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Opinion | Dana Nessel: Line 5 must close to protect all of Michigan
Michigan’s attorney general explains why she sued to close the controversial Line 5 gas pipeline that passes beneath the Mackinac Straits.
Opinion | U-M’s investment is helping us improve Detroit, not evict people.
Two developers respond to a Bridge Magazine article about their investments in Detroit. ‘Our focus is increasing availability of affordable, quality housing for the city’s residents.’
Opinion | Benton Harbor’s school crisis needs more than a bandage fix
Benton Harbor is in danger of losing its high school because of poor academic performance and debilitating debt. A former state superintendent says the district’s struggles should be a wake-up call for Michigan.
Opinion | Please, Michigan Supreme Court, restore public will on minimum wage
Michigan’s Supreme Court justices should restore the minimum wage increase that the public wanted last year – and the Legislature weakened in lame duck.
Opinion | I’m an economist and I support payday loans
Sure, payday loans charge 400 percent interest. But they can help low-income Michigan residents make it to their next payday, says a Hillsdale College economist.
Opinion | Want Michigan kids to learn science? Take them outside.
There’s a growing movement to take students out of the classroom and into nature to learn about the environment and nature. That’s happening in schools and programs around Michigan.
Opinion | I’m a 7th-generation Michigan commercial fisherman. 13 are left.
Robert Ruleau’s family business has survived weather and invasive species. Now it’s trying to survive the Department of Natural Resources.
Opinion | For Flint’s lead-exposed children, a sobering lesson from Toledo
The Flint water crisis impacted thousands of young children. A researcher who has studied the impact of lead exposure says there are interventions that can help.
Opinion | Urgent need for clean energy should unite Michigan, not divide us
Listen to one another. Keep an open mind to new concepts (as well as some old) and collaborate so Michigan can be a national leader in clean and safe energy
Opinion | Medical costs are an emergency. I know, I’m an ER doc.
An emergency room doctor describes the anguish he sees every day as patients are forced to choose between urgent medical care and playing their bills.
Opinion | Gutting paid sick time initiative a slap in the face to workers
The sad irony is that the elected officials who gutted paid sick time for Michigan workers are salaried and get paid in full whether or not they show up to work.
Opinion | To improve health, boost Medicaid dental reimbursement rates
Michigan’s Medicaid reimbursement rates haven’t changed since the 1990s. That has to change.
Opinion | Don’t let the summer sun melt academic gains
Students lose about a month of learning over the course of the summer. There are ways to stop that brain drain.
Opinion | Shiny new sports stadiums a loser for Michigan taxpayers
Every time a new taxpayer-supported sports stadium is built, the public is promised economic development. When will we learn?
Opinion | Michigan high schools should require college financial aid literacy
Rep. Darrin Camilleri may not have been able to afford college if he didn’t figure out how to fill out a federal financial aid form called the FAFSA. He’s now pushing to make the form a high school requirement.
Opinion | Michigan needs to decide what kind of state it wants to be
The state is at a crossroads. It’s time to put our money where our mouth is.
Opinion | Please, Gov. Whitmer, fix Benton Harbor High. Don’t close it.
Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wants to close the high school in Benton Harbor because of low academic achievement and high debt. A State Board of Education member (and fellow Democrat) makes a case for investing in the struggling district, rather than closing the high school.
Opinion | Special assessments are a tax by another name
You probably don’t know you’re paying it. You probably shouldn’t be paying it.
Opinion | Michigan needs vote-by-mail elections
Voting by mail increases participation and deceases cost. That sounds like a win-win for the state.
Opinion | Advice for the new Michigan superintendent, from a former one
Former state superintendent Tom Watkins offers some words of wisdom to Michael Rice, who’ll take over as Michigan’s school chief in July.