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Government should meet folks where they are

Many lawmakers have repeatedly pressed Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson in recent weeks to resume in-person services at her branch offices around Michigan. During the coronavirus pandemic, Benson closed the Secretary of State branch offices — where Michiganders go to renew their driver’s licenses, IDs, and vehicle registrations, and more — to walk-in services. Instead, she offered more services online and at remote kiosks in places like supermarkets and encouraged residents to use those, and allowed scheduled in-person appointments. The agency’s website says appointments can ...

Paying for PFAS mess clean-up should be federal responsibility

K.I. Sawyer, a former U.S. Air Force base, has been identified in the proposed Filthy Fifty Act as a priority for clean up of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, as it is one of the state’s two most PFAS-contaminated bases. This stems from U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, and Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Hills, introducing two new bills, the Clean Water for Military Families Act and the Filthy Fifty Act, which direct the Department of Defense to identify and clean up PFAS at U.S. military installations with some of the highest levels of PFAS contamination in the ...

Whitmer on right track in youth education proposal

John Dewey once said, “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” If that’s the case, it’s never too early to get started, and our state is now taking steps to establish an early foundation. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday proposed expanding government-funded preschool to 22,000 eligible but unenrolled 4-year-olds in Michigan, saying too many cannot access an “incredible opportunity” because of inadequate funding, as reported by The Associated Press. The expansion is designed to ensure all 65,400 eligible kids can attend either through the federal ...

Heat wave: precautions needed to maintain safety

The recent spate of blistering hot temperatures has the folks at AAA of Michigan offering tips to keep children and pets safe during what is expected to be the hottest weather so far this summer season. And for good reason. From 1998 to 2020, 883 children died from heatstroke in hot cars according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Similar statistics are unavailable for pets. “People often think that something like this could never happen to them,” Adrienne Woodland, spokesperson, AAA-The Auto Club Group, said in a press release. “However, many heatstroke ...

Take care to stop the spread of invasive species

Wild Rivers Invasive Species Coalition and PlayCleanGo have kicked off the third-annual PlayCleanGo Awareness Week, which extends through Saturday. A week dedicated to highlighting the importance of stopping the spread of invasive species, PlayCleanGo Awareness Week aims to educate recreationists on quick and easy ways to responsibly enjoy the outdoors without spreading invasive species or pests. Throughout the week, WRISC will join PlayCleanGo to share information about invasive species and actionable steps the public can take, whether out on a hike, boating or enjoying a picnic in ...

Michiganders deserve an accurate count of nursing home deaths

This task simply can’t be someone else’s job. We were a bit befuddled in April when officials with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services told a Record-Eagle reporter the statewide health agency hadn’t collected data on COVID-19 infections and deaths in small long-term care facilities. Those regulators pointed our journalist toward local health departments and said the 46 dispersed agencies that each serve a small portion of Michigan were responsible for keeping tabs on small adult foster care operations. At the time, the deflection left us scratching our ...