Public Sector
Citizens cannot do their job of running their government if they don’t know what their public servants are doing. Bridge will take you beyond the political food fights into the policy decisions that affect everyday life.
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Is the Michigan Supreme Court trying to make it harder to punish bad judges?
The high court is considering rule changes that critics say will make it harder to prosecute inept or crooked judges and delay the public release of misconduct charges.
Obamacare survives, but some rural hospitals may not
Rural residents depend on small medical facilities for chemotherapy, emergency care and other critical procedures. Hospital chiefs across northern Michigan say that ongoing efforts to dismantle Obamacare could put them out of business.
Is Lansing trying to steer funds reserved for recreation land?
For decades, a nonpartisan trust enshrined in the Michigan Constitution has decided how to expand public recreation areas in the state. Now, a northern Michigan senator is saying the Legislature should have a voice in the trust’s spending choices.
Michigan residents to Lansing: We don’t trust you to do the basics
People across the state told The Center for Michigan they have fundamental doubts about the government’s ability to deliver on education, public health, campaign transparency and other critical functions
Michiganders say emergency managers wield too much power
With Flint on their minds, state residents are overwhelmingly opposed to Michigan’s divisive emergency manager law and want the state should work more collaboratively with locally elected officials.
Download a copy of "Fractured Trust: Lost faith in state government and how to restore it"
Download a PDF of the final report of The Center for Michigan's 2016 statewide public engagement campaign
Retired diplomats bring the world, and a dose of civility, to Traverse City
State Department veterans Jack Segal and Karen Puschel are selling out lecture halls in Northwest Michigan discussing American foreign policy in the Age of Trump. No shouting. No fistfights. What’s their secret?
Study claims Michigan has more blackouts than most states. Not true, says DTE
Last week’s windstorm left more than a million Michigan customers in the dark. Would more modernization and prevention efforts limit damage from future storms?
State Commission: Consider abolishing Board of Education
An education commission created by Gov. Rick Snyder has concluded that one way to reverse the slide of public schools is to give the governor’s office more control over education policy. Other recommended reforms would require significant state money.
Death to government mumbo jumbo
Lansing is experimenting with turning jargon-filled public documents into something resembling English.
Trump’s travel ban could spark crisis in state’s doctor shortage, healthcare leaders say
Foreign-born doctors play a huge role in underserved areas of Michigan, particularly among the state’s rural and urban poor. The president’s immigration policies are causing many to reconsider their future in Michigan.
Broken: The human toll of Michigan's unemployment fraud saga
Even with settlement of a federal lawsuit, thousands of Michigan workers accused of unemployment insurance fraud await justice
In bid to eliminate state income tax, fears of another Kansas
Michigan Republican lawmakers propose eliminating a $9 billion source of revenue, the state income tax. Bridge dives into the numbers to see how that revenue would be replaced, if it is replaced.
Adding population until the cows come home
Gov. Rick Snyder wants to goose the state’s population over the next four years. But getting to 10 million may be impossible
From lawmaker to lobbyist. Should the state slow down the revolving door?
Most states have a “cooling-off” period before a departing lawmaker can become a lobbyist. Not so in Michigan, where most who take the leap are lobbying their former colleagues within six months.
The Michigan counties most vulnerable if Obamacare is repealed
Nearly a million residents now get healthcare through the Affordable Care Act or Medicaid expansion, coverage that faces an uncertain future if Obamacare is scrapped with no replacement. At highest risk: several counties that voted for Trump.
Repeal Obamacare? Michigan delegation split…and a bit vague
Thousands of residents in each Michigan congressional district get health insurance through either Medicaid expansion or a government-run exchange. Here’s how their Washington representatives stand on repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
We hope you enjoyed your stay at the county jail. Here’s your bill.
Michigan’s county jails charge inmates up to $50 per day for housing, fees that can saddle ex-offenders with five-figure debt loads.
Voting without an ID? Not a big problem in most of Michigan
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.
State sheds little light on troubled prison transport firm
Michigan uses a for-profit company that’s been accused in the death, injury and abuse of prisoners, while other prisoners have escaped. State prison officials don’t want to talk about it