Healthier, more affordable homes; cleaned-up communities; and a premiere electric vehicle workforce could soon be coming to Michigan.

It was all in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's vision for billions in unused American Rescue Plan dollars, which she revealed Monday afternoon.

The Michigan Environmental Council applauded her proposal, noting its emphasis on clean energy jobs and smart development will create financial and environmental resiliency.

On Thursday, Feb. 12, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced recommendations for a $67 billion budget for Michigan. If passed, hundreds of millions of dollars will go toward initiatives at the intersection of the environment, health and justice and strengthen the health of people, their communities and the environment.

Many of Gov. Whitmer’s appropriation recommendations mirror those sent to her administration by Michigan Environmental Council and the Michigan League of Conservation Voters.

Weeks after kicking off her carbon neutrality plan for Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer created a critical mobility council Thursday that included no environmental, transit or non-motorized leaders.

Michigan Environmental Council, Transportation Riders United and Environmental Law & Policy Center are calling on Gov. Whitmer to add at least one seat to the Michigan Council on Future Mobility and Electrification designated for the aforementioned leadership.

Many Michigan families once had a set routine on school day mornings. Now, they are hazy due to COVID-19. The pandemic not only threatens public health and school openings, it could impact how well children concentrate and succeed academically.

Some families, however, have struggled to get children to school and to learn effectively at no fault of their own long before the pandemic began.

Ben Stupka is tired. That's no surprise-he and his wife, Laura, have a two-year-old son and a daughter born in August.

The transportation funding package Gov. Snyder signed into law on Tuesday brought a disappointing end to the years-long debate over how to raise much-needed funding for Michigan's transportation system.

Editor's note: This is the third and final post in a series on transportation funding leading up to the May 5 special election. Read the previous installments here and here.

Editor's note: This is the second in an occasional series on transportation funding leading up to the May 5 special election. Read part one here.

The package of transportation-funding bills Gov. Snyder signed  earlier this month sets the stage for a ballot initiative with high stakes for drivers, transit riders and Michigan's economy.

With Michigan's lame duck session in full swing, we thought we'd update Michigan Distilled readers on what has been a veryinteresting-yes, we'll go with interesting-week at the Capitol.