skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

MI: Budget Policy & Priorities

The Task Force on Juvenile Justice Reform, formed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and led by Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II, took a comprehensive look at the state's system and released its report in July 2022 with 32 recommendations for improving Michigan's juvenile justice system. (Oleg Kozlovskiy/Adobe Stock)

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

play audio
Motor vehicle emissions contribute to ozone, particulate matter and air toxics, which are linked with premature death and other serious health impacts, including respiratory illness, cardiovascular problems and cancer. (rh2010/Adobe Stock)
EPA offers longer rollout for emissions rules on light-duty vehicles

The Environmental Protection Agency is setting stricter limits on vehicle tailpipe emissions through 2032 and giving automakers an additional three ye…

play audio

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, helped secure the funding for the Western Michigan University project. (VectorMine/Adobe Stock)
WMU secures $2.25 million grant for carbon capture research

Western Michigan University has gotten a significant funding boost, with a grant of more than $2 million from the U.S. Department of Energy. The …

play audio
Although food insecurity can be faced by anyone, Black and Latino children are twice as likely to face hunger because of discrimination based on race. And in 2022, 33% of single-parent families experienced food insecurity. (Piman Khrutmuang/Adobe Stock)
Michigan students get a boost to summer food access

Michigan is planning ahead to make sure kids from lower-income families have enough to eat this summer. The state has opted into a federal food …

play audio

The funding increase for community health centers also helps alleviate some of the burdens caused by threats to 340B, the low-cost prescription drug program. A Merck study finds 90% of older adults regularly take at least one prescription drug. (220 Selfmade Studio/Adobe Stock)
MI seniors applaud community health center funding increase

Older adults across Michigan and around the country are applauding a boost in funding for community health centers, thanks to Congress passing a …

play audio
States including California and Illinois have passed mental health legislation similar to what Michigan is now considering, without seeing increases to insurance premiums. (Drazen/Adobe Stock)
MI legislators push for mental-health care access

A House bill aimed at increasing access to mental health care in Michigan could go to a vote on the House floor at any time. Rep. Felicia Brabec…

play audio

According to the EPA, most EVs can be charged with a standard 120-volt (Level 1) outlet. To charge them more quickly, you can install a dedicated 240-volt (Level 2). (Mike Mareen/Adobe Stock)
Report: EV puts money back into Michigan drivers' pockets

Michigan is seeing growth in new electric-vehicle market share, and EV enthusiasts say lower prices are just part of their appeal. The latest …

play audio
The $80.1 million investments from the U.S. Department of Agriculture are part of President Joe Biden's commitment to advance equity for people who have been historically underserved and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality. (ysbrandcosijn/Adobe Stock)
USDA funds 28 housing units in Michigan's Alpena County

Braving the week's icy conditions, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and several members of the Legislature highlighted the state's housing crisis at …

play audio

This third edition of AECF's Race for Results report has post-COVID data and contends that young people are missing critical developmental milestones as a direct result of choices to not invest in policies, programs and services that support children, especially in under-resourced communities and communities of color. (Brocreative/Adobe Stock)
Many Michigan kids of color face significant barriers to reaching potential

Black children in Michigan are performing worse than their peers nationally in every metric measured, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation's …

play audio
Apart from the January minimum wage increase, the new year also increased the minimum hourly wage rate for minors to $8.78 per hour, and the tipped employee rate increased to $3.93 per hour. (Seika/Adobe Stock)
MLK Jr.'s fight for fair pay resonates with MI service workers

Michigan food service workers are commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. today, bringing to mind their own, more recent battle for fair wages and …

play audio

Achievement data for fourth grade and eighth grade rural Michigan students experiencing poverty and all rural students ranks in the middle compared to other U.S. states. (ruslanita/Adobe Stock)
Report: Rural Michigan students need school counselors

A new report said Michigan has the lowest professional-to-student ratio of all states and pointed to the particular staffing needs of rural schools…

play audio
The Peterbilt 520 EV, a fully electric garbage truck, made a test run in Portland, Ore., on Nov. 11, 2023. (scharfsinn86/Adobe Stock)
Heavy-duty trucks: Rolling toward electric power?

While lawmakers and environmental groups strive to lower vehicle emissions and the nation's carbon footprint, many truckers see unrealistic …

play audio

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021