COVID-19 Michigan

Michigan COVID-19 Negative Impact

State borrows first $800M of $3.5B in bonds for road repairs 09-10-2020 (html) | Detroit News. The $800 million bond issue is the first installment of the $3.5 billion, which will be taken out over a four-year span and repaid over the next 25 years. The $3.5 billion in bonds is expected to cost about $5.2 billion if repaid through $206.6 million annual debt service payments over 25 years.

$300 weekly unemployment money one step closer as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signs bill 09-08-2020 (html) – mlive.com.

Michigan has cut funding to universities in the state by $200 million: What this means for EMU 09-07-2020 (html) | The Eastern Echo.

Schools Struggle To Get Food To Students During Coronavirus 09-08-2020 (html) : NPR.

States plan for cuts as Congress deadlocks on more virus aid 09-06-2020 (html) | AP News. In Michigan, schools are grappling with uncertainty as they begin classes because the state lacks a budget for the fiscal year that starts October 1.

He took down Michigan’s unemployment system. Now, he’s struggling to fix it. 07-20-2020 (html) | Bridge Magazine. State Rep. Luke Meerman, R-Coopersville, last month sent Whitmer a letter urging her to remove and replace the entire leadership team at the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency.

Whitmer repeats call for Trump to fully fund Michigan National Guard 09-07-2020 (html) – mlive.com

Dam fixes could cost Wixom, Sanford lakes residents $1,000 annually 09-10-2020 (html) | Detroit News.

Small Michigan businesses ‘on brink of destruction,’ ask Gov. Whitmer for plan to reopen 08-26-2020 (html) – mlive.com.

Stabenow: USDA is taking away meals from students, 08-25-2020 (html) | Detroit News. The state of Michigan has served 80 million meals to children since the pandemic shuttered school buildings in March.

GM, Ford return-to-office dates months away, 08-25-2020 (html) | Detroit News. GM is planning to reevaluate in October if it’s possible to send employees back to its downtown Detroit offices. Ford pushed back to January its plans to bring employees back to its Dearborn headquarters. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles hasn’t said when its salaried workforce might return.

Michigan announces $600 million Flint water crisis settlement, August 20, 2020 | CBS This Morning (html) – YouTube

Opinion: Michigan needs federal bailout for budget after COVID-19, August 15, 2020 (html) | Detroit News. The State of Michigan was facing a $6.2 billion revenue loss over this fiscal year and next. Legislators tapped the state’s rainy day fund for $350 million to help get the fiscal year in balance, but the just over $800 million left in the rainy day fund, is not nearly enough to address the billions of dollars in revenue shortfall that remains. There’s simply no way to cut the budget in fiscal year 2021 without impacting essential services at a time when residents need them the most.

The budget Michigan uses to fund departments and provide essential services at both the state and local level has not grown in two decades, while inflation and demand for services continued to grow. Over 90% of state general fund and school aid fund dollars support schools, colleges and universities, local governments, public safety and health care which are the only place left to cut.

Under the “MI Safe Start” plan announced by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in May, six phases were outlined to “re-engage Michigan’s economy” with the ominous warning that “this will be a long process.” In fact, it could be years. Phase six is not reached until there is “sufficient community immunity” made possible by a “high uptake of a therapy or vaccine.”

Clean out the basement, parents. Nearly 49% of young millennials say the virus has them moving back home.

Group protests to get extension of eviction moratorium in Detroit, August 17, 2020 (html) | Detroit Free Press. The group, organized by Detroit Eviction Defense (html), demanded that all evictions in Detroit and Michigan be banned until at least 60 days after the extended state of emergency — Sept. 4 — in order to keep residents in their homes during the ongoing pandemic.

Detroit Eviction Defense (html) – nobody moves.

Michigan roads: how bad are they, how are they funded, and how on Earth can they be fixed? January 29, 2020 (html) | Michigan Radio. It is a fact universally acknowledged that Michigan has terrible roads. Well, unless you are state Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (html) (R-Clarklake), is not convinced there is a need for new road spending.

Blind Buffoon Shirkey: State must ‘suffer through’ budget woes in lieu of fed aid, August 14, 2020 (html) | Detroit News. State budget officials estimate Michigan is facing a $3 billion shortfall in next year’s budget, which begins Oct. 1, and already have worked to mitigate a $3 billion budget hole in the current budget.

Detroit unemployment rate drops, but 1 in 5 residents in financial trouble, August 11, 2020 (html) | University of Michigan News.

Thousands fled for their lives when two Michigan dams collapsed. More disasters are coming, experts say, June 13, 2020 (html) | NBC News.

MI Poverty – Even Before COVID-19, Many Adults Lacked Stable Food Supply, May 11, 2020 (html) | University of Michigan Health Lab. Even before the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc with the nation’s food supply and economy, one in seven adults between the ages of 50 and 80 already had trouble getting enough food because of cost or other issues, a new poll finds.

Evictions are expected to skyrocket as protections expire, August 20, 2020 (html) | CNBC. Many states that paused their own proceedings have now allowed them to resume. Since July 15, eviction moratoriums have lapsed in Michigan, Maryland, Maine and Indiana. A record number of people could find themselves without a home during the pandemic.

Work from home could hurt Detroit office market, construction projects, 08-22-2020 (html) | Detroit Free Press. Pandemic could put high-profile Detroit construction projects at risk. That includes the big, expensive and high-profile building construction projects that are underway or planned by businessman Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock real estate firm. One of those projects is widely considered to be in danger of cancellation or at least being shelved for years.

$3.1M effort will remove Muskegon Lake ‘junk,’ restore shoreline, August 24, 2020 (html) – mlive.com. MUSKEGON, MI – Efforts to clean up Muskegon Lake that once was essentially used as a dump continues this summer with a $3.1 million initiative to remove “chunks of junk” from the lake bottom. The abuse began during the lumber era, when sawmill debris was tossed into the lake waters, and continued through the years with the use of foundry sand and concrete fill to create a dock and unnatural shoreline. The project implemented by West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission (WMSRDC) began in mid-August near the site of a former Amoco tank farm where Ruddiman Creek enters the lake in the city of Muskegon’s Lakeside neighborhood. The funding is from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Local Covid-19 Impact: Michigan Schools, Jobs & Skills

Plymouth city, township take another lead in COVID-19 spikes 09-10-2020 (html) | Hometown Life.

Plymouth city, township take another lead in COVID-19 spikes 09-10-2020 (html) | Hometown Life. Plymouth city and township jumped 22.6%, Northville city and township experienced the second-highest hike of 10.2% and Canton Township trailed with an 8.4% increase and total of 1,019 cases.

Fire at Plymouth industrial site – caused by faulty equipment 09-08-2020 (html) – Plymouth Voice.

Mayor Duggan ‘pushing the panic button’ as Detroit census response sits under 50% 09-09-2020 (html) | Fox2 Detroit.

Livonia’s top taxpayers include Amazon, Ford, among local businesses 09-09-2020 (html) | Hometown Life. Livonia’s top 2019 taxpayers include: Consumers Energy, DTE Energy, Ashley Capital, Schostak Brothers, Ford Motor Company, Amazon, Promanas, Republic National Distributing Company, ARC and Schoolcraft College Park paid over $14.2 million dollars in taxes in Livonia.

Ford severance packages for salaried workers targets 1,400 in U.S. 09-08-2020 (html) | Detroit Free Press.

Lots of Detroit adults are living at home with parents, new data shows 09-08-2020 (html) | News Hits | Metrotimes.

Opinion: Detroit shows that economies built on debt come crashing down 09-05-2020 (html) | Detroit News. Modern monetary theory as espoused by today’s economists is a crock. You can’t keep on spending what you don’t have. As in Detroit, an impoverished tax base can’t provide sufficient funding for even basic services. Such a government is not only financially insolvent but service insolvent. If the U.S. and FED couldn’t print and borrow money our country would be fiscally and service insolvent. That future is not too distant.

Matt Koleszar (html) – MI House Democrats 2020.

Plymouth-Canton Schools (PCCS) announces first 2020 bond projects 08-26-2020 (html) | Hometown Life. These are the first Plymouth-Canton schools (PCCS) to get improvements from 2020 bond proceeds. The Hulsing Elementary School (html) project carries the highest budget ($8,394,468) with Dodson (the newest of the four buildings) slotted for an expenditure of $6,496,929. The projected cost of renovating Eriksson is $8,296,895 with Field coming in at $8,288,655. Now surrounding communities are waiting for the State of Michigan to stop the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Tetraethyl Lead poisoning of school kids at PCCS Hulsing Elementary School!

14 schools report outbreaks of virus, state health department says, August 20, 2020 (html) | Detroit News.

Detroit is the 7th fastest shrinking large city in U.S., according to study, August 20, 2020 (html) | News Hits | Detroit metro Times. Despite its “comeback city” narrative, the Motor City is still losing population. Detroit has an average drop of 0.37% per year, compared with average growth of 0.8% for large cities in the U.S.

American Airlines suspends service to 15 U.S. cities, August 19, 2020 (html) – CBS News. 15 cities including Kalamazoo, Michigan. Travel industry experts have predicted that the pandemic could cost domestic airlines more than $20 billion in lost revenue this year. The industry globally could lose up to $84 billion this year, according to the International Air Transport Association. More than 80,000 pilots, flight attendants and other airline workers could be furloughed as carriers attempt to navigate catastrophic losses stemming from COVID-19.

Caterer to lay off 102 people at Detroit Metro Airport (DTW), August 20, 2020 (html) | Detroit News.

Michigan sues U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos over school coronavirus funds, July 07, 2020 (html) – mlive.com.

Amazon to hire 100 more white-collar jobs in Detroit at $150K, August 18, 2020 (html) | Detroit Free Press. Amazon says it employs more than 876,000 people worldwide, including 35,000 at its 18 Tech Hubs in North America.

Jobs in Detroit projected to fall more than 11% in 2020, due to COVID-19, August 14, 2020 (html) | Detroit News. Michigan is not slated to rebound to pre-pandemic employment levels until 2024, according to the forecast.

NOTE:  efforts to close the digital divide in the city, the recent news that Amazon.com Inc. is eyeing the former Michigan State Fairgrounds as a potential location for a major distribution center, and the announcement Thursday of a planned Detroit-to-Ann Arbor autonomous vehicle corridor as examples of those efforts paying off.

Amazon to hire 100 more white-collar jobs in Detroit at $150K, August 18, 2020 (html) | Detroit Free Press. Amazon says it employs more than 876,000 people worldwide, including 35,000 at its 18 Tech Hubs in North America.

Amazon facility in Romulus doubles down on COVID-19 safety protocols, August 20, 2020 (html) | Detroit News.

Detroit, Michigan (html) | Amazon.jobs.

SkillsUSA Michigan (html).

National Skills Coalition (html). Michigan’s Forgotten Middle-Skill Jobs: Meeting The Demands Of A 21st-Century Economy, October 2009 (pdf). Middle-skill jobs represent the largest share of jobs in Michigan—some 51 percent—and the largest share of future job openings. The truth is that middle-skill jobs, which require more than a high school education but less than a four-year degree, currently make up the largest segment of jobs in the U.S. economy, and will continue to do so for years to come.

Michigan (html) | National Skills Coalition.

Some Previous Michigan Schools COVID-19 Negative Impacts

Plymouth Canton Schools facing massive state funding decrease (html) -Plymouth-Canton Community Schools (PCCS) leaders brace for potential devastating cuts to state funding. The severity of funding cuts was uncertain, however, estimates of as much as $2,000 per student.

Whitmer: Congress can prevent deep cuts; K-12 is priority (html) | AP News. The State of Michigan is facing a nearly $6.3 billion revenue hole over this fiscal year and next. It has become impossible to support existing essential services like health care, education, public safety and public transportation during this crisis. The next State of Michigan budget won’t be complete by the July 1 deadline. While the State of Michigan has received $3 billion from the federal coronavirus rescue package, however, it cannot be used to cover shortfalls, deep cuts to essential services will be required to make ends meet.

  • Michigan Education Association (MEA)
    • Push for federal funding to address budget shortfall (html).
    • Rally (Virtually) for Federal Education Funding this Friday (html).
    • Opinion: Federal relief is critical to lessen school budget blow (html).

Executive Budget Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021 (pdf), State of Michigan Gretchen Whitmer, Governor, Chris Kolb, State Budget Director.

  • Plymouth-Canton Educational Park (P-CEP) | Plymouth-Canton Community Schools (PCCS).
    • P-CEP STEM Academy Is A 2019-20 PLTW Distinguished District (html) | Plymouth, MI Patch. Congratulations to all who support and empower the Plymouth Canton Community School System (PCCS) students in the STEM Academy! P-CEP STEM Academy is one of just 143 high schools across the U.S. to receive this honor.
    • See Plymouth-Canton Educational Park (P-CEP) Senior Send Off Slide Show (html) | Plymouth, MI Patch. The P-CEP Senior Send Off 2020 (Google Slides, 123 slides).

Coronavirus Is Creating A Financial Crisis For American Schools (html) : NPR. A looming financial meltdown for America’s Schools: state income and tax revenues crashed creating a school funding crisis unlike anything seen in modern history.

CDC’s New School Guidelines Call For Classroom Lunches, No Extracurricular Activities | Considerations for Schools (html) (pdf) | CDC.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Plans to Force Public Schools to Share Aid with Private Ones (html) – The New York Times. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos says she will force public school superintendents to share coronavirus rescue funds with private schools, some of which are facing ruin. Now there is even less money for individual schools including public school systems like Plymouth Canton Community Schools (PCCS) that require funding to operate at minimum levels.

While other Michigan schools are making cuts, Ann Arbor isn’t ready to hit the panic button yet (html) – mlive.com. This comes with the caveat that state funding will NOT be reduced. Without certainty of how much funding could be reduced next year, it’s critical for school districts and other government entities to continue to push for CARES Act funding to reduce damage next year 2021. The State of Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency’s economic outlook and budget review released on May 14 (pdf) shows a $1.2-billion deficit in school aid funding for the 2019-20 school year, along with a $1.1-billion decrease in school aid anticipated for 2020-21.

Schools nationwide brace for cuts from new financial crisis (html) – ABC News. More than 13,000 public school districts face the possibility of sharp budget cuts as state tax revenues decline because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Plymouth teacher concerned about return to school (html) | HomeTown Life.Plymouth Canton Community Schools (PCCS) educator: Teachers’ health overlooked in talks to reopen schools.
  • Getting back to school: Students will wear masks, but what do you do about buses? (html) | MSN. No more school cafeteria. No more milling in the hallway. No more whispering to the person seated next to you.
  • Coronavirus: School lunch programs going broke because of kids’ hunger (html) | USA Today. School lunch programs are losing millions feeding hungry kids; they could be broke by fall.
  • U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Dept. Of Education Discloses Illegal Seizure Of $2.2 Billion From Student Loan Borrowers (html) | Forbes.
  • Schools Plan to Reopen as Watchdog Finds Major Facility Problems (html) | Education News | US News. A new U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report confirms an estimated 36,000 schools nationwide need to replace heating, ventilation or air conditioning systems.
    • U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) – K-12 Education: School Districts Frequently Identified Multiple Building Systems Needing Updates or Replacement (html). GAO-20-494: Published: Jun 4, 2020. Publicly Released: Jun 4, 2020 (Highlights pdf) (Full report pdf). School districts spend billions of dollars a year on building and renovating facilities at the nearly 100,000 K-12 public schools nationwide. We surveyed districts and states about common school facilities’ issues and priorities.
  • Dr. Anthony Fauci says whether schools reopen in the fall is ‘complicated’ (html) | CNBC.

Michigan COVID-19 Negative Impact

A global pandemic is decimating the global economy while the Michigan economy continues to collapse. COVID-19’s effects show Michigan leaders learned little from the Flint Lead Poisoning crisis (html). Many US jurisdictions are facing unprecedented rising costs from the health pandemic and plummeting revenues in the economic shutdown. Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan (html) | USA TODAY Network.

  • Michigan COVID-19 Dashboard (html).
  • State of Michigan | Coronavirus – Coronavirus (html) – MI SAFE START PLAN (pdf).
  • Michigan’s Coronavirus Dashboard (html) | Bridge Magazine.
  • Here’s how all 83 Michigan counties are divided into regions in Gov. Whitmer’s reopening plan (html).
  • MI Start Map (html). MI Safe Start Map – Track the risk phases of COVID-19 indicators in the State of Michigan.
  • Child Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Michigan (html) | Center for Health & Research Transformation (CHRT) at the University of Michigan (UMich). CHRT 2018 Annual Report (pdf).
  • Michigan is expected to lose a seat in Congress. Here’s why that’s a huge deal (html) | Michigan Advance.

Whitmer OKs coronavirus tests without doctor’s order; new dashboard shows risks and trends (html) | Crain’s Detroit. Coronavirus dashboard: The governor also announced a new online dashboard that illustrates COVID-19 risks and trends in Michigan at MIstartmap.info. The dashboard was developed through a collaboration between the Michigan departments of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) and the University of Michigan (UMich) School of Public Health (html). The data is divided into Michigan Economic Recovery Committee (MERC) regions.

State Governors warn of major cuts to teachers, firefighters, police officers and health care workers without more federal funding (html) – The dire prediction reflects what many governors across the country fear as states grapple with budget shortfalls from the economic calamity brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Michigan School leaders seek help to avert $1.2B hit to existing budgets (html) – Michigan is facing an unforeseen budget crisis. Faced with an estimated $2 billion revenue drop in the current and next year’s state school budgets, Michigan educators said they need federal and state support to continue to pay staff, provide services to students such as meals and provide extensive safety measures for when schools reopen. Educators said they estimated seeing a $600-per-pupil reduction to local school budgets. In a school district with 10,000 students, it would amount to $6 million.

Michigan could face $2.7 billion budget deficit due to coronavirus (html) – Report: Michigan faces $2.7B deficit, School aid gap of $1.1B due to coronavirus. Michigan plans to furlough 64% of workforce, save $80M (html).

Whitmer forms task force to figure out way to reopen school in fall (html) – Michigan will partner with Opportunity Labs, a national nonprofit, to develop the plan. The group already has a detailed “Return to School Roadmap” published on its website, outlining a series of steps schools need to take as they reopen — everything from limiting the number of entrances to developing a plan to assess students’ learning progress and loss since they were last in school. Whitmer announces process for reopening schools in fall, launches Return to Learning Advisory Council (html) | The Huron Hub – Huron Township News – New Boston News. Related State of Michigan Schools documents:

  • State of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer – Executive Orders (html).
  • Whitmer – Governor Whitmer Announces Process to Chart Path for the Safe and Equitable Reopening of Schools (html).
  • Executive Order (EO) 2020-88 (html) (pdf).

Michigan Insured Unemployment Rate Continues to Rise as COVID-19 Continues (html) – Workforce Intelligence Network Workforce Intelligence Network (html) – Michigan has the second highest insured unemployment rate (IUR), or the number of individuals receiving unemployment insurance as a percentage of the jobs covered by the unemployment insurance system, reported in the country for the week ending April 25, 2020, at 23.1 percent.

More Related Jobs Resources for Michigan Residents:

  • Pure Michigan Talent Connect (html) – Pure Michigan Talent Connect – Home.
  • Michigan Workforce Intelligence Network Workforce Intelligence Network (WIN) (html).
    • Excellent reports regarding jobs that are imperative to fuel Michigan’s Future growth with funding provided by Ralph C. Wilson, Jr Foundation (html). BTW: these real jobs have nothing to do with MDOT phony aviation related jobs & technology claims trying to fool taxpayers to fulfill personal agendas! While aviation, aerospace & defense are key industry sectors they have absolutely NOTHING to do with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT).
      • Connected and Automated Vehicles Emerging Technology Skills Gap Report (html) – 2020 – Workforce Intelligence Network – CAV Skills Gap Report – Upskilling, Reskilling and Employee Retention Priorities Needed to Meet Changing Workforce Demands. Report builds upon and updates the original CAV skills gap analysis published by WIN in 2017 (html). Full Report (pdf), Executive Summary (pdf),  One Page Summary (pdf), Media Release (html).
      • Cybersecurity Emerging Technology Skills Gap Analysis – 2020 (html) – Workforce Intelligence Network Workforce Intelligence Network – Cybersecurity skills gap continues to increase, as demand for professionals needed to keep region’s workforce safe and expanding. Report builds upon and updates the original cybersecurity skills gap analysis published by WIN in 2017 (html). Full Report (pdf), Executive Summary (pdf), One Page Summary (pdf), Media Release (pdf).
  • Michigan MI Career Training (html).
  • MI Apprenticeship (html) – Find Apprenticeships or Hire Apprentices in Michigan.
  • Opportunity Detroit Tech (html) – IT Apprenticeship in Detroit, Michigan.
  • Michigan Alliance for Greater Mobility Advancement (MAGMA).

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Calls Mitch McConnell’s State Bankruptcy Comments ‘Dangerous,’ Asks For Federal Support (html) – On Michigan’s state budget, Whitmer said there could be a $3 billion dollar shortfall which would be “devastating,” a situation she added is “not unique to Michigan.”  She called for the federal government to provide “additional support in the upcoming supplemental.” “Everyone of us is going to have to make tough decisions in this moment and the more flexibility and assistance we can get from the federal government the better, because COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on all of our economies,” she said.

Confirmed Michigan cases (html)  (html) 43,207 | Confirmed Michigan Deaths 4,020. Over 600 Michigan people have died in the last 72 hours.

Some say ‘data’ says most of state [Michigan] should be open (html) – State unemployment benefits now form the largest payroll in the nation, and perhaps in the history of the world. It’s estimated that jobless payments nationwide total $16 billion a week. In Michigan, the figure is $840 million weekly. This is having a crushing impact on lives, and on the ability of Michigan government to deliver services to residents. The State of Michigan government does not have the resources to replace such a large segment of the private economy. The federal government can print money and add the bill to the deficit for future Americans to pay. Michigan is constitutionally obliged to balance the budget. The State of Michigan will have to slash spending or raise taxes or both to cover a virus-related shortfall estimated as high as $3.5 billion— or more than a quarter of Michigan’s General Fund! The reality is the State of Michigan can’t afford to keep wasting money on ridiculous non-essential MDOT Hobby, Sport, Recreational airports like Canton Plymouth Mettetal 1d2 across the State while trying to make up for the damage the COVID-19 shutdown is doing to the Michigan economy.

School Reopening Plans: ‘A Logistical Nightmare’ (html) : NPR– A Few Schools Reopen, But Remote Learning Could Go On For Years In U.S. French parents anguish over sending children back to school (html). Reopening L.A. schools amid coronavirus will be pricey (html) – Reopening schools: Whether to test students and families for coronavirus is the big question.

With a global collapse in consumer demand, about a quarter, almost 25% of the Michigan’s workforce has filed for unemployment exceeding depression-level unemployment. Many of Michigan’s largest health care systems have been overrun. Public health departments in Michigan struggling, already suffering from years of funding cuts.

Even nation’s largest health systems laying off health care workers amid COVID pandemic (html) – Two of Michigan’s largest health systems, Beaumont Health and Henry Ford Health System also announced this month they are laying off thousands of employees. While California hospitals cite $14 billion in losses, seek aid (html).

Many areas facing hardships trying to feed everybody and almost every school district in the state of Michigan is expected to have deep budget cuts.

Much of U.S. economy plunging due to coronavirus pain (html) – The unemployment rate in Michigan, among people covered by unemployment insurance, hit 17.4%, the highest in the country. Based on 2019 output levels for the state by industry, if current levels of joblessness held for a year it would cut Michigan’s GDP by perhaps 23%, knocking the state back to where it was in 2013.

Michigan sees 81K new unemployment claims, 1.2M over 6 weeks (html) – An additional 81,000 people filed initial claims for unemployment in Michigan last week, bringing the six-week total to more than 1.2 million amid the coronavirus pandemic. Michigan has had some of the highest number of jobless claims in the country. People can get benefits for about nine months, roughly three months longer than usual. They will receive an additional $600 a week through late July under the terms of a federal relief package.

More than 1M Michigan workers affected by COVID-19 now receiving unemployment benefits (html) – The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) has provided benefits to 1,018,315 Michigan workers who are unemployed as a result of COVID-19. The UIA increases staff, extends hours of operation to meet unprecedented need. The agency also disbursed more than $1.66 billion in payments since March 15. The most recent U.S. Dept. of Labor report showed 1,178,021 Michiganders filed unemployment claims between March 15 through April 18.

Historical Demand In the weeks preceding the pandemic, the UIA received around 5,000 new weekly unemployment claims. During the Great Recession, the weekly high was around 77,000 in 2009.

Michigan Unemployment Claims during COVID-19:

  • Week-Ending March 21: 128,806
  • Week-Ending March 28: 304,335
  • Week-Ending April 4: 388,554
  • Week-Ending April 11: 222,207
  • Week-Ending April 18: 134,119
  • Five Week Total: 1,178,021

In years before outbreak, Michigan investment in public health fell (html) – State spending on public health in Michigan dropped 16% from an inflation-adjusted high point of $300 million in 2004, according to a 2018 study.

Whitmer begins 2,900 temporary layoffs amid COVID-19 pandemic (html) – Layoff notices were sent to more than 2,900 of the state’s 48,295 employees who are handling less than full capacity to save the state roughly $5 million.

Whitmer extends Michigan stay-at-home order until May 28, manufacturing reopens Monday (html) – In order for manufacturing to resume, businesses must adopt measures to protect their workers from the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Michigan stay at home order extended: Read Gov. Gretchen’s full mandate (html). Gov. Whitmer extends state of emergency until May 28 in trio of new executive orders (html) | FOX 2 Detroit.

Michigan Legislature – Executive Orders (html) are as follows:

  • E.O. NO. 2020-66– (COVID-19) Termination of the states of emergency and disaster declared under the Emergency Management Act in Executive Order 2020-33
  • E.O. NO. 2020-67– (COVID-19) Declaration of state of emergency under the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act, 1945 PA 302
  • E.O. NO. 2020-68– (COVID-19) Declaration of states of emergency and disaster under the Emergency Management Act, 1976 PA 390

“Executive Order 2020-66, which terminates the existing state of emergency and disaster declarations issued under the Emergency Management Act in Executive Order 2020-33.”

“Executive Order 2020-67, which clarifies that a state of emergency remains in effect under the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945. The order is effective immediately and continues through May 28, 2020 at 11:59pm. The governor will evaluate the continuing need for this order prior to its expiration, and if she determines that an emergency no longer exists, will terminate or extend the state of emergency declared in this order.”

“Executive Order 2020-68, which declares a state of emergency and a state of disaster across the State of Michigan under the Emergency Management Act of 1976. The state of emergency and state of disaster declared by this order will be effective through May 28, 2020 at 11:59pm, and the governor will evaluate the continuing need for the order prior to its expiration, terminate the states of emergency and disaster if the threat or danger has passed.”

Michigan recovery hinges on federal support for mayors, governors (html) – With the dramatic drop in state tax revenue and increased demand for services means balancing budgets as required by law will force states and cities to lay off vital employees, raise taxes and cut those crucial services and investment when they’re most needed. The consequences of those detrimental choices are immense, from stalling the resurgence of our economy to decimating public education, healthcare and law enforcement budgets. Without real action, we’re contending with an immeasurable setback and a long-term economic downturn — on top of the damage from the virus itself.

Friday coronavirus cases highest of the week, Michigan falls to 4th-most in U.S. for deaths (html) – Massachusetts has passed Michigan in coronavirus deaths, dropping Michigan to fourth-most in the U.S. (html) with 4,393 deaths, per the Friday, May 8 numbers from Michigan health officials. Michigan reported 50 new COVID-19 deaths and 680 new confirmed cases on Friday. In total, Michigan has 46,326 cases – seventh-most in the nation. The 680 new cases are the most in a single day since Saturday, May 2.

Michigan a top-10 recipient of federal coronavirus stimulus payments (html) – More than 4 million stimulus payments from Uncle Sam slid into Michigan mailboxes or pinged into bank accounts over the last month, the IRS says. It’s not clear how many of those payments were sent to dead people. The Treasury Department this week asked Americans who received a payment on behalf of a dead person to return it by following these directions (html) on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website.

Top 10 recipients by state:

  1. California CA, $22.5 billion, $1,656 average payment
  2. Texas TX, $18.8 billion, $1,752 average payment
  3. Florida FL, $15.2 billion, $1,655 average payment
  4. New York NY, $12.5 billion, $1,618 average payment
  5. Pennsylvania PA, $8.8 billion, $1,691 average payment
  6. Ohio OH, $8.3 billion, $1,693 average payment
  7. Illinois IL, $8.2 billion, $1,686 average payment
  8. Michigan MI, $7 billion, $1,726 average payment
  9. North Carolina NC, $6.9 billion, $1,714 average payment
  10. Georgia GA, $6.9 billion, $1,705 average payment

For more see: State & Territories – Government (html) | USAGov

Record unemployment leaves Michigan residents worrying about benefits (html) – The problem in Michigan is getting through the system. There are more than 1 million people trying to call and log on to get their benefits, and many are still having trouble.

How nursing facility providers are responding to COVID-19 (html) | Detroit Free Press – Health Care Association of Michigan (HCAM)  – is a statewide trade association representing proprietary, not for profit, county medical and hospital-based long-term skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities.

  • Worse To Come: Staggering 14.7% Unemployment Rate Will Cripple Economy For Years (html).
  • ‘A breaking point’: Anti-lockdown efforts during Spanish flu offer a cautionary tale for coronavirus (html).
  • Coronavirus: Detroit’s automakers have enough cash to avoid a bailout (html).
  • 7 questions we still have about Michigan’s plan (pdf) to reopen the economy (html).
  • Michigan hospitals getting $900 million in federal COVID-19 aid (html).
  • Art Fair canceled, UM hospital furloughs 1,400 employees (html).
  • Is air pollution making the coronavirus pandemic even more deadly? (html).
  • Unemployment levels leave Michigan families in need more than ever (html).
  • Governor Gretchen Whitmer tough enough to do what she thinks best for Michigan (html).
  • Michigan jobless claims top 1.1 million as state streamlines approvals (html) | Bridge Magazine. According to the state, $4.13 billion in unemployment benefits has been sent to Michigan workers so far.
  • Nearly 69K in Michigan filed for unemployment last week (html).
  • MI Safe Start: A Plan to Re-Engage Michigan’s Economy (pdf), Governor Gretchen Whitmer, May 7, 2020.
  • Michigan college towns were economically stable. Coronavirus changed that (html) | Bridge Magazine.
  • Over 2,200 Michigan health system workers test positive or have coronavirus symptoms (html).
  • Michigan’s coronavirus contact tracing won’t include smartphone apps (html)
  • Massive declines in community college summer enrollments foreshadow tough times ahead (html).
  • Michigan governor Whitmer taking a pay cut to offset coronavirus impact (html).
  • Coronavirus sparks California’s worst budget deficit, $54.3 billion deficit, 18 percent unemployment. (html) (html). Michigan is next on the list of enormous budget deficits.
  • Coronavirus job losses hit these 7 states hardest (html) – Michigan saw sustained jobless claims over the past month, averaging a more than 4,100% increase to unemployment claims.
  • UM: Before COVID about 14% of state residents were living in poverty, now approaching almost 30% (html).
  • Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Takes 10 Percent Pay Cut as State Tightens Budget Over Coronavirus (html) – The pandemic has placed a “real strain” on the state’s budget, with high unemployment rates combining with a shortfall in tax revenue due to businesses being shut down. Over 1 million residents in the state had filed for unemployment as of April 11.

Michigan Economic Recovery Council (MERC)

Michigan Economic Recovery Council (MERC) Advises Gov. Whitmer on Reopening Based on Risk, Workplace Environment, Geography (html) | Detroit Regional Chamber (html). Whitmer – New online dashboard provides COVID-19 risk and trend data, helps inform MI Safe Start plan (html).

Home (html) – Michigan COVID-19 Business Response Center.

Business Practices (html) – Michigan COVID-19 Business Response Center

These Best Practices documents were developed by the Michigan Economic Recovery Council (MERC). The industry-specific guides are designed for employers of all sizes to implement directives issued by the state in returning safely to in-person work.

Business Practices – Global companies have synthesized the standards and policies below as guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sector Specific Guidance – These documents were developed by the Michigan Economic Recovery Council. The industry-specific guides are designed for employers of all sizes to implement directives issued by the state in returning safely to in-person work.

  • Building & Manufacturing
  • Offices, Retail & Residential
  • Healthcare & Research
  • Dining, Travel & Entertainment
  • Other Protocol Specific Guidance
    • Working from Home
    • Other Policies

Along with additional Business Advisory Insights from McKinsey & Company (html), PWC (Pricewaterhouse Coopers) (html), and Deloitte (html).

Other Links to COVID-19 information from other Michigan business advocacy associations:

Some Previous Michigan COVID-19 Negative Impacts

  • Michigan Congressional Delegation Lawmakers, want Delta’s request to stop Michigan flights grounded (html) – Airline argues that the few who are flying can drive to airports less than 75 miles away: Flint passengers can drive to Detroit, and those from Lansing and Kalamazoo can drive to Grand Rapids.
  • Delta, others wrestle with too many planes, too many pilots (html) – Reuters – Delta told its 14,500 pilots that it expects to have 7,000 more than it needs in the fall.
  • Airport standstill puts hit on Wayne County’s budget (html).
  • Detroit Metro Airport hit hard by coronavirus pandemic (html).
  • Think things are bad for airlines? It’s about to get worse (html).
  • U.S. aviation sector cuts more jobs amid travel meltdown (html).
  • American Airlines And United Report Nearly $4 Billion In Combined Losses (html).
  • Many Airlines want government to loosen minimum flight rules as passenger numbers drop (html). Now is the time to end MDOT lack of transparency and virtually NO accountability to tax payers for good.
  • How Airlines Park Thousands of Planes (html) – YouTube – The coronavirus has devastated the airline industry. U.S. air travel has dropped 95% compared to last year and the number of flights scheduled globally is down by 63%. More than 16,000 of the world’s commercial aircraft are grounded. These planes can’t just sit idle, they need routine maintenance and a place to be stored. And when you suddenly have thousands of planes with nowhere to go it becomes a logistical nightmare. Here’s a look at how airlines parks thousands of planes and the outlook for the grounded fleet.
  • Grounded passenger jets are causing an unexpected bottleneck (html).
  • Boeing CEO predicts COVID-19 will force a major airline out of business (html). Boeing CEO tries to smooth over tensions with airline chiefs after saying a US carrier may go bust (html).
  • Air Canada to lay off 20,000 workers as pandemic collapses travel industry (html) | CBC News Canada. 20,000 Layoffs Coming At Air Canada (html) – Simple Flying.

The new novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 – the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 disease, the coronavirus crisis that’s devastated global markets, overwhelmed hospitals and left millions without jobs, while the entire World is aware, it appears that MDOT didn’t get the memo (html)  and continues to fund, operate and support the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous (html) at Canton Plymouth Mettetal 1d2 airstrip as if nothing has changed. Another nice sunny day, another day off to enjoy themselves at taxpayers Health, Safety, Welfare and Financial & Economic expense.

Michigan Gretchen Governor Whitmer (html) has issued several important Executive orders (html) Declaration of State of Emergency (EO 2020-04) and an Expanded Emergency and Disaster declaration  (EO-2020-33) stating that “The economic damage—already severe—will compound with time. On March 19, 2020, economists at the University of Michigan forecasted that as many as 1 in 10 Michiganders could be unemployed by the fall and that economic sectors that feature substantial social interaction could contract by as much as 50%. As a result, many families in Michigan will struggle to pay their bills or even put food on the table.”

  • President Donald J. Trump Approved Michigan’s Disaster Declaration (html) | The White House | (html) FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency
  • US weekly jobless claims double to 6.6 million (html)
  • A record 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment last week (html)
  • Michigan among top 5 states for confirmed coronavirus cases – mlive.com (html)
  • Michigan adds 300 more COVID-19 cases, ranks 9th in world in total cases (html)

In this time of National Health, Economic, and Social Disaster and as recession grips economies around the globe, the State of Michigan appears more vulnerable than other States. Brookings Institute (html) places a COVID-19 recession will likely hit hardest (html) include the State of Michigan which has nine of the top 200 most vulnerable areas, including Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, with one of the top five especially vulnerable sectors of the United States: transportation employment (3,381k, 2.3%).

The bottom line is: under NO circumstances whatsoever, particularly in this extended time of crisis, should Michigan taxpayers be footing the bill for a Non-Essential Hobby, Sport, Recreational airstrip that has already created a Tetraethyl Lead Poisoning Health, Safety and Welfare nightmare.

  • Canton Township, MI – Official COVID-19 Resource Center (html)
  • State of Michigan – Coronavirus – Coronavirus (html)
  • Coronavirus Rumor Control (html) | FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency
  • Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (html) | (CDC) Center for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Coronavirus disease 2019 (html) World Health Organization (WHO)
  • COVID-19 Map – Johns Hopkins (JHU) Coronavirus Resource Center (html)

check back, more outrageous, unbelievable  MDOT non-sense updates to come . . .

Michigan Infrastructure Report Card

The ASCE Michigan Section released the Infrastructure Report Card for Michigan in March. The report covers 13 categories of infrastructure including: aviation, bridges, dams, drinking water, energy, navigation, rail, roads, schools, solid waste, stormwater, transit and wastewater. The report card for the State of Michigan was rated a totally embarrassing summary  D+!

Michigan Infrastructure | ASCE’s 2018 Infrastructure Report Card
Full 2018 Michigan Infrastructure Report Card (html) summary D+
2018 Report Card for Michigan’s Infrastructure Executive Summary (pdf)
2018 Report Card for Michigan’s Infrastructure Full Report (pdf)

As Beverly Watts [Detroit Riverfront Conservancy] who is Director of Public Services that includes the Environmental Services Group for Wayne County, and served on former Gov. Rick Snyder’s 21st Century Infrastructure Commission states in Crain’s Detroit Wayne County running out of Band-Aids for local roads (html) that “what’s scariest is that most people still don’t understand how dramatically the rate of deterioration is outpacing investment. People tell me every day how poor the roads are in Southeast Michigan, and they are right. But they don’t realize just how quickly they will get worse, requiring major reconstruction, or how much more expensive it becomes each year we fail to invest adequately.”

MDOT seems to need help from the State of Michigan, Wayne County, and Local elected officials and agencies to invest taxpayer dollars in long term sustainable, community friendly, transportation infrastructure NOT Hobby, Sport, Recreational Canton Mettetal 1d2 airstrip for a handful of well to do people. Aside from the many Health, Safety, and Welfare related issues (MDOT is really in denial) at 1d2 airstrip, spending any tax dollars to keep the 1d2 airstrip in operation is not only outrageous, but should be embarrassing for the entire Southeast Michigan Region!

Catastrophic Michigan Flooding – Yet Another Michigan State of Emergency

Nobody Thought Conditions in Michigan Could Get Worse, Then Two Dams Fail Catastrophically! These unsafe dams from 1930’s are common knowledge & have well known for DECADES!

  • Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer orders probe of failed dams that caused flooding (html) | AP News.
  • Michigan flood lawsuits against state, dam owner spotlight controversy (html) | Detroit Free Press. Third New flood lawsuit claims Michigan mismanaged dam.
  • State of Emergency in Michigan After Dam Failure and Catastrophic Flooding (html) | NBC Nightly News (html) – YouTube – heaping misery on coronavirus-hit communities. ‘Catastrophic’ Dam Failures In Michigan Force Thousands To Evacuate (html) | NPR. Michigan dam failures force 10,000 to evacuate and leave one city under 9 feet of water (html) – CBS News. Mich. governor says state will seek ‘legal recourse’ over failed dam (html).
  • Video shows Edenville Dam as it breached in historic flooding (html) | Detroit News.
  • Dramatic video shows moment Michigan dams burst (html) | New York Post.

Another chapter in the never ending saga of some good old fashioned Michigan Corruption at work involving DECADES of reckless neglect, ignoring basic infrastructure & environmental pollution. The result is Negligence & Malpractice on a scale never imagined, now a town and most inhabitants lives are virtually destroyed.

This common pattern, is identical to Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) lack of accountability and transparency ignoring Michigan Citizens Health, Safety, and Welfare, not to mention the single largest waste of Michigan taxpayer dollars in the history of Michigan!

Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) continues supporting, approving and funding non-essential Hobby, Sport, Recreational airports & airstrips like Canton Plymouth Mettetal 1d2 for cronies, families, friends of Special Interests, Industry Lobbyists & third party contractor pals.

  • President Trump grants Whitmer’s request for emergency declaration over flooding (html).
  • Investigators to examine safety issues that may have worsened Michigan flooding (html) – YouTube.
  • Dam owner Boyce Hydro LLC, state regulator Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) spar over flood blame (html).
  • Sanford Dam also failed, state says (html).
  • Satellite images capture flood devastation in Mid-Michigan (html).
  • Midland digs out from ‘sobering’ flood damage (html).
  • Lawsuits seeking class-action after Edenville Dam failure filed in court (html).
  • Second lawsuit filed against operators of 2 Mid-Michigan dams (html)  | FOX 2 Detroit.
  • State of Michigan found Edenville Dam failed safety standards four months before flood (html).
  • Edenville Dam power license revoked for failure to reinforce structure (html).
  • Federal Register (html) :: Boyce Hydro Power, LLC; Order Proposing Revocation of License (html) 02/26/2018.
  • Owners of dam flooding Midland ignored federal regulators for years (html).
  • Central Michigan dam that failed was cited for years for safety violations (html) | Bridge Magazine.

Exposing Michigan Pollution & Toxic Waste

What about the pollution and toxic waste? State of Michigan authorities, including businesses, investors, start-ups, bureaucrats and politicians are extremely worried about long-standing environmental failures that continue to bubble to the surface across the entire state! Michigan’s ‘green ooze’ may be ‘tip of iceberg’ of state’s toxic sites (html) | Bridge Magazine. Is this what Michigan IS famous for?

  • How air pollution exacerbates Covid-19 (html) – BBC Future.
  • Air Pollution May Make COVID-19 Symptoms Worse (html) | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine (html).
  • Air pollution linked with higher COVID-19 death rates (html) – Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (html).
  • University of Michigan study finds PFAS possible contributor to early menopause in women (html) | Click on Detroit.
  • In April, the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team announced a $4 million grant program to support monitoring and testing for PFAS contamination for municipal airport operators. Michigan PFAS Action Response Team launches grant program for testing at municipal airports (html) | Click On Detroit. Eligible applicants are current or former Part 139 commercial service airports in Michigan that have used or are suspected to have used Class B Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) to comply with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements. NOTE: Federal, State and Military aviation facilities are not eligible for the grant funding. Co-located municipal airport operations can apply.
    • MDOT has known about problems with PFAS for decades. MDOT only slightly acknowledges the existence of PFAS and its relationship to aviation only after being forced, and only slightly and not for too long either otherwise the public will notice. There is no mention anywhere on any MDOT web sites about PFAS or Tetraethyl Lead Poisoning, only Special Interest & Industry Lobbyist group sponsored social events featuring phony pancake breakfasts, barbecues and Fly-In picnics at the expense of the local Health, Safety and Welfare of the surrounding communities.
  • PFAS Response – PFAS Response (html) | State of Michigan.
  • Column: As air pollution worsens COVID-19, we must move to cleaner energy (html) | Michigan Advance.
  • Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, AGs call on EPA to strengthen PFAS rules (html) | Michigan Advance.
  • Whitmer – Child Lead Poisoning Elimination Board (html) (pdf) Executive Order 2016-9 (pdf). It’s time to step up and take action against MDOT Lead Poisoning negligence and malpractice.
  • Lead Emissions and Population Vulnerability in the Detroit (Michigan, USA) Metropolitan Area, 2006–2013: A Spatial and Temporal Analysis (html) (pdf). International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) | Free Full-Text | Lead Emissions and Population Vulnerability in the Detroit (Michigan, USA) Metropolitan Area, 2006–2013: A Spatial and Temporal Analysis (html) (pdf). Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14(12), 1445; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14121445. United States studies have not been required to monitor and report on and have purposely avoided airports & airstrips using Leaded100LL Aviation Fuel to keep facts and details hidden from the public over a decade.
  • Linking Source and Effect: Resuspended Soil Lead, Air Lead, and Children’s Blood Lead Levels in Detroit, Michigan (html) | Environmental Science & Technology
  • 2020-02-28 – Disparity in Risk Factor Severity for Early Childhood Blood Lead among Predominantly African-American Black Children: The 1999 to 2010 US NHANES (pdf).
  • Is Midland’s floodwater contaminated? Regulators don’t know, wait to test (html).
  • Michigan: threat of toxic contamination looms after dam failures trigger flooding (html) | US news | The Guardian.
  • Flood Raises Fears of Pollution at Michigan Toxic Waste Site (html).

Michigan Regional and Local COVID-19 Negative Impact

As local governments tighten their belts, not all share in the sacrifice (html) -MDOT continues wasting & abusing taxpayer dollars used for MDOT, Special Interest & Industry Lobbyist pet projects & ridiculous Non-Essential, Hobby, Sport, Recreational airstrips across the State of Michigan!

Other Counties, Cities, Townships, Schools, Universities are suffering along with the rest of the State of Michigan, most certainly Canton Township Michigan:

  • Plymouth Canton Schools facing massive state funding decrease (html) -Plymouth-Canton Community Schools (PCCS) leaders brace for potential devastating cuts to state funding. The severity of funding cuts was uncertain, however, estimates of as much as $2,000 per student.
  • Canton in no hurry to fill vacant public safety director position (html) – Canton Public Safety Director position will remain vacant for foreseeable future.
  • Canton furloughs staff amidst decline in revenue due to COVID-19 (html)
  • Canton Township, public safety director part ways after lawsuit (html)
  • Canton-based Yazaki lays off 723 workers as COVID-19 crisis continues (html)
  • Canton manufacturer closing facility, eliminating 66 jobs (html)
  • Canton Stupidvisor: if Art Van closes, it won’t be empty long (html)
  • Ordinance makes Canton Leisure Services facilities and parks smoke free properties (html), but leaded 100LL Aviation Fuel Tetraethyl Lead poisoning of vulnerable populations and neighborhoods is OK with Canton Township Stupidvisor!
  • The Eagle to suspend print editions, publish online (html) – Plymouth Voice– Electronic editions of The Eagle (html)
  • 2020 Art in the Park in Plymouth canceled due to coronavirus pandemic (html)
  • 2020 Ann Arbor Art Fair canceled due to coronavirus concerns (html).
  • Several 2020 Canton Township summer events canceled or postponed (html)
  • Oakland County quadruples its aid to small business (html).
  • COVID-19 Forces Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority (AAATA) , also known as The Ride,  To Lay Off 44 Employees (html) | (WEMU).
  • Eastern Michigan University (EMU)  announces expense reductions due to ‘significant losses’ from COVID-19 (html).
  • University of Michigan (UMich) Public Affairs And Internal Communications (html) officials freeze staff, take pay cuts, forecasts losses up to $1 billion in losses (html) (html).
  • Westland furloughs 77 city employees as coronavirus pandemic continues (html).
  • Livonia city worker furloughs spurred by COVID (html).
  • Third of Livonia City Workers Furloughed During Coronavirus (html).
  • Flood of business bankruptcies likely in coming months (html).
  • Wayne Co. faces $152M revenue loss for 2019-20 fiscal year due to COVID-19 (html).
  • Ann Arbor’s recovery from coronavirus ‘will be a marathon,’ city predicts huge revenue losses (html).
  • Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan says federal aid may offset worker pay cuts (html).
  • Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan: Detroit will run $100M deficit due to COVID-19 outbreak (html).
  • Wayne County announces $3 million in relief for residents (html).
  • Westland will give some of its coronavirus relief to residents (html).
  • Wayne, Oakland counties update COVID-19 numbers 5/9 (html) – Daily COVID-19 numbers: Wayne County passes 900 deaths.
  • Ann Arbor projects nearly $16 million in budget reductions resulting from COVID-19 impact (html) – mlive.com
  • Western Michigan University (WMU) football coach Tim Lester takes 25% salary cut (html) – WMU athletics to cut $6 million from budget; football coach Tim Lester has salary slashed.
  • 200 Oakland County employees see furloughs, hours cut due to COVID-19 (html).
  • Employees taking reduced pay, work schedule at Eastern Michigan University due to coronavirus pandemic (html) – mlive.com.

The MDOT Aviation Revenue they Usually Skim Plummets to Zero; No More Hidden MDOT Slush Fund;   No where to hide wasted MDOT secret revenue sources from taxpayers; Time to trim the bloated Fraudulent MDOT Budgets!

  • News From State of Michigan Representative Matt Koleszar (html) | housedems.com.
  • Canton Township Michigan Update On Canton Leisure Services Operations (html) | Plymouth, MI Patch. Canton urges all park users to follow proper CDC protocol and recommended social distancing guidelines, but doesn’t care about Tetraethyl Lead of poisoning of it’s vulnerable populations.
  • Rivian makes cuts and names new chief operating officer (html) – The Verge. A shuffle at the EV startup’s Plymouth Township Michigan engineering and design center.
  • Ford and Lincoln cancel Rivian-powered electric vehicle due to the pandemic (html) | The Verge. But Lincoln is still working on an ‘alternative vehicle’ based on Rivian’s tech.
  • Rivian Adventure Network: Electric pickup maker hires Tesla staff to build charging network (html) – Electrek.
  • Plymouth’s 2020 Concours d’Elegance postponed (html) – Plymouth Voice. The ConcourUSA Board of Directors (html) have made the decision to postpone this years planned Concours d’Elegance at Plymouth’s Inn at St. Johns (html), due to Covid-19 pandemic concerns. The event has been rescheduled to July 23-25, 2021, at the same location.
  • COVID Cases in Senior Facilities Bring Increases to Michigan, Wayne County (html) | Drawing Detroit.
  • Wayne County Parks cancel all events through August due to pandemic (html) | State | pressandguide.com.
  • GOP rep rips Whitmer for still stalled unemployment benefits (html) | Detroit News.
  • Scammers causing even more delays for Michigan unemployment system (html) | ClikOnDetroit.
  • AG: Westland woman illegally claimed nearly $500,000 meant for veterans families (html) | Hometown Life. Committing fraud against our State or Federal Agencies that directly give back to their communities will not be tolerated. MDOT should take note of this fact with respect to their bloated phony estimates and fraudulent budgets that punish schools, neighborhoods and communities.
  • Ypsilanti’s two-year budget: limited street work, more funds for housing help (html) – mlive.com. Ypsilanti’s operating accounts for the next two years will have few frills and strategic spending projects, according to the recently approved biennial city budget for fiscal years 2020-2021 and 2021-2022. City officials prepared a leaner budget in anticipation of the economic outfall of the coronavirus pandemic which will affect the large sum of revenue that comes from the state. Ypsilanti City Manager Frances McMullan said they are anticipating a 20% decrease in state-shared revenue – the shortfall shown during the budget process.
  • Hit hard by pandemic, Ann Arbor public parking system faces big cuts (html) – mlive.com. Huge revenue hits to Ann Arbor’s public parking system due to the COVID-19 pandemic mean the Downtown Development Authority must trim its budget. DDA officials outlined a strategy this week, including $3.4 million in cuts for the current fiscal year and $11.4 million in possible reductions for the next fiscal year starting July 1, 2020.
  • Help is here for Michigan residents concerned about keeping their homes (html) | Detroit News. MSHDA – MI State Housing Development Authority (html).
  • Metro Detroit suburbs face budget squeeze in COVID-19 outbreak (html) | Detroit News. Metro Detroit’s cities and towns are planning for declines in state revenue sharing, while experiencing sharp declines in collecting permit and program fees. The sharpest economic downturn in recent history has decreased property values that will directly affect tax revenue for some time to come.
  • Detroit bus riders choose between lives, livelihoods amid COVID-19 pandemic (html) | Detroit News.
  • Annual Ann Arbor deer cull dropped from city budget for next fiscal year (html) – ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Ann Arbor’s deer cull will not happen this winter as the city takes steps to reduce its budget for the next fiscal year. The annual cull was among other items included in a recent $1.2 million budget cut for the city as part of a multi-step approach to recover from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Interim City Administrator Tom Crawford explained that the deer cull was temporarily suspended for the next fiscal year in order to help the city deal with short-term financial problems. Deer management related expenses, like data collection and the cull, costs the city $140,000.
  • Pool Closures At The City of Ann Arbor Will Create Revenue Shortfall (html) | WEMU. Public pools in Ann Arbor traditionally open on Memorial Day weekend.  But the coronavirus pandemic has forced the city (html) to cancel its 2020 pool season leading to a $200,000 revenue shortfall.
  • Coronavirus pandemic leaves nearly half of Detroiters unemployed (html). A new University of Michigan (UMich) Detroit Metro Area Communities (DMACS) survey (pdf) found 43% of Detroiters who were employed before COVID-19 are now unemployed, on either a temporary or permanent basis. The overall unemployment rate in Detroit is now around 48% — double the Michigan unemployment rate and more than triple the national unemployment rate, according to the survey. Opinion | Detroit survey shows coronavirus crisis threatens to widen inequality (html) | [Bridge Magazine.
  • Ypsilanti’s Amtrak train station grant fails (html) | The Eastern Echo.
  • Detroit Metro Airport sees 94% passenger decline in April as fallout from coronavirus crisis worsens (html) | Crain’s Detroit.
  • Coronavirus Crisis Tears Through City Budgets, Forcing Cuts And Layoffs (html) NPR – Cities Have Never Seen a Downturn Like This, and Things Will Only Get Worse.
  • State and Local Governments Are Plunging Into Crisis (html) – The Atlantic – Estimates project total losses in state and local revenue at 15 to 45 percent, shaving up to $1.75 trillion a year from the most essential things governments do.
  • A survey by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National League of Cities found that nine out of 10 American cities plan to make deep cuts to their budgets and services. Half of those will need to make last-resort desperate cuts to their police and fire departments.
  • Detroit families still without clean water despite shutoffs being lifted (html) | US news | The Guardian.
  • City of Ypsilanti Considering Cuts To Balance Budget (html) | WEMU.
  • Livonia braces for coronavirus impact on budget heading into 2022 (html).
  • MSU will furlough 91 workers to offset coronavirus’ impact on finances (html).
  • The Wayne Dispatch » City of Wayne Receives $296,756 in Grant Funding for the Replacement of Critical Information Technology Infrastructure (html) – The City of Wayne, received notification from the Michigan Department of Treasury Revenue Sharing and Grants Division that the City’s application submitted in December of 2019, to the Fiscally Distressed Cities, Villages, and Townships grant Program has been selected for a grant award in the amount of $296,756. MDOT owned Canton Plymouth Mettetal 1d2 airstrip has excess equipment including lawnmowers, multiple pickup trucks, and CAT front end loaders worth much more than this grant!
  • Detroit saw the largest population decline in the country over the past 9 years (html).
  • Detroit’s population drain persists, census data shows (html).
  • Seattle drops out of top 5 for growth among major U.S. cities; here are the new leaders (html) | The Seattle Times – Detroit had the most dramatic decline, losing 6.1% of its population.

Blue Angels to fly over Detroit on Tuesday in salute to front-line workers (html). Blue Angels to fly over Detroit to thank coronavirus essential workers (html) – Flyovers to lift morale, salute heroes at forefront of COVID-19 (html) – Military crews from the Selfridge Air National Guard Base will take to the skies in A-10 Warthog aircraft Monday in an effort to help lift morale in cities across Michigan and salute heroes at the forefront in the fight against COVID-19. Blue Angels & National Guard Flyovers Tuesday In Michigan (html) | WWJ Newsradio 950.

Stay tuned for more MDOT related insults, non-sense, and taxpayer dollars wasted . . .

Reference

References and Further reading regarding Michigan COVID-19 Negative Impact

  • Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan (html) | USA TODAY Network.
  • Opening Up America Again (html) | The White House (html).
  • MI Safe Start: A Plan to Re-Engage Michigan’s Economy (pdf), Governor Gretchen Whitmer, May 7, 2020.
  • Detroit Free Press Map – Michigan coronavirus cases: Tracking the COVID-19 pandemic (html).
  • State of Michigan – Coronavirus – COVID-19 Volunteers (html).
  • State of Michigan Coronavirus – Executive Orders & Directives (html).
  • Michigan’s Coronavirus Dashboard (html)| Bridge Magazine.
  • Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) COVID19 Michigan Business Resources (html).
  • Michigan Chamber of Commerce (MCC) | Moving Michigan Forward.
  • Coronavirus Toolkit (html) | Michigan Chamber of Commerce (MCC).
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – Novel Coronavirus Reports (html) | Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
  • What’s New (html) | CDC.
  • Public Health Response to the Initiation and Spread of Pandemic COVID-19 in the United States, February 24–April 21, 2020 (html) (pdf)| MMWR.
  • Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (html) | CDC.
  • State of Michigan | Coronavirus – Coronavirus (html).
  • Home – Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center (html).
  • COVID-19 United States Map – Cases by County (html) – Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
  • University of Washington (UoW) Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).
  • COVID-19 Dashboard (html).
  • The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Works for All Americans (html) | U.S. Department of the Treasury (html).
  • Unemployment Insurance Relief During COVID-19 Outbreak (html) | U.S. Department of Labor (DoL).
  • Infectious Disease Emergence: Past, Present, and Future – Microbial Evolution and Co-Adaptation (html) (pdf) – National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI ) Bookshelf.
  • Covid Act Now (html).
  • US Prediction Map COVID-19 (html).
  • Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) (html) | coronavirus.gov.
  • Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates (html) | Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS).
  • Coronavirus Rumor Control (html) | FEMA.gov.
  • World Health Organization (WHO) – Coronavirus (html).
  • World Health Organization (WHO) – Coronavirus disease (html).
  • World Health Organization (WHO) – Q&A on coronaviruses (COVID-19) (html).
  • Home – ClinicalTrials.gov (html).
  • Carry The Load.org (html).

more references to come . . .