The CDC’s advisory committee voted unanimously Tuesday to allow the Pfizer vaccine to be given to younger children. Michigan already has 278,000 doses ready for kids.
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 inTalent & Education
Free tuition lured Michigan adults to college. Next job: Keeping them there
Amanda Hedges-Harrison is among 22,000 people who accepted Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s offer of tuition-free community college. Cost is only one reason that busy adults, many with children and jobs, don’t complete degrees.
Posted inTalent & Education
They disagreed, but both caught hell. Welcome to Michigan’s mask mandate wars
In mid-Michigan, a health officer and a Republican who tried to talk her out of a school mandate are both under fire. His sin was calling for civility in uncivil times.
Posted inTalent & Education
Few third-graders held back by Michigan’s read-or-flunk law, report finds
More than 90 percent of students flagged for retention were promoted, a study finds. Low-income and Black third-graders were more likely to be held back because of poor reading scores.
Posted inTalent & Education
Michigan college COVID outbreaks plummet as students vaccinate and mask up
Cases related to outbreaks are down at colleges this fall, but have risen sharply in the state’s K-12 system, where students are far less likely to be vaccinated or required to wear a mask.
Posted inTalent & Education
Amid controversies, U-M President Mark Schlissel announces 2023 departure
The leader of one of the top public universities in the nation has had some ups and downs in eight years at the helm.
Posted inTalent & Education
COVID outbreaks in Michigan schools already 8 times higher than last year
Experts attribute the rise to more students in classrooms, fewer masks and a more contagious delta variant, sending infections up in Michigan classrooms.
Posted inMichigan Government
Michigan counties dump mask rules for thousands of pupils amid budget mess
A state budget praised by both sides is causing widespread confusion and angst because of provisions that threatened funding for agencies that impose school mask mandates.
Posted inTalent & Education
A northern Michigan school was ordered to mandate masks. 100 students left.
Families are pulling their kids out of class and moving to neighboring districts as they shop for schools that match the face mask policies they prefer.
Posted inMichigan Government
Michigan $70B budget deal hailed for ‘historic investment’ in child care
Reducing the costs of child care is a rare point of bipartisan agreement, and many daycares are on the brink of bankruptcy. The deal also gives big boosts to colleges, cities and environmental cleanups.