Whitmer wants more vaccines from Biden and voluntary restrictions on activities from residents. But she resisted pressure from some health officials to respond to a flood of cases with new mandates.
Paula Gardner
As Bridge Michigan's senior business reporter, Paula Gardner covers Michigan's business landscape, focusing on topics such as the auto industry, electric vehicles and economic development. She came to Bridge in 2020 after covering business and environment for MLive.com and previously served as editor of the Ann Arbor News and news director of the startup AnnArbor.com.
A metro Detroit native, Paula moved to Ann Arbor to attend the University of Michigan and has called it home for more than 25 years.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Michigan’s new restaurant owners ‘willing to take the chance’ during COVID
Opening a restaurant during the pandemic may sound counter-intuitive when so many have closed. But today’s new operators say they’re on the cusp of culinary change, and adapting business strategies based on what they’ve learned from COVID.
Posted inMichigan Government
Michigan Capitol rife with sexism, Gov. Whitmer says. And that’s ‘depressing’
Despite gains, women lawmakers who ‘lean in’ take more ‘heat, ugliness and threats,’ Whitmer says. Lansing is roiling from GOP chair calling women ‘witches’ and harassment claims against Democratic consultant.
Posted inTalent & Education
Report: 38 percent of Michigan households don’t earn enough for basic needs
The United Ways’ ALICE report, released Tuesday, illustrates the gulf in Michigan between having a job and having a job that pays enough to support workers and families. The most in-demand job going forward: fast food.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Michigan is ready to vacation again. Is it enough to save the hotel industry?
Travel may set a record this year in Michigan, and empty rooms may be scarce in hotspots like Traverse City. But many hotels are struggling to stay afloat because of huge cuts to business trips.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Q&A with Ann Arbor tech innovator on bringing ‘joy’ to work during COVID
Rich Sheridan, pioneer of ‘extreme teams’ at Menlo Innovations, on the challenge of keeping colleagues together when a pandemic was pulling everyone apart.
Posted inBusiness Watch
One year into pandemic, these numbers frame Michigan’s uneven recovery
A year after some feared collapse, Michigan’s economy is weathering the storm but warning signs remain. Jobs in the hospitality industry, exemplified here by Mackinac Island, are down. Here are more than two dozen metics you need to know to understand the recovery, from average income and housing prices to debt and productivity.
Posted inQuality of Life
How $1.9 trillion COVID stimulus plan will impact Michigan
The extraordinary package expected to come to a U.S. House vote as soon as Tuesday provides months of economic protection to households across Michigan, too much say some critics. Here are some ways families, schools and businesses will be impacted.
Posted inBusiness Watch
With far fewer houses, Michigan's real estate market is 'absolutely crazy'
Add $10,000 to the list price or you’re not going to get the home, one buyer said she learned the hard way. Home listings are down by more than half this year, forcing prospective buyers to bid fast and pay more, way more.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Michigan work went remote. Businesses now weigh whether they need offices.
Empty parking lots are deceiving: Most businesses are still paying for their office leases and there isn’t a glut of space. But commercial brokers around the state say they don’t know if that will change, or when.