Governor Whitmer

Governor Gretchen Whitmer continues to defend line item vetoes in budgets she otherwise approved last week.

But Whitmer also says it’s not too late to restore some of the spending.

After months of negotiations, twists, stalemates and unprecedented moves, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer finalized the state budget this week just in time to avoid the first government shutdown in a decade.

The Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy sent draft rules that would limit PFAS contamination in drinking water to Governor Whitmer’s office Tuesday.

The Michigan PFAS Action Response Team approved the set of rules last Friday after months of gathering input from scientists, citizen groups, and businesses across the state.

In a turn-around from earlier this week, Governor Gretchen Whitmer says she’s ready to veto budget bills that don’t raise new money for roads. Republicans in the Legislature have teed up budgets to be adopted and sent to Whitmer’s desk as soon as next week.

That’s after talks between the Democratic governor and GOP leaders broke down this week. The rhetoric tossed between the Democratic governor and Republican leaders has grown increasingly tense.

Whitmer says, “They gotta do what they gotta do. Then I’m gonna do what I gotta do.”

Governor Snyder's former special projects aide is working as a principal consultant on the Gordie Howe International Bridge project. His contract deal is for $499,999 for 15 months, one dollar shy of requiring approval from the State Administrative Board.

Andrew Doctoroff is the Snyder-appointed consultant for the Gordie Howe International Bridge- a second bridge to be built over the Detroit river. He’s continued to be the go-to person for Canadian government and private transportation companies after Whitmer came into office.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer says Michigan has encouraged students to seek four-year college degrees at the expense of encouraging careers in skilled trades.

She says that’s cost the state’s economy, employers, and workers.

Whitmer toured a Detroit community college on Monday to make her point. She says less than half of high school graduates in Michigan seek advanced schooling, and she says that means many lost opportunities, even during good economic times.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do. This is a cultural thing that we’ve got to overcome,” she says.

The fight for Benton Harbor High School is still alive.

The Benton Harbor school board rejected the state’s plan to close the high school.