October 6, 2020 Soon, some Michigan residents convicted of criminal offenses could see their records cleared under legislation waiting on a signature from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Whitmer is expected to sign the "clean slate" legislation, which is designed to expand expungement options for people who have gone several years without committing another offense. If it does indeed become law, Michigan will be one of few states to allow low-level crimes to be dropped from criminal records automatically when those who commit the crimes do not reoffend. But the change won't come overnight. If the legislation gets Whitmer's signature, the state has two years to put the new system into place. We have a look at exactly what expungement does and who would be eligible: READ MORE Michigan’s health department has reported 119 new coronavirus outbreaks over the last week, led by cases coming from long-term care facilities, schools and social gatherings. The Upper Peninsula region saw the most new COVID-19 outbreaks with 24. Clusters are being tracked weekly by the health department. In addition to the new outbreaks, Michigan is also reporting 203 ongoing clusters from prior weeks. You can see more details on the outbreaks here: MORE ►Michigan health department issues order requiring masks, limiting gathering sizes In the coming weeks, temperatures and other weather conditions are shaping up to be perfect for getting some things done in the yard. With most days looking like they will fall in the 60s and 70s, with limited precipitation, this is the fall weather many cross their fingers for as summer fades. Need to do some work that requires time outdoors? October is your friend. Paint that fence, clean the gutters and, of course, rake those leaves. Just make sure you don't work the whole month away. Take some time to enjoy the fall colors and watch some football. MORE ►Tornado count in Michigan this year showing a quiet twister season MLive's Kyle Meinke has got to be sick of watching the Lions lose. Unlike most of us, he can't just turn off the TV. He has to watch. It's his job. So he has a lot of experience watching the details during each game. Meinke has been watching every game of the Matt Patricia era, and it hasn't been pretty. Strings of losses and big leads wasted have been the narratives. Patricia's record with the Lions is 10-25-1. While some have continually spread the message of patience with the process, as Meinke points out, there is no excuse for such a messy process. MORE Need a break from all the intense news of the day? Why not just check out this story about a man carving a bear outside a local bar in Jackson? Outside the Page One Bar, where there was once a tall white oak tree, there is now a friendly looking bear welcoming patrons to the establishment. “We wanted to make sure we had something fun and different to take care of that tree,” owner Edward Rushlow said. “There are a lot of good memories under that tree. We wanted to make a landmark." CHECK IT OUT Get your local news 24/7 Connect with MLive To ensure receipt of our emails, please add newsletters@update.mlive to your address book or safe sender list. |