Quality of Life

A Bridge article revealing possible oil leasing under the virgin pines produced a backlash from environmental groups, and from the family that donated the land. The DNR says it may still allow drilling in other parts of the park.

The state may allow an oil lease under the largest stand of virgin white pine in the Lower Peninsula. Experts say drilling wouldn't harm trees. But critics fear a booming oil rig at Hartwick Pines State Park.

Revenue and jobs? Or undisturbed quiet? Make your voice heard on drilling proposals. Also, see if you live near a proposed drilling site.

Have plankton-devouring Asian carp finally reached the Great Lakes? After years of trying to block the invasion, the answer is: Nobody knows. Now, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it needs another $18 billion to cut the carp’s march up the Mississippi.

Where they come from, what they do, and how they threaten the ecosystem of the Great Lakes.

A new form of DNA allows scientists pick up the trail of the invasive species from the slime or waste detected in water samples.

Nonprofit community hospitals, once a backbone of civic life, are increasingly selling out as health care changes make survival difficult. For-profits bring infusions of cash to hospitals and communities, but also concerns about costs.

Keeping a tally of the changing hospital landscape in Michigan: At least a dozen community hospitals in Michigan have been purchased since 2010 by larger health systems

Competition among hospitals tends to keep medical prices down. Other studies find that for-profit hospitals tend to invest more in services that make more money.