Emergency pandemic funding for small businesses expands this week, as PPP options broaden and state grant programs launch.

The pandemic likely will increase achievement gaps. Michigan education advocates say schools need to start planning now for how to help struggling students, including more money for tutoring and summer school, priorities that align with the incoming Biden administration.

Washtenaw County prosecutor Eli Savit said the policy was not fair to low-income criminal suspects forced to sit in jails while awaiting trial while more affluent defendants were set free. Jurisdictions that jettisoned cash bail in other states report promising results, though not everyone is on board.

Halfway into the school year, Michigan students are failing classes at higher rates, concerning educators who say it’s more evidence of the coronavirus’s disruption of learning.

Michigan is still down 435,000 jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but personal income is up and online sales have exploded largely following two rounds of federal stimulus checks.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has activated National Guard assistance and state police are mobilizing troopers in an effort to avoid a repeat of the U.S. Capitol siege.

Under a Snyder-era reform following the Flint water crisis, Michigan utilities must begin switching out lead service lines this month, part of a 20-year project. But some already are seeking extensions and some cash-strapped cities are reluctant to have vulnerable ratepayers shoulder the burden.

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the pediatrician who helped uncover the Flint water crisis, said Michigan’s lead service line replacement program is a major stride toward reducing lead exposure. But Michigan residents need not wait to start protecting themselves from lead-tainted water.

The federal appropriations bill for the 2021 fiscal year, signed into law this week, included $26.5 million to test for lead in schools and child care centers, a nod to the legacy of the Flint water crisis, which lifted the issue of lead in drinking water into the national spotlight.

Years after a cost-cutting move resulted in lead-poisoned drinking water in Flint, residents said they are furious that the governor who placed their city under emergency control won’t face more serious charges.

Rick Snyder is the first Michigan governor charged with crime for decisions made in office. His supporters say that could scare people from serving in government. Others disagree, saying he ‘caused unforgivable harm.’

Seven years after a fateful water switch, the former governor faces two misdemeanors, while others including former health director Nick Lyon were charged with several felonies.