Ted Roelofs

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau indicated fully vaccinated U.S. visitors could cross the border starting in mid-August if Canada’s “positive path” on vaccinations continues. Michigan residents with cottages in Canada are hopeful but wary.

Experts already recognize that treating severe mental illness among young people is a problem in the state. But kids showing signs of pandemic-related isolation, depression and other conditions also struggle to find help.

Some officials in Kalkaska and Grand Traverse counties have denied funding for needle exchange programs, arguing they encourage drug use. Such fears have been refuted by decades of research showing exchanges reduce HIV and other health problems and encourage more people to seek treatment.

Border businesses and the state’s tourism industry suffer as COVID limits prevent Canadian visitors for another month at least. And state residents with the travel bug or property in Canada also can’t cross. One official said it could be Thanksgiving before the border opens.

More than 1 million state residents care for their relatives, but most are never trained. After losing two parents, a Farmington Hills woman has begun boot camps to teach others.

The total economic value of uncompensated elder care could be as high as $14.5 billion. And it’s getting worse. “We are in big trouble,” one says.

The largest single donation in U.S. history to a public university will be used to support WMU’s medical school, need-based student financial aid and the WMU Bronco athletic program.

In Charlevoix, summer homes for wealthy visitors and the need for year-round housing will clash again this summer. Some housing advocates are trying new strategies to get around the problem that’s affecting the regional workforce.

Heralded as bipartisan legislation that ensures state officials are held accountable for financial conflicts, the bills keep most officials’ sources of income a secret from the public, unlike in many states. Critics denounce the reform effort as “a farce” that maintains the status quo.

Black drivers are pulled over for traffic stops at greater rates than whites and, as we’ve seen in Minnesota and elsewhere, these incidents have sometimes ended in tragedy. Can we reduce violence by getting police out of the business of issuing minor violations?

In the scramble to vaccinate as many as possible, thousands of homebound adults are being left behind if they can’t travel to a vaccine clinic. Agencies that support seniors suggest a few changes that may help.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration has sidestepped questions on whether the state would back vaccination mandates. Republican lawmakers see it as the next front in the cultural wars, while commerce groups want to leave such decisions to individual businesses.

Systems in Lansing and in several counties have already quietly started on-demand service for seniors, the disabled and other vulnerable groups that might include picking up people at their homes, waiting at vaccine centers and then driving them home to make vaccine distribution more equitable.

Public health officials across the state are thinking about how to ease vaccine skepticism among many conservatives as COVID-19 surges once more through Michigan.

They are generally wary of the government or politicians, and questioned the process that yielded U.S. vaccines. Most are Trump supporters, with their own theories on the virus and why it was unlikely to harm them. Misinformation was not rare.

With white residents overrepresented at the county’s first vaccination sites, county officials and Spectrum Health partnered to open clinics specifically geared to advantage Black and Hispanic residents in those areas.

Town managers say the businesses are poised to boost strained budgets. And school and law enforcement officials contend there is little evidence to date the marijuana economy is bringing more crime or drug abuse to main street.

From psychiatrists to counselors to direct care workers, health agencies are unable to fill jobs as depression and substance abuse cases increase. Some state and federal programs could help nudge more doctors and therapists to underserved regions of the state.

Michigan is getting older, and there aren’t enough workers to care for seniors and those with disabilities. The coronavirus pandemic has worsened the situation, as few are willing to risk their health for menial pay.

Home health agencies are becoming creative to maintain health workers. Michigan agencies are boosting pay, while a New York City cooperative owned by workers could provide a model to a crisis that is deepening.