Talking Michigan Transportation – Aug. 28, 2025
|
|
|
|
Tim Lemon, who works in the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Bureau of Transportation Planning, talks about how 
He explains that remaining service life (RSL) is MDOT’s primary pavement condition performance measure, which indicates the number of years before the pavement is anticipated to reach poor condition. It informs decisions
|
Road sealing in Metro Detroit begins Sept 2
Road sealing in Metro Detroit begins Sept 2
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 28, 2025
Crack seal treatments across three counties start September 2 SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will invest approximately $1.3 million in preventive maintenance crack seal treatments across three counties and 168 lane miles. Counties: Macomb Oakland Wayne
Highways: I-696 Service Drive I-94 M-102 (8 Mile Road) Old M-14 (Plymouth Road) M-153 (Ford Road) Project locations:
Start date: Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025
Estimated end date: Late October 2025 Traffic restrictions: Motorists can expect moving single and double-lane closures overnight on all roads except I-94. Work on I-94 will be completed using single and double-lane closures during the day on weekends. At least one lane of traffic will always be maintained. The carpool parking lot will be closed for up to one day to complete work. Safety benefit: This work will improve long-term pavement conditions, extending the life of the roads and carpool lot.
### The Rebuilding Michigan program is ending soon. Without long-term funding plans, Michigan’s infrastructure will be in critical condition within the decade.
Follow MDOT
MDOT | Contact us | Mi Drive Want to change how you receive these e-mails? Get personalized voter information on early voting and other topics at Michigan.gov/Vote.
|
 |
|
Gov. Whitmer Announces Appointments to the Bench
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 27, 2025 Contact: press@michigan.gov
Gov. Whitmer Announces Appointments to the Bench
LANSING, Mich. —Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced the appointments of Chastity Youngblood, Poncé Clay, and Dr. Herman Griffin IV to the 36th District Court in the City of Detroit.
“Today, I am proud to appoint Chastity, Poncé, and Herman to the bench,” said Governor Whitmer. “These skilled legal professionals bring years of experience to their new roles, where I am confident they will serve the people of Michigan admirably and uphold the rule of law.”
36th District Court – City of Detroit Hon. Chastity Youngblood Chastity Youngblood, of Detroit, is an assistant prosecuting attorney at the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, a role she has served in for over fifteen years. Youngblood also serves as a member of the State Bar of Michigan Justice Policy Commission and the State Bar of Michigan Representative Assembly. Youngblood holds a Bachelor of Arts in international relations and social relations from James Madison College at Michigan State University and a Juris Doctor from Wayne State University Law School.
“I am deeply honored by Governor Whitmer’s appointment to serve on the 36th District Court,” said Youngblood. “I am committed to serving with empathy, fairness, and integrity, and will work diligently to ensure that our community feels seen, heard, and respected in our courts.”
This appointment will be made to fill a partial term, expiring January 1, 2027, following the resignation of Judge Aliyah Sabree.
Hon. Poncé Clay
Poncé Clay, of Detroit, is the founding partner and managing attorney at Clay Law, PLC. He previously served as Division Director of Wayne County Veterans Services and a Director of Operations at the United States Navy Michigan Recruiting Headquarters. Additionally, Clay served as a United States Naval Officer for over twenty years and formerly served as a mentor on the 36th District’s Veteran’s Treatment Court. Clay also recently served as an appointed member of the City of Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority Community Advisory Committee and is a member of Oak Grove AME Church of Detroit.
Clay holds a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Morehouse College, a Master of Public Administration in public personnel management from Troy State University in Japan, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Detroit Mercy, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.
“I am profoundly grateful to Governor Whitmer for the enormous privilege to serve on the 36th District Court, and I do not take this responsibility lightly,” said Clay. “My life’s work has been rooted in service—service to my country, my profession, and most importantly, to the people of Detroit. This appointment is not about me, but about continuing the mission of ensuring access to justice for all who appear before the Court. I pledge to serve with integrity, humility, and compassion.” This appointment will be made to fill a partial term, expiring January 1, 2027, following the resignation of Judge Donald Coleman.
Hon. Herman Griffin IV
Dr. Herman Griffin IV, of Detroit, is the deputy director at Regional Managed Assigned Counsel Office in Dearborn and the owner of Griffin Law PLLC in Detroit. Dr. Griffin previously worked as a mental health specialty court defense attorney at the 36th District Court and previously taught a monthly class on preventing human trafficking at the Southwest Detroit Community Justice Center. Dr. Griffin is also a member of the Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit and Vicinity and the Washtenaw Ministerial Alliance.
Dr. Griffin holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Michigan, a Master of Divinity from Howard University, a Doctor of Ministry from Boston University, and a Juris Doctor from Cooley Law School.
“I am humbled to be appointed to the bench and ready to serve Detroit,” said Dr. Griffin. This appointment will be made to fill a partial term, expiring January 1, 2027, following the passing of Judge Donna Robinson Millhouse.
### |
End summer boating season with the DNR!
|
|
|||||||
 |
|||||||
News Release |
|||||||
|
The crew’s last weekend will be spent in northern Michigan. If you’re traveling north this Thursday, Aug. 28, stop by and see them at the Clare Welcome Center on U.S. 127.
Invasive plants like starry stonewort and Eurasian watermilfoil and animals like zebra and quagga mussels can foul equipment, change the habitat and choke out our native Michigan species.
Michigan selected: National Medicaid Oral Health Learning Series
Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 27, 2025 CONTACT: Lynn Sutfin, 517-241-2112, SutfinL1@michigan.gov Michigan selected as one of 11 states for National LANSING, Mich. – Michigan is one of 11 states competitively selected for the Medicaid Oral Health Workforce Implementation Learning Series, a national initiative led by the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) with support from the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health. This learning series will bring together Medicaid agencies and their partners to share practical, scalable oral health workforce solutions that can increase access and utilization of services to improve member health. “Increasing Michigan’s dental workforce is an important focus for the department,” said Elizabeth Hertel, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services director. “We want to ensure Michigan families can easily access care as oral health plays a critical role in overall health and well-being.” Michigan was chosen to participate in the learning series along with 10 additional states: Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin. Michigan has made great strides in improving access to oral health preventive measures such as community water fluoridation, fluoride varnish for ages 0 to 5 and school-based/school-linked dental sealant programs. Access to care for children has increased through the expansion of the Healthy Kids Dental program statewide and the recently passed kindergarten dental screening program, which will help prevent cavities among children and promote oral health education to their families. However, ensuring access to these and other oral health programs requires a robust dental workforce. While Michigan has 59.1 dentists per 100,000 people, they are not equally distributed throughout the state or representee of the populations they serve. Strengthening the state’s oral health workforce is a goal of the 2025 Michigan State Oral Health Plan developed by MDHHS and the Michigan Oral Health Coalition. “These 11 state teams have demonstrated their commitment and readiness to implement strategies that strengthen and expand the oral health workforce,” said Madeline Steward, MPH, senior program officer at CHCS. “We are honored to play a role in supporting their efforts.” The Medicaid Oral Health Workforce Implementation Learning Series supports Medicaid agencies and their partners in understanding best practices and sharing lessons related to oral health workforce policies and programs. Through expert guidance and peer collaboration, participating states will deepen their knowledge of effective oral health workforce strategies, with the goal of strengthening workforce capacity and improving care for Medicaid populations. Focus areas include:
More information about the Medicaid Oral Health Workforce Implementation Learning Series is available online. |
