July 7th, 20200WAYNE COUNTY — Wayne County and many other communities across Michigan will receive grants for small businesses that are trying to reopen and recover from impacts of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
$50 million in grants to be awarded to Wayne County small businesses
Wayne County will allocate up to $50 million in CARES Act...
July 7th, 20200LANSING — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and other state attorneys general are taking legal action against a rule issued by U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos that they say unfairly diverts federal pandemic relief funds to private schools.
Nessel and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra are leading a coalition...
July 1st, 20200LANSING — In an act to curb upticks in new cases across Michigan, and perhaps reprimand careless bar goers, Governor Whitmer announced on Wednesday that she will be closing down indoor bar services through most of lower Michigan.
Bars will be able to serve customers outdoors and will be able to offer cocktails-to-go. The Upper...
July 1st, 20200
LANSING — On Wednesday, Governor Whitmer signed Senate Bills 876-878, which makes into law her previous executive orders, further extending the renewal dates for driver’s licenses, CDLs, state ID cards and vehicle registrations. Those with driver’s licenses or vehicle registrations expiring after March 1 have until Sept. 30 to...
June 25th, 20200LANSING — On Wednesday, 200 semifinalists for Michigan’s first Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission were randomly selected in a live broadcasted event by the Michigan Department of State (MDOS).
The random selection was performed by Rehmann LLC, an independent accounting firm hired through a public bidding process to...
June 11th, 20200LANSING — Michigan’s new auto insurance law will go into effect for policies that issue or renew after July 1. A landmark piece of bi-partisan legislation, the new law aims to bring down the overwhelming costs drivers in Michigan have had to pay to stay insured.
Simply put, the law lets drivers choose their level of medical...
June 9th, 20200LANSING — A new poll by EPIC-MRA found that Michiganders overwhelmingly want roads and other infrastructure fixed after the state has recovered economically from COVID-19. Roads and infrastructure were a central theme for the Whitmer administration and the state legislature up until the economic decimation caused by the...
June 4th, 20200LANSING — The Michigan Department of State (MDOS) processed more than 6,000 applications for the state’s new Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission by June 1, the last day to notarize and submit an application.
The application process began in October of last year, when the state outlined the application process. The...
June 1st, 20200
LANSING — On Monday, Governor Whitmer signed another executive order, this time rescinding her previous "Stay Home, Stay Safe" order and moving the entire state to phase four of her MI Safe Start Plan. This is big news for businesses in Michigan, like restaurants, though close contact businesses like gyms and hair salons will...
May 26th, 20200LANSING — Michigan announced a new online tool that displays data, in graphical form, for COVID-19 cases, deaths and tests by economic region. The state said the website, https://www.mistartmap.info, shows regional trends, providing a snapshot of how much of the virus is in a community and whether it is increasing or...
May 21st, 20200LANSING — Governor Whitmer has won the legal dispute brought up by the state's Republican legislature over her extension of the state of emergency declaration. On Thursday, Lansing announced that the Court of Claims has ruled in favor of Whitmer's decision to extend the declaration without legislative approval.
The GOP-led...
May 18th, 20200LANSING — The Michigan Department of Health and Human Service (MDHHS) and Governor Whitmer’s office announced today more state-wide funding through a federal low-income energy assistance program. Michigan has now been awarded $35 million in funding on top of the $162 million already secured by the state.
The funds go towards...
May 15th, 20200LANSING - During a Friday new conference, Governor Whitmer today announced the creation of the Return to Learning Advisory Council via Executive Order 2020-88, formalizing a process for determining how schools may be able to reopen in the fall.
The panel – which will be comprised of students, parents, frontline educators,...
May 15th, 20200LANSING — The state’s Capitol saw another day of protests against Governor Whitmer’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order. Protesters, many armed, gathered on the Capitol grounds early on a rainy Thursday. The state legislature was not in session and so the Capitol Building itself was closed for business.
The protests were...
May 13th, 20200LANSING — Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) announced today some remarkable numbers. $5.62 billion in unemployment benefits have been paid to 1,374,751 workers since March 15, with a further total number of 1,717,555 claimants having applied for state and federal benefits.
The UIA marks March 15 as the “onset of the...
May 8th, 20200LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has sent a letter to the Michigan State Capitol Commission confirming that the Commission has the legal authority to prohibit the presence of firearms in the state Capitol, if it chooses to do so. The AG says that authority is consistent with the current state of the law regarding...
May 7th, 20200LANSING — On Thursday, Governor Whitmer signed Executive Order 2020-77 to extend Michigan’s "Stay Home, Stay Safe" order to May 28. The governor’s order will allow manufacturing workers, including those at Michigan’s Big Three auto companies, to resume work on Monday, May 11 as part of her MI Safe Start Plan.
“This is...
May 6th, 20200
LANSING — On Wednesday, Governor Whitmer signed Executive Order 2020-76, expediting the unemployment benefits process during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. The most significant takeaway from this development: The state will now only look at an unemployed individual's most recent job separation, which is the cause of the...
April 30th, 20201LANSING — On Thursday, after the Republican-controlled Michigan legislature all but declared victory in their battle to reopen the economy and effectively end Governor Whitmer’s emergency powers, Whitmer took swift and decisive action by signing four new executive orders to continue fighting COVID-19 and the save lives of...
April 24th, 20200LANSING - Governor Whitmer is set to address the state at 11:00 am today. Whitmer will be announcing a new executive order (2020-59), effective through May 15, that will reopen certain parts of the economy and ease up on certain restrictions.
Some workers will be allowed to go back to work:
This includes landscapers,...
April 21st, 20200LANSING — As part of efforts to continue expanding COVID-19 testing and contact tracing of potentially exposed Michiganders, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) again expanded its testing criteria to include all essential workers still reporting to work in person, whether they have symptoms or not, and...
April 19th, 20201LANSING — After Wednesday's "Operation Gridlock" protests made national news, Lansing's Mayor Andy Schor is promising tough measures on any future protest that fail to correctly observe CDC social distancing guideline and openly violate Governor Whitemer's "Stay Home, Stay Safe" order.
The protesters gathered Wednesday afternoon...
April 17th, 20200LANSING — By Wednesday afternoon, news outlets and social media accounts were buzzing with images and video of the state’s capitol building in Lansing, where thousands of right-wing, pro-Trump protesters converged against Michigan's now extended “stay home” executive order.
Many were in violation of the order themselves....
April 14th, 20200LANSING — The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has announced it is expanding testing criteria for Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) to include individuals with mild symptoms, and has published a COVID-19 test site finder at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus to help Michiganders locate a testing site near...
April 14th, 20200LANSING — The Michigan History Center announced over the weekend a new collecting initiative that gives residents the opportunity to share stories that reflect their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, for the benefit of future generations.
The Michigan History Center has said the COVID-19 pandemic is a critical moment in...
April 13th, 20200DEARBORN - The Arab American News spoke to Dr. Joneigh Khaldun on Monday morning about the state of COVID-19 in Michigan. Khaldun is the chief medical executive and chief deputy director for health for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).
Many in the state may now be familiar with Khaldun, who joins Governor...
March 26th, 20200LANSING — On Wednesday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel provided guidelines on how to report and file complaints about individuals and businesses that aren’t complying with Governor Whitmer’s executive orders. The AG office’s Consumer Protection intake line is now flooded with phone calls related to violations of the...
March 23rd, 20200DEARBORN — Since the announcement of Monday's executive order by Governor Whitmer, dubbed "Stay Home, Stay Safe", Michigan residents have questioned how much the new rules restrict their travel on the road during the COVID-19 outbreak in their state.
Lets take a look at travel and driving components of the order to clarify what the...