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.
Credit steve carmody / Michigan Radio
Some people in Flint are turning to a higher power to deal with a rise in violent crime.
“We pray right now for protection, Lord. We pray for strength, Lord,” Pastor Chris Martin used a megaphone, as he led a small march from his church, past a city park where the city’s latest murder victim was found Saturday.
This year, Flint has recorded 52 murders, up from 45 in 2019. That number includes, four people, including a 10-month-old boy, shot dead in Flint the day after Christmas.
Flint’s not alone. Grand Rapids, Detroit, Lansing and Saginaw are among Michigan cities with rising violent crime rates this year.
Her mistakes in Michigan cost taxpayers billions.
Jarrett Skorup
Opinion contributor
President-elect Joe Biden is set to appoint former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm to lead the U.S. Department of Energy. That’s a foolish decision that should frighten every American taxpayer. A big part of her job will be to dole out taxpayer dollars to “green” companies and industries favored by the Biden administration a strategy she deployed in Michigan, but with little to show for it.
When Granholm was governor, she directed hundreds of millions of dollars to politically favored companies in the hopes of creating “green” jobs. She famously promised Michiganders, “In five years, you’re going to be blown away.”
5 things the Michigan Legislature failed to address in 2020
Updated Dec 23, 2020;
Posted Dec 23, 2020
Protesters congregate at the Capitol Building during a protest against emergency business shutdown orders amid the coronavirus pandemic in Lansing on Thursday, April 30, 2020. Neil Blake | MLive.com
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LANSING, MI - The legislative agendas of Lee Chatfield and Mike Shirkey looked very different in 2020 than they did in 2019.
With COVID-19 dominating every aspect of life in 2020, the Republican leaders in the Michigan Legislature shifted focus to address the pandemic. While they fulfilled promises such as boosting education funding, lowering auto insurance costs and passing criminal justice reforms, one major shortcoming was obvious: No plan to mitigate disease spread made it out of either chamber.