On March 30, Bridge Michigan Capitol reporter Jonathan Oosting will moderate a Zoom discussion with the ACLU of Michigan and Mackinac Center on government transparency and reform efforts in Michigan.

A year after some feared collapse, Michigan’s economy is weathering the storm but warning signs remain. Jobs in the hospitality industry, exemplified here by Mackinac Island, are down. Here are more than two dozen metics you need to know to understand the recovery, from average income and housing prices to debt and productivity.

The pandemic put more challenges onto women, who had to work, care for children and deal with other aspects of the virus. Now the shortage in the labor force is causing more workplaces to consider how to woo them back.

Local health officials in some counties welcomed the news that anyone over 16 could soon get the vaccine, saying they can get to more people sooner. But there was also concern seniors and other groups could be pushed behind the more computer savvy.

Facing criticism over a $155,000 payout to her former health director and other severances, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issues an executive order saying the deals can continue but must be based on a “reasonable” belief they’ll save taxpayers money.

The expanded eligibility is a month ahead of President Biden’s plan for universal U.S. eligibility by May 1. In the Upper Peninsula, one health department threw wide open its scheduling Friday, immediately offering appointments to any resident 16 and older.

The plan, which comes two months before the day Whitmer has said Enbridge Energy must stop transporting petroleum through Line 5, outlines investing in rail and storage, incentivizing energy efficiency, and taking other steps to offset the loss of Line 5.

Thousands of Michigan families will see payments reduced, as the COVID stimulus caps premiums at 8.5 percent of incomes. Under Obamacare, income limits priced many out of the market.

Michigan is among 20 states mulling bills that would bar transgender athletes from competing on girls’ school teams. Critics call the measures a “disgusting” attack.

Michigan residents 60 and older are making up far fewer of new coronavirus infections, a likely result of the nearly 1 million seniors who have gotten at least the first vaccine dose.

Bipartisan legislation advanced Wednesday to allow expungement after three years, but it faces opposition from sheriffs, prosecutors and Mothers Against Drunk Drivers.

The Great Start Readiness Program offers state-funded preschool for 4-year-olds from low- and moderate-income families. But funding hasn’t been boosted since 2014, leaving school districts to make up the difference.