| March 23, 2022 
 Inflation might be called a hidden tax but the average household is seeing it alter the balance sheet every month. February’s Consumer Price Index clocked current inflation in at 7.9%. Not only is this the highest it’s been in 40 years, but it’s a substantial increase from the roughly 2% inflation in the years right before the pandemic. The average Michigan household income is around $60,000 per year and inflation’s not-so-hidden tax is costing them about $300 a month more than pre-pandemic. Inflation is a double edged sword as it eats away at both earnings and savings, said Jason Taylor, professor of economics at Central Michigan University. READ MORE ►Over 1 million Michiganders to get additional food assistance in March  There’s bipartisan support in the Michigan Legislature to temporarily eliminate annual year-end teacher evaluations for the 2021-2022 school year due to the ongoing effects the pandemic has had on students and instructors. The bill would temporarily eliminate the evaluations for the 2021-2022 school year. Michigan law requires that teacher layoffs and recall decisions are based on effectiveness, which is their annual year-end teacher rating. This school year, 40% of a teacher’s annual year-end evaluation is based on student growth from Fall 2021 to Spring 2022, despite the challenges faced during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. READ MORE ►House Democrats call for bipartisan investigation into Lee Chatfield's alleged misconduct  A newly released Michigan study of hospitalized COVID-19 patients found those who were fully vaccinated and boosted were less likely to die in hospitals than unvaccinated patients and those who received only the full initial doses. Two doctors and a medical student looked at 7,728 patients hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 in eight southeast Michigan hospitals from and found 7.1% of those who were fully vaccinated and boosted died, according to the study. In comparison, there were mortality rates of 12.8% of those who were unvaccinated. READ MORE ►Michigan primary care doctors push for more state investment to address worsening shortage  It’s officially a Sweet 16 party at Michigan. Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams are still dancing. The Wolverine women beat Villanova on Monday night to reach the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 for the second straight year. The men are already there -- for the fifth straight time -- and will face Villanova on Thursday in San Antonio. Michigan is the only school in Division I to get both of its basketball teams to the Sweet 16 each of the past two seasons. READ MORE ►Re-ranking the Sweet 16: Whose NCAA Tournament run is most likely to continue?  A couple sits across from each other at a table in Saline’s Brecon Grille and Pub. Over tall glasses of water and salt-and-pepper shakers, she’s asking pointedly whether he remembers her birthday. He stammers, wracking his brain for the date. Two waitresses pause behind them at the bar, just in earshot. It’s nothing out of the ordinary for a restaurant that has seen its fair share of dinner dates during nearly two decades in business in downtown Saline. What stands out this time, though, are the cameras at each diner’s elbow, the lights overhead and the microphone positioned over the table. READ MORE ►Frightening cosplay and celebrity sightings from inaugural horror con in Michigan MLive All Digital Access
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