The legislature wants to make it harder to vote without state-approved photo ID. But based on data from the most recent election, few voters did so.
Searchable database
Posted inUrban Affairs
Segregation then and now: Metro Detroit
Following the fire and violence of 1967, Detroit established itself as the most segregated metro area in the country, with African Americans confined to narrow sections of the city and much of the suburbs a no-go zone. (See a Bridge report on the changes.) Today, hundreds of thousands of African Americans live in communities across […]
Posted inUrban Affairs
Black flight to suburbs masks lingering segregation in metro Detroit
Residential racism may be less overt than in the 1960s, but whites still live among whites, and blacks among blacks, 50 years after the violence of 1967.
Posted inTalent & Education
How more affluent families get welfare for pricey private colleges
Thousands of middle- to upper-income students use federal welfare funds to attend expensive private schools. Meanwhile, only 18 percent of impoverished families in Michigan receive cash assistance.
Posted inTalent & Education
Bridge database: How your school district gains (or doesn't) under funding proposal
Some school districts would receive tens of millions in additional funding, while many others are already overfunded
Posted inTalent & Education
Special Education searchable list
Special education varies by district Type in the name of your school district or charter school, and see the percentage of students with Individualized Education Programs overall, plus the percentage of students in special education by gender and race. Data shows both the percentages of all IEP’s by different demographic groups and also how that […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Searchable database: How are your schools funded?
Michigan's school districts and charter academies vary widely in the amount of money each gets from state, local and federal sources. Use our tool to find your own.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Searchable database: How bad are YOUR roads?
In the last eight years, roads have taken a pounding, with Michigan spending the least in the nation on road work. Use our searchable database to find the current condition of roads in your community.
Posted inTalent & Education
Searchable Database: Academic State Champs
Fifty-four Michigan public school districts and charters were named 2013 Academic State Champions. Winners represented the top 10 percent of districts and charters in a database created by Bridge Magazine and Public Sector Consultants that used test scores and socioeconomic status to determine which schools are exceeding expectations. How to read the chart: An Academic […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Searchable database: Legacy costs in your community
Legacy costs are commitments made in the past that will be paid by future generations. The two biggest forms of legacy costs for local governments in Michigan are pensions and health care insurance for retired public workers. Michigan has nearly 1,800 units of local government. Nearly 300 have some level of legacy costs. Two-thirds of […]