announced by President Joseph Biden on Sept. 8 that are rolling out this fall, affecting federal workers, companies that do business with the federal government — including universities that accept research funding — and the nation’s largest employers.

In Michigan, estimates say 42 percent of the state’s labor force, some 2 million workers, will be under some form of a mandate by year-end, including employees at private workplaces, the University of Michigan and Michigan State University and at least 10 health care systems, including Beaumont, the state’s largest.

It’s unclear how many workers in Michigan will be affected by the federal contractor mandate, but thousands of state businesses are registered to bid on government contracts.

The situation is “creating significant uncertainty” for the businesses and subcontractors, said Craig Smith, a federal contract attorney and partner with the Washington, DC-based law firm Wiley Rein.

“All of a sudden, you get asked to add these obligations to your contract,” Smith said. “That may be quite a surprise for many companies.”

The mandate comes atop a national worker shortage and “clearly a variety of perspectives on vaccination,” Smith said.

For employers, Tellier said, “the ripple effect is massive.”

Rules and guidance

Rules for the contractor mandate were announced in late September. The order said the vaccine mandate only applied to “covered contracts,” which were valued at under $250,000 and either were starting or being extended this fall.

But shortly afterward, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force, led by the White House’s COVID-19 Response Team, issued guidance for how businesses should respond to the rules.

Its advice: Contractors, even those not specifically mentioned in the order, should comply with it anyway. Also stated in the guidance:

No test-out option allows employees to take regular COVID-19 tests instead of getting vaccinated.
The effective deadline for vaccines is Nov. 24 because there must be a two-week interval between final dose and the deadline.
Employees affected include part-time and remote workers.

When he announced the mandates, Biden said the unvaccinated were driving the spread of the disease along with increased hospitalizations and deaths. In the workplace, he said, costs of absences and outbreak-related closures were also a problem.

Since then, COVID-19 cases and deaths have declined nationwide: On Oct. 22, 1,834 deaths were reported, down from 2,033 on Sept. 8. New cases dropped by more than half, with about 77,933 on Oct. 22.

So far, about 220 million people — or 77.6 percent of those eligible — have received at least one dose, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mandates already playing out

Many business advocates in Michigan are watching the situation with concern, even if they support vaccinations.

Wendy Block, vice president of government affairs for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, said members continue to ask enforcement questions and few answers have been available.

Business owners also worry the mandate will drive employees away at a time when hiring is difficult. The state’s labor force has declined by about 180,000 workers to 4.7 million since the start of the pandemic, according to preliminary data from September.

That’s true “particularly in regions where there is staunch opposition to the vaccine,” Block said.

“Federal mandates only seem to be serving the purpose of people digging in (with their stance for or against the vaccines),” Block said. “In this fierce talent market, people have choices.”

So far, some Michigan universities and health systems have enacted vaccine mandates, offering a glimpse of how a vaccine mandate will play out.

At Beaumont, 370 workers out of 33,000 were suspended for not getting a vaccination or qualifying for an exemption. Another 70 quit. At the University of Michigan, officials say a few hundred staffers who are not vaccinated will be placed on unpaid leave for 30 days if they don’t report the start of their vaccination process by Nov. 8.

Steelcase did not reply to questions about how it anticipates the move to affect its workforce. The company has 102 Michigan job openings — some with multiple hires possible, such as distribution workers — listed on its corporate website.

Block, with the Michigan Chamber, said prioritizing health is important. However, the mandate brings “a lot of complicating factors” to employers that have spent 18 months navigating workplace health and unfilled jobs.

“It feels like a step too far for many businesses and their employees,” Block said.

COVID-19 OUTBREAKS REPORTED IN 10 OAKLAND COUNTY SCHOOLS; 47 CASES CONFIRMED

THE OAKLAND PRESS — Ten new COVID-19 outbreaks with 47 new cases were found in Oakland County schools last week, up from zero the previous week.

Statewide new cases dropped by more than half from 947 to 428, while school outbreaks dropped to 76 from 101 the previous week, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services which reports school outbreaks each Monday.

The 10 Oakland County schools with the new outbreaks — all among students — are St. Williams Catholic in Walled Lake (3 cases), Walled Lake Central (3 cases), Wixom’s Loon Lake Elementary (3 cases), Wixom Elementary (3 cases), Southfield’s McIntyre Elementary (5 cases), Norup International Academy in Oak Park (4 cases), Bradford Academy in Southfield (3 cases), Beverly Elementary in Beverly Hills (3 cases), Lawrence Tech University football team (12 cases) and Webber Elementary in Lake Orion (5 cases).

Nine Oakland County schools continue with ongoing COVID outbreaks: Keller Elementary in Royal Oak (four cases), Holy Family Regional School (two outbreaks, seven cases) in Rochester Hills; Lake Orion High School (seven cases), Berkshire Middle School in Beverly Hills (three among students and staff), Troy Union Elementary (three among students), Country Oaks Elementary in Commerce Township (two outbreaks with a total of six cases), Troy’s Wattles Elementary (two outbreaks and a total of 11 cases), Berkeley’s Angell Elementary (four cases) and West Bloomfield’s Keith Elementary with three cases.

Ongoing outbreaks are those that had already been identified in previous weeks but have had at least one new associated case reported to the local health department in the last 28 days. Outbreaks are removed from the list when there are no new confirmed or probable COVID-19 cases identified after 28 days have passed since the last known school exposure from a case.

In recent weeks the MDHHS has adopted new standards for determining outbreaks and cases in K-12 schools.

With the new outbreak definition the local health department must find multiple cases comprising at least 10% of students, teachers or staff within a specified group. Or, at least three cases within a specified core group that meets criteria for a probable or confirmed school-associated COVID-19 case with symptom onset or positive test result within 14 days of each other; who were not identified as close contacts of each other in another setting outside of the school setting; AND epidemiologically linked in the school setting or a school-sanctioned extracurricular activity are considered outbreaks.

A school-associated COVID-19 case (confirmed or probable) is defined as a student, teacher, or staff member physically present in the school setting or participated in a school sanctioned extracurricular† activity within 14 days prior to illness onset (or a positive test result) OR within 10 days after illness onset (or a positive test result).

FIRST LADY JILL BIDEN VISITS SAGINAW CHIPPEWA CENTER TO DISCUSS YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH

DETROIT NEWS — One man choked up as he spoke about his family taking two children into his home after their mother lost her struggle with substance abuse as the nation’s first lady held a listening session in Michigan on Sunday on youth mental health.

Participants of the session at the Ziibiwing Center in Mount Pleasant talked about their experiences involving mental health and trauma.

Biden, a community college professor, mostly listened and spoke intermittently, according to pool reports of her visit. She mentioned that she also has seen the mental health effects of the pandemic firsthand.

“I’ve seen that in my own classroom,” she said. “Many of them have lost relatives to COVID. I wanted to come see this program, because I said to my staff, ‘What are we going to help the teachers?’ We want to do the right thing by our students and by our families.”

Biden also made stops in Detroit, where she was the guest of honor Sunday evening at an annual dinner for the oldest Jewish educational institution in the state.

She joined U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy in Freeland to visit the Ziibiwing Center, a cultural center and tribal museum that honors the ancestors of the Ojibway.

They joined members of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe at 1:30 p.m. for the 40-minute listening session on youth and mental health.

On the road leading into the center, a small group of protesters held signs that said, “TRUMP WON” and “#FJB.”

Biden and Murphy were greeted outside the center by Tim Davis, chief of Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe; Melissa Isaac, director of Education/Project AWARE; Dr. Kehli Henry, Project AWARE Coordinator; and two members of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Youth Council.

A group of about a dozen Chippewa tribe members performed a traditional ceremonial greet featuring dancing, singing and drums, outside the Ziibiwing Center.

She asked staff from Project Aware to explain what they are doing to help students with mental health and loss. They told her therapy groups were used for issues like social anxiety, and they provide comfort dogs for children in schools.

Students also are provided with “calming corners” in the classroom, where they can move temporarily to take a mental health break while still listening to the teacher, pool reporters said.

Biden said some of the money from the American Rescue Plan during the pandemic was provided to teachers. She said teachers should be trained in prioritizing mental health.

She spoke about practices the staff at the college where she teaches take to support each other. She also talked about the importance of adding positive elements into her students’ lives.

“We’re finding positive ways to help our children, to help our students,” she said.

At the end, Murthy asked everyone to share what gives them hope.

“Our mental health problem is so great and the needs are so great, especially after this pandemic,” the first lady shared. “I knew Joe would see that and come up with this plan to give more money to mental health, and that’s what he pledged to do. That’s what gives me hope — that our nation is starting to heal.”

Tribal members gave the first lady a blanket, necklace, which she put on (“It matches my outfit!”), a strawberry-shaped basket and a ribbon skirt.

Biden then headed to Detroit Metro Airport for the Yeshiva Beth Yehudah’s annual dinner held at the Renaissance Center in Detroit. She spoke alongside the “outstanding leadership” honoree Mary Barra, CEO and chair of General Motors Co. The event was closed to the press.

Biden was in Michigan last month when she spoke at Oakland Community College during a trip with U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and advocated for two years of free community college.

The community college proposal has been part of the Build Back Better plan of her husband, President Joe Biden, though lawmakers this week suggested it is likely to be cut as the package is pared in size and cost.

Michigan Republican Party communications director Gustavo Portela said in a statement that Biden’s visit comes as the state’s residents are being “squeezed on our middle class.”

COVID-19 SCHOOL OUTBREAK NUMBERS CREATE QUESTIONS IN OAKLAND, MACOMB

THE OAKLAND PRESS — The disparity between COVID-19 school outbreaks and cases in Oakland and Macomb counties jumped off the page when the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services posted its latest weekly update.

According to the state dashboard, 56% of the new cases — or 484 cases — in Michigan schools were in Macomb County, while zero occurred in neighboring Oakland County.

The numbers seemed odd to both counties.

A Macomb official insinuated that all counties did not follow the new state rules, but for Oakland County, the MDHHS said otherwise. “When we saw zero clusters for one reporting week in Oakland County schools in the news, we called MDHHS (on Tuesday) to see whether that was accurate,’’ said Bill Mullan, media and communications officer for Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter.

“They confirmed the report was accurate and also that the Oakland County school data we are sending them conforms to their requirements,’’ he added.

Mullan also noted that just because there were no clusters doesn’t mean there were no cases in schools. Many schools are reporting individual cases on their websites.

Macomb County Health Department Director/Health Officer Andrew Cox blamed the difference on the state’s new definition of reporting on school clusters.

He said five of the reported events were defined as outbreaks, often where the virus is shared in a classroom or among sports teams. But 20 of the events reported were defined as clusters. Reporting of the cluster events was not previously required by the state.

“So it appears, but cannot be proven, that other counties across the state did not report their cluster events — perhaps because the requirements were so new and local school districts did not gather that data,’’ Cox said. “The numbers look oddly one-sided. It did not appear that it was happening statewide.’’

When recording the data, it’s a two-step process, according to Chelsea Wuth, the MDHHS associate public information officer.

The first is that local health departments monitor the Michigan Disease Surveillance System for confirmed/probable cases of COVID in children who may be in K-12 schools. Local health departments report that to the schools and the schools are making that information visible to be consistent with a standing epidemic order.

Secondly, local health departments also use the data within the MDSS to determine if there are K-12 cases and clusters and they report those directly to MDHHS.

“We do not receive any reports directly from schools,’’ Wuth said.

Oakland County still has a high transmission rate of COVID-19. From Oct. 4-17, there were more than 5,000 new confirmed and probable cases in the county. Of those, 1,058 were ages 5-18.

“Clusters in schools is only one of several data points utilized to understand transmission in the community,’’ Mullan said. “It’s clusters, along with other data points, that combine together to help us get a truer picture of transmission in the community.’’

Oakland and Macomb counties have other differences when it comes to COVID-19.

The vaccination rates are 74.26% for Oakland and 63.35% for Macomb for those 12 and older who have received at least the first dose, according to the MDHHS.

The Oakland County Health Division issued a mask mandate for all students before the start of the school year. Macomb does not have a countywide school mask mandate.

“It’s important to note that MDHHS considers comparing county to county does not give an accurate picture,’’ Mullan said. “Depending on the jurisdiction, there are numerous barriers to identifying epidemiological or exposure linkages between cases, including: limited resources to perform in-depth case investigations at the local level, the depth in which schools participate in the case investigation process, and also whether the public engages with investigators in the case investigation process. These limitations may also vary over time and by geography, making comparisons across jurisdictions difficult.’’

The next weekly update for school outbreaks will be posted at 3 p.m. on Monday on the MDHHS website.

DEPUTIES TO BE POSTED AT WALLED LAKE SCHOOL MONDAY FOLLOWING SHOOTING THREAT

DETROIT NEWS — An arrest was made Sunday in connection to a Walled Lake school threat on social media that appeared to be made from a false account out of Missouri, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said.

Deputies responded at 4 p.m. Sunday to the Walled Lake Central High School on reports of a school threat. There, deputies met with the parent of a student, who had called authorities.

The parent said her daughter saw a post on social media indicating “that another student and his friends would shoot up the school on Monday as he and his friends were tired of being bullied,” according to a Sheriff’s Office release.

from whom the post was thought to have originated, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The student denied posting it and detectives said it appears that someone may have created a false account on Snapchat. It was determined that the threat occurred in St. Joseph, Missouri, and the person allegedly responsible was arrested, according to the Michigan State Police OKAY2SAY, who relayed the information to the Walled Lake Schools administration.

Extra deputies will be posted at the high school on Monday, the Sheriff’s Office said.

370 BEAUMONT HEALTH WORKERS SUSPENDED FOR REFUSING COVID-19 VACCINES. 70 MORE QUIT

DETROIT FREE PRESS — About 70 Beaumont Health workers resigned rather than take COVID-19 vaccines and 370 have been suspended for failing to meet an Oct. 18 deadline for vaccination, the Southfield-based health system announced Thursday.

“We are very pleased to report the vast majority of Beaumont employees have been vaccinated against COVID-19,” the health system said in a statement. Beaumont operates eight metro Detroit hospitals and has about 33,000 workers.

“We hope that those 370 employees will choose to get vaccinated and return to work soon. If they choose to not meet our vaccine requirements by Nov. 16, their employment will be terminated.”

The hospital said it did not have details to share on how many employees who resigned or were suspended were nurses, doctors or other front-line medical workers.

Another 7% of Beaumont’s workforce — or 2,300 people — were granted exemptions to the mandate. The majority cited a religious exemption, said Mark Geary, a Beaumont spokesperson.

Beaumont is one of at least 10 health systems in Michigan that require workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment.

Henry Ford Health System, the first in the state to announce a coronavirus vaccine mandate in late June, lost about 400 of its workers because they refused to get vaccinated before its September deadline. Another 1,900 of its workers were granted exemptions from the vaccine requirement for religious or medical reasons.

The vaccine mandates come at a time when health systems across the state are also grappling with a staffing crisis, and frequently don’t have enough workers to handle the volume of patients both with coronavirus and other illnesses who are seeking hospital care.

The situation led both Beaumont and Henry Ford to shut down more than 100 available hospital beds in September because there weren’t enough workers to care for the patients who would fill them.

COVID-19 vaccines also are required for workers at Trinity Health, Ascension Health, Spectrum Health, Veterans Health Administration facilities, Bronson Healthcare, Michigan Medicine, OSF-HealthCare and Munson Healthcare, with varying deadlines for when employees must be fully vaccinated.

Though Sparrow Health System, McLaren Health Care and the Detroit Medical Center don’t currently have vaccine mandates for workers, they all will soon likely have to require them to continue to get federal Medicare/Medicaid funding.

On Sept. 9, President Joe Biden announced a sweeping mandate that would require health care workers at nearly every hospital and health system in the country to get vaccinated or submit to weekly coronavirus tests.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is now drafting detailed rules implementing the order. But when they will be posted and enforced is still unknown.

WARMER, WETTER THAN AVERAGE WINTER AHEAD FOR MICHIGAN, NOAA PREDICTS

DETROIT NEWS — Michigan and the Great Lakes region is expected to have a warmer but wetter than average winter, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Southeast Michigan is predicted to have an almost 50% chance of above-normal temperatures in some areas, according to NOAA’s 2021 Winter Outlook report, but predictions in a small part of the Upper Peninsula find “equal chances for below-, near- or above-average temperatures.”

The report shows more certainty for Michigan than the 2020 edition, when the entire state’s winter weather patterns were a “toss-up,” according to Mike Halpert, deputy director of the NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.

“Seasonal outlooks help communities prepare for what is likely to come in the months ahead and minimize weather’s impacts on lives and livelihoods,” the report said.

The predictions include weather forecasts for the country from December through February 2022. The National Weather Service will use the report to release localized predictions around mid-November.

The report also found a 40% to 50% chance of above-normal precipitation in the region.

Average temperatures for December through February in Metro Detroit are 31.3, 25.8 and 28 degrees, respectively, National Weather Service records show; average precipitation during those months is 2.25, 2.23 and 2.08 inches, respectively.

Snowfall in Detroit has fluctuated in recent years, according to the weather service, with 44-45 inches in the 2020-21 and 2019-20 seasons, up from 31.3 the previous year, which was almost half of the 61 inches the year before in 2017-18.

Increased rain and snow during the winter months could continue to cause damage that began in the summer, where widespread flooding hit the region.

Fall in southeast Michigan has already seen at least one major storm, in late September, that resulted in nearly 5 inches of rain and led to flood warnings, following a rainfall and thunderstorm-heavy summer that caused flooding and led, at one point, to power outages for over a million residents.

In addition to the Great Lakes, NOAA predicts wetter-than-average conditions in the Pacific Northwest, northern Rockies, Ohio Valley and western Alaska.

MICHIGAN COVID-19 HOSPITALIZATIONS UP 24% IN LAST 2 WEEKS

THE OAKLAND PRESS — While there’s much talk about empty shelves and supply chain woes, the COVID-19 pandemic remains an issue in Michigan where hospitalizations are up 24% over the past two weeks.

At Henry Ford Health System since the beginning of October they have seen a steady increase in hospitalizations due to COVID. As of Thursday morning there were 181 COVID patents in the hospital system. Two weeks ago that number was 144. Henry Ford Macomb and Henry Ford in Detroit leading the way with 45 COVID patients each.each.

“Like other hospitals in Michigan and across the country, the vast majority of people being hospitalized, and especially being admitted to the ICU and being placed on a ventilator, they are unvaccinated,’’ Dr. Dennis Cunningham, medical director of infection control and prevention at the Henry Ford Health System, said at a media briefing on Thursday.

Inpatients who have COVID are tracked every day.

“We’re not seeing vaccinated people really unless they have an underlying problem with their immune system such as cancer or perhaps they had an organ transplant,’’ Cunningham said. “I’m not seeing healthy vaccinated people in the hospital and certainly not seeing them in the ICU or on a breathing machine.’’

For the week ending Oct. 10, 779 positive PCR tests for COVID were recorded, that’s up nearly 47% since the week of Sept. 12. About 11.2% of tests are positive.

“Our emphasis remains on getting more people vaccinated to receive at least one dose of the COVID vaccine,’’ Cunningham said. “In Michigan we have 3 million people who are unvaccinated. The only way for us to get to the other side of the pandemic is for more people to get the immunization or shot. Not just to protect themselves, but their children who are not eligible for vaccinations, other family members, grandparents, friends, co-workers.’’

Cunningham, who is also a pediatrician, expects vaccines will be available for children between 5 and 11 years old by early to mid-November.

“In September we saw the most pediatric COVID cases nationwide since the pandemic first started. That’s because the children are back in school and not wearing masks,’’ Cunningham said.

Now the beginning of flu season brings a new twist.

“Last year we were very worried about the twin-demic – COVID and influenza coming at the same time. Because of masking and social distancing we actually saw virtually no flu activity in Michigan,’’ said Dr. Allison Weinmann, infectious diseases senior staff physician and system director of antimicrobial stewardship.

She expects that to be completely different this year as people are unmasking.

“We’re already seeing flares of other respiratory viruses such as RSV and lots of other cold viruses,’’ Weinmann said.

She said the flu shot is safe and effective and can be received at the same time as the COVID vaccine.

“We’re so lucky in the pandemic to now be in a position where we have vaccines. (COVID and the flu) are vaccine-preventable illnesses,’’ Weinmann said. “It would be a great shame to see people in the hospital, which is what we’re seeing, who have not received vaccines.’’

FDA OKS MIXING COVID VACCINES; BACKS MODERNA, J&J BOOSTERS

to Americans who got the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine and said anyone eligible for an extra dose can get a brand different from the one they received initially.

The Food and Drug Administration’s decisions mark a big step toward expanding the U.S. booster campaign, which began with extra doses of the Pfizer vaccine last month. But before more people roll up their sleeves, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will consult an expert panel Thursday before finalizing official recommendations for who should get boosters and when.

The latest moves would expand by tens of millions the number of Americans eligible for boosters and formally allow “mixing and matching” of shots — making it simpler to get another dose, especially for people who had a side effect from one brand but still want the proven protection of vaccination.

Specifically, the FDA authorized a third Moderna shot for seniors and others at high risk from COVID-19 because of their health problems, jobs or living conditions — six months after their last shot. One big change: Moderna’s booster will be half the dose that’s used for the first two shots, based on company data showing that was plenty to rev up immunity again.

For J&J’s single-shot vaccine, the FDA said all U.S. recipients, no matter their age, could get a second dose at least two months following their initial vaccination.

The FDA rulings differ because the vaccines are made differently, with different dosing schedules — and the J&J vaccine has consistently shown a lower level of effectiveness than either of the two-shot Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

As for mixing and matching, the FDA said it’s OK to use any brand for the booster regardless of which vaccination people got first. The interchangeability of the shots is expected to speed the booster campaign, particularly in nursing homes and other institutional settings where residents have received different shots over time.

FDA’s acting commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said the agency wanted to make its booster guidance as flexible as possible, given that many people don’t remember which brand they first received. In other cases, some people may want to try a different vaccine if they previously experienced common side effects like muscle ache or chills.

Still, regulators said it’s likely many people will stick with the same vaccine brand.

The decision was based on preliminary results from a government study of different booster combinations that showed an extra dose of any type revs up levels of virus-fighting antibodies. That study also showed recipients of the single-dose J&J vaccination had a far bigger response if they got a full-strength Moderna booster or a Pfizer booster rather than a second J&J shot. The study didn’t test the half-dose Moderna booster.

Health authorities stress that the priority still is getting first shots to about 65 million eligible Americans who remain unvaccinated. But the booster campaign is meant to shore up protection against the virus amid signs that vaccine effectiveness is waning against mild infections, even though all three brands continue to protect against hospitalization and death.

“Today the currently available data suggest waning immunity in some populations of fully vaccinated people,” Woodcock told reporters. “The availability of these authorized boosters is important for continued protection against COVID-19 disease.”

The Moderna booster decision essentially matches FDA’s ruling that high-risk groups are eligible for the Pfizer vaccine, which is made with the same technology.

FDA recommended that everyone who’d gotten the single-shot J&J vaccine get a booster since it has consistently shown lower protection than its two-shot rivals. And several independent FDA advisers who backed the booster decision suggested J&J’s vaccine should have originally been designed to require two doses.

Experts continue to debate the rationale of the booster campaign. Some warn that the U.S. government hasn’t clearly articulated the goals of boosters given that the shots continue to head off the worst effects of COVID-19, and wonder if the aim is to tamp down on virus spread by curbing, at least temporarily, milder infections.

FDA’s top vaccine official suggested regulators would move quickly to expand boosters to lower age groups, such as people in their 40s and 50s, if warranted.

“We are watching this very closely and will take action as appropriate to make sure that the maximum protection is provided to the population,” said FDA’s Dr. Peter Marks.

In August, the Biden administration announced plans for an across-the-board booster campaign aimed at all U.S. adults, but outside experts have repeatedly argued against such a sweeping effort.

On Thursday an influential panel convened by the CDC is expected to offer more specifics on who should get boosters and when. Their recommendations are subject to approval by the CDC director.

The vast majority of the nearly 190 million Americans who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 have received the Pfizer or Moderna options, while about 15 million have received the J&J vaccine.

WHITE HOUSE DETAILS PLANS TO VACCINATE 28M CHILDREN AGE 5-11

ASSOCIATED PRESS — Children ages 5 to 11 will soon be able to get a COVID-19 shot at their pediatrician’s office, local pharmacy and potentially even their school, the White House said Wednesday as it detailed plans for the expected authorization of the Pfizer shot for elementary school youngsters in a matter of weeks.

Federal regulators will meet over the next two weeks to weigh the safety and effectiveness of giving low-dose shots to the roughly 28 million children in that age group.

Within hours of formal approval, which is expected after the Food and Drug Administration signs off and a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel meets on Nov. 2-3, millions of doses will begin going out to providers across the country, along with the smaller needles needed for injecting young children.

Within days of that, the vaccine will be ready to go into arms on a wide scale.

“We’re completing the operational planning to ensure vaccinations for kids ages 5 to 11 are available, easy and convenient,” White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said. “We’re going to be ready, pending the FDA and CDC decision.”

The Pfizer vaccine requires two doses three weeks apart and a two-week wait for full protection to kick in, meaning the first youngsters in line will be fully covered by Christmas.

The Biden administration noted that the expansion of shots to children under 12 will not look like the start of the country’s vaccine rollout 10 months ago, when limited doses and inadequate capacity meant a painstaking wait for many Americans.

The country now has ample supplies of the Pfizer shot to vaccinate the children who will soon be eligible, officials said, and they have been working for months to ensure widespread availability of shots. About 15 million doses will be shipped to providers across the U.S. in the first week after approval, the White House said.

More than 25,000 pediatricians and primary care providers have already signed on to dispense the vaccine to elementary school children, the White House said, in addition to the tens of thousands of drugstores that are already administering shots to adults.

Hundreds of school- and community-based clinics will also be funded and supported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help speed the process.

The White House is also preparing a stepped-up campaign to educate parents and children about the safety of the shots and the ease of getting them. As has been the case for adult vaccinations, the administration believes trusted messengers — educators, doctors and community leaders — will be vital to encouraging vaccinations.

While children run a lower risk than older people of getting seriously ill from COVID-19, at least 637 people age 18 or under have died from the virus in the U.S., according to the CDC. Six million U.S. children been infected, 1 million of them since early September amid the spread of the more contagious delta variant, the American Academy of Pediatrics says.

Health officials believe that expanding the vaccine drive will not only curb the alarming number of infections in children but also reduce the spread of the virus to vulnerable adults. It could also help schools stay open and youngsters get back on track academically, and contribute to the nation’s broader recovery from the pandemic.

“COVID has also disrupted our kids’ lives. It’s made school harder, it’s disrupted their ability to see friends and family, it’s made youth sports more challenging,” U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy told NBC. “Getting our kids vaccinated, we have the prospect of protecting them, but also getting all of those activities back that are so important to our children.”

Murthy said the administration, which is imposing vaccine mandates for millions of adults, is leaving it up to state and local officials to decide whether to require schoolchildren to get vaccinated. But he said such measures would be “a reasonable thing to consider.”

“It’s also consistent with what we’ve done for other childhood vaccines, like measles, mumps, polio,” he said.
The U.S. has purchased 65 million doses of the Pfizer pediatric shot, which is expected to be one-third the dose given to adults and adolescents, according to officials. They will be shipped in smaller packages of about 100 doses each, so that more providers can deliver them, and they won’t require the super-cold storage that the adult version did at first.

About 219 million Americans age 12 and up, or 66% of the total population, have received a COVID-19 shot, and nearly 190 million are fully vaccinated.

FLINT WATER SETTLEMENT REDUCED BY $15M TO KEEP MCLAREN HOSPITALS FROM WALKING AWAY

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The total value of the proposed settlement of civil claims arising from the lead poisoning of Flint’s water supply will be reduced by $15 million as a way of keeping McLaren Health Care from walking away from the agreement.

The amount McLaren contributes to the settlement, should it receive final approval, will be $5 million under an order issued Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Judith Levy. As originally proposed, McLaren would have paid $20 million.

That means the total value of the proposed settlement will be reduced to $626.25 million, from the $641.25 million earlier planned.

McLaren asked for the reduction in a court filing earlier this month. The company said most of the plaintiffs with potential claims against McLaren’s Flint hospital had not opted to join the proposed settlement, preferring to instead pursue individual lawsuits. That meant McLaren could exercise its “walk away” rights and pay nothing toward the settlement. Instead, McLaren offered to remain part of the settlement and pay $5 million.

The other defendants in the case agreed to the amendment, with the exception of Flint, where the City Council has not agreed to give the OK.

Levy said in her ruling Wednesday that Flint’s consent is not required since the amendment does not affect the amount Flint must pay toward the settlement, and actually increases the amount available for Flint plaintiffs when compared to what the situation would be if McLaren walked away.

“This is not a new contract with the city of Flint defendants because it has no impact on them,” Levy said.

The state of Michigan is paying the brunt of the proposed settlement — $600 million. Flint, through its insurers, is paying $20 million. Rowe Professional Services Co., a contractor who did work related to the Flint water treatment plant, is paying $1.25 million. Rulings are awaited from Levy on requested attorney fees of about $200 million and on whether to give the settlement final approval.

Flint’s water crisis began in 2014 when a state-appointed emergency manager switched the city’s drinking water supply from Lake Huron water treated in Detroit to Flint River water treated at the Flint Water Treatment Plant. It was intended as a temporary, cost-saving measure, but turned out to be a disastrous mistake. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has acknowledged it failed to require needed corrosion-control chemicals as part of the water treatment process when the switch was made, resulting in lead leaching from pipes and fittings into the water system.

Claims against McLaren relate to an outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease that experts have also linked to the switch in water supply.

MICHIGAN’S REDISTRICTING GROUP’S MAPS HARM BLACK VOTERS, RESEARCH FINDS

BRIDGE MI — A report released this week is adding to the chorus of those who question whether the Michigan Independent Citizen Redistricting Commission’s draft maps comply with the Voting Rights Act that protects minority voters.

The report, by Michigan State University’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, calls the process “unusual” and claims it used incomplete data to draw districts that disperse Detroit’s Black voters into districts that stretch from the city into the suburbs.

The report arrived days before the panel hosts its second round of public hearings, which begin Wednesday in Detroit, and as African American voters and leaders push back on the commission’s drafts.

Michigan currently has 17 majority-Black districts — two in Congress, five in the state Senate and 10 in the state House.

But in the 10 proposed maps released by the commission last week, only one district would have a voting age population of more than 50 percent African-American.

Jon Eguia, economics professor at Michigan State University and the report’s lead author, told Bridge Michigan the commission “overcorrected” what had been previously “packed” African American districts in metro Detroit.

“Packing” refers to concentrating many voters of one type — often minorities or members of a political party — into single districts to minimize their overall influence.

“The commission … has looked with aversion to communities that truly naturally … (have) a lot of citizens that identify as Black and said ‘We don’t want those communities to be a district, we’re going to break those majorities, finding non-Blacks wherever we can find them,’” Eguia said.

“That’s an unusual approach to things.”

The report comes atop complaints from African-American leaders and political pollsters about the process and its impact on minority voters.

“With proposed redistricting maps that dilute the voices of voters of color, I worry that future candidates for office who look like me will not have a seat at the table,” said state Rep. Tenisha Yancey, D-Detroit.

“They will be forced to run for office in communities that are unwelcoming to them.”

Democrats, Republicans and others have called on constituents to flood the public meetings with public comments. The Detroit Caucus of the Michigan Legislature is organizing a Black Voters Matter rally at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at the TCF Center in Detroit ahead of the commission’s 1 p.m. meeting there.

The criticism comes despite efforts by the 13-member redistricting panel to pay special attention to the voices of minorities — and other “communities of interest” – in drawing the districts.

The commission was created by voters in 2018 after Michigan for decades allowed the party in power to draw political boundaries after the decennial census, a process that led to gerrymandering that benefited Republicans.

The redistricting panel, made up of civilians, has paid close attention to the Voting Rights Act that is designed to allow minority groups to elect candidates of their choosing, communities of interests, and partisan fairness.

The commission has followed the advice of Bruce Adelson, a voting rights attorney, and Lisa Handley, a partisan fairness expert, who contend districts don’t have to be more than 50 percent minority to ensure they have a strong vote. They have suggested a lower threshold.

But Eguia of MSU said estimating how Black voters will vote in the future is complicated.

“The commission has taken the work by their consultant Dr. Lisa Handley as if it were … completely right and infallible,” Eguia said. “And, as a social scientist … we know that it’s not that the work is bad, the work is the best you can do, but it’s based on very poor data because we don’t have good data about primaries.”

Eguia’s research also claimed that six of the 10 maps are incomplete. There are precincts — made up of a range of 13 people to 3,204 residents — that have yet to be assigned to a district, according to his report.

He said assigning those residents to a district is important, but also an easy fix.

Edward Woods III, the communications director of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, told Bridge Michigan on Tuesday the analysis done by Michigan State University “did not correspond with the data used by the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission.

“We verified and checked again yesterday, and all U.S. Census blocks were assigned.”

Michigan follows a trend

Attorneys who talked to Bridge Michigan said they’ve seen a trend across the country of states “cracking” majority-minority districts by dividing minority voters into multiple districts.

In Texas, Latino groups said they’ll challenge the state’s maps on those groups.

In Virginia, activists said Democrats have tried to create districts where Black voters don’t have to be a majority as long as they can create a coalition with white voters to elect their candidates of choice.

Steve Lance, the policy counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, warned about breaking up those majority-minority districts.

“In most cases, these districts were drawn as a result of litigation brought by Black voters or Latino voters, Asian- American voters,” Lance told Bridge Michigan. “And once a district like this is gone, it will be gone. It would require new litigation to bring it back.”

Michael Li, the senior counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice’s Democracy Program, told Bridge Michigan lowering the number of minority voters in a district is not always bad.

“The reality is that Black voters are very politically cohesive,” Li said. “If they vote cohesively (their candidates) might get elected in districts that are below 50 percent Black.

“You might actually increase Black representation by doing this.”

CAT IN INGHAM COUNTY FIRST IN MICHIGAN TO CONTRACT COVID

DETROIT NEWS — A cat from Ingham County is the first confirmed feline case of SARS-CoV-2 in the state of Michigan.

The cat had close contact with its owners, who had a confirmed case of COVID-19 about a week before the cat became ill. The domestic shorthair cat was tested after it began to sneeze. The cat has recovered.

As of Oct. 18, there have been 257 confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 in animals throughout the United States, including 99 cats, since the start of the pandemic, according to state officials.

The possibility is very low of animals spreading the virus to humans, according to Michigan officials.

“COVID-19 mainly spreads from person to person through respiratory droplets from coughing, sneezing and talking,” Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Michigan’s chief medical executive, said in a news release. “Protecting pets begins by taking precautions to protect yourself by getting one of the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines.”

Testing is recommended for animals with recent exposure to a person suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19. Signs of SARS-CoV-2 in animals can include fever, sneezing, coughing, nasal discharge, eye discharge, vomiting and/or diarrhea.

FURTHER TESTING BEING CONDUCTED AT HOMES, BUSINESSES NEAR COUNTY AIRPORT WHERE PFAS WAS DETECTED

THE OAKLAND PRESS — The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy has collected drinking water well samples from 27 homes and businesses as part of the Oakland County Airport and Pontiac Lake State Recreation Area per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) investigation.

Details were conveyed Sept. 21 during a public Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART) meeting. PFAS is a dangerous chemical once used in many consumer products, as well as industrial firefighting foams.

As of Sept. 21, there were 184 known PFAS sites statewide.

“This looks like a lot of sites for Michigan.” said Abigail Hendershott, MPART’s executive director. “It’s really more that Michigan is actually looking (for PFAS). We’re actually taking a methodical, diligent look across our entire state to understand, where do we have groundwater contamination that exceeds those standards?”

In May a consultant for the airport, located in Waterford Township, collected eight samples in 12-foot deep groundwater.

On June 2, an EGLE contractor collected drinking water samples from 12 of 24 homes and businesses in the first phase of residential well sampling. PFAS was detected in 11 wells, with one well exceeding state criteria.

On June 24, the airport’s consultant submitted groundwater test results that began in April. Six of the eight samples collected exceeded groundwater clean-up criteria for PFAS, with the highest result being 4,800 parts per trillion for PFOS, another group of man-made chemicals.

On Aug. 5, EGLE’s contractor collected samples from 16 homes in the second phase of residential well sampling. All 16 wells had PFAS, including five wells exceeding state limits.

A residential well sampled south of M-59 had the highest PFAS concentration. The shallow groundwater flows to the south or southeast, while deep groundwater flow remains unknown.

Kevin Wojciechowski, leading the site investigation for EGLE, said use of aqueous film forming foam — a fire suppressant used to extinguish flammable liquid fires — was first detailed in 1965.

“From 1965 to 1996, there’s no records of the use, where they used it, how much they used it,” he said. “We don’t know what happened in those years.”

EGLE says that between 1996 and 2019, foam was used in seven incidents on airport property, including an accidental release during nozzle certification in March 2020.

The next testing stage

The airport will continue to investigate onsite PFAS groundwater and surface water contamination on the property, and conduct a third round of well sampling.

Bill Mullen, media and communications officer for Oakland County Executive David Coulter, said Oct. 11 that no other updates exist aside from more testing.

“We’re continuing to look into expanding this (search) area,” said Wojciechowski, including sampling 1 mile north, 1 mile south, and a 1/2 mile east and west from the airport’s edges.

William Farrell, a toxicologist with the state Department of Health and Human Services, said exposure to PFAS could occur by drinking contaminated water, consuming fish caught from contaminated water, incidental swallowing of contaminated soil or dust, or eating foods packaged in materials contaminated with PFAS. Absorption through skin is not typically a concern, he said.

“All of us have been exposed to PFAS throughout the years,” Farrell said. “As a result, all of us have some level of PFAS in our blood.”

Health effects can include reduced fertility, high blood pressure or pre-eclampsia in pregnant women, small decreases in infant birth weight, higher cholesterol levels, thyroid disease, liver damage, decreased immune system response to vaccines, and developing kidney or testicular cancer.

“If you’re exposed to high levels of PFAS, you could be more likely than the average person to develop some type of health affect in the future,” he said.

Updates can be found at www.michigan.gov/pfasresponse/

MICHIGAN ADDS 8,496 CASES, 46 DEATHS FROM COVID-19 OVER 3 DAYS

DETROIT NEWS — Michigan added 8,496 cases and 46 deaths from COVID-19 on Monday, including totals from Saturday and Sunday.

The latest figures from the state Department of Health and Human Services push the overall totals to 1,090,021 confirmed cases and 21,609 deaths since the virus was first detected in the state in March 2020.

The state averaged 2,832 cases per day over the three days. Of the latest deaths reported, 15 were identified during a vital records review, state health officials noted.

Michigan’s COVID-19 infection numbers have been trending upward for more than 13 weeks amid concerns over the highly contagious delta variant.

The state last week added 26,105 cases and 250 deaths. That’s up from the week prior when Michigan logged 24,791 additional cases and 237 deaths from the virus. In mid-September, the state added 18,313 cases and 159 deaths from the virus in a week.

The weekly record of 50,892 cases was set Nov. 15-21. The second-highest weekly total was 47,316 Nov. 22-28.

Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave full approval to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, which health experts hope will bolster confidence in vaccinations. About 67.4% of Michigan’s population age 16 and older had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Sept. 22.

State officials set a goal of reaching 70% and hosted a lottery initiative to give those who received their vaccinations the chance to win cash prizes.

About 58.8% of Michigan residents 12 and older were fully vaccinated, as of Oct. 16.

The state health department estimates less than 1% of vaccinated people in Michigan are contracting the virus.

Michigan’s latest data

Michigan remains at a high transmission rate. The case rate here has been increasing for three and a half months.

As of last week, only three states had reported more cases of COVID-19 than Michigan over a seven-day span, based on state data.

Statewide positivity last week climbed to 11.2% from 10.3% the week prior, according to data from Oct. 12.

The proportion of kids getting sick with COVID-19 in the state is increasing. In Michigan, over 50% of children hospitalized have no reported underlying conditions.

Higher community transmission in Michigan is followed by a higher incidence of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children. MIS-C is a condition in children where multiple organ systems become inflamed or dysfunctional. There are 169 cases in the state, the majority, or 70.2%, are in the ICU. There have been five deaths.

About 99% of positive tests available for sequencing in Michigan were identified as the delta variant over the last four weeks.

About 43% of school districts have mask policies, covering about 60% of students. Case rates among children are higher in counties where school districts do not have mask policies, according to the state health department.

Michigan health officials last Monday reported 83 new COVID-19 outbreaks among its K-12 schools and universities, with two colleges reporting outbreaks.

About 9.3% of hospital beds are filled with COVID-19 patients, up from 8.0% the week prior.

The majority of patients hospitalized from the virus are unvaccinated, the state health department has said.

As of Sept. 27, Michigan has more than 17,583 confirmed cases of COVID-19 variants — the majority, or 13,667 cases, being B.1.1.7 — the “alpha” variant.

The delta variant, being B.1.617.2, is on the rise in Michigan with more than 700 new cases last week. There are a total of 3,492 known cases in the state.

The virus is blamed for more than 716,000 deaths and 45.3 million confirmed infections in the United States.

The state considered 945,175 people recovered from the virus as of Oct. 8.

MICHIGAN’S FORMER TOP DOC TAKES EXECUTIVE POST AT CVS HEALTH

DETROIT NEWS — Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, who led Michigan through the tumultuous first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been named vice president and chief health equity officer with CVS Health, owner of one of the country’s largest pharmacy chains.

Khaldun announced on Sept. 24 that she was leaving her job as the chief medical executive for Michigan and chief deputy director for health in the state Department of Health and Human Services, where she was responsible for public health and aging programs, Medicaid and behavioral health.

Khaldun had been a visible leader of Michigan’s COVID-19 response. She has been lauded for Michigan’s early identification of disparities in COVID-19 outcomes as well as developing strategies to address them. She was named this year a member of President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force.

Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian began serving as chief medical executive on Oct. 1.

Khaldun previously told The Detroit News that she had accepted a new position to pursue “an opportunity outside of state government.”

At CVS Health, which also owns health insurance company Aetna, Khaldun will lead the strategy to advance health equity for patients, members, providers, customers and communities served across all lines of the CVS Health business, the press release said. She will report to Dr. Kyu Rhee, senior vice president and Aetna’s chief medical officer.

“As a health care innovation company committed to health equity and breaking down barriers that perpetuate health care disparities, Dr. Khaldun joins our team as Chief Health Equity Officer at a critically important time,” Rhee said in a Monday statement. “Her expertise in creating solutions to help improve health outcomes will help us continue addressing health inequities for the customers and communities we serve.”

Khaldun previously was health officer and public health director for the Detroit Health Department and chief medical officer of the Baltimore City Health Department.

Khaldun obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania, master’s in public health from George Washington University, and completed her residency in emergency medicine at SUNY Downstate Medical Center/Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, NY.

She practices emergency medicine part-time at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

MICHIGAN BUSINESS LEADERS ASK PRESIDENT BIDEN TO RECONSIDER VACCINE MANDATE

BRIDGE MI — A coalition of Michigan business leaders is asking the Biden administration to reconsider a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for large businesses that was announced in early September.

With details on the mandate still pending six weeks later, the business group — led by the Michigan Chamber of Commerce — said Monday that its concerns are mounting over rules that are expected to affect about two million Michigan workers who work at companies with 100 or more employees.

Business leaders said they expected the mandate’s detailed rules to be announced by Nov. 1. OSHA submitted them on October 12 to the federal Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which will consider them on an emergency temporary basis. Because of that, they’re expecting a shorter review process.

The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration will then have 30 days to determine how it will execute the rules. Violations, Biden has said, could result in fines.

The stakes are high for business, said Rich Studley, president and CEO of the Michigan Chamber. However, he said the process for implementing the mandate has not been transparent, leaving him concerned that business concerns specific to the state will go unaddressed even as the economy continues to struggle for balance.

“Employees and employers across the country and our state have not had the traditional opportunity to provide input on details and specifics,” Studley said during a press briefing on Zoom.

Instead, Studley predicted, Michigan’s private employers of 100 or more workers will face a “one-size-fits-all, top-down” approach to occupational safety and health, something that he said will limit employer and employee rights and potentially harm Michigan’s economy.

A letter sent last month by 24 Republican governors to Biden threatened legal action against his administration if he did not cancel the mandate. So far, Biden has given no indication such objections will change his plan. When he announced the mandate, Biden said the rise in COVID cases was a “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” and said that the measure is not only critical for public health but would help keep businesses open.

Business sentiment is far from uniform.

Indeed, a CNBC national survey this month found that 80 percent of CFOs “totally support” the mandate. Some had been considering a mandate when Biden stepped in to say the federal government would require it for large employers; others called the move “critical” to defeating the pandemic.

At the same time, Michigan’s regulatory agency could enact more stringent rules than those coming from OSHA, Studley said.

“Many of our members are concerned that Michigan might go far beyond what is required at the federal level,” Studley said.

Other participating chambers underscored that they hope Biden will hit pause on the federal vaccination mandate.

“Just slow down,” said Nikki Devitt, president of the Petoskey Area Chamber of Commerce. “Listen to us before forcing a federal mandate on our members. We not only want our communities safe from COVID, we want our businesses to get every opportunity they can for a full economic recovery.”

Biden announced the vaccination mandate Sept. 9, drawing mixed reaction from the nation’s businesses, some of which praised the move as a way to curtail the virus. In addition to the largest private employers, the first-term Democratic president’s order will also require all federal employees to be vaccinated, along with workers in firms that contract with the federal government and employees at all hospitals and other medical operations that receive Medicare and Medicaid funding.

According to a survey released in September by the Detroit Regional Chamber, 52 percent of statewide voters opposed allowing businesses to require proof of vaccination for employees and customers, while 44 percent support it. The survey did not ask about a government-imposed mandate.

Still, it indicates Michigan residents continue to be split over how the government should address the pandemic, a situation also playing out in protests over mask mandates in schools. At the same time, Michigan’s labor force has declined by more than 200,000 workers since the start of the pandemic, creating pressure for businesses trying to hire and refill jobs.

J&J RECIPIENTS SHOULD ‘FEEL GOOD’ ABOUT BOOSTER RECOMMENDATION: FAUCI

ABC NEWS — Recipients of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine should not be concerned about the shot’s lower efficacy now that boosters have been recommended, White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz.

“I think that they should feel good about it because what the advisers to the FDA felt is that given the data that they saw, very likely this should have been a two-dose vaccine to begin with,” he said Sunday.

The FDA vaccine advisory panel unanimously recommended booster shots for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine Friday. The panel recommended all J&J recipients 18 years and older to get an additional jab as early as two months after the first dose — key differences from their recommendations for the Moderna and Pfizer boosters which were only for Americans 65 and older or in higher risk groups. The decision came days after early data released from a National Institutes of Health study found that boosting with a different shot than one’s original vaccine appears to be safe and effective. The data, which is not yet peer reviewed, also found that for J&J recipients, antibody levels were higher if they received a Moderna or Pfizer booster rather than a J&J booster.

Raddatz pressed Fauci on whether mixing and matching vaccine boosters for J&J recipients would be a better idea.

“But, Dr. Fauci, the panel was also looking at new data that suggest J&J recipients may be better off getting a booster shot from the more effective Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. Is that a better solution?” Raddatz asked.

“That is true, the data you refer to, that if you boost people who have originally received J&J with either Moderna or Pfizer, the level of antibodies that you induce in them is much higher than if you boost them with the original J&J,” Fauci said.

He went on, “However, you’re talking about laboratory data, which very often are reflective of what you would see clinically. But the data of boosting the J&J first dose with a J&J second dose is based on clinical data. So what’s going to happen is that the FDA is going to look at all those data, look at the comparison and make a determination of what they will authorize.”

Fauci added that the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will give people the flexibility to mix and match vaccine boosters based on their individual health situations.

Now that the FDA has recommended J&J boosters for a wider group of Americans, the question turns to when Moderna and Pfizer boosters will be expanded to the general public.

Fauci said that will depend on the data being collected by the CDC and the findings coming in from Israel, which is about a month ahead of the U.S. in its vaccine rollout.

As for vaccines for children ages 5-11, Fauci said the FDA is on track to approve the Pfizer vaccine in early November.

With kids eager to go trick-or-treating and the holidays right around the corner, Raddatz also asked Fauci about his guidance for celebrating the upcoming holidays.

“I believe strongly that — particularly in the vaccinated people, if you’re vaccinated and your family members are vaccinated, those who are eligible, that is obviously very young children are not yet eligible, that you can enjoy the holidays,” he said. “You can enjoy Halloween, trick-or-treating and certainly Thanksgiving with your family and Christmas with your family.”

RAPID AT-HOME COVID TESTS FLY OFF MICHIGAN STORE SHELVES AS PANDEMIC DEMAND OUTPACES SUPPLY

DETROIT FREE PRESS — At-home rapid tests are in short supply at locally owned independent drugstores, pharmacy chains and big-box stores across metro Detroit right now, where retailers say they can’t keep them on shelves.

“We try to keep them in stock,” said Sami Shimoon, pharmacist and owner of Collie Drugs in St. Clair Shores. “It’s difficult to get them. The big-box stores are buying all the supply, and our warehouse, when they do get them, they don’t get a lot.”

On Friday, his store had a few of the BinaxNOW rapid antigen tests behind the pharmacy counter.

Most of the nearly two dozen pharmacies the Free Press surveyed from Ann Arbor to Chesterfield Township, Detroit to Downriver didn’t have any at-home, rapid antigen coronavirus tests in stock.

Large retailers like Walmart, Target, and Meijer had none Friday at stores in Belleville, Clinton Township, Taylor and Roseville.

In Michigan, coronavirus case rates have continued to edge upward in the last three months. As more people test positive for the virus, those who were exposed are more likely to also seek out testing. So are people with symptoms from allergies, colds and the flu, all of which tend to ramp up this time of year.

Students have returned to college campuses, many of which require weekly testing for those who haven’t been fully vaccinated. There’s more demand for tests among workers, too, whose employers may require them.

The supply was further tightened by a recent recall of the Ellume COVID-19 Home Test. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported Oct. 5 that a manufacturing issue led users of the Ellume test to get false positive results.

And if President Joe Biden’s sweeping COVID-19 vaccine mandates take effect soon — requiring all workers at businesses with 100 or more employees to take coronvirus vaccines or undergo weekly testing — it could further strain the already tight market for tests.

Feds say help is on the way

More over-the-counter rapid tests are coming, said Jeff Zients, White House coronavirus response coordinator, though it might not be for several more weeks.

The FDA approved a new at-home test earlier this month that could boost supply. It’s called the Flowflex COVID-19 Home Test made by ACON Laboratories.

In addition, Zients said the federal government has invested billions in purchase commitments so companies that make rapid coronavirus tests can increase production. The aim is to quadruple the supply of at-home rapid tests, he said.

“That means we’ll have available supply of 200 million rapid, at-home tests per month starting in December, with supply of tens of millions of additional tests coming on the market across the next few weeks,” Zients said during a news conference earlier this month.

But dozens of BinaxNOW tests were available Friday at the Walgreens on Harper in St. Clair Shores.

For Walgreens customers who are able to find them in stock, “the incredible demand for at-home testing,” Boyd said, has led the company to limit the sales of rapid at-home tests to four per customer “in an effort to help improve inventory while we continue to work diligently with our supplier partners.”

CVS also is limiting sales of rapid antigen tests at its stores, telling the Free Press in a statement: “In order to serve our customers’ over-the-counter testing needs, and due to high demand, we’ve introduced product limits of (6) on cvs.com and (4) at CVS Pharmacy for the Abbott BinaxNOW and Quidel tests. We’re continuing to work with our suppliers to meet customer demand.

“In addition, nearly 5,000 CVS Pharmacy stores across the country offer on-site testing with same day and future day appointments in most geographies. Patients can make an appointment at a test site nearest them at CVS.com or the CVS Pharmacy app.”

Seeking other testing options

When people can’t find rapid tests on store shelves, they’re often driven to seek them out at urgent care centers and other testing sites to fill the gap.

That can be a more costly option — especially for people without health insurance.

At Beaumont Health’s 28 metro Detroit urgent care centers, people without insurance coverage will pay $155 for a visit — which includes not only a coronavirus test, but a full checkup, said spokesperson Scott Hughes.

He estimated about 60% of the patients treated at Beaumont’s urgent care centers are coming for coronavirus tests, and can get results from a molecular polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test within hours.

Even for people who are fully insured, there may now be some cost for coronavirus testing. The federal government requires insurance companies to fully cover testing for people who’ve been exposed to the virus and for those who are experiencing symptoms. But the insurers are not required to pay fully for routine testing for workplace or school protocols.

“Some insurance companies have pulled back and said, ‘Well, we’re gonna have to pass some of these costs on, you know?’ Whether it’s a copay or whether it’s 50%, it varies by health insurer,” Hughes said.

That’s why Hughes recommends calling ahead to your insurance provider so you’re aware of what it’ll cost to have a coronavirus test at an urgent care center.

Another option is to seek out a free rapid antigen test available at pop-up sites operated by the state health department. Some upcoming clinics are planned at schools, restaurants and community health centers stretching from as far north as Suttons Bay to as far west as Three Rivers. Michiganders can go to michigan.gov/coronavirus to find a site or call the state’s COVID-19 hotline at 888-535-6136. The federal government also is working to increase access to free COVID-19 tests by expanding the number of sites where that service is available, Zients said, including at local pharmacies. There are now several hundred locations in Michigan. You can find one nearby online at https://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov.

Even with more testing at pop-up clinics and drug stores, the demand for at-home antigen tests hasn’t slowed, said Linda Herbert, a pharmacy tech at Merriman Drugs in Livonia.

“Everybody’s coming here, but we don’t have them,” she said. “We’re not able to order them from our wholesaler. They just say no.”

As for when — or if — rapid tests might be available to stock her store shelves, she said, is unclear: “They don’t tell us anything.”

OAKLAND COUNTY MAN CHARGED WITH MISDEMEANOR IN MOSQUE VANDALISM

DETROIT FREE PRESS — An Oakland County man was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor in connection to vandalism reported earlier this month at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’s mosque in Rochester Hills.

Ryan Ahern, 33, of Rochester Hills, is accused of breaking the front door to the community center, according to a Sunday news release from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.

Mosque leaders previously said the incident happened on Oct. 8 as children played inside the center at 1730 W. Auburn Road in Rochester Hills following evening prayers, and was discovered the following morning. The sheriff’s office previously said surveillance footage showed a man walking the perimeter of the mosque about 9:30 that night.

Ahern was identified using surveillance video, the sheriff’s office said Sunday.

The sheriff’s department said Ahern is a person of interest in other acts of vandalism at non-religious locations and “believe the vandalism was a random act and not a hate crime.”

He was arrested at his home on Friday.’

The 33-year old was arraigned Saturday and released from custody after paying $1,000, or 10%, of his $10,000 cash or surety bond, according to the news release. There was no word on a next court date.

Ahmadiyya is a revivalist movement within Islam founded in 1889, and mosque leaders previously said the vandalism made them feel unsafe; other vandalism has occurred at Michigan mosques and, in the 1980s, an Ahmadiyya center in the Detroit area was burned down and a member was murdered.

Leaders said Sunday they hope to meet with the accused, not seek punishment, WDIV-TV (Channel 4) reported.

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard commended his department for the turnaround time of the case.

“Anyone that damages property we will vigorously investigated and held accountable,” he said. “I commend our detectives on quick and good police work locating and arresting this individual.”

If convicted on the current charge, Ahern could serve up to a year in jail, the release said.

GOP BILL TO OVERHAUL VOTER ID, IMPOSE RESTRICTIONS ON CLERKS TO HEAD TO WHITMER’S DESK

DETROIT FREE PRESS — A bill that would impose strict ID requirements on Michigan voters, as well as restrict election funding and ban election officials from mailing absentee ballot applications unless a voter specifically requests one, will soon land on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s desk.

GOP lawmakers in the House approved the bill Thursday on a 56-51 party-line vote. They also voted on a bill that would lay out the steps voters must follow to ensure their ballot counts if they do not comply with the new ID requirements, as well as a third bill that would eliminate the fee to obtain a state ID. Both bills also passed without the support of any Democratic lawmakers.

The free ID bill was sent to Whitmer by the House, but the two other bills must undergo a final procedural step in the state Senate before they’re presented to the governor.

Whitmer is expected to veto the legislation. Whitmer spokesperson Bobby Leddy wrote in an email to the Free Press that legislation “that seeks to make it harder to vote, attempts to undermine trust in our government, or attacks voting rights will see a swift veto from the governor.”

Democratic lawmakers decried the bills as based on disinformation about the 2020 presidential election and said it would disenfranchise voters.

“They’re hideous, regressive, suppressive and discriminatory,” said state Rep. Amos O’Neal, D-Saginaw. “Audit after audit, lawsuit after lawsuit show the same thing … we did have a secure election in 2020.”

Republicans defended the measures, saying they would boost confidence in elections.

“These measures are not discriminatory practices, they are not politically motivated and they are not intended to suppress anyone’s vote,” said state Rep. Ann Bollin, R-Brighton, who chairs the House Elections and Ethics Committee. “They are intended to protect our elections and ensure that every eligible voter can vote secretly, independently, safely and securely.”

The bill — SB 303 — would eliminate the option for those voting in person who do not have a photo ID to sign an affidavit affirming their identity and vote normally.

Voters requesting an absentee ballot would have to include their driver’s license or state ID number, last four digits of their Social Security number or a copy of a photo ID with their absentee ballot application.

Voters who do not comply with the new ID rules would be issued a provisional ballot that would not count unless a voter took additional steps to verify their identity. SB 304 — which is tied to the voter ID bill — lays out the process: Within six days of the election, those issued provisional ballots would have to present an ID, along with a documentation verifying their address. If voters do not have a photo ID, they would have to provide a copy of their birth certificate or Social Security card as well as documentation verifying their address.

House Republicans also passed HB 5007, a bill that would eliminate the fee to obtain a state ID card. The bill would also require the Secretary of State’s Office to provide same-day service for those applying for a state ID card for the purpose of voting in an election, as well as those applying for an ID three days before Election Day, on Election Day or six days after an election. It is tied to the strict voter ID bill.

That bill would also prohibit election officials from accepting donations to fund election activities and equipment such as advertisements about an upcoming election, efforts to recruit poll workers or drop boxes to return ballots. The bill appears to be written in a way that Michigan election officials could not accept federal funding for elections unless the Legislature or local governments appropriated it.

The legislation would also bar the secretary of state, clerks and government employees from mailing absentee ballot applications unless a voter specifically requests one.

The bills mirror proposed changes in the Secure MI Vote petition initiative that would bypass Whitmer’s expected veto of the GOP election bills. Last week, the sponsors of the initiative began collecting the 340,047 signatures needed to introduce it to the Legislature, which can enact it without Whitmer’s signature.

LAWMAKER: ‘WE’RE GOING TO FIX’ MICHIGAN’S BROKEN PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST LAW

BRIDGE MI — Michigan transparency advocates, journalists and citizen activists on Thursday shared horror stories of trying to navigate the state’s public records request law that they say is broken.

Loopholes, exceptions and vague language in Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act allow the state and local governments to avoid accountability by denying, delaying or rejecting requests for public documents, they said.

“It creates for us a chilling effect where we have to decide what information is worth paying for and what information we simply can’t afford,” Michigan Radio News Director Vincent Duffy told state lawmakers considering reforms.

The University of Michigan’s NPR affiliate has used public records to review the results of lead testing in water systems, teacher certifications in schools and, most recently, to confirm that former Detroit Police Chief James Craig was not a licensed officer, Duffy said.

“Sometimes this public information is provided easily, but more often than not, the information is difficult to get because of delays or denials and dollars,” he said.

Thursday’s legislative hearing on Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act was the first step in what will be a concentrated effort to try and “fix” the law, according to House Oversight Chair Steve Johnson, R-Wayland.

There’s no new legislation yet, but lawmakers are listening, and “we’re going to do an overhaul,” Johnson promised.

The goal is not just to help journalists or entities with “big pockets” to access government documents that are produced with taxpayer funds and meant to be public, Johnson added.

It’s to “make it easier for everyday citizens,” he said.

Michigan is one of only two states that fully exempts lawmakers and the governor from public records requests, a dubious distinction that in 2015 helped Michigan earn a failing grade on a transparency and ethics report card from the Center for Public Integrity.

Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer campaigned in 2018 on a promise to expand FOIA and supported the 2019 legislation, but she has not done so voluntarily within her own office.

The state House has repeatedly voted to subject the governor and lawmakers to public records requests, but the legislation has stalled in the Michigan Senate, and critics say it still has too many loopholes to be taken seriously.

As lawmakers begin crafting potential reforms, state Rep. David LaGrand urged colleagues to consider the practical implications of any legislation they propose.

Some smaller governments may not be able to afford dedicated staff to process public records requests, he said, and there may be legitimate reasons for a response to take time.

“There is a fairly low threshold for making a FOIA request, and it does take up governmental time,” said LaGrand, a Grand Rapids Democrat who has championed various transparency reforms in Lansing, including personal financial disclosures for lawmakers.

“We want to be a little careful about imposing burdens on government that could have a trigger from any random citizen to make the government go do a whole lot of careful work on the front end for what may be a frivolous or not-critical issue,” he said.

Johnson, the committee chair, said he is optimistic lawmakers can find common ground on a reform package that makes the public records process “more citizen friendly” and navigable without a law degree.

“The purpose of FOIA is to make government accountable to all the people,” he said. “You shouldn’t need an attorney to know what your local unit government is doing.”

ECONOMIC AGENCY LEADER DEFENDS JOBLESS AID, WORKPLACE SAFETY RESPONSE

DETROIT NEWS — Michigan’s Labor and Economic Opportunity Director Susan Corbin defended Thursday the state’s handling of record unemployment claims and workplace safety violations during the pandemic in response to questions from lawmakers.

Corbin defended the actions of the agencies but also acknowledged there is room for change and improvement at both. She noted the state posted a job opening Friday for the next director of the Unemployment Insurance Agency, which has been led by Acting Director Liza Estlund Olson since the former director resigned in November 2020.

“They just were absolutely hit with an unprecedented volume of claims,” Corbin told senators during her Thursday appointment hearing.

Corbin, who was appointed acting director of LEO in October 2020, was before the Senate Advice and Consent Committee for consideration of her Aug. 20 appointment as permanent director.

Corbin noted that the jobless aid agency was tasked with implementing new federal COVID-19 programs, combating suspected fraudulent claims and moving employees out of the office into remote work arrangements — all while claims rose at historic rates.

The situation, she said, was similar to “building the plane while we were trying to fly it.”

Estlund Olson was brought in to try and “stabilize” the agency after former Director Steve Gray’s departure, Corbin said. Estlund Olson has worked to flatten the structure of the agency, brought in consultants to expand agency capacity and simplified the language used in communicating with the public, Corbin said. The jobless department also is working change software platform.

Still, the GOP-led Legislature’s criticism of Estlund Olson has been ramping up, with House Republicans last week approving a resolution calling for her resignation.

But Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan, asked Corbin what lasting changes could be made at the agency, noting the problems exacerbated by the pandemic had been present for several administrations.

“This is an agency that’s been plagued for years with problems,” McBroom said.

The agency’s search for a new software platform and simpler language in public communication should help sidestep some issues, Corbin said. She also noted that leadership within the agency has been inconstant, with 10 directors over 10 years.

Employees and the public, she said, “deserve somebody who will take strong responsibility and will commit to spending some time with the agency. …That is something that, from my perspective, would be very helpful.”

Senators also questioned Corbin sharply about the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s harsh enforcement and publicization of COVID rules during the pandemic, highlighting the agency’s decision to send out press releases when companies were cited for a violation.

“Your department is risking its own reputation and its own working relationships” developed over the years in local business communities, McBroom said.

Corbin said the additional publicization of the citations was done after an influx in complaints from employees worried about some of the practices in their businesses.

“We started issuing press releases because we were getting so many inquiries,” said Corbin. The agency did try to work with and educate employers throughout the pandemic, she said.

Sen. Aric Nesbitt, the Lawton Republican who chairs the Senate Advice and Consent Committee, also criticized the agency’s “heavy hand” during the pandemic and questioned training the department held on how to form a union.

Corbin said the training was an effort to “tackle an issue we got a lot of calls about.”

“Does the administration tilt the playing field in favor of unions?” Nesbitt asked, noting Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s recent announcement that she would reimpose the prevailing wage on some state work.

Corbin said she didn’t know how to respond to the question. She noted members of the administration have “strong experiences” with unions and her own mother and father were union members.

“This administration perhaps more than the previous administration has strong ties to unions in Michigan,” Corbin said. “We understand the values and appreciate what unions in Michigan have done for workers in this state.”

UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS FALL TO LOWEST LEVEL OF PANDEMIC

ASSOCIATED PRESS — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to its lowest level since the pandemic began, a sign the job market is still improving even as hiring has slowed in the past two months.

Unemployment claims dropped 36,000 to 293,000 last week, the second straight drop, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the smallest number of people to apply for benefits since March 2020, when the pandemic intensified. Applications for jobless aid, which generally track the pace of layoffs, have fallen steadily since last spring as many businesses, struggling to fill jobs, have held onto their workers.

Hiring has slowed in the past two months, even as companies and other employers have posted a near-record number of open jobs. Businesses are struggling to find workers as about three million people who lost jobs and stopped looking for work since the pandemic have yet to resume their job searches. Economists hoped more people would find work in September as schools reopened, easing child care constraints, and enhanced unemployment aid ended nationwide. But the pickup didn’t happen, with employers adding just 194,000 jobs last month. In a bright spot, the unemployment rate fell to 4.8% from 5.2%, though some of that decline occurred because many of those out of work stopped searching for jobs, and were no longer counted as unemployed.

At the same time, Americans are quitting their jobs in record numbers, with about 3% of workers doing so in August. Workers have been particularly likely to leave their jobs at restaurants, bars, and hotels, possibly spurred by fear of the delta variant of COVID-19, which was still spreading rapidly in August.

Other workers likely quit to take advantage of higher wages offered by businesses with open positions, or left jobs because child care for children too young to go to school has been harder to find.

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER | 1 IN 8 MICHIGAN HOSPITAL BEDS NOW FILLED WITH COVID PATIENTS

BRIDGE MI — Michigan health officials reported 110 COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, and more than 12 percent of 71,000 recent coronavirus tests came back positive, the highest rate since May.

Over the past two days, the state has averaged 4,335 new cases per day, pushing the seven-day average to 3,797, the highest since it was 3,989 on April 29.

Michigan is averaging 38 new cases per day per 100,000 residents, the 12th highest rate in the country.

Northern Michigan, which has lower vaccination rates, is experiencing a surge: Osceola and Arenac counties are at 100 cases per 100,000 a day, Clare is at 91, Ogemaw and Montcalm are at 87 and 80 respectively and Antrim and Mecosta are at 73 and 71 cases per day per 100,000.

Case rates are rising in 49 of the state’s 83 counties, though metro Detroit and most of west Michigan are below 40 cases per day per 100,000. Kent County is at 44 cases per day per 100,000.

COVID-19 hospitalizations also are increasing, up 50 from Monday to 2,195 patients. Statewide, 12 percent of hospital beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients, up from 9.2 percent on Oct. 1 and 2.6 percent on Sept. 1.

Of the most recent deaths, 58 came after a review of medical and death records: 109 were in October, four were in September, and five deaths previously attributed to COVID-19 have been reclassified.

OAKLAND COUNTY OUTPACES MICHIGAN IN COVID-19 VACCINE PERCENTAGES

THE OAKLAND PRESS — While the percentage of Oakland County residents who have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is higher than the state, there’s concern as new cases of COVID-19 continue to grow especially among the unvaccinated.

Of the more than 4,800 new confirmed and probable cases in Oakland County from Sept. 27 to Oct. 10, residents 39 years old or younger accounted for 54.8 percent of the new cases.

About 283,000 eligible Oakland County residents remain unvaccinated, at least 46,000 of whom are ages 12-19 years old.

In Oakland County, 71 percent of residents 12 and older and 88.5 percent of seniors 65 and over have had at least one shot. In Michigan, 63.1 percent of the population 12 and up have received at least the first dose.

With flu season just getting started, the Oakland County Health Division is offering COVID-19 and flu vaccines at the same time at indoor community clinics.

“Getting both the flu and COVID vaccine is vital to reducing the risk of serious illness or death from either virus during this flu season, which is why we are offering both at our indoor community clinics,” Health Division Medical Director Dr. Russell Faust said. “A number of residents who attended our recent clinics were unaware that the CDC updated its guidance enabling people to get both vaccines at the same time.”

Upcoming indoor community clinics will include the Karl Richter Community Center in Holly, United Food & Commercial Workers Local 876 in Madison Heights, Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Welcome Missionary Baptist Church and Trinity Missionary Baptist Church in Pontiac, and Southfield Pavilion in Southfield.

Appointments are strongly encouraged, but walk-ins are welcome. Click on OaklandCountyVaccine.com for addresses, times, and to schedule an appointment. Those who do not have access to the Internet may call the Nurse on Call at 800-848-5533 Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. for more information. Individuals who schedule their COVID-19 vaccine appointment at an indoor clinic will be asked to indicate whether they would like to receive the flu vaccine. Residents may also request it at the time they show up to get their COVID-19 vaccine at an Oakland County indoor clinic.

Upcoming drive-through vaccine clinics for COVID-19 will be in Novi, Pontiac, and West Bloomfield. The flu vaccine is unavailable at the drive-through clinics.

An update on progress vaccinating Oakland County residents, according to the state of Michigan COVID-19 vaccine dashboard as of Oct. 12:

Total eligible residents 12 and older: 1,091,389

Number of residents 12 and older who have received first dose: 808,353
Number of residents 12 years and older who have completed vaccination: 752,749
Vaccine coverage for residents 12 and older: 71 percent

Total eligible residents 16 and older: 1,029,737

Number of residents 16 and older who have received first dose: 773,318
Number of residents 16 and older who have completed vaccination: 720,720
Vaccine coverage for residents 16 and older: 75.1 percent

Total eligible senior residents 65 and older: 217,676

Number of senior residents who have received first dose: 192,557
Number of senior residents who have completed vaccination: 182,175
Vaccine coverage for senior residents: 88.5 percent

Total doses distributed within Oakland County: 1,664,985

Total primary doses administered within Oakland County: 1,502,506

Total third and booster doses administered in Region 2 North (Oakland, Macomb, and St. Clair counties): 82,850

DETROIT OFFICIALS, ACTIVISTS SAY PROPOSED POLITICAL MAPS DISENFRANCHISE BLACK VOTERS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Michigan’s new independent redistricting commission, and the draft political maps it has drawn, are headed into a storm next week at TCF Center in Detroit, to say the least.

A day after the commission approved 10 maps with barely a hint of conflict, elected officials, ministers and other interested politicos in Detroit on Tuesday raised virulent concerns that the nation’s largest Black majority city stands on the brink of having its preferred representation taken away in Lansing and in Washington. That, they say, is the effect of maps that would strip the state of all but a handful of state House districts where Blacks outnumber whites and represent a majority of the population.

And they plan to make themselves heard when the commission begins its public hearings next Wednesday in Detroit.

“It’s absolute insanity,” said the Rev. Horace Sheffield III, a longtime radio personality, civil rights activist and pastor. “It’s disenfranchisement of the African American community, where we have significantly less representation, at one fell swoop by a supposedly nonpartisan process. There is something wrong with that.”

In drafting the maps, the 13-member randomly selected commission largely followed what it had been instructed to do by staff and experts: unpack overwhelmingly Black districts in Detroit designed a decade ago by Republicans in Lansing and instead spread Black voters across more districts. That gives Democrats a better chance of controlling a number of seats representative of their total vote share.

But it also means that in 17 current congressional, state House and state Senate districts where Blacks are the clear majority of voters, they will no longer retain that numerical edge, causing worries that whites or others may win seats in those areas or that the commission’s plans could run afoul of the federal Voting Rights Act, which is intended to protect a cohesive minority’s political ability to elect candidates of its choice. The commission’s staff, however, says it has worked to ensure that the proposed maps meet the letter of the law.

The maps — four configurations of new congressional districts, three state House maps and three state Senate maps — are only proposals, and the commission is expected to make changes after a round of public hearings beginning next week before starting a final round of drafting.

Butthat’s not doing much to settle worries that opportunities to elect candidates of color could be hampered by whatever plan is settled on by the commission. Created by a statewide referendum in 2018, the Michigan Constitution now gives the commissioners — all novices in mapping political boundaries — final discretion in deciding what the plans will look like.

That said, compliance with the Voting Rights Act is mandatory, and it includes protections for minority populations.

What it does not include, however, is a guarantee of districts in which a minority group is given the majority of the vote. Instead, a cohesive minority group’s political will is supposed to be protected if it would be the victim of racially polarized voting — meaning another racial group tends to vote as a bloc against the minority’s preferred candidates.

Meanwhile, as experts explained to the commission, minority groups can actually see their political fortunes damaged by concentrating too many of their votes in one area, rather than spreading them out and, theoretically, the party they support gaining more power.

For instance, many of the current legislative districts in Detroit that are home to a Black voting population over the age of 18 are well above 50%, including at least four state House districts with a Black voting age population over 70%. Two — current state House districts 7 and 8 — have Black voting age populations over 90%, a Free Press analysis of census records shows. A report from one of the commission’s experts said House District 3 also was over 90% — the Free Press had it at 89%.

Bruce Adelson, the commission’s voting rights attorney, has stressed that assigning additional minority voters to a district beyond what is needed to protect their opportunity to elect candidates of choice can create other legal problems. Where that line is, is hard to say, however. Some experts say a plurality of around 35% to 45% of a district’s population gives it enough strength to elect its candidates and ward off any legal challenge.

Some commissioners have expressed worry also that the maps could diminish the voting strength of minority voters by splitting them up across too many districts.

“Mr. Adelson, I appreciate all of the advice you give us, but I’ve got to be honest, I’m becoming increasingly uncomfortable with this direction that we are going under,” said Commissioner Anthony Eid during a commission meeting in early October. Eid pointed, to an early draft district in Detroit with a 35% Black voting age population and questioned whether a primary election would advance a Black candidate.

And that is a concern: It’s not at all unusual for Detroit political races to attract multiple candidates. If those candidates split the minority in a primary in the city, there is the possibility a suburban candidate, if he or she consolidates the vote there, could win the primary and, in a district with a decided partisan lean toward Democrats, win the seat.

Proposed political plans have districts with smaller percentages of Black voters

Michigan’s independent redistricting commission has proposed plans for state Senate, state House and congressional boundaries that would include smaller shares of Black voters while increasing partisan fairness statewide. Here is a look at the district with the highest share of Blacks of voting age in each type of plan compared to what it is under the current political boundaries.

Those figures are based on data put out by the commission as it drafted the maps, not with additional information released Monday as it voted on them that showed even somewhat lower figures for the Black voting age population in those districts.

Black elected officials and civil rights leaders in Detroit on Tuesday still argued that the resulting draft maps, however, would disenfranchise Black voters in the city. State Sen. Adam Hollier, D-Detroit, said there will be too few Black voters to elect Black candidates if any of the proposed maps are approved.

“This was a conscious effort to try and meet what they thought was the criteria in drawing these maps,” he said. “We’re here to say collectively that not only is that not acceptable but that’s not what’s supposed to be done.”

“What we currently have right now… is much better than what these commissioners are doing,” said state Rep. Cynthia Johnson, D-Detroit.

U.S. WILL OPEN LAND BORDER WITH CANADA, MEXICO TO VACCINATED FOREIGN TRAVELERS IN EARLY NOVEMBER

DETROIT NEWS — The United States will open its land borders with Canada and Mexico to fully vaccinated foreign travelers in early November, in conjunction with its planned change in rules for welcoming vaccinated international air travelers, federal officials said.

The policy change, expected to be announced Wednesday by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, will mean reopening the Michigan border with Canada for the first time since March 2020 to those people traveling to the U.S. for non-essential reasons, such as to see friends and family or as tourists.

The revised policy comes after months of pressure from lawmakers, local officials and separated families on both sides of the border left frustrated by the seemingly never-ending border closure. Canada reopened its border to vaccinated U.S. travelers over two months ago.

“Strong vaccination rates in Canada made the continued border shutdown absurd and unjustifiable,” said U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins, a Democrat and co-chair of the Northern Border Caucus, in welcoming the news.

“For months now we’ve heard from businesses that are suffering and families distraught over the separation imposed by the continued border shutdown. The sigh of relief coming from Northern Border communities following this announcement is so loud it can practically be heard on either end of the Peace Bridge.”

The change will take effect at a date to be determined in early November, at the same time the Biden administration begins allowing vaccinated foreign air travelers back into the country.

Unlike air travel, there will be no COVID-19 testing requirement for foreign nationals at the land ports of entry, where Customs and Border Protection agents will oversee enforcement of the vaccination requirement, a senior administration official said.

That will include seeking attestations of vaccination status and spot-checking travelers for verification of vaccination status, either by paper documentation or digital means.

A CBP officer will question non-essential travelers about their vaccination status and, based on the officer’s discretion, some travelers will be sent to a second officer to have their documents checked, the administration official said.

The exact paperwork or digital proof of vaccination that will be required is still being worked out in conjunction with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is expected to issue guidance to that effect in the coming weeks, officials said.

The CDC let airlines know last week that all of the Food and Drug Administration- and World Health Organization-authorized and approved vaccines would be accepted to meet the vaccination requirement for air travel. The agency hasn’t weighed in on land-border travel yet, but federal officials anticipate that the same guidance will apply.

The CDC is also expected to weigh in on whether Canadians who received doses of two different vaccines will be considered fully vaccinated for the purposes of crossing the border.

“I’m pleased that President Biden has put forward a public plan that will safely reopen northern land ports of entry to vaccinated travelers,” said Sen. Gary Peters, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

“There is no question travel restrictions at our Northern Border have caused significant disruptions and challenges for Michigan’s cross-border communities and binational families.”

In announcing the changes, senior Biden administration officials indicated a desire to have a consistent approach to land and air entry into the U.S.

They also stressed the growing number of vaccinated people — nearly 263 million across the U.S., Canada and Mexico — with vaccination coverage continuing to increase in all three countries.

Starting in January, the vaccine requirement will also apply to both essential and non-essential travelers entering the U.S., meaning truck drivers and others who currently may cross the border for business, trade and other essential purposes must also have proof of vaccination against COVID-19.

The administration officials noted that crossing the border illegally between ports of entry will still be subject to expulsion. Title 42 public health policy has been used to expel thousands of migrants without allowing them to apply for asylum in the U.S.

A different policy applies to people who have a lawful right to enter the U.S. and will be passing quickly through the port of entry, officials noted.

The U.S. land border with Canada has been restricted to all but essential travel since March 2020 — restrictions renewed just last month through Oct. 21.

Administration officials said those restrictions will be extended again beyond Oct. 21 through whatever November date is set for the new air and land travel rules for vaccinated foreign travelers to take effect.

Beyond that date, the prohibitions will only apply to unvaccinated foreign travelers traveling to the United States for non-essential reasons.

For some months, Canada has been ahead of the U.S. in vaccinations, with 76% of its population fully vaccinated and 87% of those ages 12 and older. That’s compared with 66% of the U.S. population that’s fully vaccinated and 77% of those 12 and older, according to the CDC.

MICHIGAN COLLEGE COVID OUTBREAKS PLUMMET AS STUDENTS VACCINATE AND MASK UP

BRIDGE MI — Central Michigan University student Maddie Clark said she was hesitant to get a COVID-19 vaccination last spring when she first became eligible.

Then this summer, she learned CMU was giving students a choice for the fall semester: get vaccinated, or get a cotton swab up your nose once a week for testing.

When the senior returned to the Mount Pleasant campus in August, she headed straight to Walgreens. “I got my first dose my first day I came back,” said Clark, of Ypsilanti. “Coming back to school, being around a bunch of people, I thought it was time.”

A year ago, CMU and many other Michigan colleges were scenes of large coronavirus outbreaks, leading to public health emergencies and campus-wide quarantines of tens of thousands of students. Michigan State University closed most of its dorm rooms for fall 2021 and virtually all classes at many colleges and universities were held online.

This year, outbreaks have dropped precipitously and college campuses in Michigan are often safer from COVID than their surrounding communities. Some have strict vaccine mandates, including at the state’s two largest university campuses: Michigan State University and the University of Michigan. Others, like CMU, give students a jab-or-test choice.

Almost all have enacted — with little signs of protest — mask requirements inside campus buildings (other than dorm rooms) that have proven so controversial in the state’s K-12 schools.

State data shows the pandemic safety measures appear to be working.

A year ago, in the first week of October, months before the first vaccines were approved in the U.S., there were 4,902 new or ongoing cases of COVID-19 connected to outbreaks at Michigan colleges and universities. Now, there are just 445 — an 11-fold plummet.

With a mix of incentives and mandates, many Michigan colleges now have high vaccination rates. At U-M, where vaccinations are mandated this school year for students, faculty and staff, 96 percent of students have had their shots.

At MSU, 90 percent of students are vaccinated.

The uncontrolled spread of the virus also is down dramatically. The rate of students who test positive for COVID-19 is just above 1 percent at U-M and MSU, and half that at CMU. All are in counties in which the test positivity rate is five to 10 times higher than on campus.

Statewide, the positivity rate of COVID-19 tests over the past week is 11.2 percent.

Those data points are “a very good sign of what’s happening on campus,” said Linda Vail, Ingham County health officer, whose jurisdiction includes MSU. “We’re in a completely different place than we were a year ago.”

COVID rates up in K-12 schools

While infections among college students nosedived this fall, reported COVID cases in Michigan’s K-12 schools have skyrocketed compared to this time last year, though they still represent a tiny sliver of the state’s 1.4 million public school students.

There were 343 new or ongoing COVID cases tied to outbreaks in pre-K and K-12 schools 12 months ago. As of Monday, there were 3,021 cases tied to outbreaks, according to state health data.

Part of that almost nine-fold increase can be attributed to the fact that far more K-12 students are physically in classrooms this fall. In September of last year, 36 percent to 57 percent of students were in classrooms, compared to nearly all Michigan students in classrooms this fall.

Still, the contrast between the rising numbers in K-12 schools and the declines at universities brings into stark relief the differences in mitigation efforts.

Mask and vaccine requirements are inconsistent for children and adolescents, for a host of reasons.

Masks are mandated for about 60 percent of students in the state’s K-12 schools, with decisions made (and increasingly, reversed) at the local level; And as Bridge Michigan has reported, among the 40 percent of students in districts where masks are optional, few wear them.

In addition, elementary-age children are not yet eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccinations and, statewide, just 37 percent of youths aged 12-15 are fully vaccinated, a rate far below college-age students.

In areas of the state where young teens have higher vaccination rates, case rates have been lower, a Bridge Michigan analysis of state vaccine and case data shows.

Conversely, the three regions with the lowest vaccine rates among eligible youth — the Upper Peninsula, south-central Michigan and the Thumb and Lake Huron shoreline — have the highest youth case rates.

The south-central region of Jackson, Lenawee and Hillsdale counties has seen just over 25 percent of eligible 12-15 year olds get vaccinated so far, the lowest of the eight regions of the state.

Vax exemptions the college exception

MSU, U-M, Grand Valley State University and Oakland University have firm vaccination mandates for students, staff and faculty.

All four campuses offer exemptions for those who cite and qualify for health or religious objections to getting vaccinated. For example, at Grand Valley, while 83 percent of students are vaccinated, 10 percent have exemptions and the remainder (about 1-in-14 current students) are out of compliance and could eventually face some form of discipline.

At Oakland, 79 percent of students who take at least one class on campus are vaccinated, 9 percent have exemptions, and 12 percent are not yet compliant.

What discipline could look like for students, staff and faculty at MSU who decline to get vaccinated or request an exemption will likely vary, said spokesperson Emily Guerrant, but could end in termination for employers or expulsion for students.

“Earlier this week, we started some of the termination processes for just a handful (of employees),” Guerrant said. “For students, that process takes longer. If they indicate they are absolutely not going to get it, they will be referred to the dean of students.”

At MSU, about 4,200 students and employees out of a total of 68,000 applied for exemptions, with “a couple hundred” requests rejected, Guerrant said.

Alma College, a private liberal arts school, is among the institutions that offers students a choice of vaccination or regular testing. There, 77 percent of the school’s 1,400 students are vaccinated, while the rest get tested twice a week.

“We’ve tried to make the testing not be a punishment, we want this to be a student choice,” Alan Gatlin, Alma’s chief operating officer, told Bridge Michigan.

One reason Alma students get vaccinated, according to Gatlin, boils down to a difference in quarantine policies set by the Central Michigan District Health Department, which covers Isabella County where CMU is located. Students who’ve had close contact with someone who tests positive don’t have to quarantine if they’ve been vaccinated, while the unvaccinated do.

“That’s a big incentive,” Gatlin said.

“Our students have been great,” Gatlin said. “They all want a real college experience, and most feel like, in the times we’re in, this is a fair trade-off.”

The results of these pandemic trade-offs are a more normal school year, with far fewer infections and quarantines. At U-M, for example, there were 53 new confirmed cases in the most recent week of data, compared to 221 in the same week a year ago when vaccines were not yet available, according to the university’s COVID data web page.

Western Michigan University, where 73 percent of students are at least partially vaccinated, is averaging fewer than three new positive cases per day on a campus with 16,000 undergraduates.

CMU has more than doubled its share of students who are vaccinated since mid-August, from 33 percent to 73 percent.

One of the roughly 3,000 CMU students who have opted for routine testing rather than vaccination is Erika Cheney, a CMU sophomore from Jackson.

“I like being given the option rather than being forced to do something against my will,” said Cheney, after getting her weekly test Monday.

“I am not anti-vax, I don’t want people to get the wrong impression. I just feel there should be more study on the vaccine, and so I’m more comfortable with just getting tested.”

MICHIGAN REPORTS 9,137 NEW COVID-19 CASES, 36 DEATHS OVER 3 DAYS

DETROIT FREE PRESS — The Michigan health department reported 9,137 new COVID-19 cases and 36 deaths over the last three days, averaging 3045.7 cases a day.

Of the 36 deaths,18 were identified during a vital records review, which the department conducts three times a week.

Michigan now has a total of 1,064,557 confirmed cases and 21,349 deaths since last March.

Michigan had a positivity rate of 12.18% Sunday, reporting that 3,451 of 28,333 diagnostic test results were positive.

The state has a fatality rate of 2% among known cases, according to data from the state health department.

Michigan reports 134,293 probable COVID-19 cases and 1,389 probable deaths. The probable cases combined with confirmed cases make up a total of 1,198,850 cases and 22,738 deaths.

The state also reported a total of 945,175 recovered cases on Friday. Recovered cases are defined by the state as the number of people with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis who are alive 30 days post-onset.

MICHIGAN CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING DRAFTS ARE DONE. FEW INCUMBENTS ARE SAFE

BRIDGE MI — Michigan’s redistricting panel agreed on Monday on four congressional maps that will be brought to the second round of public hearings scheduled to start next week.

Bridge Michigan analyzed the drafts and concluded that, combined with the loss of one seat in Congress because of stagnant population, Michigan’s congressional districts likely will become far more competitive regardless of which map is adopted.

Republicans and Democrats now have a 7-7 split, but most current districts are safe seats for both parties, resulting in few competitive races. The new drafts have several districts in which 8,000 or fewer votes separated Democrats and Republicans out of about 775,000 voters.

And perhaps most notably to voters: Few incumbents are safe, as at least eight representatives are now placed in districts with at least one other member.

In some maps, U.S. Reps. Brenda Lawrence, D-Southfield, and Andy Levin, D-Bloomfield, are in the same district, as are Bill Huizenga, R-Holland, and Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph; Lisa McClain, R-Bruce Township, and Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly; and John Moolenaar, R-Midland, and Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township.

And one draft district centered in Macomb County would have no incumbent whatsoever.

Representatives don’t have to live in districts they represent, but the disregard for incumbency — which had been a hallmark of gerrymandered maps — shows how radically redistricting has changed in Michigan.

Voters approved the 13-member Michigan Independent Redistricting Commission in 2018 after decades in which the party in power in Lansing redrew districts largely in private after the decennial census.

That resulted in districts that a federal judge panel concluded made it easier for Republicans to maintain power, even in years they received fewer votes total than Democrats in Michigan.

The maps approved Monday are the result of two months of drawing, balancing both “communities of interests” — like-minded groups of individuals including minorities — with partisan fairness and federal law.

Detroit, for instance, would keep two congressional districts, even though its population has dropped to 637,000.

While Michigan now has two districts with a majority of Black voters, that would drop to one with all maps, and be centered in Detroit. Other drafts preserve another district composed of a majority of minority voters, including Hispanics and other races.

The maps will likely change before a final vote on Dec. 31. The commission is allowing the public to weigh in on the drafts during public hearings in), Detroit (Oct. 20), Lansing (Oct. 21), Grand Rapids (Oct. 22), Gaylord (Oct. 25), and Flint (Oct. 26).

The commission has decided to rename the maps using native Michigan trees for the sake of clarity. Bridge Michigan will refer to them as such.

LAKE SUPERIOR LIGHTHOUSE TO ALLOW VISITORS AGAIN FOR EDMUND FITZGERALD MEMORIAL

DETROIT FREE PRESS — A Lake Superior lighthouse plans to welcome visitors back for an annual memorial honoring the sailors who died when the Edmund Fitzgerald sank.

Every Nov. 10, the day the ship sank in a gale in 1975, the Split Rock Lighthouse just south of Beaver Bay holds a beacon lighting. Lighthouse officials announce the names of all 29 sailors who died as a bell tolls, Minnesota Public Radio reported Sunday.

The lighthouse didn’t allow visitors to attend last year’s ceremony due to COVID-19 concerns. People had to listen through an online livestream.

Lighthouse officials say this year’s ceremony will be a hybrid, with the lighthouse grounds open to the public and a livestream on the Minnesota Historical Society’s Facebook and YouTube pages for those who can’t attend. The ceremony will begin at 4:30 p.m.

“There’s something about being here on-site and hearing the bell ring, and the names being read off and then seeing the beacon turned on right after that. There’s just something very special about that,” said Hayes Scriven, the lighthouse site manager. “It’s just a way to connect with the past and remember that Lake Superior is a fickle animal and you’ve got to respect the power, and not take it for granted.”