February 2, 2021 By Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com
Democratic Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has announced a legislative agenda she says will ensure fair and secure elections following a huge increase in absentee voting and unfounded accusations of voter fraud in the November General Election.
Michigan had its highest-ever voter turnout in 2020 with about 5.5 million votes cast. Nearly 30,000 citizens registered to vote on Election Day itself. Benson hosted a press conference Monday afternoon and said her administration has launched the most aggressive post-election audit process in state history and there is no evidence of wrongdoing but there are still legislators that seek to roll back access to the vote.
Through the Retail Pharmacy Partnership, local Giant Eagle and Rite Aid are getting either 100 or 200 doses of Moderna vaccine each week. Here s who received vaccine locally this week, though many of these doses are likely already spoken for.
Beaver County
Rite Aid, 2302 Sheffield Road, Aliquippa
Rite Aid, 1799 Third St., Beaver
Rite Aid, 1505 Seventh Ave., Beaver Falls
Giant Eagle, 2650 Constitution Boulevard, Chippewa Township
Rite Aid, 847 Midland Ave., Midland
Rite Aid, 813 Third Ave., New Brighton
Giant Eagle, 111 West Madison St., Rochester
Giant Eagle, 289 Route 288, Franklin Township
Additionally, The Hometown Pharmacy, 4969 Tuscarawas Road in Brighton Township, is slated to receive vaccines through a typical state distribution, but the amount is not noted in the state s data. They are the only location in Beaver County set for distribution this week.
BRIGHTON TWP. A local Red Cross facility won t be accepting one type of blood donations anymore.
The Red Cross Greater Alleghenies Region will no longer accept platelet collections at its Beaver and Greensburg locations. With a decrease in planned platelet distributions, the Red Cross needs to adjust its operations in order to deliver cost-effective and reliable products and services for patients in need, the organization said in a statement. This decision will not affect the availability and timely distribution of blood and blood products to our hospital partners and patients.
Blood platelets are small colorless cell fragments that form clots and stop or prevent bleeding. The cells are made in human bone marrow and used to help control bleeding in a recipient after surgeries such as organ transplants or for patients who don t have enough of their own platelets. Raising a patient s platelet count reduces the chances of dangerous or deadly bleeding.
January 29, 2021 By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com
A local legislator is urging the governor and the state health department to let all high school athletes participate in their winter sports.
The fight over whether to allow youth contact sports to resume took center court, Thursday, in Lansing, as Michigan lawmakers heard testimony from educators, parents and students wanting to get back to competition. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has continued to push back the start date for winter high school contact sports. That date currently stands at February 21st.
Republican State Senator Lana Theis of Brighton Township chairs the Senate Education and Career Readiness Committee, which on Thursday adopted Senate Resolution 7, urging Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the state health department to end the suspension on sports and allow play to resume immediately. The resolution cites the executive director of the Michigan High
January 28, 2021 By Jessica Mathews & Jon King / news@whmi.com
Governor Gretchen Whitmer delivered her third annual State of the State Address Wednesday night, highlighting both successes and challenges still to overcome during the continuing pandemic.
Speaking from her Capitol office, the Democratic Governor said 2020 was a tough year and acknowledged the more than 14,000 lives lost to COVID-19. She noted that over the past year, people confronted historic converging crises â a worldwide pandemic, the recession it caused, a 500-year flooding event, a nationwide call against racial inequity, and a deeply divisive election. Based on the political environment this past year, Whitmer said people might think Republicans and Democrats in Lansing canât find common ground on much of anything but the reality was that they took real bipartisan action to get things done â noting she signed two balanced, bi-partisan budgets that prioritized p