Advocates for the right-to-work law in Michigan warn that repealing the law that has been in effect since 2013 would hurt the state economy.
For the first time since 1984, Democrats hold a trifecta in the Michigan state legislature with control of the House and Senate and the governor’s office. Democrats have talked about repealing the right-to-work law since it was passed in 2012.
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The University of Michigan recently hired five faculty members under its Anti-Racism Faculty Hiring Initiative who have “expertise in inequality and structural racism,” campus officials announced.
The faculty will deepen the university’s expertise “on issues of race and racial justice and tangibly impact education and society,” according to an Oct. 28 statement by the university.
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Democrats seized a political trifecta in Lansing for the first time in 40 years, and now two legislators are suggesting changing the state’s education policies.
State Sen. Dayne Polehanki, D-Livonia, tweeted possible policy priorities, including repealing right-to-work, providing “adequate funding” for schools, and repealing the retirement tax.
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Steven D’Antuono, the FBI agent in charge of the investigations into both the Gov. Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot and the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, is set to retire at the end of the month, just weeks before the Republican Party is projected to take the House and likely apply increased scrutiny to those probes.
An internal FBI memo, written by FBI Director Chris Wray and circulated on social media, revealed that D’Antuono will be retiring at the end of the month from his role as assistant director of the bureau’s Washington field office, to be replaced by Agent David Sundberg.
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When Eastpointe residents criticized Mayor Monique Owens in a Sept. 6 city council meeting, she claimed the residents were “assaulting” her.
Now, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that defends free speech, filed a federal lawsuit accusing Owens of “abuse of authority.”
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Michigan taxpayers will pay at least $7.75 million for a new entertainment venue in Downtown Lansing.
The Michigan Strategic Fund on Wednesday approved $5 million of taxpayer dollars for the venue. The Center Square reported the planned $21 million venue in February.
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With control of the state legislature and Governor’s office for the first time since 1983, the Democrats will likely try to repeal the state’s right-to-work law, the signature accomplishment of Michigan’s Republican party.
In January 2019, the Michigan House Dems introduced two bills to repeal the right-to-work law. If a current effort is successful, it would only impact union members in the private sector. That’s because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2018 in the Janus decision that public sector unions can’t require non-members to pay agency fees. The Supreme Court ruled the Constitution prohibits it.
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Prosecutors in California dropped charges this week against an election software CEO who was accused of improperly sending election-related information to China, with officials citing potential “bias” in the presentation of the case.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said concerns about both the “pace of the investigation” and “potential bias in the presentation” of the charges led them to drop their case against Eugene Yu, the CEO of election software company Konnech.
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Republican businessman John James has won the race for Michigan’s newly created 10th Congressional District seat, narrowly defeating Democrat former judge and prosecutor Carl Marlinga in the hotly contested election. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, James had 49 percent of the vote to Marlinga’s 48 percent, according to Click on Detroit.
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Voters on Tuesday approved the pro-abortion Proposal 3, an amendment to the Michigan Constitution that will enshrine a “right” to kill unborn children.
With 52% of the vote counted, Proposal 3 had garnered the approval of 53.4% of voters and was rejected by 46.6%, according to election results posted by 12:40 a.m. Wednesday, Bridge Michigan reported.
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Republican challenger Tudor Dixon fell short Tuesday night as Democrat Gretchen Whitmer won a second four-year term as governor.
With 68% of the vote counted, Whitmer was leading with 51.7% to 46.6% for Dixon, The Associated Press reported. Fox News, among others, called the race for Whitmer.
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A federal court has ordered Ann Arbor Public Schools to stop gagging conservative students’ political speech about Proposal 3.
The court order follows Skyline High School officials’ refusal to read a conservative senior’s and Republican Club President’s statement during announcements, citing its political nature.
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Less than a week before the election, the Michigan Supreme Court approved allowing local clerks to follow Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s election challenger rules enacted this year.
Last month, a Court of Claims ruling struck the election challenger rules, saying they violated state election law because they didn’t go through the rulemaking process.
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When in the spotlight at the Mackinac Policy Conference, Wayne County committed $32 million of federal COVID relief to small businesses in impoverished areas.
The New Economy Initiative, a nonprofit that helps small businesses develop, added $22 million of private donations for a total of $54 million. But six months later, the county pulled the plug on the three-year initiative, Crain’s Detroit first reported.
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Less than a week before Election Day, Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon received two pieces of good news.
First, her poll rankings against Democratic incumbent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have tilted significantly in Dixon’s favor. Second, she garnered the endorsement of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce.
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Michigan schools are spending $6 billion of federal COVID relief to recover from pandemic learning loss with solutions ranging from summer school to support dogs to even a new amphitheater.
Spending records obtained by more than 90 records requests show schools deploying a range of recovery mechanisms, including smaller class sizes, more tutoring, facility improvements and new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems.
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Michigan voters will have the chance to create one of the largest school choice programs in the country on Nov. 8.
The Let Michigan Learn Proposal on the Michigan ballot starts with a $500 million cap for school vouchers, one of the largest in the country, and can increase by 20% each year. All students age 5 and older are eligible to apply, but low-income families and students with disabilities would be prioritized.
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Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker suspended four players Sunday night after police began investigating a postgame altercation with opposing Michigan players in the locker room tunnel.
Starting defensive back Angelo Grose, starting defensive end Zion Young, backup defensive end Tank Brown and backup defensive back Ky Crump were suspended indefinitely, the coach said.
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A federal grand jury has indicted six people from Benton Harbor on fraud charges.
They are accused of defrauding taxpayers by $1 million via unemployment insurance fraud and small business loans.
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Taxpayers might foot $15 million for a private-public deal to redevelop the former Buick City brownfield site in Flint. The partnership hopes to create 3,000 jobs.
Real estate investment company Ashley Capital is contracted to purchase the 350-acre former Buick City site from Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response Trust and plans to develop an industrial park.
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An appeal filed with the Michigan Supreme Court says the government must get a warrant before it can surveil private property for evidence.
The Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm, says the government violated the Fourth Amendment when it used warrantless drone surveillance to snap pictures of Todd Maxon’s 5-acre property in Long Lake Township where he repairs cars, as proof of zoning violations.
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Flint Water prosecutors will appeal a court order dismissing felony charges against seven defendants in the Flint criminal prosecution.
In June, the MSC clarified that a one-man jury could investigate and issue subpoenas and arrest warrants but not indict someone – the tactic used in the Flint charges.
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Three men accused of supporting the plan to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer were found guilty Wednesday of providing “material support” for a terrorist act as part of a paramilitary group.
A Jackson, Michigan, jury also convicted Pete Musico, his son-in-law Joe Morrison and Paul Bellar of a firearms crime and being members of a gang, the Wolverine Watchmen, The Associated Press reported.
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The grades reported on Michigan’s 2022 education report card have fallen considerably since the last time the tests were administered in 2019.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress ranked Michigan’s fourth-grade reading scores at 43rd in the nation, a significant drop from the state’s 32nd ranking in 2019. The state’s eighth graders ranking dropped to 31st in the nation from its 28th berth in 2019.
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Republican candidate Tudor Dixon is now polling within one percentage point of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan in the state’s gubernatorial race, per a new poll.
Dixon received 47.9% support while Whitmer received 48.4%, a difference of 0.5%, according to a poll from The Trafalgar Group. The small margin between them is a marked difference from earlier in the year when, in August, Whitmer was ahead by up to 15%, according to RealClearPolitics.
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Drug raids in Detroit have fallen 95% since a peak in 2012, largely as a result of voters’ decision to legalize recreational marijuana and shifting other police priorities.
Detroit police conducted 3,462 drug raids in fiscal year 2012. Nearly every year since then, that number has declined. Last year, police conducted 186 drug raids, according to the city’s annual financial report.
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A Michigan politician talked about how to boost electric vehicle adoption in a brief chat sponsored by General Motors and hosted by Axios.
Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, Michigan’s 12th Congressional District member who serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, touted subsidies via the Inflation Reduction Act and said that EVs are the “vehicle of the future.”
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The Republican Party has won an election integrity lawsuit against Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson over restrictions she imposed on poll challengers.
Benson, per the Republican National Committee, had imposed restrictions on poll challengers, including a new credential form, an “artificial deadline” for appointing them, and limiting the poll workers with whom the challengers may communicate.
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Part of the many woes plaguing Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency since before the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic may be resolved but may cost state taxpayers $20 million.
The Michigan attorney general’s office announced Thursday the state has reached a tentative $20 million settlement to resolve a class-action suit against the UIA that claimed the agency falsely accused unemployment recipients of fraud and seized private property without due process.
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How does a district of 10,000 students recover from a pandemic that disrupted learning for longer than a year?
Lansing School District received more than $100 million of federal COVID relief. The third tranche of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief was $67 million.
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed two GOP plans over the weekend.
Whitmer vetoed an eight-bill package that aimed to limit the governor’s emergency powers more than two years after she triggered a 1945 law to declare a state of emergency for as long as she thought necessary.
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Republican candidate for Michigan Secretary of State Kristina Karamo joined her fellow parents at a Dearborn school board meeting to condemn sexually explicit materials and lessons in school libraries when academic achievement should be the focus of education.
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A physician assistant who claims she was fired after seeking a religious exemption from referring patients for transgender care and using their preferred personal pronouns has filed a federal lawsuit against the University of Michigan Health-West.
In September, The Center Square reported Valerie Kloosterman’s claims that diversity program director Thomas Pierce called her “evil” and blamed her for gender dysphoria-related suicides after she cited her Christian faith as a reason to avoid specific procedures.
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A female juror was dismissed during the trial of three defendants charged in an alleged plot to kidnap the Democratic governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer. The juror was allegedly flirting with one of the defendants, Fox News reports.
Jackson County Judge Thomas Wilson made an announcement on Friday that the female juror was removed from the jury because attorneys raised concerns over too much “nonverbal communication” with defendant Paul Bellar, according to the Jackson Citizen Patriot.
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Michigan legislators are considering a bill that would classify gender transitions for minors as first-degree child abuse.
The bill, introduced Tuesday, would classify knowingly consenting to or assisting in a gender transition procedure for a minor as first-degree child abuse punishable by life in prison. Several Republican-led states have pushed to restrict transgender-related procedures for children, which can include therapy reinforcing a minor’s transgender identity, puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgeries.
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Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer and her allies at Planned Parenthood have been marketing Michigan’s Proposal (Prop) 3 as an abortion amendment that would codify Roe v. Wade, but the measure would also allow children to obtain “gender affirming” hormones and surgeries without parental consent under the banner of “reproductive care.”
“Michigan is hiding a children’s constitutional right to genital amputation in its abortion amendment,” Margot Cleveland, senior legal correspondent at the Federalist, warned Wednesday.
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A request for $50 million in Michigan taxpayer funding of family planning services is as notable for what it does not say as what it does.
Abortion services were not included by name, and an emailed request for clarification from The Center Square to those making the announcement – Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel – was unsuccessful.
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The city of Detroit plans to spend federal COVID relief to pay groups to identify qualified individuals to enroll in training and return them to the workforce.
Applications are now open through early November for the new “In Detroit Organizations” program to identify long-term unemployed residents and enroll them in a JumpStart education or training program. The Center Square has asked for the total program cost but has not yet received an answer.
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Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon has narrowed the polling gap with Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan by over 30 points since May, per a new survey released on Sunday.
The poll shows Dixon behind Whitmer by 6 percent, garnering 47 percent to her 53 percent support, per YouGov Research, which conducted the survey for CBS News. The single-digit margin is significantly narrower than earlier in the year when some polls showed Whitmer in the lead by as much as 37 percent.
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After Michigan agreed to spend $951 million of taxpayer money on two electric vehicles companies – Our Next Energy and Gotion Inc – the question remains: what do taxpayers get?
Politicians get election fodder, companies get money but taxpayers are left paying $951 million to create up to 4,460 jobs, or a per-job cost of $213,133. The deal is meant to last decades, with one tax break lasting 30 years.
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Michigan taxpayers are giving $951 million to two companies – Our Next Energy and Gotion, Inc. – to build electric vehicle batteries.
ONE claims it will create up to 2,112 jobs, and Gotion says it will create up to 2,350.
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Mike Pashby and his family have lived in their single-family home in Kalamazoo, Michigan, for over seven years and never met a man named Larry Hodge.
But starting in 2020, Pashby regularly began getting absentee ballot applications and voting notices addressed to Hodge in the mail. Despite his notifying election officials with the Kalamazoo Township, Kalamazoo County, and the Michigan Secretary of State’s Office, the notices kept coming.
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Eugene Yu, founder and president of East Lansing-based election software-technology company Konnech, Inc., was arrested Wednesday in Michigan and is facing California charges related to collecting election workers’ personal data and storing it on servers housed in the Peoples Republic of China.
Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón is seeking Yu’s extradition from Michigan on charges Konnech violated its contract with Los Angeles County, which prohibits access of election workers’ personal information from citizens and permanent residents outside the United States.
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Felony charges against seven state officials linked to the 2014 Flint, Michigan, water crisis have been dismissed by Genesee County Circuit Judge Elizabeth Kelly.
The six-page decision follows a June state Supreme Court ruling it unconstitutional for a judge using a one-man jury to indict people without a preliminary examination.
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Some Detroit police might receive $10,000 pay boosts. The wage increases aim to incentivize filling 300 department vacancies and stem the tide of leaving officers.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said the city and police unions reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement paid for by projected tax revenues.
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The administration of Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposed a contract for a child foster care consultant on gender identity and sexual orientation, according to documents made public by the Washington Free Beacon.
The Children’s Services Agency, which “oversees all child welfare services for children,” is seeking a “Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) Consultant” as of Sept. 12, according to documents made public by the Washington Free Beacon. The consultant would be a part of the “Diversity Equity and Inclusion Unit” and would focus on determining the “needs and concerns of LGBTQ staff, families and children.”
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Although there are many telling differences between Michigan’s 2022 gubernatorial candidates, energy policy may be the most significant from an economic perspective for families.
Democrat incumbent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has led the charge to close the Line 5 dual pipeline that has spanned the Straits of Mackinac since 1953, whereas Republican challenger Tudor Dixon has pledged to keep the hydrocarbons flowing through the five-mile stretch of pipeline positioned on the lakebed of Lake Michigan.
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Eighty-four-year-old Joan Jacobson never imagined she would be shot when she knocked on the door of a Michigan couple’s home, hoping to convince them not to vote for a local pro-abortion ballot proposal.
Sharon Harvey answered the door and quickly became “hostile, belligerent, and antagonistic” when she learned Jacobson’s mission, according to David Kallman, Jacobson’s attorney with the Great Lakes Justice Center.
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The Michigan Legislature approved a $1 billion spending plan primarily meant to attract critical state projects. The supplemental spending bill was passed Wednesday over objections from some Republican lawmakers that the spending package wouldn’t benefit taxpayers in the long run.
The state is spending a $7 billion taxpayer surplus.
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After Sandra Hernden voiced her opinion to the Chippewa Valley School District school board, she says the district retaliated.
Now she’s suing the district with help from the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, alleging the board violated her First Amendment rights. Her request in damages if successful, is a public apology and one dollar.
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