On July 4 last year, Detroit paramedic and Emergency Medical Services assistant supervisor Al Saade was in the office when he received an urgent call to attend a multi-vehicle crash.

He arrived at a chaotic scene. Three of the people involved in the crash had injuries. Saade's EMS supervisor, Captain Robert Calandro, also just arrived, assigned him to do patient triage.

There was also a Fire Department Battalion Chief at the scene. Saade said the chief began issuing contradictory orders about how to do the triage. That shouldn't happen. State law mandates that the highest licensed medical authority responding to a call for emergency medical care has responsibility for directing the care — in this case, his EMS supervisor, Captain Calondro, a paramedic.

Saade ignored orders from the battalion chief and continued triage, even as the chief tried, without success, to pull Saade from his emergency medical response work to argue with him about chain of command.

Saade faced disciplinary action for insubordination for refusing to follow the battalion chief’s orders. Although the disciplinary action was eventually dismissed, the paramedic says the incident shows how wrong things can go when Fire Department officials try to take charge of emergency medical care.

"The chief called for EMS supervision because he needed our expertise," Saade said. "But once we arrived, that expertise was disregarded. What happens on the next complicated medical scene when EMS supervision is not there to intervene?"

Union says Fire Department has been mishandling medical emergencies for years

In 2021, Detroit's EMS division was consolidated with the Fire division.

Saade said last year’s July 4 incident was just one of many similar ones during the years since the consolidation, and that Fire Department supervisors had been interfering in non-fire medical emergency calls on a nearly daily basis.

Tensions came to a head at the start of last year when the Fire Department adopted a new standard operating procedure (SOP) that put battalion chiefs in charge of overseeing the overall incident command and scene management. It also required EMS supervisors to report to and coordinate all actions through the incident commander.

Representatives of the city’s EMS staff brought the issue to arbitration. In March, an arbitrator agreed with the EMS division's position on the SOP, saying the union had “articulated the disorder that has arisen in the field and the detrimental effects on patient care.”

The order has made no difference, according to EMS representatives. They claim that the Fire Department is frequently declining to send available paramedics to "Code 1" calls, involving the most serious medical situations.

"There's literally no accountability,” Saade said. “It just gets worse and worse. It's really chaotic. And at the end of the day, it's the citizens of the city that end up paying heavily for it."

EMS workers have filed dozens of grievances, including some that followed the arbitrator’s order, to allow medically trained staff to take charge in medical emergencies.

Grievances filed by the Detroit EMS union include these incidents:

• In July 2023, a Fire Department supervisor failed to transmit an EMS paramedic supervisor's command that firefighters begin CPR on a drowning victim they'd pulled from the Detroit River. The victim later died.
  
• In January 2026, firefighters were given the wrong location for a medical emergency. They immediately broke down the door of the uninvolved citizen's house rather than waiting for an EMS supervisor to arrive, confirm the address, and direct them in how to respond.
  
• Firefighters delayed responding to two separate Code 1 (cardiac arrest) emergencies in July 2026 and August 2026.

Police Officers Association of Michigan becomes involved in the dispute

James Tignanelli is president of the Police Officers Association of Michigan. Normally, his association represents sheriff, police, and fire department unions. But he said the Detroit EMS union was left essentially with no representation due to the conflict with the Detroit Fire Department, so in January, 2025, his group agreed to take them on as members.

"I have been in this business for more than 30 years," Tignanelli said, and noted that even though they’re technically part of the same team, tensions between the Detroit Fire Department and its EMS Division have run especially high. "I've had more labor disputes involving this union than any group than I've ever had in my career. We get so many grievances — dozens — over the proper response issue in Detroit that we have to pick and choose which ones to arbitrate."

Tignanelli said the dispute should not be seen as a turf battle, but as a question of whether Detroiters are getting the emergency response they should in a medical crisis.

Tignanelli said the EMS union has documented more than 5,000 incidents since January 2025, in which Code 1 patients were treated by firefighters or EMTs in a Basic Life Support unit when the Fire Department should have sent an Advanced Life Support unit. The ALS unit has a paramedic on board along with the "drug box," containing medications only paramedics can administer in emergency situations.

There's no way to prove that people have died because of the Fire Department's actions, or inactions, he said, but he thinks it's likely.

"The odds are somebody didn't get the treatment they deserve,” he said. “Everybody loves firemen, I guess, but I wouldn't want a fireman working on me while I'm laying on my back needing a (para)medic.”

Detroit Fire Department response to allegations

In a statement, Executive Fire Commissioner Charles Simms said the Detroit Fire Department has slashed its Code 1 response time from nearly 20 minutes in 2014, to 7 1/2 minutes today.

"That means Detroit residents experiencing life threatening emergencies are receiving medical response faster than ever before, helping save lives,” Simms said.

"The Detroit Fire Department disputes any claims that it is withholding advanced life support from patients. The DFD is still rebuilding its EMS system. We need more paramedics to provide the level of care Detroit residents deserve. That challenge is not unique to Detroit; there is a national shortage of paramedics," said Simms.

Simms also said that the Fire Department is training more firefighters to be paramedics in efforts to create a fully “in-house” paramedic staff and reviewing deployment policies to ensure the proper response to Code 1 calls.

Simms did not address the issue of whether Fire Department supervisors are intervening in medical response decisions.

Does the Detroit Fire Department need an overhaul? And if so, what kind of overhaul?

The DFD says structure fires have declined by 50% in Detroit since 2017. Firefighting operations were required for 1,471 fires in the city in 2025.

Meanwhile, there are more than 160,000 calls for medical emergency assistance annually in Detroit — so many that the city hires supplemental ambulance services so firefighting and EMS staff can keep up.

In June, Detroit's city council renewed a supplemental ambulance service contracts to augment the city's own emergency response services.

The approvals were delayed as council members discussed whether the city should be investing in its own EMS services instead. Fire Department officials have said that would require significant investments to accomplish, as reported by Bridge Detroit.

EMS union head Al Saade said he agrees the long-term goal should be for the Detroit Fire Department to handle the city's emergency medical calls in-house, without relying on private ambulance companies.

"I am not minimizing fires," Saade said. "When they happen, they are dangerous, labor-intensive events and Detroit needs enough firefighters and equipment to handle them safely. But it is impossible to look at the numbers and ignore where the overwhelming day-to-day demand for service exists."

The DFD needs an overhaul that includes a change in approach and a revamp of resource placement, Saade said, and EMS officials have not been asked to be involved in conversations about those goals.

"We need to stop treating EMS as the secondary mission when the data tells us otherwise. When you look at what this department actually does every day, sometimes you have to be willing to say the uncomfortable part out loud: This is really an EMS department that puts out the occasional fire."

CLARIFICATION: This story has been updated to remove the impression that Detroit fire department and EMS response times are too long, that is not the case.

Detroit is restarting a program that ended last year for homeowners facing foreclosure for unpaid property taxes.

That's after the state legislature renewed support for the program, called Pay as You Stay, or PAYS.

PAYS gives homeowners with delinquent property taxes three years to pay the balance, after forgiving the interest and fines.

Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield said low-income Detroiters facing this situation need to know there is help.

"Our neighborhoods are the heart and soul of Detroit, but keeping our neighborhoods strong means keeping the people who have invested in them strong," Sheffield said at a press conference on Thursday.

Detroit offers access to the PAYS program to homeowners who apply and qualify for a second program, called Homeowners Property Exemption, or HOPE. The exemption from paying any property taxes is now available for up to two years.

City officials say since 2020, the PAYS and HOPE programs have kept nearly 18,000 Detroiters from losing homes to foreclosure.

Detroit has the highest poverty rate among major cities in the U.S.

Sheffield made helping low-income Detroiters a centerpiece of her campaign for mayor.

A DTE-funded group, the Ann Arbor Responsible Energy Coalition, is suing the city of Ann Arbor and its clerk, Jacqueline Beaudry, over Beaudry's certification of petitions which could result in the city taking the first step toward a city-owned electric utility, replacing DTE.

A citizens group called Ann Arbor for Public Power (A2P2) wants voters in November to say yes to a charter amendment that would establish a Municipal Electric Utility Board, in order to eventually separate the city from its electric power supplier, DTE Energy, and create a city-owned electric utility.

The lawsuit claims there were not enough valid signatures on the petitions submitted by A2P2, and that Beaudry wrongly allowed the group to submit supplemental petition sheets after her initial canvas.

The lawsuit says even after counting signatures on the supplemental sheets, the petition is still nearly 200 valid signatures short of the number required to be certified for the November ballot.

Finally, the lawsuit says the proposed charter amendment includes more than one topic, in violation of the Home Rule City Act's single-subject rule for proposed amendments.

The city of Ann Arbor has not responded to the lawsuit.

"We’re confident that Clerk Beaudry followed procedures correctly,” said Brian Geiringer, executive director of Ann Arbor for Public Power. “Her reputation for both rigor and fairness is impeccable. This groundless lawsuit is a direct attack on the will of the people to have an alternative to DTE on the ballot this November.”

Economic damages from this summer's extended period of wildfire smoke from Canada totaled more than $38 billion across 10 states, according to a study by economist Richard Melstrom for the Anderson Economic Group.

The updated estimate, which included the entirety of the period of the smoke's impact in the U.S., covers 10 U.S. states that were heavily impacted by the smoke event, including Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

AEB is a Michigan-based consulting firm specializing in public policy, business valuation, and market and industry analysis.

Melstrom said Michigan's economic losses, at more than $6.6 billion, were the highest of any of the 10 states that were affected.

"The smoke was dense, and it settled over the state longer," said Melstrom, "so the impact was correspondingly higher."

Researchers say articulate matter from wildfire smoke impairs respiratory health, especially for children, people with asthma and cardiovascular conditions, and the elderly.

It can also be a danger to younger, healthy people who are exercising outdoors, and people whose jobs require outdoor work.

Melstrom said wildfire smoke events can affect economic activity through illness-related work absences, reduced earnings and lowered productivity, business closures, and event cancelations.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has approved a federal permit for Enbridge's proposed Line 5 tunnel project, saying the record shows the project is not contrary to the public interest, complies with federal guidelines, and does not "impermissibly impair Tribal treaty rights."

The decision to issue the permit follows in the wake of decisions to issue permits by the state of Michigan's Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.

"The approval of this key federal permit for the Great Lakes Tunnel Project is a significant step forward and reflects the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ more than six years of rigorous, comprehensive review," Enbridge said in a statement.

The company said it's committed to protecting the Great Lakes, while also ensuring reliable energy for the region, which includes parts of the Midwest, and Canada.

“The Army Corps’ decision is a thoroughly flawed product of a rushed process driven by the Trump Administration’s phony national energy emergency," said a statement from Oil and Water Don't Mix, an environmental group that opposes the pipeline, and the new tunnel. "The Corps also acknowledges that tunnel construction would cause major, permanent adverse effects to archaeological resources and the Straits of Mackinac Traditional Cultural Landscape, a place of profound cultural and spiritual significance to Anishinaabe peoples."

The Corps' permit is one more step necessary for the tunnel's final approval and breaking ground. But several court battles remain to be resolved.

Enbridge was handed an adverse ruling by the Michigan Supreme Court a few weeks ago, when it said the Michigan Public Service Commission had erred in issuing its approval for the tunnel, because it failed to consider whether the tunnel project would harm public rights to the Great Lakes, and failed to study whether Line 5 would shut down if the tunnel isn’t built.

There is also a pending lawsuit filed by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel that seeks to shut down Enbridge's continued operation of Line 5, for allegedly violating the public trust doctrine, and the Michigan Environmental Protection Act.

Enbridge says the state's claims are pre-empted by the federal Pipeline Safety Act, and it is counter-suing the state for attempting to use its regulatory power to scuttle Line 5.

Canada has also become involved in the dispute, saying Michigan is violating a U.S.-Canadian treaty regarding the pipeline.

Editor's note: Enbridge is among Michigan Public's corporate sponsors.

Electric utilities in Michigan might soon be offered a new batch of financial incentives if they meet benchmarks designed to boost reliability, restrain rates, and meet the state's renewable energy goals.

Or, they'd be financially penalized for not meeting those benchmarks.

The Michigan Public Service Commission is taking comments on the second phase of a new strategy that could meet state energy goals faster. The so-called "straw proposal" is the first step in developing the strategy.

Straw proposal (from strawman proposal) is a term for a brainstormed draft proposal intended to spark conversation and to be torn apart, to tease out its disadvantages and generate new and better proposals.

Last year, the focus of this process was on specific benchmarks for transmission and grid improvements that could boost reliability. The result was a mechanism for the state's two largest utilities, Consumers Energy and DTE Energy, to qualify for up to $10 million in incentives or penalties for meeting or failing to meet reliability benchmarks.

This time around, the MPSC is asking for input on specific benchmarks for utilities to use electricity more efficiently.

For example, utilities make a lot of money building new power plants but that raises rates and increases pollution. Instead utilities could be offered a financial incentive to tap into and aggregate locally stored sources of electricity from smart home thermostats, electric vehicles, and rooftop solar panels.

The technology is known as a Virtual Power Plant, because such small sources of stored electricity, tapped in large enough numbers, can potentially put as much electricity on the grid as a traditional fossil fueled power plant or wind or solar farm.

The Michigan Public Service Commission has separately warned regulated utilities that not including VPPs in its future plans could risk penalties.

Experts in environmental groups have been weighing in, generally favorably, on the straw proposal's carrot-and-stick approach.

"We think these types of solutions are exciting because they hit on all those pieces — affordability, clean energy, and reliability," said Katie Duckworth, a staff attorney with the Environmental Law and Policy Center. "They can benefit the utilities and the grid in all of those ways."

Updated: 12:30 PM 8/5/26

Washtenaw County Commissioner Yousef Rabhi easily defeated Ann Arbor's incumbent mayor Chris Taylor in the primary election on Tuesday.

Taylor, a progressive Democrat, had been mayor for 12 years, casting his vote with a highly cohesive city council that approved the addition of multiple high rise buildings to Ann Arbor's downtown skyline - along with a controversial land use and rezoning plan to increase housing density throughout the city.

Rabhi, a Democratic Socialist, ran on a wave of resident discontent for those changes, while outlining a platform of "restoring all power to the people of Ann Arbor, and solutions that work for all of us, not just out-of-town corporate interests."

Taylor ran on his record of balanced city budgets, improving city services and street repairs, an expected tripling of affordable housing units, and increasing housing density to bring down the high cost of housing in Ann Arbor.

Rabhi's victory, however, was not enjoyed by three of the four city council candidates he endorsed. Voters re-elected two incumbents, Jenn Cornell (Ward 5) and Cynthia Harrison (Ward 1), both of whom had voted for high rise developments and the land use and rezoning plan.

Voters also elected two newcomers to city council, Aiden Sova (Ward 4) and Sandy Aldrich (Ward 2), both of whom had been endorsed by Chris Taylor.

Only Ryan Bartholomew, endorsed by Rabhi, won his race for the city council seat in Ward 3.

Rabhi is almost certain to win in the Democratic majority city in November's general election. But he will lead a city council dominated by members who ran as part of the Taylor slate.

In a statement, mayor-elect Rabhi said the "people the people of Ann Arbor sent a message. We are ready to fight for a better tomorrow. We are ready to embrace a vision of the future that works for the many, not just the few."

“I want to thank each and every person who made phone calls, knocked doors, or talked to their friends about this race. This community is incredible. And I am confident that, whether or not you voted for me, our city will unite together in the face of the enormous obstacles facing us."

“Ann Arbor will unapologetically stand up to Trump’s federal overreach and protect our neighbors against ICE. We will push back against rising inequality to make sure that every worker, neighbor, and community member who wants to make their home here can. We will step into our role as a regional leader and redefine what is possible," he said.

Taylor issued a statement that serving as mayor has been the honor of a lifetime.

"While the outcome of this election wasn't what we hoped for, I couldn't be prouder of the campaign we ran. We led with honesty, integrity, and an optimistic vision for Ann Arbor's future, and I will always be grateful to everyone who joined us in that effort."

"To everyone who volunteered, donated, put up a yard sign, knocked on doors, made phone calls, attended events, offered an endorsement, or shared words of encouragement: thank you. Your support, your generosity, and your belief in our campaign have meant more to me than I can adequately express."

Updated to include statement from Chris Taylor