Michigan Senate calls for compromise, blocks more Whitmer appointees
Lansing Michigan Senate Republicans demanded Wednesday that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer work more closely with lawmakers on responding to COVID-19 before blocking a second slate of her appointees.
The GOP-controlled Senate voted along party lines, 20-14, to reject five of the Democratic governor s appointees, another sign of the deteriorating relationship between the legislative and executive branches during the pandemic. A week earlier, the Senate nixed 13 of Whitmer s appointees.
Before the Wednesday vote, Sen. Aric Nesbitt, R-Lawton, said the Senate was using its power to pressure Whitmer to compromise with the people s representatives. GOP lawmakers want the governor to ease restrictions on businesses and school athletics more quickly.
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The Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners allocated an additional $1.5 million to the Washtenaw County Health Department in December for COVID-19 response. Board Chair Jason Morgan says the funds will be used to help with the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, purchase additional personal protective equipment if it’s needed by office employees, and to keep funding health screening stations at the entrance of county buildings.
Board Chair Jason Morgan: We are definitely going to have to continue a lot of these safety measures for quite some time. I would say throughout 2021 given that the vaccine is not 100% effective and it’s going to take quite a while to make sure that everyone in our community is vaccinated.
Who’s new in the Michigan House of Representatives
Updated Jan 05, 2021;
Posted Jan 05, 2021
The House Chamber pictured at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing on Thursday, April 25, 2019.Neil Blake
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The new legislative session brings with it substantial turnover for the Michigan House of Representatives, which will have 28 new lawmakers serving their first full terms in office.
Most of the freshman class will fill House seats vacated by members who hit their six-year term limit serving in the state House, although some defeated incumbents or are replacing members who sought other offices last fall.
Speaker-elect Jason Wentworth, R-Clare, and Democratic Leader-elect Donna Lasinski, D-Scio Township, will fill the leadership slots left open by the departures of former Reps. Lee Chatfield and Christine Greig.
2020: A year in review in Ann Arbor
Meredith Bruckner, Community News Producer, All About Ann Arbor
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Happy Friday!
It’s the first day of 2021 and many are looking to this year as one of hope. Though we’re still in the same pandemic as we were yesterday, there is something about Jan. 1 that instills a sense of reset and fresh focus. My New Year’s resolution is to get out of the house as much as possible once it is safe to venture outdoors unmasked again it’s almost hard to imagine, isn’t it?
Being cooped up inside has made me think of all the events and trips I’ve passed up over the years. Even small things like taking my daughters to weekday storytimes or Dancing Babies classes at AADL I won’t take that for granted when it all returns.
Katie Prout2021-01-21T17:16:18-05:00December 29, 2020|
In Washtenaw County, mutual aid projects are providing housing and tenant rights support for renters as the end of the eviction moratorium looms
By Katie Prout
Washtenaw County, in southeast Michigan, holds two of four state universities and a not insignificant portion of Michigan’s wealth. Located forty-five minutes or so west of downtown Detroit, it includes both rural and urban areas, and the county seat, Ann Abor, is home to the flagship campus of the University of Michigan (U-M). Historically, visitors on any autumn weekend could see multigenerational tailgates and exuberant U-M students playing beer pong while a porch TV blared the Wolverines. This COVID autumn, people gathered in front of homes in Ann Arbor and neighboring Ypsilanti to shout, cheer, and protest for a different kind of defense: keeping tenants facing court-ordered eviction safe in their rented homes.