April 29, 2021 All eyes are on Southeast Michigan after the U.S. Census Bureau determined the state will shed one seat in Congress, but a new redistricting process leaves experts wondering how exactly district lines will change. The U.S. Census Bureau announced Michigan will drop from 14 congressional seats to 13 due to sluggish population growth since the last count in 2010. Census data will be used by a new citizen redistricting commission to draw Michigan’s political boundaries later this year, which will have major implications for the makeup of the congressional delegation in the next decade. Political parties have a lot riding on the upcoming redistricting process. READ MORE ►Michigan House votes to move primary elections to June Members of the Michigan House Judiciary Committee heard testimony Wednesday on a set of bills that would broaden state laws on criminal record expungement for human trafficking victims. Rep. Mary Whiteford has said the bill package strengthens the state’s existing tools for prosecutors and judges to support victims of human trafficking by allowing adult and juvenile survivors to have any crime on their record expunged if it occurred while they were trafficked. The bills complement legislation enacted in 2016 that allows victims of human trafficking to petition a court to expunge one or more convictions under local ordinances corresponding to prostitution charges. MORE It’s a home seller’s dream market right now, but a home buyer’s nightmare. And that isn’t expected to change anytime soon. So, what’s a home buyer to do when demand greatly outweighs supply? The lack of inventory is not only making it next to impossible for many buyers to land their dream home, but a lot of homeowners won’t even put their houses on the market for fear they will have nowhere to live when it sells. If you are in the market for a house in Michigan, Realtors have some advice for navigating these intense market conditions:MORE "After the basketball player made the first free throw of a technical foul, he waited for the referee to throw the ball back for the second. The referee looked back at him, refusing to touch the ball, per COVID mandates. As the participants played the waiting game and the fans watched, the athletic director jumped into action, tossing the ball back to the player to save the moment and one referee from the chance of catching COVID through basketball transmission. Cue the head shake, with a side order of eye roll at the absurdity of the situation." Read more from sports reporter Hugh Bernreuter here: MORE ►Also in sports: Miguel Cabrera signs on to promote COVID-19 vaccination efforts When Hannah Pluchinsky began having labor pains, she and husband Kaleb were confident they would make it to the hospital in time. Her confidence quickly disappeared when her water broke in their car traveling on I-96. Hannah told Kaleb to pull over along the freeway at 2:30 a.m. April 1. “Ten to 15 seconds after her water broke, the baby was coming,” Kaleb Pluchinsky said. The young father doesn’t recall all the details of what happened next, except for running around to the passenger side and seeing the baby’s feet already emerging. MORE 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. |