The state will pump close to $50 million into addiction services next year from opioid settlement funds. It’s a big increase over current spending.
Ron French
Ron reports on a variety of subjects across the state. Ron came to Bridge in 2011 from The Detroit News, where he was a project reporter. Born and raised in Indiana, Ron graduated from Purdue University. He reported for newspapers across Indiana before moving to Michigan in 1995. Ron lives in Okemos, and like the true Michigander he’s become, he now has a family cabin Up North. You can reach him at rfrench@bridgemi.com or 517-214-3636.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Before it even opens, a U.P. addiction clinic has 225 patients
There’s a ‘huge need’ for addiction services in the Upper Peninsula, as the Sault Tribe opens a medically assisted treatment center.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Millions to help opioid users still unspent in half of Michigan’s counties
As a crisis mounts that kills 3,000 per year, Michigan’s counties have been slow to distribute tens of millions of dollars in funds meant to fight the opioid crisis.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan aims to remedy ‘egregious injustice,' as tribes shut out of opioid funds
While Michigan’s tribes have suffered injury from the opioid epidemic, they haven’t benefited from a landmark lawsuit settlement. Some states give tribes millions; Michigan working on a fix.
Posted inMichigan Government
Flint buys an ambulance with opioid funds. Critics sound alarms
It’s money intended for drug treatment, prevention and recovery. But Flint’s mayor defends buying ambulances because some emergency calls ‘involve overdoses.’
Posted inMichigan Government
Michigan elections FAQ: How to find information about local candidates
A Bridge Michigan reader asks how voters can educate themselves about office seekers in the absence of newspapers. It takes a bit of work, but there are several ways to be informed before you fill in your ballot
Posted inBusiness Watch
Michigan town adjusts to life with ‘ghost newsroom,’ as local papers wither
Cheboygan has a newspaper, but no news reporters. A renaissance supply shop is now occupying its newsroom. So if there’s news in Cheboygan, it’s news to residents.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Flint water crisis: Did ‘myth’ of lead harm become self-fulfilling prophecy?
At the height of the water crisis, Flint children had lower lead levels than many others in Michigan. But low expectations, trauma and constant anxiety did more harm than lead. ‘Instead of scaring families, we should be reassuring them.’
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
For children of Flint water crisis, stigma lives on: ‘I feel like a lab rat’
Ten years after the beginning of the Flint water crisis, the city’s youth are scarred as much by low expectations as by the lead-tainted water. ‘People had already decided who we were. They had ideas about IQ and behavior.’
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Blood lead levels continue to fall in Michigan: Look up your ZIP code
In a major public-health success story, lead exposure in Michigan children has plummeted in recent decades, including in Flint.