Overview:
- Make DTE Pay Act would double Clean Air Act penalties for investor-owned utilities requesting rate hikes within two years of a pollution violation.
- Black Michiganders face severe health disparities compared to other racial and ethnic groups in the state, according to new report.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is monitoring 41 people in the U.S. for hantavirus, including 16 newly identified passengers who shared an April 25 flight to Johannesburg with an infected Dutch woman who later died.
🗞️ Make DTE Pay Act targets utility rate hikes after $100 million pollution penalty U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib introduced the Make DTE Pay Act, which would double Clean Air Act penalties for investor-owned utilities that seek rate hikes within two years of a violation. Tlaib’s bill follows a judge’s order that DTE Energy pay $100 million after finding it violated the Clean Air Act at its Zug Island facility. DTE has since requested a $474.3-million rate hike. 📌 Source: CBS Detroit
🗞️ GLWA restores water pressure after Auburn Hills break Water has been restored at normal pressure to communities affected by a Auburn Hills water main break, the Great Lakes Water Authority announced Wednesday. The main, which broke May 11, was originally expected to take up to two weeks to fix. Boil water advisories remain in effect for Orion Township, Village of Lake Orion, northern Auburn Hills, and northwest Rochester Hills until multiday water quality testing is complete. 📌 Source: Detroit Free Press
🗞️ Report reveals stark health disparities facing Black Michiganders, warns they could worsen Black Michiganders face severe health disparities compared to other racial and ethnic groups in the state, according to the Commonwealth Fund’s 2026 State Health Disparities Report. Black residents under 75 die of avoidable causes at nearly double the rate of white Michiganders, and their infant mortality rate of 12.8 per 1,000 live births is more than double that of white and Hispanic residents. Researchers warn recent federal policy shifts could widen these gaps further. 📌 Source: Axios Detroit
🗞️ CDC monitoring 41 people for hantavirus after flight exposure identified The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is monitoring 41 people in the U.S. for hantavirus, including 16 newly identified passengers who shared an April 25 flight to Johannesburg with an infected Dutch woman who later died. The woman, 69, collapsed shortly after arrival and died April 26; she was confirmed to have had hantavirus on May 4. As of Thursday, there are no confirmed U.S. cases. Those exposed are being encouraged to voluntarily quarantine for 42 days. 📌 Source: The New York Times
🗞️ Henry Ford Health’s $2.2 billion Detroit hospital expansion eyes 2029 opening Henry Ford Health marked a major milestone Thursday with a topping-out ceremony for its $2.2-billion “Destination Grand” campus expansion in Detroit’s New Center area. A 1,400-pound steel beam was placed atop the new 20-story patient tower, which will span 1.2 million square feet and include 432 patient rooms. Part of a broader development with the Detroit Pistons and Michigan State University, the new hospital and shared services building are expected to open in 2029. 📌 Source: WXYZ-TV
🗞️ El Niño forecast calls for 82% chance of early arrival El Niño is likely to return this year, with the National Weather Service forecasting an 82% chance it will emerge between May and July and a 96% chance it will be present through December 2026 into February 2027. The strength and duration remain uncertain. The forecast marks a sharp increase from March, when the UN’s World Meteorological Organization put the odds of a May–July arrival at 40%. 📌 Source: Scientific American