PAAdvisory Briefs

Former Actress to Run for 8^th U.S. House Seat

Melissa Gilbert, the actress who played Laura Ingalls Wilder on “Little House on the Prairie,” has announced her candidacy for the 8^th U.S. House District. Ms. Gilbert will run as a Democrat against incumbent Mike Bishop. The announcement all but guarantees a heated race, as the Democratic Party has grown to despise U.S. Representative Bishop throughout his political career. While Ms. Gilbert’s fame will certainly help her with name recognition, she will be forced to answer attacks by Republicans surrounding her past tax issues.

Grand Traverse County in State of Disaster

Following a thunderstorm that had winds as high as 80 miles per hour, Governor Rick Snyder has declared a state of disaster in Grand Traverse County. By declaring a state of disaster, Governor Snyder has allowed state resources to work together with local recovery efforts, in order to clean up the damage from the storm. Leelanau County declared a local state of emergency following the same storm, and when asked about declaring states of disaster in other counties, Dave Murray, deputy press secretary to Governor Snyder, said it was likely that the Governor would receive requests for help from more counties.

Fewer Michiganders Living Without Health Insurance

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, the percentage of Michigan residents without health insurance saw a significant decrease from 2013 to 2014. According to the statistics only 9.3 percent of Michiganders were living without health insurance in 2014, down from the 12.7 percent without insurance in 2013. In the Great Lakes Region, Michigan ranks fourth lowest in the percentage of people living without health insurance, behind Wisconsin, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Mackinac Straits to be Watched by Michigan Tech

Michigan Technological University’s Great Lakes Research Center will be partnering with Enbridge Energy Partners LP to monitor the water conditions in the Mackinac Straits in real time. The announcement made Wednesday stated that the company also plans to place an additional buoy in the Upper Great Lakes Observing System, in order to improve the monitoring system. This project is one of the first opportunities for real-time monitoring of the Mackinac Straits, which have become a focus of statewide attention due to the aging Enbridge Line 5 pipeline.

posted by PAA Online , Friday, August 14, 2015 12:45 PM
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