When big box stores receive lowered tax assessments, the impact is felt in schools and township halls. The tax policy may be debated in the upcoming ‘lame duck’ session.
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 Government
Democratic bills aim to rein in library book challenges in Michigan
The bills would set statewide standards, requiring books and movies to be declared obscene by courts before they are challenged. Democrats have six weeks to pass the legislation before losing the majority in the House.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Online betting increases Michigan revenue — and gambling addiction
Calls to Michigan’s problem gambling helpline tripled after gambling on phones and laptops was legalized in 2021.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
A UP community may lose EMS service in state prison payment dispute
The state and a national health care provider are squabbling over a contract, and the losers are Michigan ambulance services
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Farmington Hills’ use of opioid funds to backfill budget prompts AG complaint
The money coming into Michigan communities is intended to help with the drug epidemic. The Oakland County suburb is using it to pay itself back for old costs.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
GOP blasts Democrats’ plan to close panel critical of Whitmer opioid efforts
A group that has called for more transparency in how the state fights opioid addiction is the focus of a fight between Republicans and Democrats.
Posted inQuality of Life
In Michigan’s north woods, a search for Bigfoot and political common ground
At a Sasquatch conference in northern Michigan, experts preach tolerance, a willingness to engage with skeptics and keep an open mind — all lessons that could help in the leadup to Nov. 5 as easily as in the woods.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan needs doctors more than ever. More medical schools haven’t helped
Universities have aggressively expanded medical schools with the hope that could curb a looming doctor shortage. Instead, the shortage worsened as newly licensed doctors left Michigan.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Primary-care doctor shortages cut deep in Michigan's underserved areas
More than 1 in 4 Michiganders live in an area with a shortage of health providers. Primary care is among the worst hit.
Posted inMichigan Government
Alpena backs away from firing library board after sex-themed books are moved
The culture wars have led to compromise in northern Michigan, with a library moving books and county commissioners rescinding a threat to fire library board members.