NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94 Stories from Michigan Radio. NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94 Michigan Radio Sat, 06 Mar 2021 12:10:24 +0000 https://www.michiganradio.org Dustin Jones The state of California updated its plans Friday to allow outdoor events at stadiums, ballparks and theme parks to begin to reopen April 1. Sports facilities and amusement parks will reopen at reduced capacity, contingent on county-level infection rates. The California Department of Public Health released its Blueprint for a Safer Economy guidelines last August, which has dictated the opening and closing of businesses at the county level ever since. For counties in the state's most restrictive Purple Tier, outdoor sports and live performances will be limited to 100 people or less and attendees must live in the region. Reservations will be required and concessions sales won't be available, a CDPH statement said. Attendance is capped at 20% in the Red Tier and 33% in the Orange, both of which can welcome in-state visitors. A similar standard will be applied to amusement parks. Venues in the Red Tier can reopen at 15% capacity, but more in-state guests will be allowed to visit as https://www.michiganradio.org/post/california-set-open-ballparks-arenas-and-theme-parks-april 49123 as https://www.michiganradio.org Sat, 06 Mar 2021 02:52:00 +0000 California Set To Open Ballparks, Arenas And Theme Parks In April Sarah Cwiek Continued fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic will linger in Detroit’s budget for the coming fiscal year, Mayor Mike Duggan told the Detroit City Council on Friday. The city’s estimated 2022 fiscal year revenues are $995 million, less than what it brought in in 2019. The city has taken a particularly hard hit from the sharp drop in gaming taxes and income taxes paid by people who work in Detroit. https://www.michiganradio.org/post/duggan-covid-19-impacts-linger-detroit-budget 49122 as https://www.michiganradio.org Sat, 06 Mar 2021 02:07:34 +0000 Duggan: COVID-19 impacts to linger in Detroit budget Tracy Samilton The pandemic may have given a lot of Michiganders cabin fever. Jason Fleming is a spokesman for the Department of Natural Resources. He says nights spent at state campgrounds between October and February were up about 40% from the same time period last year. "You know, the reality is, people want to get outdoors, they want to get out of their house," says Fleming. He says reservations going forward are up as well. But it's not clear at this point if that means more people will be camping over the summer, or if people are just making their reservations earlier. "If you haven't made your reservation yet, there's plenty of time. There's plenty of space, and plenty of opportunity out there," Fleming says. Fleming says he encourages people to try a different campground if the one they have their eye on is filled. And he says to check back often, because people often make cancellations at the last minute. https://www.michiganradio.org/post/pandemic-cabin-fever-may-have-caused-winter-camping-spike 49120 as https://www.michiganradio.org Sat, 06 Mar 2021 01:02:26 +0000 Pandemic cabin fever may have caused winter camping to spike Rick Pluta Governor Gretchen Whitmer made a stop in Washington, D.C. on Friday to visit Michigan National Guard troops. There are roughly 1,000 Michigan Guard members stationed in Washington following the attacks on the nation’s Capitol. Despite a request for the troops to remain, the governor said she would not agree to extend the deployment beyond March 12. https://www.michiganradio.org/post/whitmer-congressional-delegates-visit-michigan-national-guard-troops-dc 49118 as https://www.michiganradio.org Sat, 06 Mar 2021 00:57:39 +0000 Whitmer, congressional delegates visit Michigan National Guard troops in D.C. Lester Graham There was a Cheers! episode back in 2018 which featured a new Michigan version of an ancient Scandinavian spirit called aquavit. (See the story here .) Since then, Norden Aquavit has received a lot of attention and a lot of significant awards. A lot of retailers in Michigan and beyond carry the clear spirit. https://www.michiganradio.org/post/cheers-unlocking-spring-cask-matured-michigan-aquavit 49103 as https://www.michiganradio.org Fri, 05 Mar 2021 20:00:00 +0000 Cheers! Unlocking spring with a cask matured Michigan aquavit Michigan Radio Newsroom March 10 marks one year since Michigan’s first confirmed COVID-19 case. We want to know how COVID has changed your life this year. What’s the worst thing the pandemic has brought - and what’s the best thing? https://www.michiganradio.org/post/we-want-hear-you-how-has-covid-changed-your-life-year 49079 as https://www.michiganradio.org Fri, 05 Mar 2021 19:20:00 +0000 We want to hear from you: How has COVID changed your life this year? Will Stone https://www.michiganradio.org/post/1-shot-or-2-shots-vaccine-thats-available-you-get 49114 as https://www.michiganradio.org Fri, 05 Mar 2021 18:42:00 +0000 1 Shot Or 2 Shots? 'The Vaccine That's Available To You — Get That' Doug Tribou The debate over the state's supplemental budget and billions of dollars in federal COVID relief funding is continuing in Lansing. The Republican-led House and Senate have passed their budget proposals. There are significant differences from Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s plan. State House Speaker Jason Wentworth (R-Clare), joined Michigan Radio's Doug Tribou on Morning Edition to share his thoughts on the plan, and his work on ethics and transparecny reform in the state Legislature. https://www.michiganradio.org/post/house-speaker-jason-wentworth-republican-42b-covid-relief-plan-government-ethics-reform 49089 as https://www.michiganradio.org Fri, 05 Mar 2021 17:43:33 +0000 House Speaker Jason Wentworth on Republican $4.2B COVID relief plan, government ethics reform As hopes increase that life will soon get back to normal, there's one pandemic ritual that a lot of kids and parents are going to miss. A year ago, as the coronavirus began to rage, fitness instructor Joe Wicks, known as The Body Coach, started a daily exercise class for kids on YouTube called "PE With Joe." The idea was to help children stay active during the lockdown. "Because although this is a weird time we're in, we're gonna get through it," he reassured his viewers. "Everything's gonna be fine. We're gonna return to normal and we're all gonna be reconnected again." "PE With Joe" has gotten more than 100 million views on YouTube in the past year. That's in part because parents liked the workout as much as their kids. Wicks drove the enthusiasm with lines like this: "We're gonna do some squats. Show me. Down, up, down, up. Can we spin round like a ballerina? Ready? Spinning like ballerina!" As Wicks told NPR's Michel Martin in March 2020 , "The workouts are very simple. You can do https://www.michiganradio.org/post/schools-reopen-popular-pe-joe-online-exercise-class-goes-bye-bye 49115 as https://www.michiganradio.org Fri, 05 Mar 2021 17:32:00 +0000 As Schools Reopen, Popular 'PE With Joe' Online Exercise Class Goes Bye-Bye Rachel Treisman Updated at 12:55 p.m. ET As several states face criticism for lifting coronavirus-related public health restrictions, a study published Friday confirms that state-imposed mask mandates and on-premises dining restrictions help slow the spread of COVID-19. The study , published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, looked at the impact of state-issued mask mandates and on-premises dining on county-level COVID-19 cases and deaths between March 1 and Dec. 31. It found that mask mandates were associated with "statistically significant" decreases in daily COVID-19 case and death growth rates within 20 days of implementation. In contrast, allowing on-premises dining was associated with an increase in daily cases 41 to 100 days after reopening, and an increase in daily death growth rates after 61 to 100 days. "Policies that require universal mask use and restrict any on-premises restaurant dining are important components of a comprehensive https://www.michiganradio.org/post/study-premises-dining-linked-increased-covid-19-cases 49112 as https://www.michiganradio.org Fri, 05 Mar 2021 16:43:00 +0000 As States Ease Restrictions, Study Says On-Premises Dining Linked To COVID-19 Spread Brett Dahlberg | WCMU Local health districts in Northern Michigan said Thursday they will expand COVID-19 vaccine eligibility at a faster pace than state guidelines. Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services said earlier this week that anyone 50 and older could get vaccinated against the virus starting on Monday, March 22. People in that age group could get vaccinated earlier — March 8 — if they had a pre-existing condition that would make them particularly vulnerable to the virus. https://www.michiganradio.org/post/northern-michigan-health-departments-accelerate-past-state-expanding-vaccine-eligibility 49111 as https://www.michiganradio.org Fri, 05 Mar 2021 15:32:43 +0000 Northern Michigan health departments accelerate past state in expanding vaccine eligibility Michigan Radio Michigan Radio, NPR’s largest member station in the state, covers the big stories, but also tries to focus on what other news outlets have not. We have produced projects like the Peabody-winning podcast Believed, and nationally recognized coverage of the Flint Water Crisis. Come join our team! As the Director of Human Resources and Finance, you will lead the finance and human resource functions for us including building strategic, long-term programs in those main functions. You have oversight for all HR-related programs, budgeting, and financial reporting following station and University policies and government regulations including the Federal Communications Commission and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. You will be a member of the senior management team, and will report directly to the General Manager of Michigan Radio. You will lead the business office, managing and supervising 5 professional and administrative staff. Diversity, equity and inclusion are cornerstones for https://www.michiganradio.org/post/director-human-resources-and-finance 49110 as https://www.michiganradio.org Fri, 05 Mar 2021 14:33:03 +0000 Director of Human Resources and Finance John U. Bacon The University of Michigan men’s basketball team is getting lots of attention. The Wolverines have won 15 Big Ten titles, including the title won last night with a win over MSU. But another story is unfolding on the same court. A story that might be more exciting: the Michigan women’s basketball team. https://www.michiganradio.org/post/u-m-womens-basketball-winning-games-and-fans 49093 as https://www.michiganradio.org Fri, 05 Mar 2021 14:00:00 +0000 U-M women's basketball is winning games and fans Scott Horsley Hiring picked up steam in February as a winter wave of coronavirus infections eased and consumers spent more freely. U.S. employers added 379,000 jobs in February, while the unemployment rate dipped to 6.2%. "The recovery is finally emerging from its winter hibernation," said Sarah House, senior economist at Wells Fargo. She noted that new cases of COVID-19 have dropped sharply since January. And Congress appears poised to pump more money into the economy if President Biden's $1.9 trillion rescue package wins approval. Bars and restaurants added 286,000 jobs last month as COVID-19 restrictions were gradually eased. Retailers added 41,000 jobs. Those gains were partially offset by job losses at construction companies and in state and local government. Job gains in February were significantly stronger than the revised 166,000 jobs added the month before, but still painfully slow for millions of Americans who remain out of work. There are still 9.5 million fewer people on company payrolls https://www.michiganradio.org/post/employers-added-379000-jobs-last-month-economy-emerges-winter-hibernation 49109 as https://www.michiganradio.org Fri, 05 Mar 2021 13:54:00 +0000 A Sign Of Hope After 'Winter Hibernation': Employers Add 379,000 Jobs John Auchter Before, during, and after drawing a cartoon, my brain is in a constant search for a match — some cartoon or other media where I might have already seen the idea. It's the result of my paranoia that I accidentally commit the worst possible of sins, plagiarism. https://www.michiganradio.org/post/auchters-art-not-automatically-board 49095 as https://www.michiganradio.org Fri, 05 Mar 2021 13:00:00 +0000 Auchter's Art: Not automatically on-board Jaclyn Diaz Australia has asked the European Commission to review Italy's decision to block a shipment of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines to the Pacific Island nation this week. Earlier this week, Italian authorities requested the European Commission block a shipment of 250,700 doses of the vaccine destined for Australia from Europe. AstraZeneca has failed to meet European Union supply commitments. Italy argued Australia was not a "vulnerable" nation and should not qualify to receive such a shipment. Italy's leaders also cited the ongoing shortage of vaccines in the EU as the reason for requesting the body block the export. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said during a press conference that Italian authorities had the right to try and block the vaccine shipments to Australia, and he acknowledged Italy is dealing with far higher cases of coronavirus than Australia is. Italy reports more than 2.9 million confirmed coronavirus cases, according to Johns Hopkins University's COVID-19 https://www.michiganradio.org/post/australia-asks-european-commission-review-italys-block-vaccine-shipments 49107 as https://www.michiganradio.org Fri, 05 Mar 2021 11:06:00 +0000 Australia Asks European Commission To Review Italy's Block On Vaccine Shipments Anya Kamenetz One year after the coronavirus pandemic shuttered classrooms around the country and the world, U.S. parents are guardedly optimistic about the academic and social development of their children, an NPR/Ipsos poll finds. But 62% of parents say their child's education has been disrupted. And, more than 4 out of 5 would like to see schools provide targeted extra services to help their kids catch up. This includes just over half of parents who support the idea of summer school. The nation has lacked solid national data on precisely where classrooms are open to students. In our survey, half of parents said their children were learning virtually, a third were attending in person full-time, and the remainder were in person part-time. As other polls have found , Black and Hispanic parents were far more likely than white parents to say their children were all-remote — 65% for Black parents, 57% for Hispanic parents, and 38% for white parents. In a sign of the disruptions that have become routine https://www.michiganradio.org/post/npripsos-poll-nearly-one-third-parents-may-stick-remote-learning 49108 as https://www.michiganradio.org Fri, 05 Mar 2021 10:04:00 +0000 NPR/Ipsos Poll: Nearly One-Third Of Parents May Stick With Remote Learning Maria Godoy https://www.michiganradio.org/post/got-questions-about-johnson-johnsons-covid-19-vaccine-we-have-answers 49105 as https://www.michiganradio.org Fri, 05 Mar 2021 02:47:00 +0000 Tracy Samilton Mashiyat Rashid, the man who orchestrated a nightmarish Medicare fraud scheme in Michigan and Ohio, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. The scheme involved coercing patients at Tri County Wellness Group's clinics to submit to medically unnecessary and sometimes horribly painful back injections in order to get prescriptions for opioids. Some of the patients were genuinely suffering from pain, and some were addicts. According to testimony at Rashid's trial, some of the patients could be heard screaming during the procedures, which were described by a former Tri County employee as "barbaric," and some suffered injuries, including open holes in their backs. The clinics sometimes recruited people at homeless shelters to be able to bill for more of the costly procedures, which, over eight years, netted the clinics $300 million in reimbursements from Medicare and other groups. Rashid was also ordered to pay over $51 million in restitution to Medicare, as well as forfeiture to the United https://www.michiganradio.org/post/former-tri-county-wellness-group-ceo-sentenced-15-years-barbaric-medicare-fraud-scheme 49104 as https://www.michiganradio.org Fri, 05 Mar 2021 02:46:21 +0000 Former Tri County Wellness Group CEO sentenced to 15 years in "barbaric" Medicare fraud scheme Lester Graham For the first time, municipalities that allowed cannabis businesses to operate are getting their share of the ten percent recreational marijuana excise tax and other fees. More than 100 local governments are getting a share of close to ten million dollars from the 2020 fiscal year revenue. https://www.michiganradio.org/post/first-recreational-marijuana-tax-money-going-municipalities-schools-roads 49102 as https://www.michiganradio.org Fri, 05 Mar 2021 02:34:53 +0000 First recreational marijuana tax money going to municipalities, schools, roads