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Governor Gretchen Whitmer put abortion rights, a clean energy plan and guaranteed paid worker leave on her agenda for the Legislature’s fall session that begins next week. The governor outlined her priorities Wednesday in a special address. We have more from Rick Pluta.
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Home sales in Ann Arbor would require an energy assessment. That’s the aim of a proposed city ordinance. The first reading passed unanimously at last night’s city council meeting. WEMU’s Josh Hakala reports.
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The Michigan Public Service Commission approved a long-term energy plan for one of the state’s largest utilities Wednesday. Colin Jackson has more.
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Recent power outages in Washtenaw County have a good portion of Southeast Michigan outraged. Nearly a million lost power in the last two winter storms. Ann Arbor City Council member Jen Eyer joins WEMU's David Fair to discuss what the city will ask of the state legislature and the Michigan Public Service Commission and the increased interest in establishing a municipal electric utility in Ann Arbor.
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Yousef Rabhi's tenure as a state representative has ended. However, he will be sworn in Wednesday evening and return to the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners. Rabhi joined WEMU's David Fair to fill us in on local environmental priorities in the new year and how his tenure in the Michigan Legislature may help in his return to the county board.
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New buildings in Ann Arbor will not be allowed to install natural gas connections. That’s if a proposal from the city’s planning commission is approved. WEMU’s Josh Hakala reports.
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Michigan regulators would have to commission a study on generating nuclear energy under a bill that received a committee hearing Tuesday. Colin Jackson has more.
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Ann Arbor City Council on Tuesday night passed a resolution to begin a feasibility study to explore ways to reach the city’s carbon neutrality goals. One of those options includes buying out DTE and creating a municipal utility. WEMU’s Josh Hakala explains.
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As the climate crisis worsens, the drive to more quickly create sustainable, renewable energy systems is picking up steam. But there are barriers slowing things down. For example, Manchester Township recently denied a permit that would have allowed for a 159-acre solar farm. State House Minority Leader Donna Lasinski represents that part of Washtenaw County, and she shares her perspective with WEMU's David Fair and Michigan League of Conservation Voters executive director, Lisa Wozniak.
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More than 230 environmental organizations and public interest groups have signed on to a petition asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the utility industry for harming the public by putting up barriers to rooftop solar and renewable energy expansion. WEMU's David Fair and Michigan League of Conservation Voters executive director, Lisa Wozniak, took a deeper dive into the effort to reign in the power of America’s utility industry with Matt Kasper. Matt is deputy director at the Energy and Policy Institute.