An hour delay paid off in achievement and attendance. So why aren’t more schools following that lead
Ted Roelofs
Ted Roelofs of Kentwood, has written extensively on healthcare as well as prison and juvenile justice reform. Roelofs spent nearly three decades at the Grand Rapids Press where he covered politics, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, rural poverty and mental illness among the homeless. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin. Reach Ted at ted.roelofs@gmail.com
Posted inMichigan Government
Bipartisan bill to make governor, lawmakers subject to open records law in doubt
After disclosure of government incompetence in Flint, there were passionate calls for Michigan to join 48 other states in making the governor and legislature subject to the state’s public records laws. But House and Senate leaders remain reluctant.
Posted inTalent & Education
Building a better school board
Districts across Michigan struggle to field candidates for school boards. The job can be time consuming, nerve wracking, and is often unpaid. Would proper training for new board members help?
Posted inQuality of Life
Threat of environmental injustice extends beyond Flint
Whether it’s lead paint in older homes, airborne pollutants from factories, or the everyday stress of life on the margins, poor and minority communities in Michigan too often bear the brunt of environmental peril.
Posted inBusiness Watch
In an improving economy, Michigan workers’ part-time blues
Even as Michigan's unemployment rate falls below 5 percent, some 300,000 workers seeking full-time jobs are stuck with part-time paychecks
Posted inMichigan Government
The price of neglect: Michigan must spend billions on water, sewer fixes
Beyond Flint, experts say the state’s failure to upgrade its vast water and sewer systems means at least $17.5 billion in needed repairs. The cost of doing nothing may be even worse.
Posted inMichigan Government
In replacing lead lines, what Michigan can learn from Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin, the nation’s first city to replace all lead service lines, discovered that to keep residents safe it had to replace all lines, not just part of them.
Posted inQuality of Life
Mining’s last stand? A UP way of life is threatened
Michigan's last two producing Upper Peninsula iron ore mines hang by a thread, as slumping ore prices cripple the industry
Posted inQuality of Life
From Italy to the UP: A mining family album
The story of one immigrant family, common in this region, is four generations deep
Posted inMichigan Government
Signs of trouble at MDEQ, years before Flint lead crisis
A 2010 federal audit expressed concern about shortcuts Michigan’s drinking water safety program was taking to save money. An expert testifying before Congress today concludes from the audit that water safety regulation in Michigan is “more broken than we think.