Autos & Manufacturing

Michigan offers funds for alternative energy vehicles

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CLEAN VEHICLES: Michigan is spending $30 million to help public agencies and private businesses buy low-emission freight trucks, buses, tugboats and cargo handling equipment. Beneficiaries of the program can choose electric, alternative fuel or new diesel models. The Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, Clean Fuels Michigan based in Lansing and Mass Transportation Authority of Flint and Genesee County and the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority.explain. By Kyle Davidson. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, DETROIT, CORP! AND ALL POINTS.

News

Overdose surveillance system helps fight opiod deaths, experts say.

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OPIOIDS: A 2-year-old surveillance system is tracking opioid overdose incidents and deaths in Michigan so health professionals can work to mitigate the problem in high-risk areas. The hardest-hit counties are Calhoun, Wayne, Ingham, Genesee and Muskegon. We hear from U-M and Health & Human Services experts and the Detroit Recovery Project. By Brandon Chew. FOR DETROIT, LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS.

Business & Economy
Eradajere Oleita displays a sleeping bag made of snack chip bags.

Chip Bag Project turns snack wrappers into sleeping bags

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CHIP PROJECT: A 25-year-old immigrant from Nigeria has launched a project in Detroit that makes sleeping bags from foil-lined snack chip bags and gives them to people who live outdoors. Each sleeping bag requires at least150 chip bags and can take up to four hours to complete. Eradajere Oleita’s project has expanded into a team of millennials who collect donations and create more sleeping bags. By Asha Dawsey. FOR ALL POINTS.

Business & Economy

Mass layoffs reveal need for guaranteed severance, advocates say

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GUARANTEED SEVERANCE PACKAGE: Large employers that lay off their employees would be liable for severance pay under legislation to be introduced by a Dearborn lawmaker. The proposal comes in the wake of mass layoffs by Art Van Furniture, which had been acquired by an equity firm, and Toys R Us. We talk to affected ex-employees from Warren and Ypsilanti. For news and business pages. By Kristia Postema. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, CORP!, DETROIT, LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS.

Arts & Entertainment
East Kentwood High School students compete in the first round of the 2019 StateChamps! Esports Tournament at Lawrence Tech University.

Schools give video games new legitimacy with growing esports leagues

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ESPORTS: With interest buoyed during the pandemic, a growing number of high schools are getting in on the fun of esports, giving more legitimacy to video games. More than 50 are registered with the Michigan High School Esports Federation, joining over 170 U.S. colleges and universities with varsity esports programs – including 18 in the state. We talk to leaders from the Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance in Freeland, Lawrence Tech and Detroit Catholic Central High School. By Nora Mougharbel. FOR DETROIT AND ALL POINTS.

Elections & Politics

Big money, lack of transparency, raise concerns over ballot petition drives

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PETITION COSTS: What’s a statewide ballot petition campaign cost? Millions. We look at the two underway now, Unlock Michigan to limit governors’ emergency powers and Fair and Equal Michigan to expand anti-dsicrimination protection for LGBTQ individuals. The Michigan Campaign Finance Network bemoans the high price tag and the fact that donors’ names to petition campaigns don’t need to be publicly disclosed. By Eric Freedman. FOR ALL POINTS.

Health

Roughly 1 in 4 surgical patients smokes, higher than state average, study says

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SURGICAL PATIENTS SMOKING: Roughly a quarter of adult surgical patients in Michigan smoked cigarettes at the time of surgery — above the state average, a U-M study finds. The rate is highest among Medicaid and uninsured patients. There were regional variations, with the highest rate in Northeast Michigan and the lowest in Southeast Michigan. A U-M surgeon and the Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative in Ann Arbor discuss. By Brandon Chew. FOR ALCONA, MONTMORENCY, CHEBOYGAN, DETROIT, MONROE, BLISSFIELD AND ALL POINTS.

Arts & Entertainment

Three Michigan buildings make historic places list

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HISTORIC REGISTER: The Grosse Pointe Central Library, the Detroit Savings Bank Southwest Branch building and Hickory (Masonic) Lodge No. 345 in Hickory Corners have just won National Park Service inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. Earlier this spring, the Park Service approved three other Michigan sites: the Bailey Buildings in Lansing, the Ojibway Fire Tower in Isle Royale National Park and Camp Black Lake in Ocqueoc Township, Presque Isle County. Note to editors: May is Historic Preservation Month. By Kirsten Rintelmann. FOR DETROIT, HOLLAND, IONIA, LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS.

Elections & Politics
The 13 lawyers in the Michigan House with their party affiliation and hometown.

Ranks of lawyers in Legislature sparse

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LAWYER LEGISLATORS: Where have all the lawyers gone? Not to the Legislature, which has a scarcity of attorneys in its ranks, although they dominate the House Judiciary Committee. This year is the first time in Michigan history when the Senate has none. The 13 in the House include representatives from Hillsdale, Grand Rapids, Metro Detroit and Lansing. By Eric Freedman. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, HILLSDALE, LANSING CITY PULSE, DETROIT AND ALL POINTS.