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| May 21, 2021
At Michigan's first PFAS site, a tourist town wrestles a 'forever' problem The Michigan State Housing Development Authority wanted to build modular housing and Oscoda Township officials thought they had a perfect spot. Along Skeel Avenue was 8.3 acres of empty land where visiting officers were once quartered when the property was part of Wurtsmith Air Force Base. But the state had a problem. The property sits atop groundwater tainted by PFAS. State officials didn’t like the optics of building atop pollution and told the township to find another spot - off the base. “They didn't want their project on Wurtsmith or associated with the contamination,” said Dave Schaeffer, who was superintendent of Oscoda Township during negotiations. “The property is on municipal water and there's no threat from the contamination. But as soon as people hear 'Wurtsmith,' that's what they think." READ MORE ►VIDEO: Residents fight U.S. Air Force for water cleanup after PFAS contamination WEATHERMichigan's weekend will feel like late June in many places Got your shorts ready? This weekend will feel like summer goodness here in Michigan, according to MLive Chief Meteorologist Mark Torregrossa. There will be warm air and a couple thundershowers, the forecast shows. "In all though, it’s a dry weekend. The southwest part of Lower Michigan probably won’t have a drop of rain," he writes. "The areas that do get some rain will only have one to two hours of thundershowers the entire weekend. Now the fun stuff -- summery temperatures. We are going to start Saturday morning in the 60s to near 70 degrees. A 70-degree sunrise is a warm morning in May." MORE Barriers help explain low COVID-19 vaccination rate in Michigan's Black communities Michigan’s vaccination rates are rising, but the rate at which some communities are getting shots in arms is slower than others. Among those communities that have seen a lower vaccination rate is Michigan’s Black community. Experts say concern surrounding the vaccine itself, as well as physical, economic and social barriers are a driving force behind low turnout. As of Tuesday, 26.6% of Black adults have gotten at least one dose and 20.9% have completed their vaccination. The vaccination rate among non-Hispanic whites is 48% higher than the vaccination rate for Michigan’s Black residents. MORE The Michigan High School Athletic Association announced Thursday that all MHSAA tournament events beginning in June, including all spring sports finals, will be allowed full capacity attendance. The MHSAA’s news comes on the same day that Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced that the state would be lifting all outdoor capacity limits, including sporting events, on Tuesday, June 1. The announcement comes more than 14 months after the entire 2020 spring sports season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. MORE Many restaurant owners are facing a new challenge in returning to pre-pandemic levels of business: staffing shortages. MLive's Amy Sherman joins Dani Scott, owner and executive chef at Lucy's Creston Kitchen in Grand Rapids, at her restaurant to go behind the scenes and discuss how staffing shortages, among other issues, are impacting the restaurant industry. Amy, who has worked as journalist for the last five years, has decades of experience in the restaurant industry, so she went back in to lend a hand at Lucy's. WATCH HERE Get your local news 24/7 Ann Arbor | Bay City | Flint | Grand Rapids Connect with MLive
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