School buildings are closing for the same reasons as restaurants, and there doesn’t appear to be a quick solution to not enough bus drivers, teacher aides and other workers
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
COVID shots for young kids adds confusion to Michigan school mask mandates
Some local health departments plan to rescind mask orders over the holidays, while others have mandates that will stick around until COVID transmission levels drop.
Posted inMichigan Government
Whitmer vetoes tax breaks for private schools. Petition drive coming next.
The veto sets the stage for a petition drive Republicans hope to use to circumvent the Democratic governor’s objections to an effort critics say would drain money from public schools and violate the state’s constitution.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Child COVID vaccines are available in Michigan. Now comes the hard part.
More than 800,000 Michigan children ages 5 to 11 are now eligible for Pfizer’s COVID vaccine. But a good portion of parents who are otherwise supportive of COVID vaccines are hesitating. Their doctors are ready to talk.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
CDC approves COVID vaccine for kids 5 to 11, shots available immediately
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.
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.