Rachel Hood

Across the state there are 122 restaurants paying their employees $15 an hour plus tips. It’s part of the One Fair Wage movement, and a West Michigan lawmaker joined one Grand Rapids eatery supporting that effort.

State Representative Rachel Hood from Grand Rapids and Lansing’s Sarah Anthony have introduced a package of bills focusing on lead abatement and remediation policy. The two democrats say the Flint Water Crisis and current elevated levels of lead in Benton Harbor’s water system are cases of failed promises that can be prevented.

Two bills introduced this week in Lansing would increase the legal penalties for large boat operators who don’t pass cautiously through the Straits of…